Disney Magic in my Own Backyard!

I am one lucky mom!  I got to spend the past two days treating my son to some Disney magic, and I didn't even have to pay for a flight!!! 

Wednesday night was opening night for Toy Story 3 on Ice.  When I first heard about it I knew we would have to go.  I managed to get really good seats, though the tickets do not come cheap!  It wouldn't be so bad if Ticketmaster didn't tack on all those extra fees, but there really is no other choice.  So we had seats about 12 rows back, "center" ice.  The awesome thing about a Disney presentation is about half of the audience is kids, so you don't have to worry as much about not being able to see over the person in front of you!  (I am only five feet tall, so this is a serious concern...)

As soon as we walked into the building, I was like a little kid.  I ended up buying a program (which came with an "ear hat" for $15 before we made it 100 steps past the turnstiles.  We were running a bit late so we went to find our seats.  I was very pleased with the view, but we were on the interior of the row, so there was no way we were getting up again.  The show started a few minutes late, but when Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy came out, it was like being in the heart of the magic!  Kids all around us were yelling and laughing, clearly excited to see their favorite people!  Jack had the biggest grin on his face, it was definitely a magical moment!

The show itself was very entertaining, it didn't follow the actual storyline of Toy Story 3, but I was glad because it was so much more interesting!  Even Barbie had a pretty decent act, with a workout routine and everything.  Everytime a new character came out all the kids went wild!!  Kids were yelling hello to Buzz and Woody and cheering them on.  One of Jack's favorite characters is Mr. Potato Head, and he was jumping out of his seat when he and the Mrs. made it on stage.

About halfway through there was an intermission, which was great because the vendors came back around, so we managed to get Jack the popcorn we had promised him ($7, and delicious), as well as the Buzz Lightyear slushie mug I was DYING to get him (also $15, these events are NOT cheap).  AS it turned out, no one really wanted the slushie part, but we had to eat it so it wouldn't melt all over us.  Jack was really excited about the souvenir mug.  One of the coolest things to me was the Little Green Alien slushie mug... when I was a kid I had one of those!  It was so neat to see how this film franchise has actually managed to span a generation...

The second half of the show was far less dark than the movie, which was nice since this was a light-hearted ice show.  I think everyone enjoyed it, and the show itself was right around two hours, which is longer than I expected, but appreciated given the money that was spent!  After the show we hit up the souvenir stands, but all Jack wanted was a Little Green Alien stuffed animal ($15, again!) so we got him that as an early birthday present (his birthday is in two weeks).  So while the show was cheaper than a trip to a Disney park, it wasn't what I would consider cheap, especially if you get carried away with souvenirs, which is pretty easy when you get caught up in the fun...

Another great event we had the opportunity to experience was a State Farm exhibit/show put on for free at a downtown shopping center.  They brought three life sized replicas of vehicles from Disney Pixar's Cars 2, Lightning McQueen, Mater, and a new character Finn McMissle-British super spy, and kids had the chance to get their picture taken with each one.  The lines were pretty long, but the pictures will be available online for free, and it meant I got to be in the picture with him, instead of trying to get him to pose and smile for me!  Jack was excited because he got to wear his Cars shirt for the event.  They had some cool "missions" youcould take part in as well, including an obstacle course, and if you completed all three missions you got some prizes, but they were a little old for Jack, and we were short on time so we didn't take advantage of those.

All in all it was a fantastic couple days.  Sometimes when you can't get away for your dream Disney vacation, at least you can take advantage of events like these for your quick Disney fix!