Toy Story 3

The Toy Story 3 segment was the longest of the entire show, and it really started to drag on. Savannah loved the Barbie and Ken scene, even though it went a bit long. The Green Army Men section was also popular with our group. We all felt we could have done without the Spanish Buzz section. While this segment was very well done, we had attended Toy Story 3 on Ice 6 years ago and this was just an abbreviated version of that show.

The Little Mermaid

As you know this story takes place both under the sea and on land. They did a great job differentiating the two locales using mostly lighting to tell them apart. I spoke to a 3yo friend of mine who attended the show and she was very confused by the fact that Ariel had legs when she was under the sea. Her costume at that point in the show are blue/green pants which look similar to her normal tail but since her legs were separated, it was confusing. The Little Mermaid segment was a re-purposing of the same segment from the 2013 Disney on Ice Rockin’ Ever After.

Cars

The Cars
section was the only one that was new to us. Mickey and Minnie had gone to look for help when their roadster broke down. While they were gone everyone’s favorite tow truck, Mater came by to help out. Lightning McQueen, Sally, Ramone, and Flo also come by to meet the new roadster. This part of the show was basically cars drifting slowly on the ice. We enjoyed this section a lot!

Frozen

We believe this section was identical to the one in last year’s Disney on Ice 100 Years of Magic show. Even though Ron and I have seen it before, we thoroughly enjoyed this part of the show. In this brief re-telling of the story, adapted for the ice, we see Anna meet Hans and then ask Elsa for her blessing of their marriage. Of course, when Elsa gets angry there are pyrotechnics instead of icicles. As the story progresses we meet Kristoff and Olaf.

We always enjoy our visits to Disney on Ice. Disney on Ice Worlds of Enchantment will be touring Florida and Georgia this spring. Visit the website for dates and ticket information.

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I have been attending the circus since childhood. Growing up we would to travel to Boston to see the circus. When we moved to Florida in 1980, we settled in Venice which was the winter home for the circus. Over my 11 years in Venice I babysat for the children of circus folk, went to school with circus performers, enjoyed the annual circus parade from the train station to the circus grounds, volunteered as an usher for the pre-tour shows that were held at the Venice Circus Arena. My high school graduation was held at the circus arena, affectionately known as the “elephant palace”. As an adult I have taken my children and my friend’s children to see the Greatest Show on Earth. For me, my favorite circus acts have always been the animals, especially the big cats and the elephants. In my opinion, Gunther Gebel-Williams was the best animal trainer ever, and his son Mark did a great job following in his father’s footsteps. Unfortunately, the elephants left the circus in 2016 under pressure from animal rights activists.

Circus Xtreme 2017

We enjoyed Circus Xtreme, though as has been the case the last few years, the theming was a bit lost in the production. Newcomer and first, and last ever Ringling female Ringmaster, Kristen Michelle Wilson did a good job. Unfortunately, from our seats behind the bandleader, I struggled to get a decent picture of her facing us. I spoke to friends who attended the circus while it was in Tampa and the favorite act was the female human cannonball! She was amazing. Of course, I loved Taba and his tigers, I just wish we could have seen their faces. The addition of slackline, parkour, trampoline, and BMX was a great way to add some more modern acts to the traditional circus.

We truly felt the lack of the elephants at the show. The opening Grand Parade wasn’t very grand without elephants Also, this production had no trapeze artists and we missed that too. The camel act was unique and different compared to the usual horse act. My husband enjoyed the dog act the most.

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Jam to a Scottish jig as a group of royal contenders from the latest Disney•Pixar film, Brave, competes to win the heart of headstrong, sharp-shooting Merida, making her ice debut! Experience a show-stopping performance as Sebastian breaks out of his shell for one night only to take waves with Ariel.  A chorus of harmless hooligans from Tangled unleashes musical mayhem when they get a visit from the  sassy and spirited Rapunzel and her charming ally Flynn.  And, get your feet moving as the Beast and his castle’s enchanted entourage take center stage in a spectacular show for Belle. It will be a rockin’ remix of royalty when Disney On Ice brings this superstar line-up to Tampa.

Tickets are on sale now from the Tampa Bay Times Forum Box Office and readers of The Mom Maven can save $5.00 on select performances by using code MOMD13 when ordering. Offer not valid on Rinkside Dining or VIP seats. No double discounts. Not valid day of show. Not valid for Sat. 3pm or Sun. 1pm performances. Make sure you are subscribed to The Mom Maven because you don’t want to miss my Disney on Ice ticket giveaway coming up in a few weeks!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I am receiving 4 tickets to see Disney on Ice Presents Rockin’ Ever After. All opinions are 100% mine.

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The show started with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and the dancers performing an up beat “Rock the Mouse” opening number. Adults and children alike were up out of their seats dancing along with the performers. Since the theme of the show is Mickey’s Music Festival the characters shared how lots of things can make music, like an old jug, a saw and other household items.

The Aladdin section was next and began with Mickey rubbing a magic lamp. of course, Genie appeared and later Aladdin and Jasmine joined him. Jasmine and Aladdin even floated around the stage on a magic carpet while they performed “A Whole New World.

Mickey and the gang returned with some congas and a shell and played a shell game as they introduced Sebastian and the Little Mermaid section of the show. Before intermission this section was focused of Sebastian and Flounder, Ariel made her appearance after the intermission as did Prince Eric.Toy Story was the next movie to be featured and this included the Green Army Men, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie and Bullseye!

The music and dancing in the entire show was great. There were a lot of quick changes for the cast of 25 to keep up with. When I asked Matthew what was his favorite part of the show he answered, “All of it.” There was truly something for everyone, boys, girls, young old-everyone enjoys some Disney magic and it is nice that it tours the country bringing the magic to people who need it.

Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival is traveling to Alabama, Illinois, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Florida this spring. Visit Disney Live! for dates and locations.

Disclosure: I received 4 tickets to the show in exchange for hosting the giveaway and writing the review. All opinions are 100% mine.

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The Show

Mickey Mouse and friends rock the world with the stars from The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story in their new touring show Disney Live!  Mickey’s Music Festival.  Disney hits are remixed to the hottest sounds of today featuring hip hop, pop, swing, reggae, rock, country and much more!  The irresistible lineup of performers, including Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy; Ariel, Sebastian and Ursula; Jasmine, Aladdin and Genie; and Woody, Buzz and Jessie; are among the more than 25 Disney stars featured in this jam session fit for the entire family!  You can’t resist dancing, singing, playing your air-guitar and laughing with this band of characters!  Come join them at Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival for a lively concert experience guaranteed to deliver enough rockin’ memories to last a lifetime.

The Discount

If you want to guarantee your seats, order them now from the Forum box office use code DLTPA to get $3.00 off tickets for either performance-offer not valid on Front Row or VIP Floor Seat tickets.

The Giveaway

The giveaway is for four tickets to the March 2nd 5:30pm performance of Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. The winner must be able to attend that show. The winner will pick up the tickets at Will Call at the Forum the day of the show. The giveaway ends at 12:01am on 2/14/13. The winner will be notified via email and have 48 hours to claim their prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I am receiving 4 tickets to see Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival in exchange for hosting this giveaway and writing a review. This giveaway is sponsored by Feld Entertainment. All opinions are 100% mine.

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The two legendary Nuclear Cowboyz FMX tribes, the Soldiers of HavocSM and Metal Mulisha®, return for an action-packed event that takes place in the war-torn city of Los Angeles during the year 2150. The tale unfolds as the two tribes’ survival is threatened and besieged by an evil force, The Tempest and her electrifying acrobatic Cyborg Army. Cast into the heart-pounding ferocity and frenzied excitement are the alluring Nuclear Cowgirlz® dancers, whose allegiance to their tribes only intensifies the Tempest’s rage to destroy the Nuclear Cowboyz. The Soldiers of Havoc and Metal Mulisha’s battle is fought through fearless, gravity-defying freestyle tricks.

My family will be attending the February 15th show and I’ll have a review up for you on the 16th. I’m giving away a 4 pack of tickets for the 1:00pm show on the 17th! In case you’re not familiar with the Nuclear Cowboyz, check out this video.

We are so excited to see this show and I’m sure you are too so make sure you enter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I am receiving 4 tickets to the show for hosting this giveaway, courtesy of Feld Entertainment. All opinions are 100% mine.

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Last week my family had the opportunity to experience Built to Amaze! The newest show by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. I have a fond connection to the circus because I lived in Venice, FL from 1980-1991. Venice was the winter home to The Greatest Show on Earth from 1962-1992. It was always a big deal when the circus came to town and paraded from the train depot to the circus grounds.

Due to traffic and bad weather we didn’t arrive in Tampa in time to take part in the All-Access Pre-show this year We had great seats for the exciting show though. This was Summer’s first trip to see the circus and she told us she was petrified of clowns! We let her sit in the center of the row so that the clowns wandering the Tampa Bay Times Forum before the show started couldn’t get near her! Luckily for Summer, this show isn’t as clown-centric as some of the other shows I’ve seen so she was able to relax and enjoy the show.

My favorite animal act in the circus is the tiger act. I told Summer I wanted to climb in the ring with them and hug them, she said I was insane. There were four animal acts in this show: horses, poodles, tigers and elephants. Usually I don’t care for the dog act but this time the poodles were my 2nd favorite and the family agreed, best dog act ever!

Finally we have first-time ringmaster and circus veteran Andre McClain and the acrobatic acts. Duo Fusion was amazing with their feats of strength and balance. The Negrey Troupe powerfully tumbled across the stage. The Tower Tumblers trampoline act was an energetic way to open the second act. Top all of this off with The King Charles Troupe of unicycle riding basketball players and you have the makings of an exciting family night at the circus!

We had a great night at the circus and I’m sure you will too! Built to Amaze! is coming to the following cities this year:

Orlando, Florida
January 10, 2013 – January 13, 2013
Jacksonville, Florida
January 17, 2013 – January 21, 2013
Birmingham, Alabama
January 24, 2013 – January 27, 2013
Greenville, South Carolina
January 30, 2013 – February 03, 2013
Greensboro, North Carolina
February 06, 2013 – February 10, 2013
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
February 13, 2013 – February 17, 2013
Richmond, Virginia
February 20, 2013 – February 24, 2013
Newark, New Jersey
February 27, 2013 – March 03, 2013
East Rutherford, New Jersey
March 06, 2013 – March 10, 2013
Uniondale, New York
March 13, 2013 – March 17, 2013
Brooklyn, New York
March 20, 2013 – April 01, 2013
Youngstown, Ohio
April 05, 2013 – April 07, 2013
Norfolk, Virginia
April 11, 2013 – April 14, 2013
Hampton, Virginia
April 17, 2013 – April 21, 2013
Louisville, Kentucky
April 25, 2013 – April 28, 2013
Hershey, Pennsylvania
May 22, 2013 – May 27, 2013
Omaha, Nebraska
May 31, 2013 – June 02, 2013
Las Vegas, Nevada
June 13, 2013 – June 16, 2013
Cleveland, Ohio
October 23, 2013 – October 27, 2013
Toledo, Ohio
November 01, 2013 – November 03, 2013
Chicago, Illinois
November 20, 2013 – December 01, 2013

You can buy your circus tickets right on the Ringling.com site so head on over there right now.

Disclosure: We attended the circus as guests of Feld Entertainment for the purpose of this post. All opinions are 100% mine.

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We arrived earlier than necessary and were quickly able to retrieve our tickets from the will call window. Since it was a comfortable Florida Sunday afternoon we found a table to sit at outside the Forum while we waited for the doors to open for the 5:30pm show.

At about 4:45pm we entered the Forum and found our seats. They use less than 1/4 of the Forum space for the show which made the setting feel more intimate. M was excited for the show to start and he waited very patiently for a 4 year old.

As the show began there was an announcement that no photos or video could be taken. This was different than what we had been told when we went through the bag check at security-they said no video or flash photography. I decided to take my cue from the masses and took some photos without flash…until I heard a security person speak to people behind me about putting their camera away I do think the man in front of me video taped the entire show without getting caught!

The show was delightful and entertaining and kept the interest of everyone present. Mickey and Minnie were joined by Goofy, Donald Duck, 2 magicians, the Mad Hatter, Alice, the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, Cinderella, Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming, Belle, Gaston, Snow White, the Evil Queen and Jasmine so there was something for every Disney fan to enjoy. There were musical numbers, magic tricks and some audience participation to round out this fun family show. I asked M what is favorite part was and he said: “Snow White, then the magic carpet (in the Aladdin scene), the cannon ball trick and then Jasmine floating in the air.”

If you are needing a Disney fix, or just want a fun family afternoon, I recommend a visit to Mickey’s Magic Show when it comes to a town near you!

The post Mickey’s Magic Show-Review appeared first on The Mom Maven.

If you live in the Tampa Bay area, don’t forget to enter my giveaway for 4 ticket vouchers to see the circus at the St Pete Times Forum,

Disclosure: We were guests of Feld Entertainment and received 4 tickets to attend the show. All opinions are 100% mine.

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I LOVE the circus! As a young child we would travel to Boston to see The Greatest Show on Earth at Boston Garden. Then when I was in high school we moved to Venice, Florida-which just happened to be the winter quarters for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey at the time. We would get to see the circus parade from the train yard to the circus grounds. It was exciting to see all the animals going across the bridge! My high school graduation was even held in the circus arena (though on a hot, Florida June evening we called it the elephant palace…hee hee). In college I volunteered for the circus-I would usher several shows a year so that I could see the circus for free! I even babysat for the clown’s kids when the clown college held a reunion in Venice!

When I was invited to a media preview of the new production of Fully Charged at the circus’ current winter quarters in Tampa, I was excited. Fully Charged is the 141st edition of The Greatest Show on Earth! Ringling Bros. will power up audiences  with acts from all over the globe featuring breathtaking dare-devilry, superhuman stunts and never-seen-before performances that spark the imaginations of Children of All Ages! Clowns from the world-famous clown alley charge audience members’ funny bones, while megawatts of thrills explode out of the ring including The Human Fuse, Brian Miser, who sets the arena sky ablaze as he rockets through the air from his self-made human crossbow. Don’t blink as he flashes across the sky in less than a second , and travels 110 feet at 65 miles per hour. And of course, amazing animals spark the audience’s awe and wonder. Fully Charged also introduces us to the 36th Ringmaster for The Greatest Show on Earth, Brian Crawford Scott. Brian has a background in musical theater and is very excited to run away with the circus!

Feld Entertainment has produced The Greatest Show on Earth for many, many years now. I was excited to learn that Fully Charged is the second time sisters Nicole and Alana Feld were co-producing The Greatest Show on Earth, making this the 2nd time in the show’s history that it has had 2 women producers. Nicole and Alana are 3rd generation producers who have literally grown up around the circus and have even performed in it! Prior to producing The Greatest Show on Earth they have produced other entities for Feld Entertainment like Disney Live! and Disney On Ice.

Fully Charged kicks off its tour in Tampa January 5-9, 2011 and then heads north to Orlando and Jacksonville before leaving Florida for Alabama, the Carolinas, Pennsylvaina, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Ohio. Circus tickets make great gifts too! You can order yours from Ringling.com. You can also “like” Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus on Facebook to get the latest news.

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