by Mina Frannea
When I told my twins that we would be attending Disney Live’s Three Classic Fairy Tales, I got mixed reviews. My 8-year-old daughter’s face slowly grew into the biggest smile ever and my 8-year-old son was…err…let’s just say that he was a little less excited until I told him that it wouldn’t just be about Disney Princesses. That the seven dwarfs from Snow White would be in the show as would the Beast from Beauty and the Beast.
I was starting to get his attention, but it wasn’t until I mentioned Goofy that my son started to get more excited–he’s loved Goofy ever since our family trip to Disney World a few years ago! The first
thing I noticed when we got to the Allen Event Center, the show’s venue, were the many little girls dressed up as princesses–so cute to see their excitement for the show! While we were in line to get in, we met up with some friends of ours who were also attending. Of course, I had to get a photo of their sweet daughter and here’s Princess Ashlyn in all her finery!
After stopping at one of the many concession stands and purchasing a treat for each of our children, we headed to our seats. The stage area had been transformed into a traditional theater stage instead of being an open stage which is what I would normally expect from a show playing in an arena. The stage “box” was framed by an ornate gold border. The whole affect was very nice; however, from where we were sitting, we were not able to see the left third of the stage. I assume that the stage setting will be similar in other cities for this production so be aware that if your seats are toward either side of the stage, your viewing area for this show will likely be limited and you may miss key elements of the performance.
Mickey, Minnie, Goofy (Yay!) and Donald start off the show, getting the audience engaged in their quest to find a magical book hidden in Mickey’s attic. As the four pals curiously turn the pages of this book, they magically bring to life the timeless fairy tale adventures of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. The performance highlights memorable scenes and imagery from each of the three fairy tales and does a great job of telling these stories.
During Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Dwarfs started singing a yodeling song. My son, Jonathan, who was a little hesitant about this show if you recall, started laughing, bobbing his head up and down, and yodeling along! I even heard him say “Awesome!” That’s the magic of Disney for you!
There is a 15 minute intermission during the show which is a nicely timed break. We actually saw a few more friends when the lights came on. Here is Dakota and her mom Patsy. Dakota won tickets to Three Classic Fairy Tales through a PTA contest at our school; tickets were courtesy of Disney Live!
Dakota and her little sister were nice enough to lend their golden crowns (available at the concession stands) to my twins for a photo. And, yes, blue ices were available at the concession stands too as you can see from Jenna’s big, blue smile!
My daughter and I loved Cinderella’s two ball gowns (the pink one that her animal friends made for her and the one supplied by Fairy God Mother); both were dazzling! I was a little confused about Belle’s ball gown and, apparently, so was my daughter when she whispered to me “Why is Belle wearing a white dress?” We realized later that Belle’s ball gown was white and pale yellow, quite a contrast to the traditional golden yellow gown we usually associate with Belle, but pretty nevertheless. Here’s a photo from the end of the show that my husband captured with all three princesses, their princes and Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy.
My children love Disney so our family enjoyed seeing Three Classic Fairy Tales. If you have Disney fans in your household, they will enjoy this show too! For families with very young children, you might prepare them ahead of time for the mirror scene in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The mirror’s big red eyes coupled with spooky music may be a bit scary for little ones. Also, Beauty’s Beast may be somewhat too intense in person for some little ones. The rest of the show, however, will leave you with a sense of the wonderful joy that Disney brings to so many.
Disclosure: Feld Entertainment invited my family to watch this performance of Three Classic Fairy Tales. The above represents my personal opinion.
Images and names in this article are used with permission.
Mina Frannea is a Mom to eight-year-old twins and enjoys writing about life in general, family friendly activities around town, favorite recipes and crafts that keep her children busy and happy. For more posts by Mina, visit her blog at www.themomsjournal.com.
