Sunday, January 19, 2025
Welcome the New Year in true Disney style. The latest Disney ice extravaganza arrives at UBS Arena in Elmont ready to enchant families once again. This time around the spotlight is on two of the newest tales — beloved by Disneyphiles in the Disney canon: “Frozen” and “Encanto.” Audiences can share in the special joy of these captivating adventures when Disney On Ice glides into UBS Arena, now through Jan. 12.
Families will be transported into two of Disney’s most popular films as the world of Anna, Elsa, Mirabel, and the Madrigal family unfolds up close. These adored characters are, of course, joined by Mickey and his crew. Along with Minnie, Donald and Goofy, audiences will sing-along to everyone’s favorite songs interpreted through world-class skating, aerial acrobatics and dynamic special effects.
As always, the atmosphere is electric from the get-go. From the opening segment with Mickey and the gang, we quickly arrive in Arendelle to the delight of all the “Annas” and “Elsas” in the audience. Olaf, the lovable snowman who likes warm hugs and all things summer, narrates the story everyone knows so well. Artful skating (what could be more fitting?) transports families to the snowy kingdom to be a part of Anna’s adventure to find Elsa, whose icy powers unleashed an eternal winter. Kristoff and Sven take audiences along as they encounter wintry conditions in a race to bring back summer.
Elsa’s solo segment skated to “Let It Go” is among the highlights of the show’s first half. “It’s a big moment,” says Rebekah Johnson, who — off ice at this point — is exhilarated by the audience response.
At age 19, Johnson is experiencing the Disney magic for the first time as a performer. She joined the cast in September as an ensemble skater and couldn’t be happier.
Skating since she was two-years-old, the St. Paul, Minn.-based Johnson says “I always knew I was meant to be a show skater.”
Like her many castmates, she’s embraced Disney from a young age.
“I’ve always loved the princesses and ‘Frozen’,” she enthuses.
“I’ve dreamed about skating for Disney for so long.”
From her first Disney On Ice experience as a young child to revisiting the spectacle as a teenager more recently, she knew this was where she belonged.
“When I saw the show again, I thought ‘this is so cool.’ I still dreamed about being a princess.”
While Johnson is not quite there yet, she’s relishing every moment as the youngest member of the cast and every moment on ice.
“I’ve wanted to skate for Disney for so long,” she continues. “It’s all very surreal, but it’s real!”
After a very Frozen adventure, the show’s second half takes everyone to a vibrant town in the mountains of Colombia where we meet the Madrigals, that extraordinary family who live in a magical casita in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. Mirabel tells the tale of her amazing family and her journey to save the casita — her enchanted family home — alongside her sisters: Isabela, whose perfection radiates with her ability to make plants grow and flowers bloom with every step, and Luisa, with the gift of super strength that she uses to help her village move buildings and reroute rivers.
For the first time live, everyone can witness Tia Pepa, who can control the weather with her emotions; her husband Felix; their daughter Dolores, with her gift to hear; and Bruno, the mysterious and misunderstood Madrigal family member whose visions foretold the future.
“I’m especially partial to ‘Encanto,” Johnson says. “It’s so upbeat, high energy, that everyone [in the audience] gets so exited.”
And, of course, We Don’t Talk About Bruno.
Here audiences especially respond to the aerial segment, which showcases the skaters’ acrobatic skills above the ice, along with plenty of ice dancing.
“It looks magical,” Johnson says.
And that’s the timeless Disney mantra: “Anything can happen if you just believe.”
In the end, audiences leave with the understanding that everyone has their own gifts, magical or not, and being true to yourself and loving those around you is what makes you special.
Or as Johnson puts it: “Magic is inside all of us.”
At the end, special appearance from Mulan and Li Shang, Belle and Prince Adam, Ariel and Eric, Aladdin and Jasmine, Miguel from Coco, and Moana celebrate that iconic Disney “magic” in a rousing finale.
