ice skating Archives - City Dads Group

Winter Break Activities for NYC Kids You and They Will Love

Kevin McKeever — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 13:31:09 +0000

With the holiday season upon us and winter break from school near, we asked a few of our dads for suggestions on what to do with their children in and around NYC during this time of the year. Here are some of their suggestions, and if you want more check out our summary of fun winter activities for kids.

MTA Holiday Nostalgia Rides

The MTA is continuing its annual tradition of Holiday Nostalgia Rides on vintage trains. Having grown up in the city, I always think this means the cars will be covered in graffiti and I’ll be mugged by a guy named Fleabag Jimmy, but no! Vintage subway cars from the 1930s will roll out along the A, C, D and F lines on Sunday afternoons during the holidays. My 5-year-old daughter loves going on these cars at the Transit Museum and it’ll be great for her to see them in action as we schlep around the city doing our Christmas shopping. Rumor has it that the MTA’s infrastructure is also from the 1930s, but you already knew that.

— Peter Duffy

Skating and window shopping

We love to ice skate during this time of year and are fortunate to be near so many thrilling ice rinks in NYC. Our favorite is Wollman Rink in the middle of Central Park with its expansive ice rink, sweet skyline views, and warm hot chocolate when you’re ready for a break. We also love Bryant Park’s Ice Skating Rink because of its convenient location and if you own your own skates, it’s free admission. Plus, the surrounding Winter Village is fun to walk around before or after our family skate.

Another favorite winter break tradition is doing a Department Store Window Walking Tour. First, we get large cups of hot chocolate. Then, we stroll from Barneys to Bergdorf Goodman to Saks. Saks has an amazing and free light show on their building that’s entertaining for the kids. It’s also right next to the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree so that’s a mandatory stop on our tour as well. This year we plan to make a pit stop in FAO Schwartz now that our favorite toy store has reopened in a new location at Rock Center.

— Lance Somerfeld

Photo: Larry Interrante

Gingerbread Lane

Every year during the holiday season, we go to the New York Hall of Science to see Gingerbread Lane. It is the biggest collection of gingerbread houses. Sometimes you can even meet the baker who created all of these gingerbread houses and have a talk with him.

— Larry Interrante

Other suggestions:

The annual Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx
Winter ONEderland at One World Observatory
Radio City Christmas Spectacular

Disney on Ice Puts ‘Frozen’ in Spotlight of this New Skating Show

Lance Somerfeld — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 22:26:00 +0000

The entire world has seen the uber-popular Disney film, Frozen. At least a dozen times. And relished in every moment of it. Not surprising, Disney found an intelligent way to capitalize on the excitement and momentum to bring us their latest creation, Disney on Ice: FROZEN presented by yoKids.

By now, our children have seen the commercials or billboards for the Disney on Ice Show and told their parents that “they have to see it.” Parents are faced with a simple question. Is Disney on Ice: Frozen worth the money?

I’m here to provide you with three reasons why Disney On Ice: Frozen is worth your investment of time and money … and one reason why it’s not.

**1. Disney on Ice: Frozen story exactly the same as the movie.**

My son had seen the film at least a half-dozen times and was familiar with the story and all of its songs. So were my wife and I. After all, that’s what made us fall in love with the movie. The question lurked in our minds. How would the show be similar or different than the movie? Spoiler alert: It’s exactly the same!

**2. Disney on Ice is as good as a Broadway Show.**

The story is exactly the same as the movie, but this was a LIVE performance and it was done beautifully. Our family felt transported to the magical land of Arendelle! It was literally snowing in the Barclay’s arena, as we sat mesmerized by the skating wizardry, wonderful costumes, and special effects.

And finally, there’s the award-winning music that captivated us. Watching 16,000 parents and children dancing at their seats and singing “Let It Go” and “Do You Want To Build a Snowman” (completely out of tune) was absolutely amusing. We sang, we danced, and were inspired all over again like the first time our family watched the movie.

3. Building family memories.

Growing up, my parents used to immerse me in culture — taking me to museums, Broadway shows, and Walt Disney’s World on Ice. My wife and I love watching the world through our son’s eyes and sharing things with him that we loved during our childhood. We’re fortunate to live in New York City, a place that offers an endless range of cultural opportunities. Disney on Ice: Frozen is the third Disney on Ice show we’ve had the pleasure of seeing together. It’s become an annual family tradition for us to attend each year. This performance gave us the opportunity to turn-off real life, tap into our inner child, and have a family experience that we’ll be talking about for a long time. Basically, finding our DisneySide. Don’t we deserve that sometimes?

Bottom line: Disney on Ice: Frozen is the best of their ice shows we’ve ever seen and definitely worth seeing it. Even to see all of the children in the audience (and some parents) wearing Anna, Elsa, and Olaf costumes.

… and one thing that was disappointing to me …

The concessions were overpriced.

Like me, most parents taking their children to Disney on Ice plan to spoil their children for a few hours — shelling out money for tickets for the entire family, transportation and parking fees, food concessions, and toy trinkets. Disney delivered big-time with a magical experience on the ice, but I was disappointed with the sting on my wallet as I hit the concession stands.

Before we arrived, we promised our son popcorn, cotton candy, and ice cream. It’s fair to say that it was a more expensive promise than we anticipated. Be warned: Popcorn in a Disney Pouch: $12 (ask for the box of popcorn which is less expensive), cotton candy with cute Olaf mask: $13, and Olaf snow-cones: $16 (we persuaded our son to go with Barclay’s Center ice cream which was $7).

**Disclosure Note: NYC Dads Group received complimentary tickets to see Disney on Ice presents Frozen. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and have not been influenced by receiving the tickets.

Disney on Ice: Rockin’ Ever After

Adam Gertsacov — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 23:14:00 +0000

Saw Disney on Ice: Rockin’ Ever After at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn last night with my wife and son. It’s there through December 2.

The show was great! The costumes and the lighting were positively awesome. The skating was great, and the characters were the characters. Our family loved the show, and afterwards my wife said that it made her want to go to Disney World again, because of the smile on my son’s face (we went once when he was 2.5. He’s 4 now)

The premise of the show is that it’s a talent show, and that characters come to compete. Mickey and Minny host the show, along with some help from Goofy and Donald. The premise is abandoned about halfway through (and nobody wins the contest)- but it doesn’t really matter. It’s just an excuse to put a bunch of different Disney characters on the stage, and it works just fine.

There are 4 main parts to Disney on Ice: Rockin’ Ever After, each telling the basic story of a different Disney property– Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Brave. And the skating was fantastic– many of the skaters were Olympians. I think my favorite costume was the horse from Tangled– they did a great job, two guys (or maybe girls) dressed up as a horse and skating!

Interestingly, they use a curtain at one side of the auditorium which really helps set the scene. It creates a proscenium or 3/4 stage, and that really helps with the theatricality of the show. They may lose that side of ticket sales from it, but they gained an overall better show.

Prior to the show, Bruce Ratner (developer of the Barclays Center), producers Kenneth Feld and his two daughters Juliette and Nicole, and Borough president Marti Markowitz all spoke. This was the first Disney on Ice (and indeed first Ice event) at Barclays, and they promised many more to come. Also, the Feld’s gave out over 10,000 free tickets to people affected by Hurricane Sandy. Great move, both from a humanitarian perspective, and a marketing perspective. Build the love!

The Felds are a family business, and this was a great family show. My son was intent and focused on the whole show over 2.5 hours past his bedtime, and this morning he woke up and insisted on dressing up like Merida from Brave with ice skates. (and yes, he has the Merida dress and the bow and arrow!)

A couple of things to note for parents: The Barclays Center has very strict security checks. They wand everybody, so it takes time to get through the center. Also, they are very strict about outside food. We had to throw away a water bottle and a couple of snack items. They will check, so be careful. Hopefully they will loosen that rigidity somewhat.

Also, a skating show like Disney on Ice: Rockin’ Ever After is an EXPENSIVE FLASHY TOY AREA. You know, the kind that cost $24 for something that costs $1.00 at the dollar store. Do yourself a favor and bring your own flashing toy. As far as I know, the Barclays Center doesn’t have a policy against that. (At least, not yet.)