Despite whatever misgivings I may have about the Disney princesses, one thing is clear — for now, my 3-year-old daughter loves them. Thankfully, her love seems to be tempered some.

Exhibit A: When I told her we would be seeing all of the princesses at Disney on Ice, I told her she could wear any dress she liked — even her frilly, pink, tulle-fringed princesses dress my aunts bought her. Instead, she opted for her multi-colored seashell dress because she said it was “fancier.” Good girl.

But that didn’t stop her non-stop joy and excitement over the event, which is also a good thing.

We braved the stormy weather night on Friday and headed over to the gorgeous new Amway Center for Disney on Ice presents Dare to Dream. As you may recall, I was given four tickets to give away here on the blog. In exchange, I also received four complimentary tickets for the opening night performance.

It was the perfect excuse for E. to finally meet Michelle‘s daughter L. It was love at first bite:

Mmmm, $12 snowcones in commemorative Rapunzel cups. I kid you not, though — E has used that cup for every meal since then.

After forcing the girls to pound their snowcone (E. even got her first ever ice headache. She was so confused by it … and then thought it was hilarious), it was time to grab our seats for the big show! Can you feel the excitement?

Note to self: putting your rear-end in the foreground of a photo is NEVER a good idea. Lesson learned. Oh, the things I’ll do for a group shot.

Some VICs (Very Important Characters) got the show kicked off.

Dare to Dream features three acts. The story began in New Orleans with characters from what may be my favorite Disney movie — “Princess and the Frog.” E. went through a HUGE PatF phase last year, so our family pretty much has the entire thing memorized. Thankfully it has the greatest soundtrack of any kids’ movie — ever.

And it translated perfectly to the ice. From Tiana and Charlotte to Tiana and Naveen as frogs, all of the costumes were amazing. And then there was this scene.

I think Mama Odie is my favorite character anyway, so I knew I was going to love it when I saw her hit the ice. And it didn’t disappoint. The flamingos were beautiful and I have no idea how Louis the gator managed to stay on his skates. That’s impressive skating!

After “Princess and the Frog,” act 2 focused on Cinderella. Considering I don’t love the movie, I was surprised by how enjoyable I found this section. E. and L. LOVED it. Between the giant skating mice and the clown-like stepsisters, it was very entertaining. To be honest, Cinderella and Prince Charming are the background characters to the real stars. I didn’t take any pictures of Cinderella because my hands were a bit full during this act.

For some reason, both girls insisted on sitting on my lap through a huge chunk of the show. Don’t tell Michelle, but I loved it! L. feels so light compared to E. and she’s still such an adorable snuggle bunny. Can I keep her, just for a little while?

After stretching our legs at intermission (read: giving them a chance to run off that snowcone and allowing them to pick out their prizes for the night — E. chose a Cinderella pen. I got off cheap!) it was time for the final act — Tangled.

And they pulled out all the stops for the newest (and from what I hear, the final) princess. Not only did Rapunzel have to ice skate with some extremely long hair, she also got to soar above the ice on silks, Cirque du Soleil style.

Sorry the picture is so crappy but it was really cool. First Rapunzel flew through the air, then she picked Flynn Rider up and they both got to zip around. And look how adorable she is.

But the most impressive part of the show might have been Maximus, the hilarious horse from “Tangled.” Seriously, how did two people coordinate enough to skate flawlessly for an extended period of time? Amazing. And hysterical.

Several days later, whenever anyone asks E. about the Disney on Ice show, the “silly horse” is always the first thing she mentions.

After they wrapped up the “Tangled” storyline, it was time to officially welcome Rapunzel into the princess club. Yes, there was a coronation.

It’s hard to tell, but the following princesses (and their arm-candy princes) on the ice are: Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Mulan, Aurora, Tiana and Rapunzel (I think I got them all).

Those final couple minutes sent the crowd into a tizzy. E. kept yelling, “Look, Mommy, Belle! Now there’s Snow White! Ahhh, look, it’s Aurora!” Think of all the chicks trying to buy Missoni from Target today. That was E. with the princesses.

At the end, they were spent but very, very happy.

Their faces may not show it, but they were.

All in all, it was a fabulous evening that created a lot of lasting memories for us. The bad? It was pretty long. I think it clocked in at around 2 hours, but that includes an intermission. And people paid a lot of money for those tickets. So I don’t think I’d recommend shortening the length of the show itself, but I do think each of the acts were a bit too long. Each section told the entire stories of Tiana, Cinderella and Rapunzel.

If I was in charge of the princesses, I’d include two to three songs from more movies, rather than focusing so heavily on just those three. For the younger kids, I think each section may have have been a wee bit long. But that’s nitpicking. Overall, it was a spectacular show and I’m very thankful we had the opportunity to attend.

Next time, though, I was to see Tonya Harding as a wicked stepsister and my love Johnny Weir MUST have a role in this elaborate production. You’re welcome for that tip, Disney.

Who is your favorite princess? And do you think you could have skated around in a horse uniform with another person? My mind is still boggled by this.

** Disclosure: As I mentioned above, I was provided four complimentary tickets to this show. And you know the drill — all opinions are mine and E’s alone. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.