‘World on Ice’ a Charming Extravaganza

You join a barely moving line of cars into the parking lot, hunt a space, fight the crowd, get your tickets, fight the crowd, battle your way past concession stands selling cotton candy, light swords, stuffed animals and T-shirts, then climb over popcorn boxes, large diaper bags and small children to get to your seat.

You are on your way to see “Walt Disney’s World on Ice, Starring Peter Pan” and you think that maybe you’re getting too old for this.

All around you are eager little faces, saying things like, “Will we get to see the crocodile?” “Where’s Peter Pan?” “Where’s Mickey?” Scrooge-like, you ponder the reasons that Disney’s creations have become an immutable part of the American fabric.

The lights go down. Out onto the ice come Mary Poppins, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse and Chip and Dale. A collective roar of recognition rises from the audience. Then Mickey skates out and the noise escalates. Parents are saying, “Say hi to Mickey! Wave to Mickey!”

Children are yelling, “It’s Mickey Mouse!”

With much fanfare and happy talk, the show is under way. The Disney gang wants to hear the story of “Peter Pan” and suddenly we’re in the Darlings’ nursery where Peter Pan (Jaimee Eggleton, muscular and athletic) is dancing with his shadow and Wendy, John and Michael are learning to fly. (So what if it is on wires?)

Then they’re all soaring over London (it must be London, there’s Big Ben), while hundreds of “stars” spin in the darkness and skaters in black glide below, wearing glittering strings of lights.

The effect is spectacular.

You hear children gasp with delight and your companion, who at the lofty age of 13 was only along as a favor, breathes in your ear, “That’s so beautiful.”

From that moment on, you’re hooked. You forget the hype, the inconvenience and even the echoing sound system that periodically renders the taped dialogue indecipherable. All through the arena, parents are telling toddlers what’s happening: “Nana has to leave. She’s sad” . . . “Peter Pan is taking them to Neverland” . . . “Tinker Bell is in the drawer.”

You cheer the high-kicking pirate chorus line and all the leaps, spins, double axels, lifts, spirals and what-nots, chuckle at the plump, grinning, tail-wagging crocodile and smile at a mother-and-son exchange behind you: “Captain Hook didn’t say hi to me.” “Yes, he did. He waved at you, didn’t you see him?”

You applaud the gracefulness of Christel Bailey as Wendy and Carla Ericson as Tiger Lily and the dramatic, romantic pas de deux performed by Penny Booth and Michael Nemec.

You admire more and more Christopher Shrimpling’s expert clowning as Mr. Smee and Michael B. Dolan’s villainous Captain Hook.

The 25-minute intermission saps a little enthusiasm, but it doesn’t take long to recover. With an eye-opening finale and the return of Mickey, it’s over, and you realize this unabashedly commercial extravaganza was not only charming and comic, but boasted some pretty fine skating as well.