NO matter how old you are, there is something about Disney that brings out the magic of childhood.

Imagine then 65 favourite Disney characters on an ice rink set against the backdrop of a magical castle, and the result is one that will take your breath away.

Hundreds of children excitedly arrived at Manchester’s Phones 4u Arena dressed as their favourite fancy dress costumes, as Disney On Ice returned to the city to celebrate a 100 years of magic.

The show features 18 classic stories mixed in with spectacular costumes, impressive props and extremely talented skaters.

The show is introduced by the king and queen of Disney, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, followed shortly by Goofy who got the first laughs of the show by falling across the ice.

Next up were Aladdin and his monkey friend Abu who discover a magic lamp. Cue the arrival of the genie that wowed the audience with an impressive back flip across the stage.

But it was the introduction of 16 synchronised dancing genies that was a visual delight and brought about a rapturous applause.

We were then taking under the sea to the world of Nemo and his friends. A cry of terror rose from my three year-old when an oversized Bruce the shark went into a frenzied attack on Marlin the clown fish.

But fear not, her cries soon turned into delight as Belle took to the stage and danced with the not quite as terrifying beast.

An interesting twist to the show came with a scene depicting the famous Disneyland ride ‘It’s a Small World’. As Mickey Mouse rose up across the arena in an illuminated hot air balloon, life-sized dolls danced below in glittering costumes leaving the audience with dropped jaws.

One my highlights was a well choreographed fight scene from Mulan complete with falling snow and a colourful Chinese dragon. Despite not knowing much of the film I was transfixed by it, as were the rest of the audience.

While scenes from The Lion King and Disney Pixar’s Toy Story were huge hits with adults and children alike, and got the arena singing along.

The finale saw fireworks explode while all the characters took to the stage for the grand parade as children waved and cheered fanatically.

It was clear to see from the looks on my children’s faces that the show was real hit. With all the magic of Disney brought to life in this glittering spectacle it’s not hard to see why.

The show runs until Sunday October 19.