Behind the scenes of Disney on Ice – secrets to the show from props to training and wardrobe
At a very young age I loved Disney , a fact that hasn’t changed much as I’ve got older – after all Walt Disney himself said “adults are only kids grown up”.
You’re never too old for a bit of the Disney magic, so when we were asked if we wanted to head to Tampa to visit Feld Entertainment’s HQ, aka the home of Disney on Ice , it was a no-brainer.
The headquarters is a large warehouse style space, allowing ice rinks to be put in for training as well as leaving room for shows to run at the same time if needed.
Though when we arrive the crew and skaters are right in the middle of preparing for the new Disney on Ice show that’s heading to the UK.
There are nine shows touring at any given time in the USA and internationally.
Training for months
With a show as big and spectacular as Disney on Ice you’d expect there to be months of preparation and you’d be right. Everything is taken care to the tiniest detail; from training the skaters to learn the routines, to preparing the props to making the wardrobe.
To put together a new show the team starts in pre-production, months and months before the skaters or the crew even arrive.
The choreographer and director come together and decide how they want the show to look, what stories they want in it and from there they start layering on the different technical aspects until we finally get to see the finished product.
Performance director Shelley Bindon’s job is to make sure the show “stays the way it’s meant to be” – that’s from the movements to how skaters portray the characters, keeping the line (all skating in sync basically) and making sure they’re in time to the music.
She assures us she still has time to enjoy the show though.
“I still laugh and get teary eyed watching but I try and maintain the integrity of the show as well,” she says.
What makes a Disney Princess
Another person who is keenly watching the skaters is Judy Thomas, Casting Director for Disney on Ice, who admits she always has an eye out for new talent.
“I’ll see someone skate and think ‘they’d make a perfect Elsa’ or ‘he looks like an Aladdin,” she says.
Before you get your hopes up and think you’ll be spotted one day, there are a few things Judy is looking for – one being “the Disney magic, that special something”, a good technical skill as the routines are demanding and the acting chops to play the most loved characters.
It’s no surprise there’s such attention to getting the right skaters, when there’s also the same commitment to the backstage prep.
The backstage crew is made up of about 14 people, all working together on lighting, the music, the backdrop, the sets and the props that bring the show to life – it’s a big operation.
Behind the scenes – the props that make the show
Electrician Lorelei Owens tells us that the “loading process” takes about two days.
The first day involves unloading the trucks, or if it’s an international show, the containers.
All the rigging points are put in place and the set is built, before its lifted off the ice so the team can come in the next day and hang the lights, curtains and build the set pieces and backstage props so everything is ‘show ready’.
“The team works closely with the Disney theatrical group and filmmakers to make sure all the props are as authentic as possible,” Lorelei adds.
The crew are then responsible for maintaining the props throughout the show.
Up close the props are even more impressive.
Pride Rock is one of the first things you see in some shows, it’s one of the biggest props standing at 15ft tall – it takes three to four people to move it onto the ice.
All that effort is worth it when you see Rafiki poised on top, the Savanna below him as he sings to the audience as the sun goes down.
There’s a lot of thought that goes into each and every part of that scene. It’s understandable, as it has to be instantly recognisable when it appears on the ice.
Genie’s lamp from Aladdin is another example, with its golden hues the team has used different paints and textures to get the exact look in the movie.
More than 100 paints and textures are used on all the props you see.
It’s so important as the props transport you to the world – in this case film – that they want you to see, whether that’s the flames warming Anna or the fountain she sits by or the coral reef for Little Mermaid.
Mastering the quick change and make-up
The skaters are just as committed to creating the magic.
Erika Gagne, one of the skaters with Disney on Ice, tells us how they all “help each other, like a family”.
They also all learn tricks and ways to quickly change and get ready. Erika can do her own make-up in mere minutes – a skill any woman struggling on the train to work would envy.
“You learn ways to put it on fast,” she says. “There’s a certain look too. You want to accentuate you features, like your eyes and mouth, so I use dark make-up creating a wide eye and lipstick so the audience no matter where they are can see it when you’re skating.”
The skaters also get used to making lightning quick changes.
“The wardrobe department really helps,” Erika adds. “There’s the fishnet tights holding it all in and your bottom layer, so you just need to switch the costumes quickly. You really master the quick costume change!”
It’s thanks to the speedy changes, and the skaters skills, that the audience’s attention is never really draw away by the switches and changes – whether that’s wardrobe or props – but that’s part of the magic.
All the work that goes in before a show is to make sure fans see a seamless show full of the Disney magic. With such skill and love going into a show everyone, parents and children, can appreciate Disney on Ice.
As Lorelei said when she showed us the props “the [Disney] magic is for your inner child – or your child now.”