Making 'magic' in Disney on Ice

Disney on Ice is no exception, either; keep up with times or the crowds will stop coming.

American-based Feld Entertainment acquired the licence to produce and present Disney-themed ice shows in 1981, and has been including Australia on its world tours since 1986 when it landed in Perth with a show celebrating Donald Duck's 50^th birthday.

The company is currently touring in Australia with the Road Trip Adventures show under the Disney on Ice umbrella. The show is in Melbourne July 4-8, Newcastle July 11-14, and Sydney July 17-21.

"We work for our audience, all of us. And they have expectations," says Jonathan Vaught, Feld's senior vice president, for production and touring show operations.

"We are constantly evaluating the content in our Disney on Ice shows. The one travelling through Australia is certainly no exception. Every time something new comes up from the Walt Disney company - and our partners there are great - we see things in advance and learn of things in advance, and have great conversations and collaborate very closely with them on what the ahead looks like and how relevant it may be for us.

"And try to make sure the content is appealing to our audience, and appealing to a broad range

"When you're producing family entertainment the idea is not to just entertain the kids, one segment of the family. The goal is to entertain the entire family. You have to be constantly looking at what you're doing and how you're doing it, and adapting with expectations."

The new touring show includes sequences incorporating Mary Poppins (it's been 60 years since the movie was released), The Incredibles, Moana, Frozen, Lion King, Toy Story, Aladdin and Disney princesses.

And it also includes BMX bikes riding on the ice - probably a world first, and aerial stunts by performers.

"We're always looking at how we are presenting these properties," Vaught says. "We don't add technology just for the sake of saying, 'oh look, we're high tech.' We add it because it can help us tell stories more effectively.

"Or same thing with different types of performance. You mentioned the BMX bikes, but we also have different aerial apparatus that used in the show, and it's all so we can find new and better ways to bring these characters to life and bring entertainment and fill an arena space with performers and with the Disney Magic."

Feld Entertainment, with a sprawling production facility in Florida, also produces and tours Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey, Monster Jam, Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and the SuperMotocross World Championship.

Vaught says audience engagement is another vital aspect of the Disney on Ice show, which comes as no surprise in this age of experiential tourism and entertainment.

"We've always felt and believed that engaging the audience is an important element, beyond being a passive experience where you sit and watch purely," he says. "And now, it's interesting too, going to a live event is an experience in itself and it's something families do together, and remember for years. That's what we do."

Of course, the fans do a lot of the work themselves. Disney on Ice tours the world, and the appeal of its characters and songs is universal.

Disney skater Jessinta Martin from Adelaide (who plays Little Bo Peep from Toy Story in the show) noted in a recent interview her surprise that not only Australian audiences, but Indonesian audiences were singing along to every song in the show.

"I don't know what it is, but in the last decade or so, it has become more and more common for kids to just want to sing along - and their parents. And it's great," Vaught says. "It's so rewarding for performers, cast and crew, because it means its working. And the magic is in the air.

"It's not just one [song[. You might expect all the kids would know Let It Go, from Frozen. But you know, it's songs from the Lion King, you start Hakuna Matata and everybody's in it. Same thing with Moana, and again, all these kids have their personal favourite characters, but they are in it to win it from all of them.

Vaught also points out it's not just the kids who know the lyrics.

"The mums of the current kids grew up with the classic stories, like Lion King. Mums and dads grew up those stories and those films, so they know the words, too, and the kids are watching them now," he says.