D35_20180908_10057_edit.webp

Disney On Ice/Feld Entertainment

Disney On Ice comes to Columbus

Be Our Guest

by

Scene Online

Disney magic is skating into Columbus this weekend with Disney On Ice: Mickey’s Search Party. 

Join Mickey Mouse and his friends as they journey across multiple beloved Disney stories to rescue Tinker Bell from Captain Hook.

As they follow Hook’s treasure map, the characters travel through many vibrant worlds ranging from the mystical Land of the Dead from Coco to the wintry world of Arendelle from Frozen.

Along the way, you’ll see fan-favorite characters including Miguel from Coco, Elsa and Olaf from Frozen, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Woody and Jessie from Toy Story, Ariel from the Little Mermaid, plus Moana, Aladdin and others.

Blending world-class skating, acrobatics, technology and stunts, the show creates an immersive adventure for all ages.

Disney On Ice: Mickey’s Search Party will be at Nationwide Arena Feb. 19-22. Click here for ticket information.

An inside perspective

Allison Merges has been with Disney On Ice for nine years and has been a part of four different shows. 

Merges first discovered her love of skating when she was just seven years old. 

Growing up in Salt Lake City, she had always been surrounded by snow and ice. Merges was a big skier, however, after a bad crash, she found her love for skating instead – something she thought combined her two interests of dancing and skiing.

While Merges spent years competitive skating, she has always had an interest in performance skating.  

“I would come to the Disney On Ice shows (when growing up), and that inspired me to keep skating throughout the years,” says Merges. 

During her senior year of high school, she auditioned for Disney On Ice and has been skating with the company ever since. 

Nearly a decade later, she still loves the magic of performance skating. 

“With competitive skating, you're performing for this panel of judges and with performance skating, you're performing for the entire audience,” says Merges. “Along with that, a lot of our audience is children, and they have these giant smiles on their faces and they are in awe with all of the Disney magic that we bring. I think that is really special.” 

Since this past September, Merges has been skating as Belle from Beauty and the Beast in Mickey’s Search Party.

What to expect from the show

Before rehearsals start, the cast do a lot of character studies to accurately bring the characters to life. Although Elsa is Merges favorite Disney character, she really connects with Belle.

“I think she's a dreamer, and she is kind and warm. I feel like I'm also a dreamer,” says Merges.

To put the show together, it takes about four weeks, including two weeks of aerial camp and two weeks of on-ice rehearsals.  

Once the crew hits the road, they have a couple hours of training on the first day of the week followed by open skating practice throughout the week. 

Mickey’s Search Party has been Merges’ favorite show she’s preformed in, largely because of its mix of stunts. Her favorite number that she is a part of is the “Be Our Guest” scene which features the first high-flying stunt of the show. She always enjoys the audience’s reaction during this scene.

The show uses multiple elements to create an immersive experience, such as the use of lighting and videos screens to transport the characters into their environments.

Another moment that gets a big audience reaction is the Ariel and Eric trap routine, which uses those effects to make the characters look like they are floating in water.

Other highlights and elements of the high-energy show include ramping ice harvesters, fiery pyrotechnics, tumbling and even a hoverboard on ice.

“I think everyone would love it from all ages, even adults come to the show and really enjoy it,” says Merges.

Korrigan Craddock is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.