Mickey & Minnie On Ice

In 1949, six years before the opening of Disneyland, Mickey and Minnie Mouse and four additional costumed classic Disney characters made their first appearance in Ice Capades, a popular touring entertainment show, in a production number titled “Walt’s Toy Shop”. Six years later when Disneyland’s opening day was fast approaching, Walt Disney reached out to the operators of Ice Capades with a request to borrow their Mickey and Minnie costumes. Videos and home movies from the July 17, 1950, opening day show the not-so-loveable Ice Capades characters in black leotards, shorts and oversize papier-mâché heads with the creepy eye holes cut out. Evolution of Disneyland’s characters was slow and it wasn’t until the early 1960’s that Walt Disney created a dedicated Character Department formed to develop appealing and comfortable costumes focusing on character accuracy and the performers’ safety. Ice Capades thrived for the next five decades gaining in popularity, changing ownership, and growing into three separate touring companies featuring theatrical ice skating performances by former Olympic and US National figure skater champions.

In 1979, Kenneth Feld Productions, owners and producers of “The Greatest Show on Earth”, Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey Circus, purchased Ice Follies and Holiday on Ice, and approached Disney about doing a themed ice show. Feld licensed the rights to material and characters, and in 1981 began production on Walt Disney’s World on Ice. Within a few years the company had five touring shows, hundreds of cast members and dozens of trucks hauling props, stages, sound and lighting equipment between cities. The name was changed to Disney on Ice in 1998 and a new show was launched every year usually themed after recently released films, a signature Disney cross promotion and merchandising tactic.

Due to declining ticket sales, increasing operating costs, and animal rights protests, Feld’s Ringling Bros.and Barnum Bailey Circus went out of business in 2017; however, Disney on Ice, hosted by Mickey and Minnie Mouse, currently runs eight to eleven touring companies worldwide at any given time.