Triple axels and mouse ears: 'Disney on Ice' comes to Mid-America Center
Shannon Stawniak
Issue date: 3/9/10 Section: Entertainment
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Children and parents alike donned their Mickey Mouse ears and made the Mid-America Center come alive with the music and magic that only Walt Disney's vision could provide on Thursday night.
Council Bluffs hosted "Disney on Ice: 100 Years of Magic" March 6 and 7. The program is a touring ice show produced by Feld Entertainment with the Walt Disney Company. Mickey Mouse and all his pals brought Walt Disney's stories of love, courage and friendship to life.
Kristina Minahan, 27, who was dressed top-to-bottom in Disney gear, couldn't wait to take her 2-year-old daughter, Gabriella, to see Cinderella.
"We were getting so excited singing Disney songs on the way there," she said. "It was a blast seeing them bring the beloved movies to life like that."?
More than 65 Disney characters and 17 classic Disney stories were told on the ice. Audience members watched as Snow White shared a romantic skate with her Prince Charming to "Someday My Prince Will Come." Marlin the clown fish and Dory joked back and forth in search for their beloved Nemo. And Mulan saved China right before the eyes of the dazzled audience. Song after song, classic after classic, everyone was feeling the magic of Disney.
Brian Lawler, 29, his wife Brandi, 27, and their 4-year-old daughter, Lilly, were as close as they could get to the ice for the show. Lilly, clutching a Minnie Mouse plush toy and donning a "Little Mermaid" costume, was still bright-eyed long after the show ended.
"As a kid, I always loved Disney movies and it was amazing to share the excitement of the movies and characters with my daughter," Lawler said. "It just goes to show you that you are never too old for Jiminy Cricket."
The characters strived to bring to life the feeling audiences feel walking down Main Street U.S.A. at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom with songs depicting famous attractions. "It's a Small World" was sure to have been stuck in everyone's head the next day after a performance of 15 skaters, lights, back-flips and fireworks.
The magical Disney feeling didn't end on the ice. The fun of the Walt Disney theme parks was brought to the lobby of the Mid-America center where cast members were selling mouse ears, "Lilo and Stitch" snow cones and stuffed animals. The audience also had the opportunity of getting a picture with a Mickey Mouse backdrop with a souvenir picture frame from the Disney theme parks. ?
Whether you are a fan of Buzz and Woody of "Toy Story," or more of a classic "Pinocchio" fan, "Disney on Ice" had something for everyone. But the character that received the most adoration was, of course, was none other than Mickey Mouse.
"All the way home, Gabby kept asking me 'Where Mickey go?'" Minahan said. ?
The show came to a close with an important reminder from the man who started it all, Walt Disney. "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse."
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