Meet Ariel from Disney on Ice!

*The following is a post in which I was compensated. All opinions are my own.

Skater Ryan Coombs is Princess Ariel in the touring show.

I had the amazing opportunity today to step in behind the scenes of this weekends' Disney On Ice Show during warm-up's and rehearsals.  I also got to speak with the very sweet skater who plays Princess Ariel - Ryan Coombs.

Ryan started her skating career at the young age of seven after watching skaters on television. She has been a two-time national competitor as well as a sectional competitor, among other skating achievements.

Elsa's Snowflake Chandelier is about
3' tall x 26' wide and uses LED lights.

She joined the Disney on Ice production almost 7 years ago. The audience reaction is what she enjoys most about each show, and what she likes most about working with Disney. "Each night is a different reaction," she says, "it's interesting to see what part each audience responds to."  The newly added Frozen segment is getting a huge reaction and the screams and excitement for the frozen characters are the most incredible. Olaf is quite the "super star", she says.

The giant waterfall uses about 125 gallons of water and is made
of vinyl and metal. 

Though this show does focus it's theme on the Princesses of Disney, Ryan says there are many great "Heroes" throughout making this a show for everyone! You will see Prince Philip [from Sleeping Beauty], slaying a Dragon, acrobats and sailors in a pirate scene, and Mickey and Goofy are there as well. With the addition of Frozen to this years' show, it now has a complete timeline from Snow White, the first Disney princess to the newest - Elsa and Anna from Frozen!

Performers warming up and
rehearsing for the nights' show!

What would this Princess tell other little aspiring Princesses?  "Anything you put your mind to, you can do it," and to "go for what you want."  Good advice for Princesses of any age!

You can see Disney's Princesses on Ice starting tonight 3/12 - Sunday 3/15.  Tickets are still available for all shows!  You can see more details and see a video clip of the show here.  Purchase tickets at the Box office or arena website here.

FUN FACTS FROM DISNEY ON ICE PRESENT PRINCESSES & HEROES

There are 750 Costume pieces.  Each cast member has an average of 5 costumes per member. Number of washers and dryers that travel with the production:  3

It takes 12 hours on average to set up the production, and 4 hours to tear it down.  There are about 14 crew members and 13 trailers that travel with production and transport equipment.

There are 898 lighting fixtures overhead the rink, weighing a whopping 37,429 lbs.  86 of those lights are movable, and 7.2 hours per minute of show time, spent programming the lights for the show.

Cinderella's carriage is 11' x 6' and has over 2,000 lights. It spins about 13' above the ice.