Las Vegas Weekly

January 21, 2010 · 10:56 AM

Photo Gallery: Disney on Ice skates into Thomas & Mack

By Robin Leach

The Las Vegas premiere of Disney On Ice at the Thomas & Mack Center on Jan. 20, 2010.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Disney on Ice, Walt Disney’s annual extravaganza with a cast of characters led by Mickey and Minnie Mouse, skated into Las Vegas last night for its premiere at the Thomas & Mack Center. There will be eight performances through Sunday night.

Despite horrendous weather with gusty cold winds and torrential downpours, there was an enthusiastic audience of parents and kids on hand for the Disney on Ice magic.

It’s very rare that Disney executives give “free reign and runabout, all-access status” to a photographer to shoot their shows, but they gave our contributing photographer Tom Donoghue special permission to capture some of the opening night highlights.

Tom told Vegas DeLuxe: “The show is way much more than just Disney on Ice. You can see and feel the ‘worlds of fantasy and imagination’ in the eyes and hearts of every child and adult watching. The world becomes aglow of smiles and happiness, and I wonder where along the path of life we lost some of this spirit?

“It is the first time ever that this show has brought together characters from Disney’s/Pixar’s Cars and Disney’s Tinker Bell, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. Each car took 2,000 man hours to build and is outfitted with custom animatronics, including blinking eyes and hydraulic lifts.

“Both Mater and Lightning McQueen have moving mouths and talk. The children watching the show were spellbound when Mickey and Minnie’s cherry red Roadster ‘unexpectedly’ broke down, and Donald Duck and Goofy tried to help out -- but it was Mater who finally came to the rescue!”

Enjoy the photos, and try to get to see the show first-hand for yourselves!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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