‘Jump In!’: Disney On Ice’s new show heads to Tucson

They’d like you to turn them off.

There’s gonna be nothing more exciting on your phone than what will unfold on the Tucson Arena ice as soon as Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy hop on the magic "MousePad” for an interactive journey with some of Disney’s most beloved characters and stories.

“We start with a super fun opening that is all about making those memories in the moment,” said Madison DeLuca, a 14-year veteran of the show who reprises her role from last year as Princess Ariel. “We have a ‘Toy Story’ segment that then goes into ‘Frozen’ and then we have our new ‘Zootopia’ and then it goes into a princess segment where you can see all your favorite princesses.”

That’s Act 1.

The second act includes “Encanto” and Disney On Ice debuts from ”Inside Out 2” and “Moana 2.”

Mario Lobato Castro, the company’s longest-tenured cast member, has the role as Moana’s father, Chief Tui, leader of the Motunui.

“I really, really love this character,” the 63-year-old Castro said from Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the show’s 2026-27 season kicked off early this month before its four-day run in Tucson Oct. 8-11. “After so many years, this is like a present. I learned the choreography so quickly. This is a chance of a lifetime to be here on this show.”

“Jump In!” is all about memories — reliving old ones and making new ones as Mickey and his pals take the audience on a journey through some of their best Disney moments.

In all, the show features 50 classic and new Disney characters including Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie from “Toy Story”; Anxiety, Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Anger and Fear from “Inside Out 2”; a dazzling array of Disney princesses including Ariel, Jasmine, Tiana, Cinderella, Snow White, and Belle; and Stitch from “Lilo & Stitch.”

“It is all about making those memories in the moment,” said DeLuca, who has been with Disney On Ice for 14 years. “The opening number really kind of grabs that attention to make those memories and share these moments with your family, with your friends, everyone that you're at the show with, but also being able to take those memories after.”

In addition to the action on the ice, the show has plenty of audience interactions, including “some special moments where the audience is going to be picked to come up, and kind of be in that moment while it's happening, which is super cute and really fun,” DeLuca said.

One way to get the attention of the Disney characters picking the participants, she advised, is to sing and dance along and to wear your favorite Disney character attire.

“We love to see that,” she said. “It makes it even more special.”

Disney On Ice’s ultimate OG

Brazilian Mario Lobato Castro took an unusual path to land on the cast of Disney On Ice’s “Beauty and the Beast” in the mid-1990s.

Where he grew up in the city of Luz in the island state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, there were no ice rinks and ice skating was rare if available at all.

But that changed in the early 1990s when ice rinks started opening at shopping malls. At his friends’ urging, the then 28-year-old Castro laced up skates for the first time and got on the ice.

“I really liked it,” he said. “I started just for fun.”

Castro had never seen or heard of Disney on Ice back then; his only connection was the Disney movies he saw as a kid. His view broadened when he went to Disney World in 1991 and even more when he visited Miami in 1993 and saw his first Disney on Ice show: “Beauty and the Beast.”

“Oh, my God, this is amazing,” he recalls thinking.

Castro said he tried to get an audition, but he was told he needed to work on his skating. Give it a couple of years, they told him; he returned after only one.

“I did my first audition on ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ and then ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was my first show,” he said.

That was 32 years and 17 Disney On Ice productions ago.

His career since has included:

• Skating in nearly 1,000 cities worldwide

• Touring throughout 70 countries

• Bringing 29 different characters to life on the ice

• Performing in nearly 10,000 shows

• Skating on every continent, including North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and beyond

One of his biggest career highlights was performing in Egypt alongside Kurt Browning and Kristi Yamaguchi.

“Since 1994, I've been in so many places. It's incredible how the magic goes around,” he said. “Families, kids, different countries, different cultures — they are really into this incredible magic. … There's so many stories, and I always tell my story to the people … to give an inspiration. Because I believe anything is possible when you work hard, and then if you do it with your heart, it's amazing.”

This is Castro’s first Disney On Ice show in Tucson since he was here in 2000 with “Toy Story.”

A childhood dream realized

Michigan native Madison DeLuca was just 3 when she put on ice skates for the first time.

“My older sister had started skating, so since she was doing it, I also wanted to do it,” she recalled.

When she saw her first Disney On Ice show at age 12, “I thought, ‘Oh, wow, that looks so cool,” she said.

Her mind wandered to envisioning a grown-up version of herself on the ice wearing a Disney princess outfit.

Throughout her teens, she skated competitively, and when she graduated from high school, she wanted to continue skating. A couple of friends from her hometown rink had skated with Disney On Ice, so they helped her apply.

“I sent in an audition video around like April, May, and then I was down in Florida end of August that year rehearsing,” she said. “And crazy to think that was 2014. So this is the start of my 13th year. There's definitely something that keeps bringing me back.”

DeLuca takes on the dual role of skating as Princess Ariel in “Jump In!” as well as aerial captain, ensuring that her cast members are “remembering the safety aspect” of what they do on the ice to protect them and “so the audience gets the best performance.”

‘Jump In!’ highlights

• See all your favorite characters: More than 50 make appearances.

• New faces: Key characters from “Inside Out 2” and “Moana 2” make their Disney On Ice debuts.

• Favorite songs: “Let It Go” from “Frozen”; “Try Everything” from “Zootopia”; “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from “Encanto”; “Get Lost” from “Moana 2”; “When Will My Life Begin?" from “Tangled”; “A Whole New World” from “Alladin.”

• More than just skating: The world-class skaters in the cast bring the Disney magic to life, but the aerial acrobatics are a special treat, with performers soaring high above the ice and gravity-defying aerial stunts, including Princess Ariel’s scene for "Kiss the Girl" and Rapunzel’s golden hair brought to life by flowing aerial silks in a routine with Flynn Rider.

• Audience interaction: Hop on the Magical MousePad with Mickey and Friends and discover the Disney stories. Dance the “Hoedown Throwdown” with Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear from “Toy Story.” And help Officer Judy Hopps track down Nick Wilde hiding beneath the giant orange traffic cones of “Zootopia.”