The Golden Mickeys is a musical revue-style stage show presented in the style of an awards ceremony with characters from Disney films being nominated for awards including heroism, symphony, villains, friendship, and romance. The show originated on the Disney Cruise Line as a replacement for Morty the Magician's show. The show was first introduced in August 2003 aboard the Disney Magic. Later in the fall of 2004, the show was brought to the Disney Dream while in dry dock. The show is performed in the premiere theater on the ship, the Walt Disney Theater on Deck 4. In 2011, symphony and romance had some new scenes to replace the old scenes.
On the cruise ships, the show features "Ensign Benson", a timid crew member who finds herself thrust into the role of "host" when the scheduled host (supposedly, the ship's captain) is missing at show time. Shy Ensign Benson, not feeling confident in her role as host, receives encouragement from various (real) celebrities in the form of interactive video clips. She is also involved in several of the song and dance routines. These feature cast members in the costumes of characters from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan, Mulan, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Toy Story 2, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, Pocahontas, and The Lion King performing songs from these films. In 2011, it dismantled the songs and characters from Sleeping Beauty and Pocahontas which were moved to Disney's Believe that year and then the golden mickeys included new numbers from The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Tangled.
The show pre-show area outside of the Walt Disney Theatre is set up to replicate a red carpet, placing guests within the typical role of celebrities. Outside of the theatre doors, "Rona Rivers" conducts interviews with audience members as they come up the red carpet to enter the show, all the while, a live video feed of the "celebrity interviews" is being shown on the two large screens in the front of the theatre.
Original cast members included Nadia Wahhab, Crystal Monee Hall, Mark Baratelli, Jeremiah James, Joshua Carlson, Danny Calvert, Tony Wichowski, Erik McEwen, Emma Green, Jonathan Vetsich, and Michele Kaye. The Golden Mickeys was directed by Diane Paulus, who also directed The Donkey Show in New York City, and choreographed by Maria Torres, who co-choreographed Disney's Enchanted.
A version of the show is performed at the Storybook Theatre in the Fantasyland area of Hong Kong Disneyland. The show is narrated in Cantonese, with simplified Chinese and English subtitles. All of the songs are performed in English. Here, the show begins with a performance of the title song including a dance performance based around cast members preparing costumes and taking press photos of arriving celebrities. Footage of Disney characters arriving by limousine and entering the theater along a red carpet is then projected on screens to the two sides of the stage before the characters enter through the auditorium aisle. This version of the show has a running commentary from the host, Bebe, who conducts interviews with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, along with Goofy, Donald Duck, and Pluto and is also involved in several of the song and dance routines. These feature cast members in the costumes of characters from Toy Story 2, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan, Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast performing songs from these films. The show also includes aerial acrobatics, martial arts, puppetry, and fireworks.
On July 26, 2015, the show closed in preparation for the show "Mickey and the Wondrous Book", which debuted in November 2015.[3] Magic Access Members got special tickets from the entrance of Hong Kong Disneyland to get special reserved seats for its final performance at 7:30pm.[4]
