The marine mammal trainers on the show team underwent rigorous rehearsals and a flight-training program to prepare for the show, and one aerial effect is especially demanding.

During the climax of Fantasea, three trainers are lowered from the ceiling, each sitting in the crook of an oversized umbrella. When the umbrellas reach 15 feet above the pool, the three black-and-white-suited trainers simultaneously drop, disappearing into the water below. Seconds later, three Pacific white-sided dolphins leap out of the water.

Even though the dolphin drop is over almost as soon as it begins, it took hours of rehearsing to perfect.

“After we learned to fall off the seat from 15 feet,” explains Maloney, “we had to learn how to load onto the umbrella from high in the ceiling.”

According to Rick, the anticipation of the drop is also part of the challenge. Once they load the umbrella, the trainers literally hang from the rafters and wait for the moment when they are lowered into full view of the audience. “Dropping 15 feet,” he says with a smile, “is less scary than just hanging there.”

“When I told my friends that I’d be working with dolphins and whales,” recalls Rick, “and putting on a harness and flying from the ceiling, they didn’t believe it.”

Posted by Andy Park, Planning and Design