CEDAR FALLS - Kids were singing and parents clapped to the "I Wanna Be Like You," song.

Dane Bowlin, Cedar Falls High School senior, was in the audience at the U. S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids for a Disney On Ice performance of "Jungle Book."

The little jungle boy's song stuck in his mind.

"I kept the program, inviting experienced skaters to join Disney On Ice," says Bowlin. "I showed my coach, Abby Loeffelholz at Cedar Valley Skating Club and she told me to think about it."

His parents Bud and Carla agreed.

"We were living in northern New York, when Dane started skating lessons when he was 4-years-old. Everyone skates there. Mostly to play hockey," says his mother.

His years of experience, impressed recruiters at Feld Entertainment, Disney licensee for Disney On Ice, when he sent in his resume in April 2005.

It wasn't the usual resume. The recruiters were also looking at his height, head size and weight. Accepted skaters would become Disney characters on ice and needed to have the lanky body to adjust to characters in costume.

Bowlin received a call to report to Lakeland, Fla., in June. Not as a Disney On Ice employee. Staff members are referred to as cast members - it's a Disney tradition.

"Personality was an important factor. You have to get into the characters when you're on the ice," says the local skater.

"I trained in Lakeland, Fla., for six weeks, eight hours a day for six weeks."

His first Disney On Ice tour was performing in the live action "Finding Nemo," the animated film that packed theaters when released in 2003.

Bowlin skated wearing a five-piece body suit as the yellow curious clown fish in the ocean adventure.

"I was nervous about my first performance. It was a preview show for Feld and Disney executives. We were going to start on tour that week, but hurricane warnings canceled the show in Lakeland."

Three days later, the show was moved to Orlando, performing to a sold-out audience.

"We traveled with a producer and were trained on how to apply our own character make-up. As a yellow fish, I painted my entire face. Until I got the knack of removing the yellow paint, I looked jaundiced for a few days," he remembered.

"We got to the venue about an hour before our performance. If you didn't show up, you were fired. If you were late or gained more than 10 pounds you were fined.

There were other fines if skaters ate in costume. Photos of the characters backstage were prohibited.

Disney On Ice live entertainment has performed before 25 million people each year since 1981 to audiences in the U. S. and in 46 countries and six continents.

Bowlin had traveled abroad on vacation with his family. Last year on August 31, he packed his skates and went on tour with Disney On Ice.

"He couldn't afford room service. Cooked his meals on a grill in his room and did his own laundry," says his mom. "It was definitely a new travel experience."

He was on tour with a show billed as "Mickey & Minnie Magical Journey."

The show is a combination of Disney classic films, "101 Dalmatians;" "Peter Pan;" "Little Mermaid" and "Lilo and Stitch" as they embrace 'Ohano, the family spirit of Hawaii.

In 101 Dalmatians, Bowlin was one of the puppies being chased on the rink by Cruella De Vil, in quest for her fur coat.

"I don't like heights," he says, but "I had to wear a harness to fly over the rink as John, one of the lost boys going to Never Land with Peter Pan."

On tour, he kept in touch with family and friends via e-mail. His mother says, "He didn't get a break for Christmas, so Bud and I went to Denbosch in the Netherlands to watch him skate."

With the exception of his fellow skaters, Bowlin didn't have time to make new friends, moving every week to a new venue.

One afternoon, he was walking down a street in Paris when he heard, "Hi Dane." It was Calyn Sevette, a high school classmate who was in France, studying art.

"It was a big surprise." As a Disney On Ice performer, he was always in character and had little interaction with the audience. Only his fellow skaters knew his name.

Bowlin isn't eager to reveal how much he earned as a Disney On Ice skater.

But he will say, "It was an experience of a lifetime."

Two weeks ago, he turned in his costume for a back pack. This fall, he will be a student at the University of Northern Iowa.