The story
Soon after Mattel's Irvin & Kenneth Feld Productions purchased the Ice Follies and Holiday on Ice program rights in 1979, the company approached Walt Disney Productions about organizing and franchising a Disney-related show similar to the Ice Follies. Feld Productions, not long after their proposal, was granted license to the rights to Disney material for touring ice-skating productions. In 1981, they began under the name Walt Disney's World on Ice.
In March 1982, Irvin & Kenneth Feld purchased back Feld Productions from Mattel, including the absorbed Ice Follies and Walt Disney's World on Ice. In 1987, Walt Disney's World on Ice made its international debut in Japan with the "Happy Birthday Donald" show. In 1988, the company controlled and produced five touring shows, each coexisting in different international markets simultaneously. The name was changed to Disney on Ice in late 1997. By 2008, a new show was launched every year.
From Wikipedia’s article on Disney on Ice, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4