There is a good chance that you are familiar with the story of Hercules and have seen Disney’s retelling in a classic 1997 animated film, but I bet you’ve never seen it on a boat. The story of how scenes are set, props are built and characters come to life in a new staged production aboard a moving cruise ship is a hero’s journey worthy of the original.
As I have already unpacked, Hercules aboard Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Destiny the ship uses a boatload of technology in some unexpected ways – yes, there are projections on the scrims, the stage and the walls around it in the Walt Disney Theater, but it’s also being used on artists to take one of the classic songs to new heights.
‘It’s hard to figure out how to bring those characters to life’
Arin Dale
Even more surprising, however, is that inside the two titans that make themselves known during a fight scene with Hercules is an exoskeleton. Ice and Rock Titans, as seen above and below, marks the first time Disney Experiences has used exoskeleton technology.
“It’s hard to figure out how to bring these characters to life in a larger-than-life way,” explained Arin Dale, a Disney Live Entertainment producer. “Our Hercules is 6 feet tall, so you really have to make sure that these characters are epic and that they’re efficient and impactful.”
Transforming exoskeleton technology into storytelling
While exoskeleton technology is far from new—and we’ll likely see a lot of it at CES 2026—this application is right in line with Disney’s approach to using technology to tell stories and immerse.
Disney has been developing this exoskeleton system, called Project EXO, since 2020, and here it functions as a puppet-style mechanical suit worn by the performer.
At its core, the system transfers the majority of the Titan’s weight down through the frame and into the ground, rather than placing that strain on the rider’s body. In that sense, it functions less like a powered robot and more like a portable puppet mechanism.
The Exoframe is primarily human-powered, with the practitioner controlling movement through their own body, but it also incorporates pneumatic assistance at key joints to help increase strength when moving oversized limbs. This assistance does not drive movement by itself; instead, it reduces strain and makes repetitive, expressive movements possible during a live performance. However, it is an important way for Disney to bring these characters from the screen to life.
Essentially, Project EXO allows a single performer to operate a massive character by combining weight transfer, leverage and mechanical assistance. The scale involved is significant: the Ice Titan is about 13 feet tall, while the Rock Titan, though smaller at about 9 feet, is still impressive—underscoring why this hybrid of puppetry and mechanical support is necessary to bring towering creatures to life on a stage.
‘We move around, you know, 110, 120 pounds of mass’
Michael Serna
Even with that size, the artists inside – each Titan controlled by a single human – can move arms, heads, legs and other parts of the body. They engage in stage combat with Hercules and can move quickly across the stage.
To make it sustainable over the course of a full performance, Titan includes built-in fulcrums – effectively canes integrated into the design – which allow the performer to take a short breather. However, the exoskeleton does much of the heavy lifting.
The base Project EXO frame weighs 40 pounds, and as Executive Creative Director Michael Serna explained, the Rock Titan adds about 60 pounds of extra structure, while the Ice Titan adds closer to 70 pounds.
“So we’re moving around, you know, 110, 120 pounds of mass that Zion is responsible for — and he has to do fight choreography,” Serna said.
What it takes to move a Titan
Zion acts as the Rock Titan while Cam takes on the Ice Titan. Both are dancers with Disney Live Entertainment and did not expect to find themselves operating and performing inside the exoskeletons.
“I was just excited to move in something like that, so it was a cool thing for me to get to do while also being able to dance as much as I want,” Zion said.
It clearly works in the show, and the fight sequence between Rock, Ice and Hercules is one of its most compelling moments, complete with effects that hit the Titans themselves and CO₂ emitters from Ice like cold air.
Beneath the surface, Project EXO is formed from specific materials designed to balance strength with weight. “There are all kinds of things — 3D-printed titanium, minicell padded work, parts for it,” Serna said.
This design approach has hard limits, especially around weight and complexity.
“Added animation and added functionality also has a cost — yes, it has a weight, and you’re just complicating it unnecessarily,” Serna said.
For the team, the goal was never to draw attention to the mechanics themselves, but to let the performance take over.
“I don’t want people to think about this at all,” Serna said. “I want them to be blown away and eventually say, ‘Wait, how did that happen — how did that happen?'”
A stress test at sea
In that sense Hercules on board Disney Destiny is not just a showcase for Project EXO – it’s a stress test.
This is the first formal deployment of exoskeleton technology in a Disney live performance, and it’s happening inside a theater with a 40-foot-wide stage, tight wing space, flying scenery and the added complexity of a ship in constant motion.
‘Video and making effects don’t always work’
Arin Dale
Still, the technology holds, and more importantly, it serves the story. Titans don’t fancy technical demonstrations or effects-driven spectacles – they feel like characters who belong in the room, whether viewed from the balcony, the orchestra or standing just a few meters away as they cross the stage.
The physical presence is conscious. As Disney Live Entertainment producer Arin Dale explained, relying solely on screens or projected illusions was not the goal.
“Video and doing effects doesn’t always work,” Dale said. Instead, the challenge was figuring out how to bring something larger than life into the space in a way that felt tangible and believable to the audience.
This philosophy helps explain why Project EXO has taken years to get to this point—and why its first big appearance arrives not in a park meeting or a short demo, but in a full Broadway-style production. The exoskeletons are not meant to be noticed as technology; they’re meant to disappear into the show so the Titans can move, fight, and emote in ways that sell the illusion.
‘We have learned a lot from this’
Jeff Conover
And while this is the first time Disney Experiences has formally used exoskeleton technology in a live show, it’s clearly not positioned as a one-off. The lessons learned here – from weight distribution and materials to performer endurance and choreography – suggest a foundation that can be built on.
As Jeff Conover, creative director, noted during the conversation, “If we want to do another character that uses this type of technology, we’ve learned a lot from this.”
A foundation for what comes after
For now, the forward-looking potential is firmly rooted in the present. On a moving ship, inside a tightly confined theater, Project EXO proves that physical performance—not screens—remains one of Disney’s most powerful storytelling tools when paired with the right technology.
Overall, the technology inside the Walt Disney Theater is on board Disney Destiny reflects a very conscious philosophy. The goal is not to overwhelm the audience with visible systems or flashy tricks, but to make the physical world on stage feel as compelling as the animated audience already knows.
As Michael explained, relying solely on digital tools would never be enough.
The exoskeleton is actually the latest piece of lightbulb technology that resides inside the Walt Disney Theater aboard Disney Destiny – it is a technological powerhouse. As Mina Shayesteh, stage manager, described, the production infrastructure behind the show is unlike anything Disney Cruise Line has attempted before.
“We have 500 lights, 13 projectors, 10 snow machines, 12 confetti cannons,” Shayesteh said. “We have 100 automation axes, 115 automation signals in Hercules. So everything that moves on stage in that entire show, we have 115 different times where I say the word ‘go’ to make these things move — which is bigger than any fleet-wide show that we have across Disney Cruise Line.”
‘Technology merges with theatricality’
Michael Serna
But even with that scale, the technology is never intended to be the focus. Instead, it’s meant to fade into the background, allowing artists, characters, and story beats to take center stage.
“The technology merges with the theatricality so it doesn’t get in your way, so it just gives you a really good experience, but you don’t think about the technical aspects,” Serna said, describing the balance the team is aiming for.
That balance is especially evident with Project EXO. Despite years of development, complex materials and considerable weight in the suit, the success of the system is measured by how little the audience notices it – and ultimately what it allows the artist to accomplish.
Of course, if you want to see these larger-than-life Titans, you’ll need to book a trip aboard the Disney Destiny, which sails out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but if you’d rather see the Titans in their original form, you can stream Hercules on Disney+.
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