Ice sculptors gathered in Belgium to capture the magic and wonder of Disney in a snapshot of ice. The sculptors made their final preparations on Friday as they get ready to unveil their winter works to the public.

The Disney Dreams Ice Festival is a chance for the world's ice sculptors to bring the world of Disney to life for the Christmas season.

This year the festival is split between the cities of Liege and Antwerp. Visitors can come face-to-face with a host of characters ranging from Peter Pan's Captain Hook as he sets sail on a frozen ship, to Alice as she explores the labyrinths of Wonderland, to the exotic wildlife of the Lion King.

Disney princesses twinkle alongside the fearsome Pirates of the Caribbean, and Sleeping Beauty's Castle towers above them all.

"There is a lot of content. So, we are about 80 artists for the two festivals and we have plenty of content to present so the magic and the fantasy it's 100%, it's non-stoppable," said Alexander Deman, organizer of the Disney Dreams Ice Festival.

The sculptures were built by the hands of professional ice artists from 12 different countries, who use simple hand tools such as shovels, hatchets and saws to create these masterpieces.

"It's pretty difficult. You need a certain amount of schooling and you need to work with a lot of instruments, special instruments, and then need patience and strength because ice is a very difficult material," said Egor Ustyuzhanin, ice sculptor.

Four hundred tons of water were required to produce eighty sculptures, with ice sculptors needing a total of five weeks to construct the magical kingdom, but memories made will last a lifetime. The Liege exhibition opens on November 22nd, while the event in Antwerp will be unveiled to the public on November 29th.

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