Frozen Ideas
Walt Disney World: I rant for a bit about what I think of Frozen, but what I would really like to see is if someone can come up with a way to incorporate it into an attraction.
I saw Frozen recently and I must say... wow. I absolutely loved it and this movie is EASILY up there with Disney classics like Beauty and The Beast and The Little Mermaid, if not better. The music was phenomenal and should be the front runner for best original score at the Oscars. The film also had many memorable songs that were absolutely outstanding. Every song was amazing. But the one that stands out was "Let It Go" sung by Idina Menzel in the first half the movie and boy was it INCREDIBLE. The songs were written by Robert Lopez who helped create the songs to The Book Of Mormon and Avenue Q. Expect Let It Go to go on to win that award but don't be surprised if more than just that are nominated. Also, in my honest opinion, while Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University may have been really good to alright this movie will win best animated feature as it made both of those movies pale in comparison. I could keep rembling more on how much I absolutely loved this movie but I think ill get to my point.
First off, the movie seemed to form an extremely great base for a Broadway musical, sure more songs would be needed and some scenes added/altered to fit the stage, but this could make a great Broadway musical. Really. Now, where could they fit this into theme parks because knowing Disney they won't waste this opportunity. The character of Olaf voiced by Josh Gad had some great potential for an attraction like Turtle Talk with Crush at Epcot. But that's a long shot. Maybe a small stage production like Lion King or Beauty and the Beast.
The film will not be nominated for Best Score (that category is typically reserved for orchestral scores), but it could very well have multiple nominations for Best Song (sadly a diminishing category).
I think initially, Disney has already created an experience at the Norway pavillion at EPCOT. If they wanted to go further, they could do a massive refurb of The Maelstrom to incorporate segments of the movie. Beyond that, I'm not a huge fan of putting current films in theme parks. Movies need to have a little time to breathe to see if they will have staying power. Give it 3-5 years and see if "Frozen" is still looked upon as fondly as it is right now (it really scored in the box office over the holiday despite coming in second to "Catching Fire"). People were saying the same thing about "Wreck it Ralph" last year, but despite it being so beloved at the time, it is not quite as strong as it was when it was released.
I would agree Norway would be a good place.
I think Wreck it Ralph holds up, but its just doesn't fit very well in any of the parks.
I'm with Russell, it won't get an Original Score nomination unless the actual score (the instrumental music) was just amazing. I think it even poses a threat in the Best Animated Feature category: legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki's final movie The Wind Rises could rise up (no pun intended) and take the win.
I have heard that the Wind Rises could beat it but I haven't't heard many other critics saying this.
I could see an interactive Olaf animatronic in the Norway Pavillion. I see them coming out during MVMCP since Elsa can make it "snow".
I have noticed that Disney is slowly moving to have mascots for many holidays
Norway is the logical place for Frozen to have an impact. Retheme Maelstrom.... please! It is due for an upgrade. The inside of the church could be made to look like the one in the movie. The Princess Breakfast could feature the characters of Frozen instead. I do love the idea of an interactive Olaf show instead of the 15 minute travel commercial!. This is exciting and I am really hoping that Epcot and Disney won't loose this opportunity... however since Norway sponsers the pavilion, they have to sign off on it, too.
In terms of box office success, Frozen is clearly a big time hit for Disney. By far the biggest hit since The Lion King(1994) for Disney animation, which is different from Pixar. Its presence at the parks may benefit from this success.
The financial success is partially atributable to the lack of family movie choices over the holiday season. Critically (89% RT), it's on par with Wreck-it Ralph (86% RT), Tangled (89% RT), and Princess and the Frog (83% RT), which did not have the same advantage of absolutely no competetition during the lucrative Christmas season. If there was one decent family movie in theaters right now, Frozen would probably be finishing its run around $200 million, instead of having a shot at $300 million. Walking With Dinosaurs is getting terrible reviews, and the only other remotely family films (Walter Mitty and Saving Mr. Banks) are perceived too mature for younger audiences (under 10).
Don't get me wrong, the movie is very good, and has a decent shot at the Oscar for Best Song ("Let it Go"), but it's going to take some time to see if it has lasting appeal like the classics of the late 80's and early 90's when Disney Animation couldn't miss. Adjusted for inflation, Frozen ($250 million domestic) isn't even close to Lion King ($600 million) or Aladdin ($422 million). Frozen also doesn't stand a chance against Miyazaki for the Best Animated Film Oscar ("The Wind Rises"), which got a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, but somehow was left off the animated list in favor of Croods and Despicable Me 2 (Globes voters are complete idiots BTW).
Despite how the movie did, I think that Frozen fit into the Disney Parks niche much better than, say Wreck it Ralph. Even so, Tangled is having some mild success in the parks (ok, her attraction is a bathroom at MK, but a nice bathroom).
I am not a fan of needlessly sticking Disney Characters into countries of World Showcase, but I feel that Elsa and Anna really fit.
Oscars can surprise everyone. Remember Shrek won over Monsters Inc and Happy Feet won over Cars.
From Tim W
Posted January 2, 2014 at 5:49 PM
I can easily envision a new classic Disney dark ride based off of Frozen in the Norway pavilion. When Disney has a hit, and they know Frozen is a hit, they tend to capitalize on the hit more by green-lighting future attractions, developing shows, and increasing merchandise.
Maelstrom suffers from a poor coherent storyline, doing minimal justice for the Norway pavilion. With the replacement of Maelstrom for a Frozen boat ride, Disney can finally realize some of the designs that it had for the Marc Davis designed "The Enchanted Snow Palace", 35 years ago. The ride would be able showcase the highlights of the movie in true Disney dark ride fashion. I would envision this ride as being told from Olaf's point of view, making it comical, while still emphasizing the beauty of the film and previous ride designs.
In addition to the character meet and greet, they could certainly transform Akershus into a new restaurant featuring Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff.
The overlay may be a bit extreme, but I think the Frozen emphasis would greatly enhance the Norway pavilion.
Frozen Attraction - Blue Sky Rumor - (1/3/14) This could just be a fanboy rumor, but according to an email sent my way, WDI has been given the initial nod to do a little Blue Sky dreaming to determine just how they could transform the Maelstrom ride in the Norway Pavilion into a new Frozen themed attraction concept. (Credit to “Allen W” for the tip…)
Since this is Blue Sky phase, they are looking at all budget levels here, from a simple rethemed of the existing boat ride system and layout, to the installation of a new kind of flume ride system, possibly the one rumored to be put to use on the Pirates ride at Shanghai Disneyland. Given a big enough budget, the entire current ride structure could be demolished to make way for a new trackless ride system concept. Given the cold snow and ice theme of frozen, I would love to see trackless ride cars used, themed as a sleigh ride through the wilderness, scooting across the frozen landscape.
Just remember… a new ride has not been approved. WDI was only approved to do some initial Blue Sky dreaming to see what might work best in response to the stellar box office results Frozen has been bringing in, as well as guest reactions to the Frozen character meet & greet already in Epcot.
This was posted on Screamscape 1/3/2013. So Disney might actually be doing something here. Could help Epcot out a bit in the ride department.
Replacing an existing ride with another ride doesn't really help EPCOT out "in the ride department". I would highly doubt they would gut the Maelstrom to install a completely different ride platform, but a re-theme seems completely plausible.
M.Morgan points out that Norway sponsors the pavilion. So this Frozen remodeling thing might not happen if Norway does not approve of sponsoring that attraction, show, animatronic, etc. If Disney really wants to do this, they better have some plans for a new pavilion in backup (Translation- This might not be pretty).
if they made the boat at maelstrom go through an ice palace made of real ice would be cool :) pun intended
They have already added in a character meet and greet with Anna and Else in Norway. Frozen is in high demand in the WOD store… they have been sold out of the Olof and Sven plushes since before Christmas.
This is the first movie in a very long time that has really succeeded to be what the old Disney movies used to be. I honestly think it will have a lasting impact.
I wouldn't be surprised if they remodeled Maelstrom. But I think it would also be cool to add an attraction where it snows indoors based on Else's power… it could be a real stroke of Disney magic. Maybe a short show like Voyage of the Little Mermaid? Or an interactive walking tour to help find Else at the ice castle, kind of like Poseidon's Fury in Islands of Adventure? I think anything that could make it snow indoors in Florida would be a BIG hit for Disney.
it already snows inside the harry potter ride so it can be done
Not sure if frozen is a good fit for maelstrom it would however be a perfect replacement for the Beauty and the Beast show in DHS. As much as I love that show it could really use a break.
frozen shouldn't replace it but should have its own show
Why wouldn't Frozen be a good fit for Maelstrom? The story takes place in Norway, and includes trolls that conspicuously look a lot like the ones on Maelstrom.
Now that the movie has surpassed $300 million (and inching closer to Disney's highest grossing animated film, The Lion King), it is strengthening its position to be more than the simple character meet and greet it is now. Overlaying Maelstrom would represent the most economical way to inject Frozen into a Disney theme park.
While I certainly didn't mean to imply it couldn't go in Maelstrom I do not believe this is the best use of the property. If you want to make a ride then fine make a truly innovative and spectacular ride from scratch and leave Maelstrom alone. Personally I think making an overlay of an existing ride is just being "cheap" and "lazy" and Disney can do so much better.
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