Disney Parks President Tom Staggs announced:
"The new attraction, which replaces Maelstrom, will take our guests to Arendelle and immerse them in many of their favorite moments and music from the film. The pavilion will also include a royal greeting location where Anna and Elsa can meet our guests. We think these “Frozen” elements are great compliments to the Norway Pavilion, which showcases the country and region that inspired the film."
No word on timing for when the new attraction will be open, or even when construction will begin. Maelstrom opened in July 1988, a month after the Norway pavilion's official debut. The Norway pavilion was the last one added to Epcot's World Showcase, and Maelstrom offered a relatively simply shoot-the-chutes boat ride, distinguished with a backwards section and, of course, Disney dark ride storytelling. Featuring the Norse god Odin and some mischievous trolls, the ride finished with a six-minute travelogue -- the sort of movie that visitors usually find as a preshow.
Up until Disney implemented its Fastpass+ system and categorized rides in a way that encouraged people to book Maelstrom reservations, the attraction rarely drew much of a line.
The arrival of Anna and Elsa will mark the second time that Disney IP [intellectual property] have taken over a World Showcase attraction, following The Three Caballeros' introduction on the boat ride in the Mexico pavilion. But that attraction kept the setting in the nation of Mexico. The Frozen ride in Norway will be set in the fictional land of Arendelle, not Norway, which would be a first for a World Showcase attraction.
The big question, at this point: How much of a change will this be? Is Disney simply changing the animatronics and scenery around the same boat ride, or will it gut the building and craft an entirely new ride system and experience?
Update: Readers came through with the dates. Maelstrom will close October 5 and the Frozen ride is slated for early 2016.
@ThemePark this is an email I just got from Disney. Maelstrom closes 10/5 pic.twitter.com/HJYuH20Nka
— Rob Andre (@isles1986) September 12, 2014Given the pace at which Disney's been developing attractions at Walt Disney World, an early 2016 opening suggests that there won't be a major structural overhaul on the Maelstrom building, and that even the ride system might be retained.
Previously:
Disney's current management team continues to treat the WDW resort as the unwanted stepsister to its Anaheim properties. While Anaheim gets lots of love and care, WDW gets expensive gimmicks (Fastpass +) and cheap overlays passed off as new attractions. I'm still waiting for a fresh, original ride to open in Epcot. The last original, built from the ground up Epcot ride, opened more than 11 years ago. I don't think Walt woudl approve.
Brian
That having been said, a Frozen overlay done on the cheap will be the worst of both worlds. It will be a slight to a great film deserving of a complete Disney attraction and be a loss of a fun piece of World Showcase in Maelstrom.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FrozenNorway
Thanks for helping and sharing your thoughts on this matter!
This is the first step in a long journey as Epcot becomes "Disneyfied." Let's face it folks, the education/reality park concept has to go because attendance at Epcot has been stagnant and will only get worse as DHS and DAK get new lands and attractions. Team Disney had no choice since the general public seems to prefer a Magic Kingdom/Disneyland type of environment.
As far as what Walt not approving, c'mon Brian, you've got to be kidding. Do you even recall what Walt's original vision for Epcot was? I sat in front of the tv as a child and watched Walt Disney expound upon his utopian dreams for the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" during the "Wonderful World of Disney," and the current version of Epcot looks virtually nothing like the EPCOT that Walt Disney proposed. Any attempt to validate a weak argument by channeling the spirit of Walt Disney is an epic failure when it comes to Epcot.
MK - Just had biggest expansion of its Fantasyland ever. It would have been the perfect place, but that ship has sailed.
DAK - There is only one animal in the movie, so that would be a big stretch, plus Avatar is happening there now.
DHS - Perhaps the second most logical home for Frozen, but with luck that will be home for much Star Wars goodness.
If I had my Epcot druthers, I'd like to have seen a new pavilion built in Epcot representing Denmark, Charles Christian Anderson home.
My only hope is they build a completely new ride. It needs to be a real people eater based on the popularity of this IP. I just can't imagine how the Malstrom ride system could manage the number of people that are going to want to ride this one. Wouldn't it be great to at last get a trackless ride (Pooh's honey hunt, Ratatouille, Mystic Manor...)! This story seems suited for a ride that slides across an "icy" floor.
Now comes the fun part, watching to see what they dream up. I'm excited, and sad all at the same time.
I loved the ride as a kid and now it looks like I won't ever be able to ride it again. I am not really able to rush off to Epcot anytime soon.
When will Maelstrom be closing for good?
Next, can something be done about the Imagination Pavilion? How about Wonders of Life?
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FrozenNorway
Thanks for helping and sharing your thoughts on this matter!
What makes me sad is that it just keeps moving EPCOT further away from what I loved. Now it's just a random collection of rides and shows with little coherence to them. It's sad.
I wasn't thrilled with the Three Caballeros overlay in Mexico -- but at least it kept with the basic theme of the ride being a tour through the country. And that WAS what the original movie staring those characaters -- Saludos Amigos -- was about.
But Norway has nothing in common whatsoever with Frozen other than snow.
Count me in as another person who sadly misses what EPCOT used to be....
Diagon Alley is not London.
Given that this is a 2016 project, I really hope Disney actually intends to put in a new ride and not just retheme the Maelstrom attraction. Frozen would be the perfect property to become Disney's first US trackless dark ride, and if the ride is successful it could easily be added to Disneyland's Fantasyland and/or other Disney parks around the world. Just don't do a screen based ride...that's the main reason I've lost interest in the Ratatouille ride.
Frankly, I believe the Norway situation is just the beginning. I don't think the other country pavilions will continue to have sponsors for long. Many governments may not find the sponsorship of a country exhibit that solely benefits Disney to be a good use of its funds. Also, many private companies could be concerned that the presentation of their products or industries will not make a difference.
Epcot's World Showcase should be entirely supported by Disney. They will find a way to monetize the exhibit that best allows Disney to profit. That's pretty much what will happen to Norway. Besides, Why should anyone care about Norway as a country? It is just odd that Norway exists at all in World Showcase.
I definitely do worry about the direction WDW is going in versus Anaheim as like another comment said there isn't quite as much "love and care" in the rides as there is in Anaheim or Tokyo. Considering Frozen's success though, I do think it's a decent fit for the Norway Pavilion and I'm sure it will attract more guests than the Maelstrom did. I really hope that they don't tackily re-use the old Maelstrom boats and animatronics and have cardboard cutouts or just 3-D screens of the Frozen characters. If they really want to re-use the Maelstrom building to make a GREAT Frozen ride, they should certainly try their best to model it off the new Ratatouille ride in Paris, which is actually pretty similar to Spiderman/ Gringotts and quite great! I haven't really been on any of those rides listed, but watched videos of them so I got a sense of how they looked. Some animatronics would probably combine well with well-disguised 3-D as well!
I'm hoping that they avoid a cheap overlay and do this up right. EPCOT has been long neglected, and needs an attraction infusion. Anyone for the Mt. Fuji Bobsleds (AKA Matterhorn) at the Japan pavilion?
"Very disappointing to hear that Maelstrom – a ride which celebrates authentic Norwegian culture and lore – is being removed for an attraction which will have a very tenuous (at best) connection to Norway and its heritage. Why replace Maelstrom when there’s a perfectly good (and unused) plot of land between the Mexico and Norway pavilions that could be utilized for expansion? That way they could still add Frozen elements to an expanded Norway pavilion, classic Epcot purists would still get to enjoy Maelstrom, and it would add an additional ride to World Showcase, an area which could frankly use more rides.
I’m hoping for the best (honestly!), but I really think this move further compromises the idea of what World Showcase is supposed to represent. I doubt the new Frozen overlay will teach guests anything about the culture of Norway, given that it says we’ll be traveling to Arendelle, a fictional country. I hope Disney and the Imagineers prove me wrong, and that this won’t just be a Fantasyland-dark-ride-style retelling of the movie’s story, but will inspire guests to learn more about the real country that inspired the movie’s aesthetics."
While certainly critical, I don't think I said anything offensive, and I was polite, so it's disappointing that the Disney blog folks deleted it. In any case, I stand by what I wrote.
There was something quirky about ride. If I could save three items, it would be the following:
Crazy Eye (Odin?) who states "You are not the First to Pass this Way"
Three Headed Troll (Disappear Disappear!)
Glowing Eye Swamp Troll
Of course, we might end up with a premium Ikea showroom and a lovely themed Frozen meatball restaurant.
Why would it be considered substance if sponsored by a government or corporation?
Integrity is best if instilled by Disney. Disney has the integrity of it's own IP.
If it is cheap, then the whining is justified.
And do you know why that is? Because Disney's track record of late at WDW is pathetic. There is a sound reason why expectations have been lowered so much.
With the popularity of Frozen, and this being a pavilion, I totally agree that the ride needs to be completely gutted and built from the ground up.
If Maelstrom closes on the 5th of October, perhaps they can begin work as early as late October, and if the new ride is at the end of 2016, then that would actually give Disney almost two years to redo this ride and pavilion.
I'm aware that this is expected in "early 2016", but I would hope Disney realizes that to make the most of their opportunity, a complete overhaul cannot be done in that amount of time.
It can, of course. But this is Disney we're talking about.
Disney needs to capitalize on the success of the movie, and a simple overlay such as what they did with Test Track will absolutely not hit the right note.
We all saw this coming though. While there is no solid information about what the new ride will entail, if it is simply an overlay with Frozen characters I will be sorely disappointed. If it takes Disney a year and half to do that, then the imagineers and construction crew are severely lacking the technical skills and creativity to make a quality ride. Down the street from Disney, Universal was able to tear down an existing building and build a new, high-tech ride (Transformers) in less than a year. True, the tech and design were already formed before construction started, but surely Disney has had this plan in the works for a while now.
What they really need to do is demolish the American area of Epcot. I've never understood why there was a need for an American pavilion since the park is in America. You want to spout American history? This could be done in Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom.
Where? Where the Tomorrowland speedway is.
Remove the Tomorrowland Speedway and build a mountain where Elsa´s ice palace will sit atop. The mountain will house the E-ticket ride based on the legendary Snow Queen Palace ride.
Its so obvious.
Would you happen to know if maybe there's concept art for the new Frozen ride so we could see what it looks like? No worries at all if there isn't of course or Disney can't release it for confidentiality reasons!
It's also interesting to read that the new 'Frozen' attraction will open in 2016 -- which is the same year that a new version of 'Soarin' is also supposed to open.
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
So they will return the Anna and Elsa meet and greet to Norway. More chances of meeting the sisters of Arendelle in Norway.
I hope they improve on the ride. Just make the thing go forward. The backwards portion is disconcerting and gave it an unnecessary thrill. The ride is much too short and boring. Turn it into a small world type ride without a drop.