Walt Disney Imagineering has developed a new, life-sized walk-around Olaf character for Disney's theme parks.
Now, when you think about "life-sized," remember that Olaf is supposed to be rather small. And Disney's new animatronic will be that - just a couple of feet tall. Yet it will be a fully articulated character, much like the BDX robots that WDI has brought to Star Wars Galaxy's Edge.
WDI and Disneyland Paris showed off Olaf for us at a press event in Paris today.
You can get background on the development of the new Olaf in the latest episode of WDI's "We Call It Imagineering."
The new Olaf will debut next year in the World of Frozen lands in Paris and Hong Kong. World of Frozen opens March 29, 2026 in Paris' renamed and expanded Disney Adventure World park, formerly Walt Disney Studios Park.
All i ask is that you save me a Bort license plate…
We joked that Olaf could be the next hitchBOT if Disney does not provide its best character handlers to keep guests in order.
From Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HitchBOT - "hitchBOT was a Canadian hitchhiking robot [that] gained international attention for successfully hitchhiking across Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. In 2015, its attempt to hitchhike across the United States ended when it was stripped, dismembered, and decapitated in Philadelphia."
Remember when Westworld seemed like such an “out-there” idea that it could only be possible in movies and TV?
Me too.
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As both Disney and Universal have found, the idea of a "free roaming" walk-around animatronic character may not be what guests are expecting. Even the most complex programing and advanced robotics technology cannot defend against the unpredictability and utter disrespect and selfishness of the typical theme park guest. Just like the dragons in Berk, the old Trashcan in Tomorrowland, and the BDX Droids in Galaxy's Edge, I expect opportunities to meet this new Olaf to be extremely limited and in a strictly controlled environment.
What works great in front of well-educated press and industry insiders rarely works well in front of actual guests. Even with the advances that this character has - can reportedly cushion itself in the event of an accidental fall - no one wants to see a piece of technology probably worth 5x more than any car in the parking lot within arm's reach of a curious, unsupervised toddler or a rambunctious teenager. Now that Disney owns Fox, I hope that WDI has watched Season 6, Episode 4 of the Simpsons to know where this is all going - get your cameras and disposable flashes ready.