Disney confirms 'Frozen' makeover coming to Epcot's Norway Pavilion

SnarkyMonkey

SnarkyMonkey

Well-Known Member
I guess I must be in the minority but I think the transformation of Maelstrom into a Frozsn attraction. Norway seems like an appropriate place for a tie in from a movie that takes place in Norway.
 
Mike S

Mike S

Well-Known Member
RSoxNo1 said:
The size of the building is larger than Fairytale Hall. Just guessing here but I wonder if an Olaf Meet and Greet would be part of this, or additional princesses beyond Anna and Elsa. With the restrooms being a woman's restroom @Tom also speculated that it probably means the men's room in the existing Norway pavilion building will expand into the woman's room. Considering the expectation of increased traffic this makes some sense.
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Yup. Looks like Disney found a way to help with traffic a little. A real expansion in a better spot could've handled traffic too, but that Viking Longship sailed a LONG time ago :(
 
JustInTime

JustInTime

Well-Known Member
RSoxNo1 said:
FYI, @WDW1974 back in November 2013: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/the-spirit-takes-the-fifth.876705/page-12#post-5802761


I wouldn't be surprised if it's more than just Anna and Elsa meeting guests here. Also, do any of our insiders know if the $75 million that was originally thrown out there is still accurate for the entire project? If so, the prospects for the ride just decreased significantly.
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Wait. What is coming to Epcot? Besides the ride makeover? Fill me in.
 
D

doctornick

Well-Known Member
Well, I like seeing that they are investing money on an addition to Epcot. I'm just disappointed that it will be more out of theme cartoon stuff (actually, I don't mind the toons in the WS pavilions, but the M&G in Norway just adds to how out of place the Frozen ride will be).
 
Kman101

Kman101

Well-Known Member
So. Just watched WFTV do a news story on Frozen coming to Epcot and they suggested the NEW building would house the ride and the Maelstrom building will house the meet and greet.

Can we get some insider confirmation on this? I know they can sometimes get their wires crossed when telling a Disney news story on a new attraction/etc.

Just thought I'd share what they said.
 
aladdin2007

aladdin2007

Well-Known Member
Kman101 said:
So. Just watched WFTV do a news story on Frozen coming to Epcot and they suggested the NEW building would house the ride and the Maelstrom building will house the meet and greet.

Can we get some insider confirmation on this? I know they can sometimes get their wires crossed when telling a Disney news story on a new attraction/etc.

Just thought I'd share what they said.
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they got their wires crossed lol
 
FigmentJedi

FigmentJedi

Well-Known Member
FettFan said:
So when are we getting Mos Eisley Cantina over in Morocco?

Oh?

We're not?


What do you mean a fictional Empire does not belong in EPCOT?
Since when are we playing by actual rules anymore?
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Speaking of fictional empires, you just made me wish Atlantis did better way back when. We could have had it all: Fire Mountain in Magic Kingdom, Atlantis Subs at Disneyland, a really cool in-house Sci-Fi IP, a TV show with a crossover with Gargoyles and more Mignola designed monsters, turbonerds speaking Atlantean at conventions...
 
Haymarket2008

Haymarket2008

Well-Known Member
This could be me fighting for some small type of optimism, but is there any possibility this could be a temporary structure? Could this be a form of land clearing/prep for an eventual country to take over once the Frozen fad dies down?
 
A

Admiral01

Premium Member
wdwfan757 said:
I think once Frozen-mania is over, we'll look back and not really be bothered by Frozen at Norway. It took a quarter century for the little mermaid to make its way into Magic Kingdom. I think i'd be equally offended if Frozen joined the elite ranks of making it into fantasyland a year after it's debut. As for Norway, The church is still there, the bakery is still there. To me, that alone would be sufficient for a Norway pavilion. If we compare it to Maelstrom, it's a travesty because Maelstrom felt authentic and it had the greatest voiceover in the history of ride voiceovers. If we step back and say "Of all the countries with a pavilion, which country makes the least sense" and then add on top of that "Of all the pavilions with rides, which country makes the least sense", I stop feeling so bad that they crammed Frozen into Maelstrom's spot. If Frozen is really all it's cracked up to be, in 25 years it can move into a shiny new home in fantasyland and they'll find something else to put into Norway.

It's all blown out of proportion because they removed maelstrom to do it. If Maelstrom had never existed and they built a home for Frozen in Norway's pavilion, I think this thread is only a quarter as long.

But before everyone throws stones and says I don't understand world showcase, etc etc, I was probably in line with some of you on Maelstrom's last weekend. I don't agree with the commercialization of the parks any more than you do. But if you were going to stick a Frozen ride somewhere, it hasn't earned fantasyland, i've got way bigger plans for DHS than frozen, and AKL doesn't make any sense. Stick it in norway and let it die.
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But they DID remove Maelstrom to stick Frozen in there. Besides, Frozen has most certainly not earned a place at EPCOT. I'm not a fan of putting up with something for a quarter century because TDO is cheap and lacks understanding of proper theming. Norway was good before. Now it is getting a cartoon ride.
 
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Admiral01

Premium Member
So, let me get this straight. Maelstrom is being gutted for a cartoon ride. And, they are going to use the pad between Norway and Mexico to build some sort of Arendelle themed building for a new restroom and a large meet and greet?

Has the entire concept of World Showcase and EPCOT just gone out the window here? This belongs in the Magic Kingdom. It would be GREAT for the Magic Kingdom.

Then again, Nemo and his lame ride belonged in DAK, not The Living Seas.
 
FigmentForver96

FigmentForver96

Well-Known Member
Admiral01 said:
So, let me get this straight. Maelstrom is being gutted for a cartoon ride. And, they are going to use the pad between Norway and Mexico to build some sort of Arendelle themed building for a new restroom and a large meet and greet?

Has the entire concept of World Showcase and EPCOT just gone out the window here? This belongs in the Magic Kingdom. It would be GREAT for the Magic Kingdom.

Then again, Nemo and his lame ride belonged in DAK, not The Living Seas.
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It has become obvious that the parks are about showcasing different Disney IPs in different environments. Go back a couple decades and fantasy and fiction was found at Magic Kingdom, science and discovery were at Epcot Center. You didn't see loads of Disney themed stuff in Epcot Center. Now Epcot is just another Disney theme park to place IPs.
 
kap91

kap91

Well-Known Member
Some places are suggesting that the exterior of this building will be themed to arandale-I'm holding my breath on that one as I would like to think Disney still has their head screwed on somewhat straight and I don't see how anyone could possibly know based on the drawings-but if true that is a travesty. I'm ok with putting a frozen ride inside Norway as it seems like a good enough tie in (yes arandale isn't technically Norway but go back in time to when the movie was being promoted and all you heard (from Disney) was that it was basically in Norway) but actually creating a fantasy based LAND inside world showcase is just bonkers. I can't imagine anyone at Disney is truly that crazy - yes they sometimes stretch the limits and cut corners but Branzenly just ignoring the entire concept of a park? That's new territory. Here's hoping it just looks like some mountains.

In other news I wonder how this fits in with what I've heard about the maelstorm track being expanded.
 
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kap91

kap91

Well-Known Member
FigmentForver96 said:
It has become obvious that the parks are about showcasing different Disney IPs in different environments. Go back a couple decades and fantasy and fiction was found at Magic Kingdom, science and discovery were at Epcot Center. You didn't see loads of Disney themed stuff in Epcot Center. Now Epcot is just another Disney theme park to place IPs.
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Up until now though there's always been at least some sort of logical reasoning for it...three cabelleros were Mexican and the ride wasn't popular anyway, the seas stayed the seas but became much more relevant to kids because nemo and crush entered the picture as a bridge. Frozen was already on a very tight edge as to whether it could fit inside Norway (assuming that the ride is not going to be Elsa and Anna talking about Norwegian culture) but actually outwardly and visibly building a new "land" that basically says screw you world showcase? If that's what we're seeing that's a new era completely in that trend - one that really can't be justified really at all. I mean, I do see a few ways this could still work out for the best but the just don't seem all that likely.
 

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