EPCOT Anna, Elsa and Kristoff Audio-Animatronics refresh coming to Frozen Ever After in EPCOT

[flynnibus]

Due to the nature of Buzz’s cowl, he’s actually way better suited to the projection faces.

I think it's more that Buzz doesn't have any exposed 'skin' except his face. All you see is his suit and hood.. which means there is nothing to clash with.

Same way no one cries about leota...

 

[James Alucobond]

I think it's more that Buzz doesn't have any exposed 'skin' except his face. All you see is his suit and hood.. which means there is nothing to clash with.

Same way no one cries about leota...

We were saying the same thing. The cowl is the hood.

 

[Biff215]

Also with Buzz’s placement in the queue, he has to be designed to be looked at longer, lending itself to the projection technology. Hopefully it gets an upgrade though anyway.

This will be great for Frozen. It’s not a perfect attraction but this will certainly help one of its most obvious flaws. I just wonder how long it will need to be down. Management can’t be thrilled about that prospect.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Also with Buzz’s placement in the queue, he has to be designed to be looked at longer, lending itself to the projection technology. Hopefully it gets an upgrade though anyway.

This will be great for Frozen. It’s not a perfect attraction but this will certainly help one of its most obvious flaws. I just wonder how long it will need to be down. Management can’t be thrilled about that prospect.

If if it just swapping out the animatronics that can be made off site is could be a pretty quick update no? Obviously some time for testing, etc but if not touching the actual ride/moving portion should've too long

 

[Figments Friend]

This is terrific news and a nice surprise.
I was hoping they would make the move and switch to physical faces since the work has already been done for Hong Kong Disneyland.

Looking forward to seeing the updated figures.
This can only be an enhancement…..those projection faces were always a bit off putting, especially form certain angles.
This will resolve that issue, and bring these in line with the appearance of other AAs on Property.

-

 

[Biff215]

If if it just swapping out the animatronics that can be made off site is could be a pretty quick update no? Obviously some time for testing, etc but if not touching the actual ride/moving portion should've too long

I guess it depends on whether they’re replacing the entire figures or just the heads. At first I was hoping this was something they could work on overnight, but now I’m doubtful of that. The ride system itself might be due for some work so I’m betting this goes down for a month or two over the winter similar to what SSE is doing right now.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I guess it depends on whether they’re replacing the entire figures or just the heads. At first I was hoping this was something they could work on overnight, but now I’m doubtful of that. The ride system itself might be due for some work so I’m betting this goes down for a month or two over the winter similar to what SSE is doing right now.

yeah, if it needs a maintenance anyway, then combine this with that and could do a few months, like SSE like you mention

 

[Figments Friend]

So nice that no one will ever have to experience this again…
‘Faceless’ figures…..eek!

Happy Halloween…!

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I’m just shocked it’s been 10 years, in my mind FEA is still a “new” ride.

That's because since 2016 Disney keeps opening new versions of this ride, including another at DLP this Spring.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

It's the biggest glow up to an EPCOT boat ride since those AAs were added to Gran Fiesta Tour

 

[BlakeW39]

Every company makes dumb decisions. It’s just why does everything have to be so negative? And the fact that you clearly still go and enjoy WDW and then bash and post online makes it even more frustrating and fake.

You will be 100% happier if you try not to view and post everything in a negative light. It’s not just you - it’s a lot of people.

This is a positive update we never thought we’d get. And that’s it. No spin needed!

I know many fans are not going to see it this way but comments like this are exactly what one might refer to as "toxic positivity."

Every decision that a business makes is going to draw some level of criticism. That is FINE. That is GOOD. Most of the comments here are positive. I don't know what else you want outside total, unilateral praise which shouldn't exist.

Wow they're fixing a ride that was made poorly and actually shouldn't have even existed in the first place. Someone break out the champagne!

 

[Biff215]

I know many fans are not going to see it this way but comments like this are exactly what one might refer to as "toxic positivity."

Every decision that a business makes is going to draw some level of criticism. That is FINE. That is GOOD. Most of the comments here are positive. I don't know what else you want outside total, unilateral praise which shouldn't exist.

Wow they're fixing a ride that was made poorly and actually shouldn't have even existed in the first place. Someone break out the champagne!

Agreed, and I’m not even seeing any true negativity. As far as I can see no one is preferring they keep the figures as is. Sure there’s some sarcasm, but that’s to be expected, particularly with an attraction that was controversial from the start with Epcot purists.

If we all simply praised Disney for every move, there’d be no good reason to be here at all.

 

[Stripes]

Wow they're fixing a ride that was made poorly and actually shouldn't have even existed in the first place. Someone break out the champagne!

Are you saying that if someone disagrees with you that the ride was “made poorly” or that it shouldn’t exist, they are spreading “toxic positivity?”

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

This ride shouldn't exist. Maelstrom should still be there.

But this is a gruntling change. Plussing is a good thing.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

This ride shouldn't exist. Maelstrom should still be there.

But this is a gruntling change. Plussing is a good thing.

maelstrom was cheap and lame

 

[Stripes]

But this is a gruntling change. Plussing is a good thing.

You’ve been saying this quite a bit recently, Mr. Disgruntled!

Look at you now—so thoroughly, unmistakably, delightfully gruntled! We hardly recognize you in such a rare state of gruntlement. It suits you!

Now, carry on, you radiant specimen of satisfaction!

 

[BlakeW39]

Are you saying that if someone disagrees with you that the ride was “made poorly” or that it shouldn’t exist, they are spreading “toxic positivity?”

Nope, that's not what I said.

FEA can be your favoritest ride in the whole universe, far be it from me to stop you. The toxic positivity arises from the expectation that threads like this can only be praise and any negativity will cause some fan to effectively crash out.

For what it's worth I think this change is good. Plussing is good. Great for the people that like FEA.

 

[Stripes]

Nope, that's not what I said.

FEA can be your favoritest ride in the whole universe, far be it from me to stop you. The toxic positivity arises from the expectation that threads like this can only be praise and any negativity will cause some fan to effectively crash out.

For what it's worth I think this change is good. Plussing is good. Great for the people that like FEA.

Fair enough, sounds like I misunderstood your meaning. For me, I guess what becomes tiresome is that we’ve all heard the various criticisms of FEA for over a decade. The simple fact is: the ride is here to stay and Maelstrom is certainly not coming back. With this in mind, I would argue it’s okay to stop beating a dead horse when it comes to criticism of the ride replacing Maelstrom, the IP’s compatibility, etc.

Now, if you want to continue echoing those criticisms, I’m not looking to stop you. But, truly, we’ve all heard it before. Many, many times.

 

[Gusey]

Guess it will be closing for 6 months for this lol

Luckily they stressed the animatronics are coming Early 2026. Shouldn't be too long of a turnaround

 

[GhostHost1000]

A must needed change and just in time for the ride ten year anniversary of being open.

What a perfect way to celebrate that by giving it some new updates.

WDW has been on a roll lately with these announcements lately.

If they would have designed it right the first time, there wouldn’t be a need for a change. The fact that many signed off on how they looked as good enough tells you all you need to know about how things work now.

Actually if they had done it right, they would have left Maelstrom and built an additional Frozen attraction because Epcot needs more, but gosh that would cost money so nevermind.