I wanted to come in and add some firsthand experience from Sunday that adds likely 0 new information to the discussion and has likely already been noted in the past 10 pages or so. You know, because that is how these kinds of threads work.
I was able to get one last ride on Maelstrom on Sunday, around 3pm. Both the standby line and FP+ lines were back past the entrance to Akershus. Standby was listed at 75 minutes at that point in time.
There was a brief moment when we were outside in line that someone was able to put up a sign in the center window above the entry doors (and attraction sign) that read #savemaelstrom. It was dropped quickly, I'm guessing someone was seen doing it. I didn't see the sign return while I was outside. Our group of us WDWMagic folk all had FP+, so we cruised through the line fairly quickly.
Inside, nearly every person was taking pictures of everything (myself included). The signs, the flags, the boats, the murals, the people. The CMs were posing for pictures in the unload area.
The ride itself was what it always has been. A middling attraction that was an odd mix of reality and fantasy. I snapped a few ride photos that are not very good. We all sat down and stayed through the end of the film, and then watched the entire thing on the next loop. That was always my favorite part of that attraction. Wow was it well outdated. That was one heck of a computer that dude was working on.
We all stopped back by the pavilion on our way out, around 10pm, as we were slowly wandering around a mostly empty WS taking pictures and enjoying a post-meal stroll. The group outside was gathered, the doors were closed, and the last few ride cycles were running. I'm not sure if they were the CM rides, or the last of the guests. We took some pictures and moved along, not joining the group of people hanging around doing whatever it is they were doing outside the closed doors.
It was kind of odd to be hit with some of the feelings of loss and nostalgia that I had, based on the fact that I had no real love for the attraction. Maybe it was making up for not being at all the closings of attractions at Epcot that I really loved, like Horizons, WoM, The Living Seas, Journey into Imagination. Maybe it was knowing that it's being Frozen-afied (talked to a lady and her daughter on the way out of the film after her girl literally cringed when someone started jokingly singing Let It Go, she said her girl usually loves the film, but has recently become very sick of it). Maybe it was the beers and pitcher of sangria.
I feel bad for the Norway pavilion for the next couple of years. Nobody is going to stop there. It's going to go from one day of massive popularity to a couple years of ghost town.
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