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

[IMFearless]

I think this is another argument for rides not being linked to an IP.

Haunted Mansion will never date. It has more staying power than any film will ever have.

A good ride is good whether it's new or old or linked to an IP or not. There's something more deep which makes it work, it's almost like an orchestra of factors which when all are brought together and used in the right way will create a perfect ride.

It's a bit like a recipe, you can adjust it and tweak it here and there, but it's rare you get that magic recipe perfect. To me rides are the same, but the IP is almost like the packaging the food comes in, you notice it, but if the quality is not there in the actual food it doesn't matter how good the packaging is, the food still sucks.

They have to pay attention to the quality of the ride/attraction. The IP will never carry a bad ride however popular the IP is, not in the medium to long term.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Remember when the rumor was Phineas and Ferb were going to be the theme of a ride where Imagination was. Some were all for it. Now the show is over the popularity of Phineas and Ferb has passed. I believe Frozen will not ever be "forgotten" but I hope that it is viewed as a "Disney Classic" many years from now to justify this ride.

Makes you wonder why Disney didn't go ahead with the Phineas and Ferb Imagination thing.

The Phineas and Ferb ride rumor was a misinterpretation of an idea to put the headquarters for the Perry the Platypus game in the old Figment's Place meet and greet.

 

[Brer Panther]

Hopefully the Inside Out stuff is just a misinterpretation too (as in just Captain EO, Figment will still be in the ride).

 

[Suspirian]

Sounds like a version of this is what they need to add when they redo Hollywoodland at DCA

Nah

 

[bakntime]

I believe Frozen will not ever be "forgotten" but I hope that it is viewed as a "Disney Classic" many years from now to justify this ride.

I don't know what the % is, but I'm sure it's a very large number of guests would hear "Song of the South" and not know what attraction is based on it.

Even if Frozen's popularity falls off (won't happen for another 10+ years at the very least), and even if it's never regarded as a classic, it has fun characters, it has good music (even if you're sick of hearing it), and kids/families will continue to enjoy the attraction for a long time to come (as long as it's not a complete and total bust of an attraction, which wouldn't be Frozen's fault).

The key is that an attraction not require you to have seen the film (or TV show) in order to enjoy it. Lived under a rock and never seen Twilight Zone? Can still enjoy ToT. Never seen Star Wars? Can still enjoy Star Tours. Hopefully Frozen will still be an enjoyable attraction even if you haven't seen Frozen. With a fun backwards flume drop, good special effects, fun characters and music, it should be a good experience, and if it is, it can have staying power that would outlive the film version, if necessary. I tend to wonder how many people in line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Peter Pan's flight have actually sat down and watched the entire movies. The "fab 5" are now known more for "living at Disney World" than for their cartoon appearances.

 

[WDWYankee15]

I don't know what the % is, but I'm sure it's a very large number of guests would hear "Song of the South" and not know what attraction is based on it.

Even if Frozen's popularity falls off (won't happen for another 10+ years at the very least), and even if it's never regarded as a classic, it has fun characters, it has good music (even if you're sick of hearing it), and kids/families will continue to enjoy the attraction for a long time to come (as long as it's not a complete and total bust of an attraction, which wouldn't be Frozen's fault).

The key is that an attraction not require you to have seen the film (or TV show) in order to enjoy it. Lived under a rock and never seen Twilight Zone? Can still enjoy ToT. Never seen Star Wars? Can still enjoy Star Tours. Hopefully Frozen will still be an enjoyable attraction even if you haven't seen Frozen. With a fun backwards flume drop, good special effects, fun characters and music, it should be a good experience, and if it is, it can have staying power that would outlive the film version, if necessary. I tend to wonder how many people in line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Peter Pan's flight have actually sat down and watched the entire movies. The "fab 5" are now known more for "living at Disney World" than for their cartoon appearances.

I agree 100% what your saying. Perhaps I should have clarified my comments. To remake/retheme an existing ride, especially ones that in themselves deemed "classic" that the IP needs to much more than the "hot" thing in a given time. I don't think anyone (actually on these boards, someone would) would be complaining if this Frozen ride was being built from scratch in DHS. Your examples about Splash Mountain, Twilight Zone, etc are dead on. Some of the greatness of these attractions is the exposure of people to a story they may not know and letting the ride tell the story. That is what a good "theme" park ride does. It is what Disney was always know for. But the long and short of this is they were new attractions. They were original ideas. I think this difference is the major rub for most people.

 

[Bairstow]

I don't know what the % is, but I'm sure it's a very large number of guests would hear "Song of the South" and not know what attraction is based on it.

Even if Frozen's popularity falls off (won't happen for another 10+ years at the very least), and even if it's never regarded as a classic, it has fun characters, it has good music (even if you're sick of hearing it), and kids/families will continue to enjoy the attraction for a long time to come (as long as it's not a complete and total bust of an attraction, which wouldn't be Frozen's fault).

Yeah, I don't think Frozen's lasting appeal should be anyone's concern.
Think back on some of Disney's big princess-related hits from the early '90s like Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. All of those were huge hits, but maybe not on the scale of Frozen, and Disney is still getting good mileage out of them.

 

[bakntime]

Your examples about Splash Mountain, Twilight Zone, etc are dead on. Some of the greatness of these attractions is the exposure of people to a story they may not know and letting the ride tell the story. That is what a good "theme" park ride does. It is what Disney was always know for. But the long and short of this is they were new attractions. They were original ideas. I think this difference is the major rub for most people.

It's been strongly implied (if not outright said) that Frozen won't be a "retelling" of the film (like most Fantasyland dark rides are). It will supposedly be a kind of separate "adventure" or something to that effect. It remains to be seen how that pans out, but I'm cautiously optimistic that the combination of unique effects and variations on the music and themes can result in something that's fun to experience without feeling like "been there, done that."

 

[WildcatDen]

I don't think the comparison to Mexico is valid. The ride is still set in Mexico, not some fictional country.

Wait. What???

Mexico is REAL?

Mind Blown. . .

So, does this mean the Chupacabra is real as well?

 

[SYRIK2000]

Wait. What???

Mexico is REAL?

Mind Blown. . .

So, does this mean the Chupacabra is real as well?

Yes

 

[WDWYankee15]

It's been strongly implied (if not outright said) that Frozen won't be a "retelling" of the film (like most Fantasyland dark rides are). It will supposedly be a kind of separate "adventure" or something to that effect. It remains to be seen how that pans out, but I'm cautiously optimistic that the combination of unique effects and variations on the music and themes can result in something that's fun to experience without feeling like "been there, done that."

I too remain optimistic about this ride. As the father of a young daughter, I am excited for this ride and "something new." Again my only reservation is the loss of a classic attraction to do it.

 

[aladdin2007]

I too remain optimistic about this ride. As the father of a young daughter, I am excited for this ride and "something new." Again my only reservation is the loss of a classic attraction to do it.

And the loss of the Norway pavilion in general.

 

[aladdin2007]

bakntime made this interesting comment over in the frontierland thread so thought I would copy it here:

I don't know if I agree about a substantial thematic disconnect, as Maelstrom was already a fairy tale, albeit a darker one. It had trolls and magic spells and backwards water flumes. I get that it was an extension of Norse/Norwegian mythology and culture, but it still always felt cartoony to me. It remains to be seen how much, if at all, Disney will try and tie in Scandinavian culture into the preshow, scenery, etc. I'm thinking there's still a chance for little Scandinavian flavor, so that at least I don't feel like I was kicked in the marbles.

Im hoping that as well,,,, but the more we hear from this the less I am convinced Disney is going to keep this as Norway like they have said they would,, especially with the sound of Elsa's Eatery on the horizon,,,so far it has felt like Norway has been kicked to the curb. But hopefully like bakntime said they will tie in a Norwegian aspect in design or something. Yes there will be Norwegian artifacts in the new meetngreet, but that does a lot of us no good at all who dont do the meetngreets.... the ride title has nothing Norwegian about it (at least Olaf's Adventures would have sounded more fitting), same goes for the elsas eatery thing, etc etc. yeah the stave church will still be standing and the store is suppose to keep some Norwegian merch but theres really nothing left.

 

[Brer Panther]

It's been strongly implied (if not outright said) that Frozen won't be a "retelling" of the film (like most Fantasyland dark rides are). It will supposedly be a kind of separate "adventure" or something to that effect.

Yep, a completely new adventure where Elsa is in her castle singing "Let It Go".

 

[FigmentJedi]

Yep, a completely new adventure where Elsa is in her castle singing "Let It Go".

Exactly. It's a new adventure in the sense that the Finding Nemo rides are all about having to find Nemo again and go through the same adventures.

 

[bakntime]

Yep, a completely new adventure where Elsa is in her castle singing "Let It Go".

Come on, now. What do you expect? Does the Tower of Terror not play the Twilight Zone theme song? Does Star Tours not have the Star Wars theme? Does Forbidden Journey not play the Harry Potter theme music? Just because the most popular song is going to be reprised (supposedly, however, with some new lyrics for Let it Go), doesn't mean the adventure isn't "new".

Radiator Springs Racers manages to take you tractor tipping, get chased by Frank, and have you race around Willie's Butte, and it uses music from the movie, but it never feels like a rehash of the movie's story.

All of my favorite movie sequels revisit elements from previous installments. That doesn't mean they aren't fresh and new adventures in their own way.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Come on, now. What do you expect? Does the Tower of Terror not play the Twilight Zone theme song? Does Star Tours not have the Star Wars theme? Does Forbidden Journey not play the Harry Potter theme music? Just because the most popular song is going to be reprised (supposedly, however, with some new lyrics for Let it Go), doesn't mean the adventure isn't "new".

Radiator Springs Racers manages to take you tractor tipping, get chased by Frank, and have you race around Willie's Butte, and it uses music from the movie, but it never feels like a rehash of the movie's story.

All of my favorite movie sequels revisit elements from previous installments. That doesn't mean they aren't fresh and new adventures in their own way.

Bad comparisons. All those musical tracks are instrumental themes that play series-wide. Let It Go is the keystone to Frozen's story and is all about Elsa not giving a dang (I hate you censors) and letting her powers loose. It's very specific to a context and the ride concept looks like the original movie context.

The vignettes used in RSR are just that: Vignettes specific to the Radiator Springs setting that are really just the few things to do in a tiny Route 66 town. Additionally, Racers introduced new parts of town like the caves and Stanley's settlement.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Yep, a completely new adventure where Elsa is in her castle singing "Let It Go".

Kind of like how Star Tours had the Death Star from "A New Hope" even though the ride took place after "Return of the Jedi".

 

[Bairstow]

Come on, now. What do you expect? Does the Tower of Terror not play the Twilight Zone theme song? Does Star Tours not have the Star Wars theme? Does Forbidden Journey not play the Harry Potter theme music? Just because the most popular song is going to be reprised (supposedly, however, with some new lyrics for Let it Go), doesn't mean the adventure isn't "new".

Radiator Springs Racers manages to take you tractor tipping, get chased by Frank, and have you race around Willie's Butte, and it uses music from the movie, but it never feels like a rehash of the movie's story.

All of my favorite movie sequels revisit elements from previous installments. That doesn't mean they aren't fresh and new adventures in their own way.

My favorite licensed attractions are the ones that truly do introduce new elements and characters to a familiar story, like the old 20,000 leagues ride. Admittedly, a lot of it was just incorporating things from the Disneyland subs ride, but they made it work.

Universal Creative has actually been really good at having licensed attractions that break out of the "book report" mold, with things like Mummy, Jurassic Park, Men in Black, and Terminator: Battle Across Time. ET might be a bit of a creative misfire, but at least it had gumption to take a premise and run with it without rehashing more than necessary.

Kind of like how Star Tours had the Death Star from "A New Hope" even though the ride took place after "Return of the Jedi".

This is why I much prefer the original version of Star Tours.
It was confident enough in its world and premise that it didn't have to resort to being a pageant of things to make guests say, "Oh wait, I remember that!"

 

[bakntime]

Bad comparisons. All those musical tracks are instrumental themes that play series-wide. Let It Go is the keystone to Frozen's story and is all about Elsa not giving a dang (I hate you censors) and letting her powers loose. It's very specific to a context and the ride concept looks like the original movie context.

So basically, based on a piece of concept art, you've decided that it will be a rehash of the movie's songs, plot, and settings. Alright. I guess you could be right.

The vignettes used in RSR are just that: Vignettes specific to the Radiator Springs setting that are really just the few things to do in a tiny Route 66 town. Additionally, Racers introduced new parts of town like the caves and Stanley's settlement.

And so you know for certain that Frozen won't contain vignettes that are based on the characters and Scandinavian-inspired settings in the film?

If you honestly think that a Frozen attraction shouldn't have at least some nod to the the most iconic song in the film, the one that a gazillion little kids have been singing since the film came out, I think we're living in different worlds. Philharmagic is filled with rehashes of the most famous song from each movie represented. I have yet to visit the Magic Kingdom and not hear "When you Wish Upon A Star". All the musical stage shows (Nemo, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid) replay the songs from the film. Aladdin at DCA is one of the best Disney theme park musicals I've ever seen, and it's a retelling of the story from the film. The original Star Tours took you on the famous trench run, and ended with you blowing up another Death Star somehow, just like in the movie. It made little to no sense, but it was awesome to experience that.