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

[flynnibus]

If you could have wings... was 'transformed' into Buzz Lightyear in under a year... yet I'd bet 99% of the posters on this site now have no idea how the old attraction maps to the new and aren't held back knowing its limits based on the reuse. It uses the exact same ride system and track.

Imagination was also gutted and redone in under a year.

I'm not saying either of these things are great - I'm showing what Disney can do in a year's timeframe when they want to.

 

[spacemt354]

Some people are actually put forward the notion that in 15 months Disney will completely regut the Norway pavillion and create a brand new A grade attraction there ... ROFLMAO

Depends on what people judge as quality.

We have press releases and lifestylers drooling for the opening of new benches and bathrooms...The cutoff for quality has decreased while the prices have increased.

I wonder though, if Disney is trying to draw new guests to world showcase with a popular film overlay, that means that most of those people probably don't know how short in length maelstrom really is. If people were complaining about the length of 7DMT...a Frozen overlay of Maelstrom is not the best facility to show that new Disney attractions (with lines of 90+ minutes) last longer than 2 minutes...

And that's the other thing too. When maelstrom is a 40 minute wait, the line is out the door. The attraction is not currently equipped for long lines nor is it equipped with any "next gen tech" in its queue. I wonder how this is all going to work. They will have to extend the queue in some fashion and add next gen tech...by that point the budget will have probably been reached or axed and ride itself will feature extra cardboard Olaf cutouts from DHS plastered on the walls...

 

[unkadug]

If you could have wings... was 'transformed' into Buzz Lightyear in under a year... yet I'd bet 99% of the posters on this site now have no idea how the old attraction maps to the new and aren't held back knowing its limits based on the reuse. It uses the exact same ride system and track.

Imagination was also gutted and redone in under a year.

I'm not saying either of these things are great - I'm showing what Disney can do in a year's timeframe when they want to.

Not anymore...too much red tape to go through, not to mention that people are just slower nowadays than they were in the good ol' days when whole parks could be built in a couple of years.

Plus, they don't want to do anything!

 

[GoofGoof]

Not anymore...too much red tape to go through, not to mention that people are just slower nowadays than they were in the good ol' days when whole parks could be built in a couple of years.

Plus, they don't want to do anything!

Except in this case Staggs and Iger are demanding more Frozen in the parks. They rushed the summer thing at DHS which was out of character. I would normally totally agree that they don't want to rush anything, but this could be the one exception.

 

[flynnibus]

Not anymore...too much red tape to go through, not to mention that people are just slower nowadays than they were in the good ol' days when whole parks could be built in a couple of years.

We're talking about 1999/1998 - not 1950s/1970s

The barriers to speed between now and then are all internal - not external.

 

[cw1982]

Except in this case Staggs and Iger are demanding more Frozen in the parks. They rushed the summer thing at DHS which was out of character. I would normally totally agree that they don't want to rush anything, but this could be the one exception.

I would agree, except that the Frozen Summer was an event, not an attraction. How much time should it take to throw together a sing along and a mini parade that uses recycled floats?

 

[BigTxEars]

Just curious, how many on here who really dislike this move are planning on riding the new ride when it opens? I mean is it something you are interested to experience at all or just bypass that part of WS going forward?

I like the move, I of course will ride it but I will wait for a good FP chance or for the hype to die down some and the lines to level out. It should be utter chaos at first when it opens, I don't want to experience anything that much

 

[asianway]

I don't know if this has been said but I'd much rather DHS got a Frozen attraction than overhauling yet another World Showcase pavillion for a IP. As much as Epcot needs new attractions and reopening of pavillions long since shuttered to be used as party rooms, it just seems misplaced to me. Especially since that whole ice rink in the summer was in DHS under the Frozen theme, it just would make more sense to distribute crowds better to DHS and at least make the attempt to make it more than a 1/2 day park.

This is like when there's a gangland massacre & one of the victims gets a flesh wound and is playing dead.

Then the bad guys notice him breathing and come back with a head shot to finish the job.

EPCOT died long ago. They're just letting Norway join it's fallen brethren

 

[YodaMan]

Long shot (and this may have been discussed), but if they can't extend the track, could they at least change the speed of the ride? Is that in anyway possible? If they can't make it physically longer, mayhaps they could still increase the duration of the ride by slowing boats down? I always feel like I'm flying past the polar bear scene.

It will still screw up hourly capacity (unless they have the boats sent closer together), but at least it might be something.

 

[GoofGoof]

I would agree, except that the Frozen Summer was an event, not an attraction. How much time should it take to throw together a sing along and a mini parade that uses recycled floats?

True. But it was thrown together in a matter of weeks. This is scheduled for 18 months.

I wouldn't expect a new ride from scratch in 18 months, but it's a lot more time than would be needed to just add in a few Frozen figures and some fake snow.

 

[Mike S]

Just curious, how many on here who really dislike this move are planning on riding the new ride when it opens? I mean is it something you are interested to experience at all or just bypass that part of WS going forward?

I like the move, I of course will ride it but I will wait for a good FP chance or for the hype to die down some and the lines to level out. It should be utter chaos at first when it opens, I don't want to experience anything that much

I will be riding. With my eyes closed, noise canceling headphones on/in my ears and the full ride audio of Maelstrom playing on the iPhone in my pocket

 

[AEfx]

Well.. There's a feeewwwww.....

Monster Inc. Laugh Floor
Test Track overlay
SUM of all Thrills
O' Canada with Martin Short
Soarin' (when it FIRST opened in Epcot)
Mount Everest
Star Tours II


Nothing TOO recent though...

Uh...you are newish, so I will give you a pass - but seriously, half that stuff was NOT well received at all by the community when announced.

To remove everything Norwegian from Norway just proves they don't care about the whole purpose of the WS.

Nothing of the sort is happening. They are replacing the ride and sticking a meet and greet in (which is SORELY needed as the Frozen M&G at other parks have 3-4 hour lines).

That said, I do think that Disney disagrees with internet fans about what WS is all about. The more I read folks talking like this, the more I realize that what happened was very early on they tried to sell WS as something more than it was, and folks bought into it and expect some marketing stuff from 30 years ago that wasn't real in the first place. It's like the "working studio" fallacy of MGM - folks buy into this past that was never really was to begin with.

 

[BigTxEars]

I will be riding. With my eyes closed, noise canceling headphones on/in my ears and the full ride audio of Maelstrom playing on the iPhone in my pocket

Go down swinging!

 

[cw1982]

True. But it was thrown together in a matter of weeks. This is scheduled for 18 months.

I wouldn't expect a new ride from scratch in 18 months, but it's a lot more time than would be needed to just add in a few Frozen figures and some fake snow.

Right, but you're still talking apples and oranges. Others have already listed numerous projects that have taken far longer than they should have, and the Frozen Summer is just not on the same scale as any of those things.

18 months should be plenty of time for a new, high quality ride. With this bunch? I'm not holding my breath.

 

[cw1982]

Nothing of the sort is happening. They are replacing the ride and sticking a meet and greet in (which is SORELY needed as the Frozen M&G at other parks have 3-4 hour lines).

Considering that the stave church has already become a Frozen museum and all that will be left untouched by the film is the bakery, how much more has to happen before @acishere has made an accurate statement? It's only barely an exaggeration now, unless we count Askershus, which was already less about Norwegian food and more about a less expensive way to dine with princesses than CRT.

 

[Mike S]

Go down swinging!

In all seriousness I will most likely end up riding it at some point to see and experience it myself since video is never the same as the real thing.

 

[spacemt354]

Just curious, how many on here who really dislike this move are planning on riding the new ride when it opens? I mean is it something you are interested to experience at all or just bypass that part of WS going forward?

I like the move, I of course will ride it but I will wait for a good FP chance or for the hype to die down some and the lines to level out. It should be utter chaos at first when it opens, I don't want to experience anything that much

It's hard to say at this point because all of the info hasn't been released. Overlay vs. complete redo? Meaning...will The essence of Maelstrom still be there just like the layout and design of el rio del tiempo is still there in Mexico.. or will this be a completely new ride?

And if it's a completely new ride..is it a 2 minute frozen boat ride, or a slower omnimover with show scenes?

I can't really answer how I will feel in 15-18 months because I don't really know what's coming.

 

[AEfx]

Considering that the stave church has already become a Frozen museum and all that will be left untouched by the film is the bakery, how much more has to happen before @acishere has made an accurate statement? It's only barely an exaggeration now, unless we count Askershus, which was already less about Norwegian food and more about a less expensive way to dine with princesses than CRT.

That's the point, though - there isn't much "Norway" there to begin with to all of a sudden be eviscerated.

You can't rip out what isn't there to begin with.

 

[asianway]

It's hard to say at this point because all of the info hasn't been released. Overlay vs. complete redo? Meaning...will The essence of Maelstrom still be there just like the layout and design of el rio del tiempo is still there in Mexico.. or will this be a completely new ride?

And if it's a completely new ride..is it a 2 minute frozen boat ride, or a slower omnimover with show scenes?

I can't really answer how I will feel in 15-18 months because I don't really know what's coming.

I will keep repeating...it took them almost 18 months to reskin a meet n greet tent.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The comic explicitly takes place in Japan, and the characters are all based on Japanese pop-cultural archetypes. In fact, I think the main reason the film doesn't take place in Japan is to make it more appealing to the lucrative Chinese market, as China and Japan don't really get along.

And yet, oddly enough, Chinese food is pretty big in Tokyo.

Then give it to Paris, Hong Kong or somewhere else. It was part of the 1964 World's Fair attraction Walt built, so it had to have ended up at DL after the fair closed, since MK didn't open until 1971.

The original was moved to Disneyland and new versions have been built at each subsequent Magic Kingdom.

Just curious, how many on here who really dislike this move are planning on riding the new ride when it opens? I mean is it something you are interested to experience at all or just bypass that part of WS going forward?

I like the move, I of course will ride it but I will wait for a good FP chance or for the hype to die down some and the lines to level out. It should be utter chaos at first when it opens, I don't want to experience anything that much

I may eventually get around to see img it to see it, but even if it is the greatest attraction ever doesn't make it Norwegian. Walt Disney World isn't about reliving movies I've already seen, I have a Blu-Ray play and the Disney Movies Anywhere app for that.