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

[Mike S]

Okay then five...still not a lot and the other three are shows.

6 actually. Two rides, three movies and one stage show (the best one on property imo).

 

[Sam Magic]

Not at all. I don't worship Eisner by any means, but with a company with such a limited list of leadership, you really can't say he did Disney wrong, not by a long shot.

Did he make a lot of poor decisions in the later years? Sure. But his first 15 or so years of leadership were fantastic, and saw more investment in the Parks as well as the iconic Second Renaissance of Disney Animation.

It's easy to hate Eisner, or any CEO, but, he wasn't all bad. Not by a long shot.

You're right, he was not all bad, but you can not deny the negative legacy left on all parks that we now are slowly beginning to correct.

 

[Sam Magic]

6 actually. Two rides, three movies and one stage show (the best one on property imo).

You're right...I forgot the French film.

 

[Matt_Black]

For those complaining that a Frozen attraction ruins theming or authenticity, where is the outrage at Coca-Cola beverages being available at every pavilion in the World Showcase? Last I checked, Coke was founded in Atlanta.

 

[englanddg]

For those complaining that a Frozen attraction ruins theming or authenticity, where is the outrage at Coca-Cola beverages being available at every pavilion in the World Showcase? Last I checked, Coke was founded in Atlanta.

Last I checked, they didn't try to build "World of Coke" in every venue either.

 

[englanddg]

A 'mini" version of it exists in Futureworld at EPCOT, which is ok...but that's a rather silly analogy.

 

[PhotoDave219]

For those complaining that a Frozen attraction ruins theming or authenticity, where is the outrage at Coca-Cola beverages being available at every pavilion in the World Showcase? Last I checked, Coke was founded in Atlanta.

I would prefer a makeover of the Norway pavillion and a rehab of the ride - which is desperately needs - be pretty much anything but Frozen.

Frozen has had about one year of staying power... sofar. (ok 10 months) Will it still be batcrazy popular in 2016? Who knows. This resonates with the prime demo of Disney (12 year old lil girls) and shows no signs of slowing down.

Either way, I dont see this as a well-thought out move. I see it as reactionary, rather than the long-term, strategic, proactive moves that built this company.

 

[Matt_Black]

This resonates with the prime demo of Disney (12 year old lil girls) and shows no signs of slowing down.

It's not just little girls who like the movie. It resonates with plenty of adults too. Little girls usually don't write gobs of fanfic, don't have deviantart accounts where they post their drawings, and don't have youtube channels where they put up elaborate tribute videos.

Will it be popular in 2 years? I'm guessing yes. Tangled is four years old at this point, and until Elsa & Anna debuted back in 2013, Rapunzel was still getting lines of 60-90 minutes at least. In fact, I think she'd still have lines like that if Frozen wasn't so ridiculously popular; right now, if you don't queue up for Anna & Elsa right away, you're going to have to wait until your next trip, whenever that might be.

 

[jensenrick]

What are some examples in the movie of Norwegian culture?

Probably almost as many examples in the movie as there are in the current pavilion.
Seriously, the idea that the epcot pavilions are bastions of "culture" is pretty laughable. They are culture "lite" at best, and Norway isn't the best. What are we losing, an oil rig and a polar bear?

 

[Jon81uk]

How can people be saying the Eisner Era was lazy when it opened Disney-MGM Studios (as a working studio with proper tour), opened Animal Kingdom and brought about some of the most popular Disney movies (Beauty & the Beast, Lion king, Little Mermaid).

It was only much later on (and one of the reasons he was removed) that Eisner's management was getting lazy with the cheap looking original California Adventure and Disney Studios Paris along with the poorly received movies (Chicken Little, Brother Bear).
Animation only recovered once John Lassetter was in change and some would say he is the reason that DisneyLand and DCA have been improved. Unfortunately it seems Lassetter doesn't have any nostalgia for the Florida parks......

 

[jensenrick]

My buddy and I are 36 year old men. We've had more discussions about how much we love Frozen than anything else this year. Part of the reason that it's made over a billion dollars world wide and counting is precisely because it appeals to a wide audience, kids and adults alike.

THANK YOU! This attitude around here that "this ride is only for 4 year old girls" is not only annoying and inaccurate, it reeks of some disturbing mental attitudes.

 

[jensenrick]

Aside from what's been mentioned...

The score, particularly Vuelie featuring Cantus and Heimr Arandalr (spelling?) are based heavily on existing Norwegian pieces (Norwegian composer Frode Fjellheim is given a co-credit on the score).

Norway has the largest Catholic population of any Nordic country; in Frozen, while overt references are taken out, you can clearly see a bishop presiding over the coronation ceremony.

The sauna, touched on briefly in the Oaken scene, is also a fixture in Norwegian cultures, as it is in other Scandinavian countries.

And, I don't know where I saw it, but a Norwegian who saw the film drew parallels between it and Norway's historical dealings with foreign powers, most notably positing that Weselton and the Southern Isles are analogues of Sweden and Denmark.

Thank you again. I think I learned more about Norway from this post than I EVER "learned" at Epcot.

 

[Matt_Black]

Probably almost as many examples in the movie as there are in the current pavilion.
Seriously, the idea that the epcot pavilions are bastions of "culture" is pretty laughable. They are culture "lite" at best, and Norway isn't the best. What are we losing, an oil rig and a polar bear?

Indeed. The pavilions in the World Showcase were never meant to be cultural learning tools, but commercials for those countries sponsored by native business to attract tourism dollars.

 

[jensenrick]

What WS was sold as was a showcase of other countries around the world at a time when world travel wasn't as popular or easy as it is now. Countries used those pavilions as "showcases" to promote travel to said countries.

And since Frozen has been WAY more effective at promoting tourism to Norway than that pavilion has ever been . . .

 

[jensenrick]

Then again, even if that were to happen i am sure the fact it is a 'new Attraction' will draw lines no matter what the final result inside will be.

A very interesting point.

 

[jensenrick]

I guess all these people clamouring for WDW to become kids-only missed the story of Walt sitting on a park bench while his daughters went on a ride, and wishing there were things the whole family could enjoy together.

Oh, so "whole families" can't go on the Frozen ride together? Because anyone over 6 just hates Frozen that much?

Jeez, you Frozen-haters are just so ridiculous. Go ahead, be bitter all you want, less people in front of me in line.

 

[NeXuS1000]

I've been waiting a bit to voice my opinion on this, but I guess now is as good a time as ever

I definitely follow and understand all the critics, especially on a few merits:

• There's no reason why a Frozen attraction couldn't be added without tearing down an existing attraction. Epcot could definitely use a few extra attractions at the moment.
• I'm also scared of how this can make the countries, or in this case Norway, less authentic and more Disney-ified, which really doesn't fit World Showcase and its charm.
• I'm also worried that this won't be a really nice, E-ticket attraction, making it even less meaningful to have it replace Maelström

However, I don't think we can already judge this move as something bad. Disney have plenty of opportunities to make this a welcomed change:

• Come on, Maelström wasn't that great. Certainly not an all-time classic that should never be canned. Sure, you could have updated it to give it a better lease on life, but that's a different discussion I guess. There's a lot more rides I would miss more than Maelström, that's certain.
• Getting Frozen into the Norway pavillion is not per definition a bad idea, this all depends on the execution. If they over-Disney-fy it, then sure, it will remove some of the WS charm, but in essence, this doesn't go directly against the idea of World Showcase. If they're integrating into elegantly and without going over-the-top, it can help sell the idealized version of Norway even better, and it's not like WS has ever been about completely accurately portraying the country anyway; it's about showing the famous and romantic things about the countries.
• This could definitely be an improved attraction over Maelström, if Disney invests the right money in it. Who knows if this also doesn't result in an expansion of the Norway pavilion to better funnel the crowds that this will surely generate? There's also plenty of opportunity to integrate Norwegian culture and history within a Frozen ride.

So quite simply; yes, I'm also "scared", but I don't see this doomed to begin with. It really all depends on the execution. And yes, I know TDO doesn't have the best track record in this area atm.

 

[Matt_Black]

Oh, so "whole families" can't go on the Frozen ride together? Because anyone over 6 just hates Frozen that much?

Jeez, you Frozen-haters are just so ridiculous. Go ahead, be bitter all you want, less people in front of me in line.

I can get that people don't like Frozen. I'm suspicious of those who feel the need to voice their dislike at every opportunity. As the Bard said, "Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

 

[Jeff456]

I'm concerned about the general increase in crowds at Epcot this could cause not just increasing lines at a new frozen attraction in comparison to Maelstrom which is clearly inevitable but impacting every other ride in the park. I don't see how an attraction which may well be heavily based on maelstrom which is fairly small in scale will be able to handle the huge influx of crowds this will inevitably cause?

 

[jensenrick]

It's not just little girls who like the movie. It resonates with plenty of adults too. Little girls usually don't write gobs of fanfic, don't have deviantart accounts where they post their drawings, and don't have youtube channels where they put up elaborate tribute videos.

And thank you again.
I'd say that I don't know where this "only 2-6 year olds like Frozen" idea comes from, but i do know- HATERS. They didn't get it, so obviously it must only be good for tiny children. Ugh.
I have zero interest in where haters think a Frozen attraction "should" go, but fortunately they are easily ignored.