Frozen ride replacing Maelstrom?

[Bocabear]

That ship has sailed over the edge and into the abyss.

Hopefully so has the idea of adding a Disney Character overlay to The American Adventure.. What a horrible idea...and just what people are concerned about with allowing some characters into World Showcase...I was softening to the idea of some Frozen in Norway...Maybe Remi in France, but when you say adding Disney Characters to AA...that makes me hate the whole idea of any characters... It is just too much.

 

[wdisney9000]

Hopefully so has the idea of adding a Disney Character overlay to The American Adventure.. What a horrible idea...and just what people are concerned about with allowing some characters into World Showcase...I was softening to the idea of some Frozen in Norway...Maybe Remi in France, but when you say adding Disney Characters to AA...that makes me hate the whole idea of any characters... It is just too much.

You must keep in mind that the same way you would not to see characters in AA is the same feeling others have towards seeing them in Norway, Japan, England, or any country in WS. It should not require Disney to infringe upon an individuals favorite country in WS before they have concern. If they do it to Norway, they will do it to ANY country there, so nobody should have the opinion of "its not my favorite country, so it doesnt bother me". Yours will be next!

 

[dadddio]

Hopefully so has the idea of adding a Disney Character overlay to The American Adventure.. What a horrible idea...and just what people are concerned about with allowing some characters into World Showcase...I was softening to the idea of some Frozen in Norway...Maybe Remi in France, but when you say adding Disney Characters to AA...that makes me hate the whole idea of any characters... It is just too much.

Does the idea of adding characters to AA exist anywhere but in the satirical posts of a few in this thread?

 

[cw1982]

Does the idea of adding characters to AA exist anywhere but in the satirical posts of a few in this thread?

Unfortunately, there are those who think that WS isn't "tooned up" enough as it is and would like for the entire thing to be an international version of the Magic Kingdom during daylight hours. So, while no one has said anything specifically about AA, that pavilion would just as much be getting the kiddiefied treatment as the rest of the lagoon. I'm not sure which posts you're referring to, but the ones I can think of that mention such an idea were definitely not satire; that person seriously wants to see this happen.

 

[wdisney9000]

Does the idea of adding characters to AA exist anywhere but in the satirical posts of a few in this thread?

Cant help but think the idea has been tossed around in a corporate meeting at some point. If they are considering the Norway layover it wouldnt be a stretch to think they have explored options for other countries. Hopefully the idea stays far away from the park though.

 

[wdisney9000]

Unfortunately, there are those who think that WS isn't "tooned up" enough as it is and would like for the entire thing to be an international version of the Magic Kingdom during daylight hours. So, while no one has said anything specifically about AA, that pavilion would just as much be getting the kiddiefied treatment as the rest of the lagoon. I'm not sure which posts you're referring to, but the ones I can think of that mention such an idea were definitely not satire; that person seriously wants to see this happen.

Correct if Im wrong but wasnt the (moronic) fantasy he had to basically "toon" it up in the daytime and then turn it back into original WS by night so people can get drunk?

 

[cw1982]

Correct if Im wrong but wasnt the (moronic) fantasy he had is basically to "toon" it up in the daytime and then turn it back into original WS by night so people can get drunk?

Yep that was the idea. Not only would this change the entire dynamic of WS, which has such a huge draw for Epcot as it is, but the idea of a "late night" WS won't happen because Disney won't give up their current upcharge event (the Wind Downs) to have to pay more CM's to stay later and keep the entire lagoon open. So it would become a kiddiefied version of its former self without getting those night time benefits.

 

[FutureCEO]

So I came across this bit of news. If its true, I think it's the beginning of the end of Epcot as it once was. Sure it will make Epcot popular but getting rid of Norway!?! I also think it's ridiculous for a country to pay for a pavilion. Granted Norway is a nice pavilion but Norway has so much more to offer than a 20 year old attraction based on fairy tales and stereotypes. Sure oil production is big in Norway but Norway has so much more to offer than oil.
I don't think kids will ask their parents to go to Norway (the actual country) because they want to see the big ugly monstrous oil barges.

 

[TyrantBoss]

I read an article today that said since Frozen has done so well, talks have already started about creating a ride and that it would replace Maelstrom at the Norway pavillion.

I really hope this doesn't happen. I would love a new ride in Epcot but it should be built not replace a classic ride, especially a still popular one.

Has anyone else heard about this?

I haven't heard anything, but I think Disney would be wise to take a portion of New Fantasyland, the dead space between Be Our Guest and Little Mermaid and turn that into a Frozen ride.
A few things I think they would need in that ride:
1) Tell a good story. They do an okay job with Little Mermaid but they are lacking in the truly dramatic part of the story...which leads to....
2) The Giant Snow Monster from Frozen HAS to be giant. Ursula needed to become Giant Ursula in the Little Mermaid ride, but Disney missed a golden opportunity to recapture the drama of the story. The Giant Snow Monster should be in the new Frozen Ride and be just a bit scary to add that thrill...then have him get beaten. Little kids love to see an enemy vanquished.
3) Of course it has to have the songs because that's a huge draw
4) It MUST get really really cold on the ride when Elsa gets her frozen on....We want the FEEL the cold. And it would make it even more popular in the super hot months in Orlando.
5) Then it has to warm up near the end when conflict is resolved...obviously.
5a) OH.....and a nice little touch....either have it actually SNOW on the ride, or at the end have Elsa say goodbye and give us a little final dose of her magic and have it snow a little when we leave.
6) We need to see a little bit of action and fun with the AA's.
7) A REAL moving AA of Olaf. Not this ham-handed crappy Olaf projected on a movie screen like they are doing for the Frozen Fun celebration. We want a fully AA Olaf. And with all of the moving parts, loose joints and flexibility of Olaf, they could do some ground breaking AA work on a new Olaf. That's something I would like to see so I can ask "How did they do that?"
8) We need to see the Elsa's Frozen Castle on the ride...of course....but I would love to look up in the distance between BOG and Prince Eric's and see a forced perspective Elsa Frozen Castle in the distance. Imagine the glowing ice castle atop a snow covered mountain peak. I think that would be absolutely beautiful.

Just my thoughts.

 

[cw1982]

I haven't heard anything, but I think Disney would be wise to take a portion of New Fantasyland, the dead space between Be Our Guest and Little Mermaid and turn that into a Frozen ride.
A few things I think they would need in that ride:
1) Tell a good story. They do an okay job with Little Mermaid but they are lacking in the truly dramatic part of the story...which leads to....
2) The Giant Snow Monster from Frozen HAS to be giant. Ursula needed to become Giant Ursula in the Little Mermaid ride, but Disney missed a golden opportunity to recapture the drama of the story. The Giant Snow Monster should be in the new Frozen Ride and be just a bit scary to add that thrill...then have him get beaten. Little kids love to see an enemy vanquished.
3) Of course it has to have the songs because that's a huge draw
4) It MUST get really really cold on the ride when Elsa gets her frozen on....We want the FEEL the cold. And it would make it even more popular in the super hot months in Orlando.
5) Then it has to warm up near the end when conflict is resolved...obviously.
6) We need to see a little bit of action and fun with the AA's.
7) A REAL moving AA of Olaf. Not this ham-handed crappy Olaf projected on a movie screen like they are doing for the Frozen Fun celebration. We want a fully AA Olaf. And with all of the moving parts, loose joints and flexibility of Olaf, they could do some ground breaking AA work on a new Olaf. That's something I would like to see so I can ask "How did they do that?"
8) We need to see the Elsa's Frozen Castle on the ride...of course....but I would love to look up in the distance between BOG and Prince Eric's and see a forced perspective Elsa Frozen Castle in the distance. Imagine the glowing ice castle atop a snow covered mountain peak. I think that would be absolutely beautiful.

Just my thoughts.

Yes. This is exactly what should happen IMO. I would be perfectly fine with having the meet and greet and ride at MK and having a show at HS (if they really want to have a long-term Frozen reference there as well). But if they go ahead and do this overlay at Maelstrom now, it won't be as a placeholder for a future ride, even if they spin it that way (which I haven't heard, other than as a random musing in one of these posts). It'll end up being, "we've already spent money on this overlay, and people seem to be enjoying it. Let's take this money that we were going to spend on a better Frozen ride and spend it on [insert latest outlandish investment here]."

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Good that you are softening on the idea. Seas could easily have features that introduce concepts such as Oceanography to kids by using Nemo. Along with other adds that feature E-tickets on similar subjects. Just bring in James Cameron once Pandora opens.

AA could easily have 2 seperate programs featured. One in the daytime featuring Disney characters and a seperate show later in the day.

 

[twilight mitsuk]

I haven't heard anything, but I think Disney would be wise to take a portion of New Fantasyland, the dead space between Be Our Guest and Little Mermaid and turn that into a Frozen ride.
A few things I think they would need in that ride:
1) Tell a good story. They do an okay job with Little Mermaid but they are lacking in the truly dramatic part of the story...which leads to....
2) The Giant Snow Monster from Frozen HAS to be giant. Ursula needed to become Giant Ursula in the Little Mermaid ride, but Disney missed a golden opportunity to recapture the drama of the story. The Giant Snow Monster should be in the new Frozen Ride and be just a bit scary to add that thrill...then have him get beaten. Little kids love to see an enemy vanquished.
3) Of course it has to have the songs because that's a huge draw
4) It MUST get really really cold on the ride when Elsa gets her frozen on....We want the FEEL the cold. And it would make it even more popular in the super hot months in Orlando.
5) Then it has to warm up near the end when conflict is resolved...obviously.
5a) OH.....and a nice little touch....either have it actually SNOW on the ride, or at the end have Elsa say goodbye and give us a little final dose of her magic and have it snow a little when we leave.
6) We need to see a little bit of action and fun with the AA's.
7) A REAL moving AA of Olaf. Not this ham-handed crappy Olaf projected on a movie screen like they are doing for the Frozen Fun celebration. We want a fully AA Olaf. And with all of the moving parts, loose joints and flexibility of Olaf, they could do some ground breaking AA work on a new Olaf. That's something I would like to see so I can ask "How did they do that?"
8) We need to see the Elsa's Frozen Castle on the ride...of course....but I would love to look up in the distance between BOG and Prince Eric's and see a forced perspective Elsa Frozen Castle in the distance. Imagine the glowing ice castle atop a snow covered mountain peak. I think that would be absolutely beautiful.

Just my thoughts.

just put frozen in IASW

 

[FrankLapidus]

AA could easily have 2 seperate programs featured. One in the daytime featuring Disney characters and a seperate show later in the day.

This is truly one of the worst suggestions/fantasies I've seen posted on this forum.

The American Adventure is probably the best thing in World Showcase, what you're suggesting is the very last thing it needs.

 

[TyrantBoss]

just put frozen in IASW

That definitely wouldn't work. a) The theme song in IASW is distinctive in its own right and you need to get the songs from Frozen to feature prominently on the ride. b) Frozen needs a story to be told and a full ride in which to do it.
IASW is an A Ticket ride. Frozen would be a new D or E Ticket.

 

[FrankLapidus]

just put frozen in IASW

Why take something away in order to get something new?

There's room for a Frozen attraction in Fantasyland without closing a classic attraction.

 

[omurice]

I don't understand the interest in having Frozen-land at DHS. It would stick out like a sore thumb. It belongs in Fantasyland. Maybe if DHS had actual themed lands once you get past Hollywood Blvd. and Sunset Blvd. but I can't imagine walking into that park and seeing the ice castle. No. Just no. That to me is just sticking it somewhere to stick it somewhere.

And I want Star Wars land as much as anybody but I really don't love the idea of it taking over the Echo Lake area (if that happens to turn out to be true ... just a rumor as far as I know). I'd rather it be more out of the way.

I would rather they put Frozen into MK or HS, much more than Epcot. DHS there are too many places they could easily fit a Frozen attraction, and a few to put a mini-land. However I can only see four ways to fit Frozen into MK Fantasyland.

One puts walls up in Storybook Circus area an area that is barely 2 years old (i.e. accountants never going to allow it - capital investments have to mature before removal, even if we don't all love the result).

Two replaces something else in FL - Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan are too popular, IASW is one of those "do not touch" attractions, Princess Hall not a year old - so this puts a huge bullseye on Philharmagic theater. I love Philharmagic and it is a movie - can easily be updated, but it is the most viable option for re-using an existing space, and it's right in the middle of things, behind the castle.

Three is re-define the boundaries of FL - Hall of Presidents could get gobbled up and become a closed off facade on the south side; a tunnel between PP queue and back of Harbor House would lead us back to that building. It would be sad or even blasphemy to some of us (it's the only one of its kind), but be serious - how many guests are storming Guest Relations if HoP gets shut down?

Four is the way I prefer, nothing gets replaced. A magical passageway leads to a new ride building behind IASW. There are a couple of alleyways to service areas back there (elephant doors by Rapunzel area, or by the Pinocchio bathrooms). So a long, indoor hallway/queue themed to a frozen forest or an ice tunnel leads back to behind IASW. Be Our Guest needs delivery trucks, and IASW & Mansion need backstage access too, so it's a squeeze.
But this is an option, and the best part, nothing we know and love gets demo'd!


PS - I know it's too late to armchair imagineer. The last 10 days, it sounds almost certain TDO is pulling the trigger on Maelstrom reconfig but there is always hope for some shred of sanity will prevail. But a Maelstrom re-theme, with that load and ride system, this means Frozen (possibly their highest grossing animated feature in 77 years as a studio) gets a C-ticket dark ride re-tread, with at best a 1,000 per hour capacity.
Seriously anyone at TDO believes that will meet the guest demand for Frozen?

 

[Magenta Panther]

I haven't heard anything, but I think Disney would be wise to take a portion of New Fantasyland, the dead space between Be Our Guest and Little Mermaid and turn that into a Frozen ride.
A few things I think they would need in that ride:
1) Tell a good story. They do an okay job with Little Mermaid but they are lacking in the truly dramatic part of the story...which leads to....
2) The Giant Snow Monster from Frozen HAS to be giant. Ursula needed to become Giant Ursula in the Little Mermaid ride, but Disney missed a golden opportunity to recapture the drama of the story. The Giant Snow Monster should be in the new Frozen Ride and be just a bit scary to add that thrill...then have him get beaten. Little kids love to see an enemy vanquished.
3) Of course it has to have the songs because that's a huge draw
4) It MUST get really really cold on the ride when Elsa gets her frozen on....We want the FEEL the cold. And it would make it even more popular in the super hot months in Orlando.
5) Then it has to warm up near the end when conflict is resolved...obviously.
5a) OH.....and a nice little touch....either have it actually SNOW on the ride, or at the end have Elsa say goodbye and give us a little final dose of her magic and have it snow a little when we leave.
6) We need to see a little bit of action and fun with the AA's.
7) A REAL moving AA of Olaf. Not this ham-handed crappy Olaf projected on a movie screen like they are doing for the Frozen Fun celebration. We want a fully AA Olaf. And with all of the moving parts, loose joints and flexibility of Olaf, they could do some ground breaking AA work on a new Olaf. That's something I would like to see so I can ask "How did they do that?"
8) We need to see the Elsa's Frozen Castle on the ride...of course....but I would love to look up in the distance between BOG and Prince Eric's and see a forced perspective Elsa Frozen Castle in the distance. Imagine the glowing ice castle atop a snow covered mountain peak. I think that would be absolutely beautiful.

Just my thoughts.

You nailed it. That would be amazing.

 

[jt04]

Hopefully so has the idea of adding a Disney Character overlay to The American Adventure.. What a horrible idea...and just what people are concerned about with allowing some characters into World Showcase...I was softening to the idea of some Frozen in Norway...Maybe Remi in France, but when you say adding Disney Characters to AA...that makes me hate the whole idea of any characters... It is just too much.

It has already had "characters" added. Some of which the vast numbers of guests do not recognize.

Making a dual show that younger audiences can appreciate and making American history more accessible to them seems like a natural fit for a Disney theme park. Heck, they almost built an entire resort in Virginia based on the concept called "Disney's America".

So a "Disney's America" type show in the day and the traditional show at night seems workable to me. They should do in park surveys since these forums do not necessarily reflect broader public opinion.

 

[jt04]

You should resarch the concept called "Disney's America".

 

[jt04]

This is truly one of the worst suggestions/fantasies I've seen posted on this forum.

The American Adventure is probably the best thing in World Showcase, what you're suggesting is the very last thing it needs.

Not saying they should change anything about the current show except the now somewhat dated ending which needs updating. I am saying they have the tech now to create a reimagined show that is more family oriented that shows during daytime hours.