Frozen ride replacing Maelstrom?

[lazyboy97o]

If we count religion, then the Catholic Church is still a strong cultural influence that ties France to Rome. But as I said I don't see how religion counts, because there is nothing about Islam in Aladdin.

The Muslim conquest allowed local cultures to remain as well.

I really think your perception of the subtle differences between France and Rome is based on familiarity with the history and culture of Europe, and your unawareness of the differences between Morocco, Arabia, and Persia, is simply because you are an outsider to those cultures.

The Aladdin tale does not have to be specifically about Islam in order to be considered part of the culture. Islam as a cultural force goes beyond just the religion and its doctrines. Local cultural differences do not rule out the influence of a broader culture, just as the United State still has distinct local cultures but there is still a strong, larger American culture as well. My whole point from the beginning has not been my argument for why Aladdin should be included, but my guess as to why Morocco approves the inclusion of Aladdin.

 

[GoofGoof]

They could serve Guinness Extra Cold to keep with the theme

Beer in a "Frozen" mug. Take that Harry Potter

 

[rael ramone]

Why stop at taking out one country? Let's take them all out!!! Think of all that retail space that isn't being used to sell Duffy, Magic Bands, and Disney Parks T-shirts!!!

And it would simplify the dining so much. Instead of Cloudberry Horns or open faced sandwiches, we'll have Arendelle Fries! Instead of tacos, Cabalero Fries! Instead of Pot stickers, Mulan Fries! (All of course the same Cockerell Fries that's served elsewhere on property). Needless to say any 'country' that doesn't have a franchise associated with it will be turned into 'Special Events Land'.

Will the 'foamers for foamheads' crowd clash with the World Showcase Drunk? In TDO's mind: Of course not, they both spend a lot of coin, of course they go together....

Then to simplify guest relations, they'll install TVs that have a live $DIS ticker symbol, so when guests complain about all the culture being stripped out of world showcase or why their princess was subjected to seeing a vomiting UCF student or why the bathrooms are dirtier than the ones at MCO - they don't have to say a word - just point at the screen.

 

[Mike S]

"Value engineered overlay" may be a little undeserving for this ride since it is entirely different in concept and narrative. But using same ride profile/set swaps/screen based efx and small AAs will allow them to save loads of time and money. And that is currently the plan.

I can sling crap at WDW all day for taking forever to get new projects open. But WDPR will not wait 3 years at a minimum before monetizing Frozen in a big way inside their parks. They will get this done as soon as possible.

And I thought with all the money this movie made Disney would have had the pride to do something truly great in the parks. Silly me

 

[pheneix]

Beer in a "Frozen" mug. Take that Harry Potter

AWWWW SNAP GUYS HERE COME ANNA AND ELSA THE POTTER SWATTERS!!!!!

 

[Rodan75]

'Arrendale inspired by the culture of Norway' would redefine the world showcase and I imagine would kick off a transformation of WS into an 'all ages' area where kids learn about culture through attractions centered on DIS characters and adults can still dine and drink at unique venues. That change would then invalidate all of the complaints that the WS isn't for characters, because Disney has changed the mission. From a corp strategy perspective (and not from a EPCOT purist perspective) it is a brilliant move.

I totally understand the opposing point of view on this. I'm just thinking about how it would be spun and how the corp folks must be rationalizing the change.

BTW - crazy that all of a sudden EPCOT is getting attention (even if rumored attention). Gotta wonder what the real #'s look like inside the park.

 

[pheneix]

Who are you referring to?

I'm pretty sure he was referring to me.

I know a lot of Disney Parks critics who have made big names and sometimes a nice living for themselves by flooding the internet with a bunch of BS that fans wanted to hear. I am not one of those people.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

"Value engineered overlay" may be a little undeserving for this ride since it is entirely different in concept and narrative. But using same ride profile/set swaps/screen based efx and small AAs will allow them to save loads of time and money. And that is currently the plan.

I can sling crap at WDW all day for taking forever to get new projects open. But WDPR will not wait 3 years at a minimum before monetizing Frozen in a big way inside their parks. They will get this done as soon as possible.

That sounds pretty value engineered to me actually (even if its effectively gutting it and redoing it). So is it planned to use the same track layout? Meaning is the ride going to be the same length and everything is going to move through scenes in the same way? I wonder what they'll do about the theater at the end. Probably just play random clips from the movie if they keep it (or do away with it).

There so much i'm going to miss desperately. That lovely mural in the queue, the fantastic opening narration (you are not the first to pass this way), the three headed troll, the tree troll, etc. I feel really miserable right now...

And I thought with all the money this movie made Disney would have had the pride to do something truly great in the parks. Silly me

From what i've heard Spirit say, the people who made the movie and Disney executives didn't actually think it was going to be as big of a success as it was, nor did they think it was AS good as it was heralded as by critics and fans (74 said before the movie came out that the film makers themselves considered it decent but nothing amazing, though I can't find the original post he said it in). Sounds like they under-rated the demand for the merchandise for it too, another sign they probably didn't expect as much popularity as it got. There are rumors that now that it surpassed their expectations that Iger wants a sequel done quickly.

So from all i've heard, the movie was kind of an accidental hit for them. It makes a lot of sense that they'd take little pride in it, i'm sure they're only interested in exploiting the fanbase for all it's worth. Seems like they went "Oh crap, this movie we didn't even have a super high regard for actually made us a lot of money. Lets see how many ways we can exploit this popularity while putting as little effort/money/quality into it as possible!" The way this ride is being handled sounds like Disney holds the movie's fanbase in pretty low regard. They've also shown themselves to also be either unable or unwilling to build rides in any decent amount of time when they're designed from scratch with any sort of quality attached (even lengthy development projects aren't always very good). So it makes sense given their trends to want to take as many shortcuts as possible to get it done as quickly as possible. Re-using a ride building and track layout would of course take less time and effort than building a new one. I don't expect the general public to completely forget Frozen anytime soon, but fast tracking a project for next year is going to catch more of the residual hype and popularity surrounding the movie's original release than waiting longer to build a better ride from scratch. Too bad, Fantasyland still needed more good original rides...

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Beer in a "Frozen" mug. Take that Harry Potter

They could even tie in Mexico with Frozen margaritas

 

[aladdin2007]

I have some friends that actually work at Norway and there is plenty of rumors floating around about what type of ride/show will replace Maelstrom, from an extended ride with plenty of new AA figures to a value engineered ride with plenty of video screens and the flume ride would get the Imagination type of refurb (removing all the high maintenance items). There are still a lot different configurations being bounced around right now. It all come down to one thing: Money.

So one thing is for sure though, the Maelstrom ride in its current configuration will be changing, to what I'm not sure yet, but it is on the fast track and Maelstrom will be going down for a 18-24 month refurb starting as soon as Sept or Oct.

I can handle that I guess even though I dont like it. My real concern is changing Norway into Arendelle and losing Norway outright. Have they said anything about that?

 

[doctornick]

That sounds pretty value engineered to me actually (even if its effectively gutting it and redoing it). So is it planned to use the same track layout? Meaning is the ride going to be the same length and everything is going to move through scenes in the same way? I wonder what they'll do about the theater at the end. Probably just play random clips from the movie if they keep it (or do away with it).

If they really are just going to reskin the ride, I'd hope they'd invest a little and add the theater space to the ride to make it longer. I don't know if that is practical, especially since the exit is on the other side of the theater, but I'd imagine it could be done if there was a will. The biggest problem with Maelstro IMHO (and I really like the ride) is that it is a bit on the shorter side. A longer ride would help to allow for Frozen to be probably represented with the songs and all.

There so much i'm going to miss desperately. That lovely mural in the queue, the fantastic opening narration (you are not the first to pass this way), the three headed troll, the tree troll, etc. I feel really miserable right now...

Right there with you. If this all comes to pass, I hope the ride doesn't close before my next visit so I can go on it a number of times to take it in.

 

[doctornick]

I didn't suggest that they will build a Frozen store per se. That being said, exiting a ride into a gift shop seems like a good business idea that they've repeated over and over. Frozen ride and Frozen swag seem like a good match.

C'mon, we all know that if this ride gets built that the gift shop you get dumped into will be renamed as Oaken's Trading Post. But if they add a sauna, that will be worth it.

 

[jdmdisney99]

The only positive I could (barely) see here is that it would leave an opportunity down the line for a new group of Imagineers to redesign and improve Maelstrom to bring it back. It's a stretch, I know.

 

[Mike S]

There so much i'm going to miss desperately. That lovely mural in the queue, the fantastic opening narration (you are not the first to pass this way), the three headed troll, the tree troll, etc. I feel really miserable right now...

I could just imagine the feeling for the people who are the last to ride it. "Nor shall you be the last"............. I might want to try to be one of the last riders just to take it in........

 

[Alektronic]

I can handle that I guess even though I dont like it. My real concern is changing Norway into Arendelle and losing Norway outright. Have they said anything about that?

All I heard about was the ride, I haven't heard anything about the pavilion itself.

 

[SJN1279]

That sounds pretty value engineered to me actually (even if its effectively gutting it and redoing it). So is it planned to use the same track layout? Meaning is the ride going to be the same length and everything is going to move through scenes in the same way? I wonder what they'll do about the theater at the end. Probably just play random clips from the movie if they keep it (or do away with it).

There so much i'm going to miss desperately. That lovely mural in the queue, the fantastic opening narration (you are not the first to pass this way), the three headed troll, the tree troll, etc. I feel really miserable right now...


From what i've heard Spirit say, the people who made the movie and Disney executives didn't actually think it was going to be as big of a success as it was, nor did they think it was AS good as it was heralded as by critics and fans (74 said before the movie came out that the film makers themselves considered it decent but nothing amazing, though I can't find the original post he said it in). Sounds like they under-rated the demand for the merchandise for it too, another sign they probably didn't expect as much popularity as it got. There are rumors that now that it surpassed their expectations that Iger wants a sequel done quickly.

So from all i've heard, the movie was kind of an accidental hit for them. It makes a lot of sense that they'd take little pride in it, i'm sure they're only interested in exploiting the fanbase for all it's worth. Seems like they went "Oh crap, this movie we didn't even have a super high regard for actually made us a lot of money. Lets see how many ways we can exploit this popularity while putting as little effort/money/quality into it as possible!" The way this ride is being handled sounds like Disney holds the movie's fanbase in pretty low regard. They've also shown themselves to also be either unable or unwilling to build rides in any decent amount of time when they're designed from scratch with any sort of quality attached (even lengthy development projects aren't always very good). So it makes sense given their trends to want to take as many shortcuts as possible to get it done as quickly as possible. Re-using a ride building and track layout would of course take less time and effort than building a new one. I don't expect the general public to completely forget Frozen anytime soon, but fast tracking a project for next year is going to catch more of the residual hype and popularity surrounding the movie's original release than waiting longer to build a better ride from scratch. Too bad, Fantasyland still needed more good original rides...

I remember one of the executives stating at D23 how good Frozen was, and he can't wait for everyone to see it. He seemed to be genuine in his statement, and it actually made me very excited to see the final product.

That said no one expected it to make over a billion dollars, but I am sure they people who created the film are very proud of the fact.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I remember one of the executives stating at D23 how good Frozen was, and he can't wait for everyone to see it. He seemed to be genuine in his statement, and it actually made me very excited to see the final product.

Oh come on, do you think a company like Disney is going to give a project anything but the highest praise to the general public regardless of whether it's good or bad? We all know how negatively Eisner views Iger, but he is careful to doll out praise for Iger and keep his well known feelings hidden when interviewed about him...

A Disney executive is going to tell the public their product is amazing and they're excited for it even if it's awful and they know it. If someone working for the company were to say in a PR situation "eh it's ok but nothing special" (in other words anything less than "this is the greatest thing ever, I adore it and so will you"), then they'd be fired. They've gotten rid of many people who have been outspoken about criticism before. Apparently it's one of the reasons Matt Ouimet was pushed out after he handled DL's 50th cleanup.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Oh come on, do you think a company like Disney is going to give a project anything but the highest praise to the general public regardless of whether it's good or bad? We all know how negatively Eisner views Iger, but he is careful to doll out praise for Iger and keep his well known feelings hidden when interviewed about him...

A Disney executive is going to tell the public their product is amazing and they're excited for it even if it's awful and they know it. If someone working for the company were to say in a PR situation "eh it's ok but nothing special" (in other words anything less than "this is the greatest thing ever, I adore it and so will you"), then they'd be fired. They've gotten rid of many people who have been outspoken about criticism before.

For example, George Kalogridis saying that people would have to settle for Disneyland because Disney's California Adventure was would be too full.

 

[EricJ]

I remember one of the executives stating at D23 how good Frozen was, and he can't wait for everyone to see it. He seemed to be genuine in his statement, and it actually made me very excited to see the final product.
That said no one expected it to make over a billion dollars, but I am sure they people who created the film are very proud of the fact.

I remember when Disney animators on the tour proudly said they thought "Brother Bear" would be embraced by audiences, and Koda would be "the next Great Disney Character", unquote.
One tend to ignore such statements as either extreme bias, or whistling in the graveyard.

Fact was, "Snow Queen", like Tangled, Bolt and Ralph, had been cleanup projects from the Eisner era, and this one had been through so many failed storylines, it was considered "unfilmable", and they were just rushing out the best version they thought they could be done, and hoped for comparisons with Tangled.
They DID NOT expect audiences to "get it", let alone that it would suddenly have its BO numbers artificially hyped by gay and female audiences seeing a different movie in it that they wanted to see.

Where the $#%@* is John Lasseter in all of this? Evidently, he lacks either the power I had hoped he was given or the vision I believed he commanded.

Yes, like, why didn't he stand up at the big promotional event LAST MONTH and tell us they were building it, to go along with barely any new concept art for Avatar Land, an even less-requested attraction even farther away, and more Animal Kingdom promotion?

Gullible folks, for convenience, take your pick of the following bend-the-facts-to-fit-the-theory excuses to save time:
1) "Well, that was back then!"
2) "He probably didn't want us to know about it, because he knew we would be upset!"
3) "It's probably only the tip of a bigger iceberg, and there's more heretical bulldozing in store!"
4) "Deep down, he knows we really don't like the movie, and just refuses to admit it!"


(I'll go with #5: Just because Tweety-Bird may...MAY...have seen some concept art on somebody's desk, just like his attention-starved fantasy world wants us to believe he has, that doesn't make it any more real than the "Rainforest ride in The Land", "Little Mermaid makeover of Living Seas", or "Rollercoaster makeover of Spaceship Earth, with track continuing on the outside" we didn't get ten years ago either, even though Jim Hill thought he was such a clever little scout for discovering from his Animation Guild Blog "insiders".
Right now, we're Believing What Our Fears Want to Believe, and, ohh, there's bad moons rising when that happens...)

I am asking for a source for your claims that Maelstrom will be getting a Frozen overlay

I'm with you on that one. Court order if necessary.

 

[Daannzzz]

"""I wonder what they'll do about the theater at the end.""" Not that I am a fan (understatement) of Frozen taking over Norway or just Maelstrom....if I were tasked with the job I would remove the theater for more queue space which will definitely be needed.