Frozen ride replacing Maelstrom?

[Cmdr_Crimson]

When was the last time Mickey was drawn to be the size of a mouse? He's bigger than his own dog Pluto.

Seeing an out of scale Olaf next to Anna and Elsa would look weird, much like it does for Mushu standing next to Mulan.

If they do a living character puppet, that would be cool.

Better chances to actually see a version of Olaf is if they Ever do Frozen segment for Disney On Ice...The Ice shows seem to have the extremely rare characters for Ice shows...Like Raymon from Princess & The Frog, Hookhand & Maximus From Tangled,

 

[Minnie1976]

I enjoy the Maelstrom attaction. It is short and we skip the movie. Unless you have children or want to see the princess eating in Norway is not the relaxing dining experience it use to be. I find character dining is not relaxing at all.
If they want to change an attraction, they need to do something with Mexico.

 

[tl77]

In a related story...
http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions...nd-greet-extended-to-the-end-of-the-month.htm

 

[Animaniac93-98]

That looks terrifying.

 

[RSoxNo1]

They should do an LPS dark ride based on Frozen in the area between Mexico and Norway. They could market it as the coldest ride ever.

 

[RSoxNo1]

An Olaf Meet and Greet like the Donkey Meet and Greet at Universal Studios is something that should be available now.

 

[Clamman73]

They should do an LPS dark ride based on Frozen in the area between Mexico and Norway. They could market it as the coldest ride ever.

If it's colder than Antartica at Seaworld...I'm gonna have to buy a $300 jacket at the Norway shop first...

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

That looks terrifying.

Hence reasons for easy nightmare fuel..

 

[RSoxNo1]

If it's colder than Antartica at Seaworld...I'm gonna have to buy a $300 jacket at the Norway shop first...

#Synergy

 

[asianway]

Eh yeah I mean a book that is set in the North Pole by a Danish author, yep Norway pavilion makes perfect sense. Oh I'm sorry you mean a hacked together 'meh' film by WDAS to support the Princess brand. Gotcha.

If they really want to do a new ride for Norway, how about a trackless ride through Norways Fjords? ... The reason why people are upset is and quite honestly this park should be a 'Toon-free zone', not a get out of jail-free card to stop parents coming to guest services, because there is nothing for lil Jimmy to do.

The wheels are off the train-Epcot will never return to be the educational showplace it once was. Pretty much anything would be better than Maelstrom - it was the worst ride in the park in 1988. The fact that everything around it has taken a step backwards in one form or another doesn't make Maelstrom any better than it was then.

 

[RandySavage]

The wheels are off the train

True.

Epcot will never return to be the educational showplace it once was

very likely the case but don't smother all hope.

The fact that everything around it has taken a step backwards in one form or another

True again.

But Maelstrom was a great ride when it opened in 1988, and it certainly remains one of the best today: close in spirit to PotC/HM and the classic Disney AA dark-ride adventure feel, with some fun surprises and a minor thrill, and a great narration. I wish the film had been excised for another show scene pre-opening, but I echo others' sentiments that I'd have been happy to see an entire echelon of Maelstom-style d-tickets for all the countries. As much as you don't get the "love" for Maelstrom, I don't get the hate.

May this Frozen-Norway concept die a quiet death (like the removal of TSI or pixies in the Treehouse rumors).

 

[drew81]

That looks terrifying.

He wasn't up close. I had a meet n greet with Ray when the show was here in Indianapolis.

 

[FigmentJedi]

True.
very likely the case but don't smother all hope.

True again.

But Maelstrom was a great ride when it opened in 1988, and it certainly remains one of the best today: close in spirit to PotC/HM and the classic Disney AA dark-ride adventure feel, with some fun surprises and a minor thrill, and a great narration. I wish the film had been excised for another show scene pre-opening, but I echo others' sentiments that I'd have been happy to see an entire echelon of Maelstom-style d-tickets for all the countries. As much as you don't get the "love" for Maelstrom, I don't get the hate.

Agreed. Maelstrom's problems basically amount to it being too short, the result of the budget being cut.

 

[MarkTwain]

I ignored this thread initially just because it seemed like the kind of thread that pops up every time a Disney movie is even mildly successful, but now that this rumor appears to be getting some traction on the internet...

http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmov...n-Heading-to-EPCOTs-Norway-Pavillion-20140103

...I have to join my voice into the choir that would call this extremely inappropriate and an absolute desecration of World Showcase's intent and meaning. This would be far worse than adding the Three Caballeros to Mexico IMO, as even Gran Fiesta Tour focuses on the real Mexico (albeit with cartoon characters), while I see a Frozen ride focusing on the real Norway unlikely.

All that said, I still have a hard time believing this rumor. This would be a much larger and more difficult change than Gran Fiesta Tour; Rio del Tiempo already featured screens as the main medium of the ride, and changing the films to include the Three Caballeros was a relatively easy change. Changes to the physical structure of the ride were generally few.

Maelstrom wouldn't be like that IMO. Full-bodied Animatronics, large physical set-pieces (unpopular as it is, removing that oil rig wouldn't be a small adjustment), and a turbulent ride system that wouldn't be very conducive to telling a story like Frozen. Changing Maelstrom would be theoretically possible, but I personally find it unlikely that Disney would commit so much to change a generally successful ride to a franchise that is still largely unproven in long-term popularity, especially when other Epcot attractions are in much greater need of attention.

 

[doctornick]

I ignored this thread initially just because it seemed like the kind of thread that pops up every time a Disney movie is even mildly successful, but now that this rumor appears to be getting some traction on the internet...

http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmov...n-Heading-to-EPCOTs-Norway-Pavillion-20140103

...I have to join my voice into the choir that would call this extremely inappropriate and an absolute desecration of World Showcase's intent and meaning. This would be far worse than adding the Three Caballeros to Mexico IMO, as even Gran Fiesta Tour focuses on the real Mexico (albeit with cartoon characters), while I see a Frozen ride focusing on the real Norway unlikely.

All that said, I still have a hard time believing this rumor. This would be a much larger and more difficult change than Gran Fiesta Tour; Rio del Tiempo already featured screens as the main medium of the ride, and changing the films to include the Three Caballeros was a relatively easy change. Changes to the physical structure of the ride were generally few.

Maelstrom wouldn't be like that IMO. Full-bodied Animatronics, large physical set-pieces (unpopular as it is, removing that oil rig wouldn't be a small adjustment), and a turbulent ride system that wouldn't be very conducive to telling a story like Frozen. Changing Maelstrom would be theoretically possible, but I personally find it unlikely that Disney would commit so much to change a generally successful ride to a franchise that is still largely unproven in long-term popularity, especially when other Epcot attractions are in much greater need of attention.

Totally agree. That why I think that if they do anything in this vein, it would make sense to add Frozen stuff to the post-show movie. The movie isn't popular and often gets skipped and would be easy to convert to a Frozen theme since it is just a film.

 

[Din0saur]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maelstrom_(ride)

 

[asianway]

True.
very likely the case but don't smother all hope.

True again.

But Maelstrom was a great ride when it opened in 1988, and it certainly remains one of the best today: close in spirit to PotC/HM and the classic Disney AA dark-ride adventure feel, with some fun surprises and a minor thrill, and a great narration. I wish the film had been excised for another show scene pre-opening, but I echo others' sentiments that I'd have been happy to see an entire echelon of Maelstom-style d-tickets for all the countries. As much as you don't get the "love" for Maelstrom, I don't get the hate.

May this Frozen-Norway concept die a quiet death (like the removal of TSI or pixies in the Treehouse rumors).

After riding both US Poohs I was prepared to hate on Hunny Hunt as well, but never had so much fun on a dark ride. Can't wait to get on Mystic Manor either, so perhaps I am over anxious to get the LPS here. Maelstrom as mentioned by others suffers from being to short and the absence of the song that the rest of the EPCOT dark rides/HM/POC has kills it for me.

I do have the utmost respect for your work and opinions, so I will give Maelstrom another shot with your comments in mind..

 

[RandySavage]

After riding both US Poohs I was prepared to hate on Hunny Hunt as well, but never had so much fun on a dark ride. Can't wait to get on Mystic Manor either, so perhaps I am over anxious to get the LPS here. Maelstrom as mentioned by others suffers from being to short and the absence of the song that the rest of the EPCOT dark rides/HM/POC has kills it for me.

I do have the utmost respect for your work and opinions, so I will give Maelstrom another shot with your comments in mind..

Appreciate that. If Maelstrom were to be a replaced by super LPS themed to Norway, I'd be more amenable. Like others have said, Frozen is apparently a quality movie and may be deserving of a great ride (in Fantasyland). My concern is the toonifying of World Showcase via tangentially-related Disney IP. I know this is well underway with Meet & Greets, Princess dining, etc., but I'd hate to see a major, non-rectifiable change in this direction (i.e. Ratatouille in Paris).

And as has been mentioned, the elephant in the room is Frozen has nothing to do with Norway (aside from some architectural influence). It's insulting that that's how the suits think of their audience: "Let's put a Princess & the Frog show in Canada because both have elements of French culture in North America. People just want characters."

 

[FutureWorld1982]

Why replacing one of only TWO rides in World Showcase? I would love to see rides added to other pavilions. Hopefully they'll make successful movies taking place in Japan or Morocco in the future...

 

[sshindel]

I don't get the shock and surprise that they might think to add this to Epcot. The EPCOT of old has been dead for years! Future World is a graveyard. World Showcase is a way to sell Duffy Bears, princesses, and Perry the Platypus. The original mission statement of EPCOT has been dead for so long most visitors don't remember what the place used to be like.
At this point, I'll take anything that is a GOOD addition to the park. If a Frozen overlay is done well, it'll fit with the current state of WS (in which anything even tangentially related to the country is hamfisted in). If it's not given proper budget and thought, well, it'll fit right in with other "wonderful" rides like Imagination, Nemo, Ellen, and pretty much everything else there.

Every time it hear the soundtrack (and I have young girls, I hear it quite often these days), I just keep thinking how this show was made for Broadway. They want more Frozen in the parks? Replace the Beauty and the Beast stage show at DHS.