Norway Pavilion Frozen construction - Frozen Ever After ride

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Disney Analyst

Disney Analyst

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MerlinTheGoat said:
I actually think Chiquita are the ones that are currently sponsoring the Living with the Land ride.

But yes the ride is in quite poor condition currently. Greenhouse is usually kept in good condition at least (has to be though), but the inside has been a mess for several years now. The recent short refurb didn't fix anything show related.
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What was the ride like in the past? I was always curious why there were so many open spaces that looked like they may once have been show scenes (outside the greenhouses)
 
MerlinTheGoat

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
Evan-500 said:
What was the ride like in the past? I was always curious why there were so many open spaces that looked like they may once have been show scenes (outside the greenhouses)
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It wasn't that different in the past from a scene perspective. The spaces you mention I believe were always spaces. The very beginning scene (with the rain, wind and plants on the right) were different back prior to 1994. And the soundtrack was entirely different, using a song called "Listen to the Land". The ride also used to have cast members riding with you providing live narration (which I believe were replaced with the recorded narration in 2008). But the rest of the ride was much the same. Though occasionally there are different exhibits swapped out in the greenhouse (this still happens).

Martin has a tribute video of the original ride, worth a watch as always.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
mandstaft said:
Martin, can you find your "future" Energy artwork and repost? I'd love to see it.
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Risking a thread drift....
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DisneyGentleman

DisneyGentleman

Well-Known Member
marni1971 said:
Bear in mind by 1992 the original opening contracts were due for renewal. As stipulated, renewal would also include the sponsor paying for upgrades.

Spaceship Earth:

AT&T renewed their sponsorship and forked out for the upgrades as per the contract. A demonstration of what could have happened with Horizons.

Energy:

Exxon wanted an update with more current (1996) information. They had two choices - futuristic or game show. Ellen was newly contracted to ABC and the synergy (not to mention promotion of a new ABC show) was persuasive. I've posted some art from the proposed future version in the past. A missed opportunity.

Horizons:

Horizons needed updating. Everything from control and ride systems to scene decor and animatronics. Eisner was keen for a SSE ‘94 style update of Horizons. GE declined to pay what was required. So they pulled out on their ten year anniversary and Disney then decided they wouldn't fund it either. Proposed space overlays came and went with no sponsor, seasonal operation saved operating costs until an answer could be found, enter Compaq who wanted a thrill ride and offered to pay to build one. Disney said "sure, but it needs to go here and you also need to pay to remove the existing building". In a nutshell.

Motion:

GM wanted something hip and hi tech to attract the untapped younger car market. WOM was expensive to maintain so they also wanted something cheaper to run. Test Track was offered to them in 1993. If they got either of their wishes is debatable.

Imagination:

Again, Kodak wanted something modern but cheaper. JII was also expensive to maintain and issues with the rotating introduction scene and ride control system had never been fully resolved. The solution was rip out the troublesome ride section and bring all the guest areas down to ground level. This of course meant shortening the ride too. Two birds with one stone. Eisner was furious after his first ride of Journey into Your Imagination. Kodak. Where are you now.

The Land:

Kraft declined to renew sponsorship and Nestle moved in, part funding the pavilion renovation and swapping Kitchen Kabaret for the hip and trendy Food Rocks. An demonstration of the risk of using pop culture.
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I remember those times well. The lines were getting shorter every visit, and the quality of the animatronics was bginning to decline. I just had a sense that WDW was about to undergo a huge animatronics purge to reduce costs. It has never been the same since.

Walt's idea of moving physical cartoons was way ahead of its time, but ebvebn today nobody has found a way to do this without the huge expense of mechanical upkeep. There is a Horizons website (from the guys who would jump out of the cars and tour the place) which shows all the rags to catch the oil dumping on the floor from the animatronic hydraulics systems. Real animatronics are a messy, expensive sport.

Luxo was the first "all electric" design, and we know how long that lasted. The technology to do animatronics cheaply and reliably still does not exists.
 
180º

180º

Well-Known Member
I wonder if Frozen will have pneumatic AAs. Disneyland just installed four of them this summer, in the form of three snow monsters and one Hat Box Ghost.
 
Phil12

Phil12

Well-Known Member
Jon81uk said:
Luxo was removed due to copyright issues with Luxo.
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That's correct. Disney settled the lawsuit with Luxo and removed the animatronic from DHS.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ent...o-sues-and-disney-over-hopping-character.html

As you can see here, Luxo has no problem with the animated Luxo, but they will not allow a mechanical Luxo to be produced by Disney: http://pixarplanet.com/blog/luxo-settles-over-jr-custody-case/
That's why Disney had to remove Luxo from DHS.
 
Phil12

Phil12

Well-Known Member
ABQ said:
If that lawsuit prevented him from being the park why is he still at the opening of Pixar films? Surely the lawsuit didn't focus on just the animatronic, if at all.
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Luxo has no problem with "artistic depictions" of their lamps. They will not allow mechanical versions no matter how big or small.
 
ChesterKiwi

ChesterKiwi

Well-Known Member
ABQ said:
If that lawsuit prevented him from being the park why is he still at the opening of Pixar films? Surely the lawsuit didn't focus on just the animatronic, if at all.
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I think that's what he just said:
Phil12 said:
As you can see here, Luxo has no problem with the animated Luxo, but they will not allow a mechanical Luxo to be produced by Disney: http://pixarplanet.com/blog/luxo-settles-over-jr-custody-case/
That's why Disney had to remove Luxo from DHS.
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