The Frozen 'Initiative' ...

[michmousefan]

Just some added info I didn't have time for earlier:

This 'initiative' is very late and very thrown together. It speaks to Disney not having faith in its product to begin with.

Just imagine a giant show building way yonder in Fantasyland. One that looks like an ice palace. Inside, multiple rides (think what was done with Mermaid Lagoon in TDS) ... a few cheap carnie types ... you know like Sven's Special Sleds ... one E-Ticket type attraction ... a QSR ... a shop or two ... all with ICE Cold AC in a perpetual twilight sky. Again, if I can spitball this all in 10 minutes, then why can't WDI's talent come up with better and why can't Iger, Staggs, Rasulo, Crofton and Co see the big picture here?

Nope. It's all going to be a rush job (again, except likely Tokyo and, if they decide on it, Shanghai) because they never had faith in this film ... and they don't have faith in any IP they put out these days that doesn't have Marvel on it. And we all know just how little Disney can do with Marvel at WDW.

It certainly seems like the path from Belle's Village to what are now just restrooms would be a great way to transition to Arendelle and/or the ice palace as you mentioned.

I don't doubt that WDI has come up with some great ideas; they are still capable of knocking 'em out of the park, and aren't the folks who have lost my respect as a customer and shareholder. It's the company management led by the brigade of Sharp Pencil Boys — both at TDO and further up the food chain — that concern me about the future of WDW.

I'd also wager that it's only a matter of time before we see Frozen-themed hotel rooms at one or more of the resorts. Perhaps with extra ice machines on every floor?

 

[Stevek]

The Millionaire theater is where Toy Story is right now.

Not in DCA. As for DHS, I was referring to where the Narnia exhibit used to be and I think where The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow currently resides.

 

[BrerJon]

I don't know if the Maelstrom attraction is popular, there can be some moderately high wait times but I think that is just because of the lack of attractions in Epcot ( in my opinion). The real problem I see with this idea is that the Norway Area can't hold a popular ride like "Frozen," Can you imagine Mine Train like Lines in that area!! Isn't that why the characters moved to Magic Kingdom? (I could be wrong about that)

There's plenty of space in the Maelstrom building to wrap super long lines. When it opened in the 1980s there were enormous queues for it so I'm sure they'd find space.

 

[sshindel]

What they should have done is built a brand new dark ride between Norway and Mexico then you would enter the magical world of Arrendale thru Norway. You know like Diagon Alley. That would have been a creative way to put it in Epcot.

I could likely find a creative way to add it into any park with some sort of heavy handed back story, but World Showcase should be the last place it should go.
Of course, getting Epcot back to being thematically appropriate is my white whale. It'll never happen, but I'll continue to chase that sucker until I die.

 

[Travel Junkie]

Why? Where would they move TSMM?

I was talking about DCA, specifically Spirit's reference that Frozen was being rushed into DCA and HKDL. This particular thread is as much or more so about DLR and HKDL than WDW.

As to the kind of product we will see with it, if it is close to what is being offered at DHS right now it will have a short shelf life in California. Very popular at first like anything new, then fade quickly. Indoor shows tend to not be very popular in DLR. Aladdin is the exception, not the rule. People like to be outdoors in California.

 

[Kuzcotopia]

Synergy.

Like a Boss.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I was talking about DCA, specifically Spirit's reference that Frozen was being rushed into DCA and HKDL. This particular thread is as much or more so about DLR and HKDL than WDW.

As to the kind of product we will see with it, if it is close to what is being offered at DHS right now it will have a short shelf life in California. Very popular at first like anything new, then fade quickly. Indoor shows tend to not be very popular in DLR. Aladdin is the exception, not the rule. People like to be outdoors in California.

My Dl peeps say Frozen isnt in giant demand there. Thoughts?

 

[BrerJon]

Just imagine a giant show building way yonder in Fantasyland. One that looks like an ice palace. Inside, multiple rides (think what was done with Mermaid Lagoon in TDS) ... a few cheap carnie types ... you know like Sven's Special Sleds ... one E-Ticket type attraction ... a QSR ... a shop or two ... all with ICE Cold AC in a perpetual twilight sky. Again, if I can spitball this all in 10 minutes, then why can't WDI's talent come up with better and why can't Iger, Staggs, Rasulo, Crofton and Co see the big picture here?

Sounds like Mermaid Lagoon in DisneySea - just a few kids rides and a store indoors, can't have cost that much money, and yet... is completely magical, hyper-themed and transports you Under the Sea way more than the dark ride does. An ice palace in MK on the scale of Triton's kingdom would be amazing, and if they put their minds to it (and hired the builders Universal use) they could have it up and running within a year, while the Frozen iron is still hot (or should that be cold?).

 

[BrerJon]

Not in DCA. As for DHS, I was referring to where the Narnia exhibit used to be and I think where The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow currently resides.

I could see them closing Jack Sparrow, the worst 'attraction' in WDW, and replacing it with a permanent Frozen mega merchandise store, makeover boutique and meet-and-greet.

 

[Travel Junkie]

My Dl peeps say Frozen isnt in giant demand there. Thoughts?

Frozen is popular at DLR, but I would probably agree it is not as popular as it is at WDW. The meet and greet rarely rises above the 1 ½ hour mark anytime I’ve walked by. The merch is popular, but again not at the same level that I have seen at WDW.

When World of Color Winter Dreams debuted last year it was very popular and praised, but one criticism I kept hearing and thought myself was “too much Olaf.” Apparently they are going to increase the Frozen’s presence in the show this year so we’ll see how that goes. Downtown Disney Anaheim also had their Frozen themed skating rink during the holiday’s last year and it sat fairly empty most days and you didn’t even need a park ticket to take advantage of it. From what I remember it was pretty pricey so that may have scared folks off.

IMO Frozen is very popular in California, but it isn’t nearly at the same level as it is in other parts of the country.

 

[Sped2424]

For everyone complaining let's not forget a lot of the IP's in the renaissance era received quick park tie ins, some before their films even came out. Now while I don't think frozen is the best Disney movie I think it holds it's own against many in the renaissance. To see the company tying it into the parks the way they used too is actually a good sign in my eyes. Shows they have faith in their own BRAND again.

 

[Mike S]

For everyone complain's let's not forget a lot of the IP's in the renaissance era received quick park tie ins, some before their films even came out. Now while I don't think frozen is the best Disney movie I think it holds it's own against many in the renaissance.

Especially Pocahontas IMO. Watched it on TV for the first time since I was a kid last night. Easily the worst one of the bunch, I even enjoy Mulan more. Again, just my opinion.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Especially Pocahontas IMO. Watched it on TV for the first time since I was a kid last night. Easily the worst one of the bunch, I even enjoy Mulan more. Again, just my opinion.

I remember the story of Pocahontas. It was called "Third-Grade Virginia History."

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Speaking of Tokyo, is it true Anna and Elsa don't have a M&G there?

 

[RebeccaMcK]

Frozen is popular at DLR, but I would probably agree it is not as popular as it is at WDW. The meet and greet rarely rises above the 1 ½ hour mark anytime I’ve walked by. The merch is popular, but again not at the same level that I have seen at WDW.
IMO Frozen is very popular in California, but it isn’t nearly at the same level as it is in other parts of the country.

I'll add to that just briefly...during busy times at DL the meet'n'greet line for the Frozen sisters in Fantasyland can be 3 hours long (no FP for it there) even if you arrive an hour before regular park opening time - we did that in mid-May this year (school wasn't out yet for the summer in CA but this was a Saturday anyway, when many locals tend to go). In fact it was the day before Mother's Day. And if you DON'T get in line at opening time or an hour prior on DL's EMH/MM day the line is even longer (on weekdays it could be 5 hours, like one park guest told me after his Frozen meet experience). The meet line didn't start moving until official opening time (9 am in our case, and we got in line around 8:10 am to take turns waiting while the other parent took the kiddo on lots of rides), so you're in line an extra hour just to have a 3 hour wait rather than a longer wait. The Frozen gals are popular. And now we've met them, we need never meet them again.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Speaking of Tokyo, is it true Anna and Elsa don't have a M&G there?

It is true. When it comes to new face characters, TDR is slow to respond. They bring their performers in on a yearly basis and don't like to rock the boat mid-way with new approvals and scheduling, so I would expect Anna and Elsa to pop up next year when the new cast is shipped in.

Of course, if they were smart they'd bite the bullet. HKDL is just now getting Anna and Elsa; the Asian resorts tend to lag in adding new characters. To my knowledge, Tiana has flat out never appeared at TDR, but Rapunzel and Flynn are regulars.

 

[Sped2424]

But old is cool, recently current is not.

Opening up an attraction based on Snow White is like releasing something based on The Beatles - nobody is ever going to complain on that choice. Opening up something big on Frozen could be like basing it on One Direction.

I really wouldn't like to call it.

Oh come on I am telling you once a white princess reaches "Disney Princess" status they remain relevant just do to the sheer number of parents making it the go to gift/product. This isn't so much a fad as it is a film that is going to be constantly put into peoples faces now that Disney knows it sells. Frozen ain't going nowhere.

 

[WDWFan_Boston]

My Dl peeps say Frozen isnt in giant demand there. Thoughts?

My only thought was something you said a little bit ago...

If people can't keep simple facts straight, it kills their argument quickly.

Keep your facts straight and stay classy

 

[stevehousse]

What they should have done is built a brand new dark ride between Norway and Mexico then you would enter the magical world of Arrendale thru Norway. You know like Diagon Alley. That would have been a creative way to put it in Epcot.

That is a great idea! Too bad it has a 99% chance of not happening

 

[Mike S]

Just some added info I didn't have time for earlier:

This 'initiative' is very late and very thrown together. It speaks to Disney not having faith in its product to begin with. Frozen may well be the highest grossing animated picture of all-time, but in no way, shape or form did Disney ever have faith (other than maybe its creators in their dreams) that this would be much more successful than Princess Tangled was.

I so wish that I could drop an anecdote about someone VERY high up's reaction to the film just a little over a month prior to release, but I'd likely be a real Spirit if I did. But understand this: Disney and its leadership didn't have the faith in this and it is nothing new. The only films they feel can't miss today have Marvel in front of them.

This isn't Michael Eisner's Disney that at the very least staged lavish parades and shows and, sometimes, real attractions that debuted along with the films throughout the 90s.

I almost decided to 'conceal, don't reveal' this whole thing because what I'd most like to write about is what I can't write about (at least for the foreseeable future).

More details:

Both DCA and HKDL (and looks like DLP can be added now thanks to a kind source) will be getting temporary attractions that will very likely be there for years. And I use the word 'attraction' very liberally here. Think meet-and-greet-and-gropes and singalongs and things of that nature. They will not be replacing anything right now, just utilizing existing and or new real estate.

Frozen will NOT be replacing Aladdin in the short term, especially with Robin Williams' passing, but could very well wind up in the Hyperion down the road AND at whatever you want to call the Studios park at WDW (Tangled was supposed to replace Beauty and the Beast, but it took so long to move thru approval that it won't happen now.)

None of this affects Maelstrom, which is in its final full month of operation now.

If I could armchair Imagineer a bit (something I generally despise because it always seems to be stuff of fifth gates or moving attractions from park to park ... Small World to EPCOT anyone?), I can't fathom a more perfect major addition to MK than Frozen. A park that lacks capacity and (unlike other WDW gates) actually needs more every day. A park that has been denuded over the last 15 years and feels like a concrete wasteland. A park where the IP would fit perfectly.

Just imagine a giant show building way yonder in Fantasyland. One that looks like an ice palace. Inside, multiple rides (think what was done with Mermaid Lagoon in TDS) ... a few cheap carnie types ... you know like Sven's Special Sleds ... one E-Ticket type attraction ... a QSR ... a shop or two ... all with ICE Cold AC in a perpetual twilight sky. Again, if I can spitball this all in 10 minutes, then why can't WDI's talent come up with better and why can't Iger, Staggs, Rasulo, Crofton and Co see the big picture here?

Nope. It's all going to be a rush job (again, except likely Tokyo and, if they decide on it, Shanghai) because they never had faith in this film ... and they don't have faith in any IP they put out these days that doesn't have Marvel on it. And we all know just how little Disney can do with Marvel at WDW. (And at the rate they are going, Disney will build Marvel stuff elsewhere just about the time people are tired of the IP).

Hope that helps explain the news and puts into perspective stuff you'll be hearing in the near future.

Magic Kingdom is obviously the best possible location for Frozen but how would you feel about TpfkatDMGMS? It could certainly use the help from this kind of addition.