| Frozen Ever After | |
|---|---|
 Attraction entrance | |
| Epcot | |
| Area | World Showcase, Norway pavilion |
| Coordinates | 28°22′15″N 81°32′47″W / 28.37083°N 81.54639°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | June 21, 2016[1][2] |
| Replaced | Maelstrom |
| Hong Kong Disneyland | |
| Area | World of Frozen |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | November 20, 2023 |
| Tokyo DisneySea | |
| Name | Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey |
| Area | Frozen Kingdom (Fantasy Springs) |
| Status | Under construction |
| Opening date | June 6, 2024 |
| Walt Disney Studios Park | |
| Area | World of Frozen |
| Status | Under construction |
| Opening date | second half of 2025 |
| Ride statistics | |
| Attraction type | Reversing Shoot the Chute/Dark ride |
| Manufacturer | Intamin |
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
| Model | Dark Boat Ride |
| Theme | Frozen Frozen Fever |
| Music | Songs written and composed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez |
| Drop | 28[3] ft (8.5 m) |
| Length | 964 ft (294 m) |
| Capacity | 1000 riders per hour |
| Vehicle type | Viking Boat |
| Riders per vehicle | 16 |
| Rows | 4 |
| Riders per row | 4 + lapsitters |
| Duration | 5:00 |
| Lift count | 1 |
| Number of drops | 1 |
 Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Available | |
 Wheelchair accessible | |
 Must transfer from wheelchair | |
 Assistive listening available | |
Frozen Ever After (named Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey in Tokyo DisneySea) is a musical reversing Shoot the Chute dark ride in Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort. Part of the Norway Pavilion of the Epcot's World Showcase section, the attraction features scenes inspired by Disney's animated film Frozen as well as the 2015 animated short Frozen Fever. It opened on June 21, 2016, using the ride vehicles and track layout of the former Maelstrom attraction. A version of the attraction opened at Hong Kong Disneyland on November 20, 2023, as part of The Walt Disney Company's centennial celebration,[4] with two more scheduled to open at Tokyo DisneySea on June 6, 2024[5] and Walt Disney Studios Park in the second half of 2025.[6]
History[edit]
On September 12, 2014, Walt Disney World officials announced that the Maelstrom attraction would be replaced by an attraction based on Frozen.[7][8][9] Maelstrom's final day of operation was October 5, 2014.[10]
In June 2015, then-Disney Chief Operating Officer Tom Staggs revealed that plans for a Frozen attraction were discussed prior to the film's release, but were accelerated after the film's worldwide success.[11] On responding to whether converting a portion of the Norway pavilion into an attraction based on a fictional place was appropriate for World Showcase, Staggs stated: "If the goal is to give people a taste of something like Scandinavia with the Norway pavilion, then Frozen would only increase the extent to which people would be drawn to it. To me it doesn't seem out-of-character at all."[11]
Disney also released the first details on the new attraction and revealed its final name, "Frozen Ever After."[11] The attraction uses the same ride vehicles and course that was used for Maelstrom.[11] The Audio-Animatronic figures for the attraction feature improvements in facial animation that were first used on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which opened in 2014 at the Magic Kingdom.[11] The Audio-Animatronics are also the first ever all-electric Audio-Animatronics, with previous Audio-Animatronics using either pneumatics or hydraulics.[12] While there are no new songs in the attraction, some of the original songs from Frozen have revised lyrics written by the original composers.[11]
On May 20, 2016, Disney Parks revealed that the attraction would open June 21 that year.[1][2] On opening day, the wait times were over five hours long, as the lines started in the China Pavilion. Epcot employees gave out ice cream and water bottles to guests in order to cool off in the hot sun.[13]
Ride experience[edit]
The Frozen Ever After ride commemorates the anniversary of the day Princess Anna saved her sister, Queen Elsa, from an attempted assassination with an unselfish act of true love, thus thawing a frozen heart and ending the eternal winter. To celebrate the event, Elsa bestowed an "Official Summer Snow Day" upon the Arendelle citizenry, inspiring the amusement ride.
Advertisements promoting the winter festival are visible to guests as they queue for the ride. Guests travel through Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna, where they find Oaken in the sauna waving to them. Riders next board a boat and sail off into a winter wonderland, where they encounter Olaf and Sven greeting guests with a rendition of "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?". Guests then pass Grand Pabbie as he recounts the story of the film to a group of young trolls.
Riders next ascend a lift towards Elsa's ice palace. When they reach the top, they find Olaf ice skating and singing "For the First Time in Forever", failing comically with the lyrics. Guests soon pass a singing Anna and Kristoff, while Sven sits on the side with his tongue stuck to a pole. Two gates open and guests see Elsa, who is singing "Let It Go" while conjuring ice. The boats and riders then accelerate backwards down a small dip, passing images of Elsa creating the ice palace.
Guests next encounter Marshmallow and the Snowgies from Frozen Fever. The boat moves forward as Marshmallow spits out mist, passing through the mist, and down a short drop, at which an on-ride photo is taken. Riders then pass Arendelle Castle with fireworks bursting over top. Lastly, guests reach Anna, Elsa, and Olaf, who are singing "In Summer", as they return to the village and disembark.
See also[edit]
- List of Epcot attractions
- Norway Pavilion at Epcot
- List of Hong Kong Disneyland attractions
- List of Tokyo DisneySea attractions
- List of Walt Disney Studios Park attractions
References[edit]
- ^ a b Fickley-Baker, Jennifer. "Frozen Ever After Attraction Set to Open at Epcot in June". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ a b Fickley-Baker, Jennifer. "Frozen Ever After Attraction & Royal Sommerhus Set to Open at Epcot June 21". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
- ^ "Maelstrom". disneyworld.com. Coaster 101. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ Chiu, Amanda (February 7, 2023). "Hong Kong Disneyland Shares World of Frozen Construction Update". disneyparks. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
- ^ Niles, Robert (October 26, 2023). "Tokyo Disney's Fantasy Springs gets its opening date". Theme Park Insider. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
- ^ Bricker, Tom (February 7, 2023). "Arendelle Is Going to Be Awesome". disneytouristblog. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
- ^ Tom Staggs (September 12, 2014). "'Frozen' Attraction Coming to Epcot". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
- ^ McNary, Dave (September 12, 2014). "Disney Adding 'Frozen' Attraction at Epcot". Variety. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
- ^ Pallotta, Frank (15 September 2014). "Yet another 'Frozen' spinoff: An Epcot theme park attraction". CNN Money. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
- ^ "Maelstrom". disneyworld.com. Disney Parks. Archived from the original on 5 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Fritz, Ben (June 9, 2015). "'Frozen Ever After:' An Exclusive Look at Disney's Upcoming Attraction". wsj.com. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
- ^ Porges, Seth (October 13, 2016). "9 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Disney's New 'Frozen' Ride". Forbes. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
- ^ "Disney's 'Frozen Ever After' ride opens with 5 hour waits".
External links[edit]
- Official site
- Official site
Media related to Frozen Ever After at Wikimedia Commons
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