Anyone else underwhelmed by Frozen Ever After?

[wdw&sonny]

Whether a fan of Frozen or not. Whether loved Maelstrom or not. Whether nostalgic for old rides or not. Whether it belongs in Norway or not. Whether it belongs in Epcot or not...
For me, it is not new. It is just different.
It is the same ride as Little Mermaid, PP, WP etc. It is the same technology that Walt developed in 1955. A ride vehicle moving through movie scenes with animatronics. I don't want reskinned, reengineered, repurposed.
I want new, better, bigger, different, creative, inventive, ingenious... I want some Imagineering.
I want the WOW Factor!

 

[85glht]

Whether a fan of Frozen or not. Whether loved Maelstrom or not. Whether nostalgic for old rides or not. Whether it belongs in Norway or not. Whether it belongs in Epcot or not...
For me, it is not new. It is just different.
It is the same ride as Little Mermaid, PP, WP etc. It is the same technology that Walt developed in 1955. A ride vehicle moving through movie scenes with animatronics. I don't want reskinned, reengineered, repurposed.
I want new, better, bigger, different, creative, inventive, ingenious... I want some Imagineering.
I want the WOW Factor!

I can agree whit what you are saying..... But I'm sure, as in my first response, it all comes down to money. Not enough in the budget to demolish (or gut) a whole building and start from scratch. Think of the positive..... It kept a lot of people out of the Soarin' queue.

 

[neastguy]

which is better? peter pan or frozen.. I was completely bored with peter pan ride.. I really think you have to be about 5 years old to enjoy it

 

[mom2rtk]

I can agree whit what you are saying..... But I'm sure, as in my first response, it all comes down to money. Not enough in the budget to demolish (or gut) a whole building and start from scratch. Think of the positive..... It kept a lot of people out of the Soarin' queue.

Yes, I'm sure it's a budget issue. But Disney could have committed whatever they wanted to this project and chose to go the least expensive way possible by remaking an existing ride.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

Not for me, my family and I loved it! But you're talking about a crazy family that woke up at 2 am to drive up to Disney so we could see the new Soarin' and FEA. We loved both, it was one of our favorite Disney days on record

We rode it once with FP and again with a pretty short-ish standby. I thought it was awesome.

I remember riding Maelstrom when I was 3 or so years old. My Dad said it was like a mini-splash mountain, and I just felt SO cool riding it Maelstrom will always stay near and dear to my little Disney heart. I know it's not WDW's greatest feat, but I still loved it all the same.

 

[85glht]

Yes, I'm sure it's a budget issue. But Disney could have committed whatever they wanted to this project and chose to go the least expensive way possible by remaking an existing ride.

Think about the other projects in the pipeline. Money is being spent (almost) everywhere. That money comes from us, when walking into the gates, buying lunch, souvenirs etc. if every new attraction needed a total remake, then expect ticket, food and souvenir prices to increase substantially. Just be happy that there is something new to check out for a while.

 

[mom2rtk]

Think about the other projects in the pipeline. Money is being spent (almost) everywhere. That money comes from us, when walking into the gates, buying lunch, souvenirs etc. if every new attraction needed a total remake, then expect ticket, food and souvenir prices to increase substantially. Just be happy that there is something new to check out for a while.

Tickets, food and souvenir prices did increase substantially already.

And didn't they already scale back the budget on the new projects at DHS?

 

[85glht]

Tickets, food and souvenir prices did increase substantially already.

And didn't they already scale back the budget on the new projects at DHS?

yes, prices did rise.... The one thing I did notice was the price of a Mickey's premium ice cream bar. Almost double in a few years.... But not enough to totally renovate a pavilion.

Not sure if the budget shrunk on the HS projects...... Anything they do will be an improvement from what was there before.... Except for the Osbourne lights, I will miss that tremendously!!

 

[miamimi]

Tickets, food and souvenir prices did increase substantially already.

And didn't they already scale back the budget on the new projects at DHS?

That's what I read. They've called back all of the DHS plans. Also, price increases have been pretty steady. What amazes me is that this re-theme took 2 years and by most accounts it's a Meh.

I'm saddened by the idea that to really enjoy a re-themed or new attraction we should lower our expectations. I know Disney is capable of a lot more DLR has 2 examples: PTN and RSR.

 

[85glht]

That's what I read. They've called back all of the DHS plans. Also, price increases have been pretty steady. What amazes me is that this re-theme took 2 years and by most accounts it's a Meh.

I'm saddened by the idea that to really enjoy a re-themed or new attraction we should lower our expectations. I know Disney is capable of a lot more DLR has 2 examples: PTN and RSR.

The bids for construction must have been astronomical. I can see I will be paying more for a Mickey's premium next trip, lol.

 

[85glht]

I'm sure my point of view will be wildly unpopular, but I'm going to voice it anyway.

We got back LATE Wednesday night after a weeklong stay. We had a FP for Frozen. We were first on line when it broke down, so we were given return FPs. We went back a few mornings later and got right on.

In my opinion, it was... ehh. Yes, it was very cool that they were able to get Olaf to move.

But beyond that, it was scenes from the movie. Well done scenes, but nothing much more.

Somehow with all the hoopla, I was expecting more. Something "Ever After", something about Summer, something that went beyond where the movie went.

I'm glad I saw it. But if I had gotten a second set of FPs, I would have traded them in for yet another viewing of Soarin'.

Again, probably a wildly unpopular point of view. But I wouldn't wait on an incredibly long line in the summer heat for this particular attraction, not when there are Soarin' and Test Track in the same park.

Then again, my youngest child is 13. I'm sure that those with young daughters have a very different point of view.

It wasn't awful. It was a perfectly nice little ride. But not one of my "must sees." I liked the old Norway ride, and probably prefer it to Frozen Ever After.

Finally got a chance to experience this attraction last night.... I totally agree with your viewpoint. BTW, the standby line was 120 minutes last night.....ugh, thank God we had fastpasses!!

 

[jkh36619]

We went last week.Kept checking wait times and about mid day it went down to 30 minutes so I gave it a go. It's ok, but there is no way I would ever wait any longer than that. I think the worst part was I sat front row left side and sat in a puddle of water. Didn't even notice it. Let me say this, I don't think the ride is bad or anything. I think I have just finally hit my saturation point with all things frozen. I like the frozen sing a long but on this trip that was even meh to me.

 

[Chant124]

I'm sure my point of view will be wildly unpopular, but I'm going to voice it anyway.

We got back LATE Wednesday night after a weeklong stay. We had a FP for Frozen. We were first on line when it broke down, so we were given return FPs. We went back a few mornings later and got right on.

In my opinion, it was... ehh. Yes, it was very cool that they were able to get Olaf to move.

But beyond that, it was scenes from the movie. Well done scenes, but nothing much more.

Somehow with all the hoopla, I was expecting more. Something "Ever After", something about Summer, something that went beyond where the movie went.

I'm glad I saw it. But if I had gotten a second set of FPs, I would have traded them in for yet another viewing of Soarin'.

Again, probably a wildly unpopular point of view. But I wouldn't wait on an incredibly long line in the summer heat for this particular attraction, not when there are Soarin' and Test Track in the same park.

Then again, my youngest child is 13. I'm sure that those with young daughters have a very different point of view.

It wasn't awful. It was a perfectly nice little ride. But not one of my "must sees." I liked the old Norway ride, and probably prefer it to Frozen Ever After.

The problem is WDW is not "Owning" a ride that they want to make. They continue to make these cheesy overlays that never really work. Frozen should have been made into its own ride from scratch and I sure many would agree that Maelstrom was much better!

Next up will be to see how well they replace Tower of Terror with GoG.

 

[nilla]

...sure many would agree that Maelstrom was much better!

I loved the Maelstrom, too, but if you take the troll scene out of it, it was a fairly boring ride.

 

[eyehartdisney]

I still don't understand the message they're trying to send once you enter Elsa's castle. She lifts her hand and sends you going (quickly) backwards down a hill. Like, is she a bad guy now? It just seems odd.

Well, she sent a huge giant to kill her sister and friend, sent the entire land to be under an ice storm... Elsa ain't exactly a good guy. In the original script she was actually the villain, which is why the hans thing felt so shoed in.