Frozen show: What's your opinion? Trying to decide whether to see it

[VandVsmama]

I've read reviews online where people start lining up an hour beforehand. If we were going to be there with 5-day tickets, I'd totally devote the time to it. If we decide to do a 4th day at the parks, I'll probably go to see the Frozen musical.

Also, I think that the color blind casting doesn't really work really well for a story set in the late 1700's in Scandinavia. I could see casting someone like Kristoff with someone who looks like a Laplander (also known as the Sami people, indigenous people in northern Norway, Sweden, Finland). Kristoff isn't African or African-American.

FWIW, my grandfather was born & raised in Sweden. My grandmother's family was Norwegian. And my other grandparents were also of Swedish heritage. I grew up with Scandinavian culture & folklore. 1 set of grandparents would make lutefisk on Christmas Eve every year (it's a really foul dish and should be outlawed. Seriously, it tastes and smells awful), so the lutefisk joke in the Frozen movie really made me LOL.

I very much appreciate Disney's devotion to diversity. It's really awesome. But sometimes in story-telling, it just doesn't work. For example, in the Aladdin musical when we saw it 1 time, they had a disabled woman in an electric wheelchair. I'm sorry if this is not a very popular opinion, but during the time of the Aladdin story, there was so such thing as electricity, let alone electric wheelchairs. It was just really out of place with the story. Even my kids noticed it - and they are totally color blind about this stuff, and for the record, I didn't point it out to them or comment about it to them.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

Overall, I liked the show and thought it was good (better than I expected). The singing was quite good, though sometimes the actors were overacting a bit in my opinion.

I've read reviews online where people start lining up an hour beforehand. If we were going to be there with 5-day tickets, I'd totally devote the time to it. If we decide to do a 4th day at the parks, I'll probably go to see the Frozen musical.

We saw it when they were still doing Fastpasses. I think I would recommend seeing it if FPs were available, but I'm not sure I would want to wait an hour in line for it if that's true that they stopped giving out FPs.

Also, I think that the color blind casting doesn't really work really well for a story set in the late 1700's in Scandinavia. I could see casting someone like Kristoff with someone who looks like a Laplander (also known as the Sami people, indigenous people in northern Norway, Sweden, Finland). Kristoff isn't African or African-American.

Obviously everyone will have their own opinion on this, but I didn't think that this affected my enjoyment of the show at all (honestly I didn't even know until I was reading about it later, maybe my eyes are not so good, LOL). In general, I think casting the inferior talent who looks the part, would be worse than casting someone with the wrong skin color but a better singer/actor, especially with an iconic (and difficult) song like "Let It Go". A bad singer would ruin my enjoyment of a musical a lot more than a fabulous singer who doesn't "look the part" so to speak, but I can see where you are coming from and understand the alternate viewpoint.

 

[mom2rtk]

Overall, I liked the show and thought it was good (better than I expected). The singing was quite good, though sometimes the actors were overacting a bit in my opinion.



We saw it when they were still doing Fastpasses. I think I would recommend seeing it if FPs were available, but I'm not sure I would want to wait an hour in line for it if that's true.



Obviously everyone will have their own opinion on this, but I didn't think that this affected my enjoyment of the show at all (honestly I didn't even know until I was reading about it later, maybe my eyes are not so good, LOL). In general, I think casting the inferior talent who looks the part, would be worse than casting someone with the wrong skin color but a better singer/actor, especially with an iconic (and difficult) song like "Let It Go". A bad singer would ruin my enjoyment of a musical a lot more than a fabulous singer who doesn't "look the part" so to speak, but I can see where you are coming from and understand the alternate viewpoint.

We didn't see it with fastpass. But my understanding is that all the FP did was complicate things. You had to line up once for the FP, then line up again to get in. All the FP did as guarantee a seat. We lined up an hour before show time because I wanted front row mezzanine. We could have lined up a lot later if I wasn't as picky about my seat.

It's a beautiful show. I'd share some photos but don't want to spoil any of the fun of seeing it all for the first time. You can find them in the Flickr link in my signature if you want to see them. I'm adding more all the time.

 

[ashley0139]

I've read reviews online where people start lining up an hour beforehand. If we were going to be there with 5-day tickets, I'd totally devote the time to it. If we decide to do a 4th day at the parks, I'll probably go to see the Frozen musical.

Also, I think that the color blind casting doesn't really work really well for a story set in the late 1700's in Scandinavia. I could see casting someone like Kristoff with someone who looks like a Laplander (also known as the Sami people, indigenous people in northern Norway, Sweden, Finland). Kristoff isn't African or African-American.

FWIW, my grandfather was born & raised in Sweden. My grandmother's family was Norwegian. And my other grandparents were also of Swedish heritage. I grew up with Scandinavian culture & folklore. 1 set of grandparents would make lutefisk on Christmas Eve every year (it's a really foul dish and should be outlawed. Seriously, it tastes and smells awful), so the lutefisk joke in the Frozen movie really made me LOL.

I very much appreciate Disney's devotion to diversity. It's really awesome. But sometimes in story-telling, it just doesn't work. For example, in the Aladdin musical when we saw it 1 time, they had a disabled woman in an electric wheelchair. I'm sorry if this is not a very popular opinion, but during the time of the Aladdin story, there was so such thing as electricity, let alone electric wheelchairs. It was just really out of place with the story. Even my kids noticed it - and they are totally color blind about this stuff, and for the record, I didn't point it out to them or comment about it to them.

Ah, now we're getting to it. I'm trying very hard to be diplomatic, but do you really think everything about the show is historically accurate? Were there a lot of ice castles and magic queens in the 1700s in Norway? Talking snowmen? It's a show at a theme park. You suspend disbelief. Sometimes you can even see wires and mechanic aspects of the sets.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

We didn't see it with fastpass. But my understanding is that all the FP did was complicate things. You had to line up once for the FP, then line up again to get in. All the FP did as guarantee a seat. We lined up an hour before show time because I wanted front row mezzanine. We could have lined up a lot later if I wasn't as picky about my seat.

Yes, you're right if you are particular about the seats, than FPs probably didn't help you much because you had to get there early. I didn't really care much about which seats we got. Also, I think we went on a lighter day. I went to get an FP about 10 minutes after it opened to let some of the initial line clear out, so I only had to wait a few minutes in the FP line. We got mezzanine FPs. Then we went to the show as late as possible, we ended up with seats towards the right side, but I still thought I had a good view of the show.

It's a beautiful show. I'd share some photos but don't want to spoil any of the fun of seeing it all for the first time. You can find them in the Flickr link in my signature if you want to see them. I'm adding more all the time.

Yes, when I heard about the screen in the back, I had pretty low expectations about people acting in front of a giant movie screen. However, I was pleasantly surprised. It worked well together with the props and such. I would definitely recommend seeing it overall, but it just depends on how long the wait is.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yes, you're right if you are particular about the seats, than FPs probably didn't help you much because you had to get there early. I didn't really care much about which seats we got. Also, I think we went on a lighter day. I went to get an FP about 10 minutes after it opened to let some of the initial line clear out, so I only had to wait a few minutes in the FP line. We got mezzanine FPs. Then we went to the show as late as possible, we ended up with seats towards the right side, but I still thought I had a good view of the show.

If you are there on a lower crowd day, a fastpass really makes no difference. All it did was guarantee a spot. If it was low crowd, there was going to be a spot anyway.

Yes, when I heard about the screen in the back, I had pretty low expectations about people acting in front of a giant movie screen. However, I was pleasantly surprised. It worked well together with the props and such. I would definitely recommend seeing it overall, but it just depends on how long the wait is.

I felt exactly the same about the screen effects. And I was also pleasantly surprised.

 

[ashley0139]

We didn't see it with fastpass. But my understanding is that all the FP did was complicate things. You had to line up once for the FP, then line up again to get in. All the FP did as guarantee a seat. We lined up an hour before show time because I wanted front row mezzanine. We could have lined up a lot later if I wasn't as picky about my seat.

It's a beautiful show. I'd share some photos but don't want to spoil any of the fun of seeing it all for the first time. You can find them in the Flickr link in my signature if you want to see them. I'm adding more all the time.

You're exactly right about the fastpass. It just complicated things. You still had to line up for just as long if you wanted the best seats, but you had to make the extra fastpass trip. It's a much better system now because you can choose the exact show you want and where to sit.

I followed you on Flickr a little while ago, all your pictures are beautiful! The Frozen ones are great. I've tried taking pictures at the show a few times and it's hard, but I don't have a super fancy camera set up (just a Sony mirrorless).

 

[mom2rtk]

You're exactly right about the fastpass. It just complicated things. You still had to line up for just as long if you wanted the best seats, but you had to make the extra fastpass trip. It's a much better system now because you can choose the exact show you want and where to sit.

I followed you on Flickr a little while ago, all your pictures are beautiful! The Frozen ones are great. I've tried taking pictures at the show a few times and it's hard, but I don't have a super fancy camera set up (just a Sony mirrorless).

Thanks so much! I love that Disney welcomes photography at their shows. I still have more Frozen shots to post.

 

[Nevada Jen]

Ah, now we're getting to it. I'm trying very hard to be diplomatic, but do you really think everything about the show is historically accurate? Were there a lot of ice castles and magic queens in the 1700s in Norway? Talking snowmen? It's a show at a theme park. You suspend disbelief. Sometimes you can even see wires and mechanic aspects of the sets.

You pulled off diplomatic very well. You seem to appreciate diversity

 

[VandVsmama]

Ah, now we're getting to it. I'm trying very hard to be diplomatic, but do you really think everything about the show is historically accurate? Were there a lot of ice castles and magic queens in the 1700s in Norway? Talking snowmen? It's a show at a theme park. You suspend disbelief. Sometimes you can even see wires and mechanic aspects of the sets.

No. Not everything in the show is historically accurate. Nor are other Disney stories/movies/tales. However, in other areas of Disney casting, they try really hard to cast face characters who look somewhat like the characters they are supposed to play: Moana, Mulan, Pocahontas, Princess Tiana, for example. Let's leave out the face characters at meet & greets for a moment...consider Tiana in the "Mickey & the Magical Map" show. How would everyone feel if they replaced that Tiana with one who was Asian or Caucasian? The character is a young African-American woman. The story just wouldn't work with white girl playing that character.

That being said, I'm still interested in seeing the Frozen musical. Just not sure it's such a "must do" that I'd spend 2 hours out of a day on a 3-day visit to go and see it. I mean, in all of our visits to DL so far, I still have yet to take my kids to play musical chairs with Alice and the Mad Hatter at Coke Corner because we always run out of time and that's only ~ 10 min long.

 

[VandVsmama]

I've also talked to friends who have seen it and asked them what they thought of it. Everybody has said that it's well done, but in general, they wouldn't really go to see it multiple times. We'll work it into our schedule if it's convenient, but otherwise we might pass this time and try for it the following year.

In terms of the next musical they do in that theater, I think it would be fun to see something based on Moana.

 

[Niltiac]

My partner and I went to see it on our last trip. We're both adults and are not interested in Frozen at all, but we both liked the show. It's pretty well done. It's not something I would call a "must see" or that I would sacrifice other attractions for, but a lot of times in the afternoon you need a break anyway, so that's when we fit it in. We lined up pretty early, but it wasn't a bad place to wait. It was shaded and relatively quiet, and they let everyone sit on the ground until close to show time. It would be a pretty boring wait if you were energized and ready to go, but it's not bad at all if you need something low-key for a while. If I were you I would take a look at the show times each day and just keep them in mind, and if your group needs a break from rides or if you don't know what to do next and there's a show coming up, go for it. But if you have a very structured touring plan I wouldn't stress about trying to fit it in.

I didn't even notice the color-blind casting. For me, in the context of a musical stage show I am much more interested in seeing skilled performers than I am in seeing accurate character portrayals. I feel a bit differently when it comes to movies, but stage shows are already so unrealistic (sets, props, etc.) that one more thing doesn't really pull me out of the story, whereas it's so important to have a performer who can give a high-quality performance every time, since there are no outtakes in live shows.

 

[Disney Addicted]

About an hour.
I loved it! I was glad that I saw it, and it was one of the highlights of my trip.

Thanks!

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

We saw it yesterday. It was good but not as good as Aladdin IMO. I wouldn't see it again but Aladdin we saw twice. Just wasn't as entertaining to me.

 

[ADLFAN]

I have seen it once, and probably wouldn't bother seeing it next time. I don't know exactly why, because both Aladdin and Frozen are retelling their stories, but Frozen seemed a bit more boring to me... Maybe because the "villain" was underwhelming where Jafar was super animated? Maybe because the screen wasn't my thing and I favored the physical sets and props of Aladdin?

I did love Olaf!!

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

I have seen it once, and probably wouldn't bother seeing it next time. I don't know exactly why, because both Aladdin and Frozen are retelling their stories, but Frozen seemed a bit more boring to me... Maybe because the "villain" was underwhelming where Jafar was super animated? Maybe because the screen wasn't my thing and I favored the physical sets and props of Aladdin?

I did love Olaf!!

My thoughts exactly!

 

[Jperiod]

I agree with the comment that it's a shortened movie version, mostly the songs, but it was very worth seeing at least once. The effects are wonderful. It isn't as comical as Aladdin, but well done in its own right. Be prepared that the actors won't necessarily match the race of the movie characters. The actors played their characters perfectly, but visually it was hard for me to believe in the disney magic that I was watching a live version of the cartoon. That could be just me though, as I'm always over-analyzing the face characters and if they "look" like their cartoon versions (I refuse to meet Jack Skellington for this reason, even though it's my favorite movie!) . My daughter didn't say a word and totally believed.

 

[MrJT]

My daughter didn't say a word and totally believed.

And that right there is what it is all about.

 

[Oswald23]

Totally against my expectation I loved the show. The special effects are great and love the singing. The Guy who's playing Olaf is wonderful.

At first I was a little "shocked" that Anna wasn't played by a caucasian girl, but her performance was stunning too. I'm not a racist of any kind, but the way Disney cast their characters I never expected it.

I went to see it 3 times on my 6 day trip. And Walked Up all 3 times just 15 minutes before showtime.

Yes Aladdin was great to and less mainstream but this show is almost a match.

 

[chaysmom]

How long prior does one need to line up to get in to watch Frozen?

We loved it. I was on the fence, and my daughter is over it but I'm glad we got to see it. We were there an hour and half before and were in the 4th row from stage. But I was told at minimum to be there an hour earlier, and even then it wasn't guaranteed.

A couple things we weren't expecting - my kids are 6 and 8, so we planned for the 5:30 show. We took a break at the hotel (walking distance) and they were worn out, so I headed back to get in line and have them join me about 4:50 so they had a little more rest time.

The doors did not open to officially line up for the show until 4 pm. People were milling around before that, and once the doors did open it was a mad dash. Once in, they began making the announcements that all parties had to be complete. We got lucky, my family was escorted by a cast member when they got there and we were able to sit together but if it were important to me the next time I would make sure we were together from the beginning.