Has Frozen lost some appeal with certain age groups?

[starsweeper]

My older daughter is 9.5 and hasn't been a Frozen fan for at least a year. She likes the movie but she no longer wants character clothing and other items to do with Frozen or any other movie/character/TV show, etc. She will want to see the next movie but she's not a "I have to see Elsa and Anna, ride the new ride, and so on" fan. In fact, she watched video of the new ride and said "That's it? I don't want to wait in line to ride that."

My younger daughter is 4.5 and she's still a huge Elsa, Anna, anything Frozen fan. It was her first movie theater experience after just turning 2yo and made quite an impression.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

I love Frozen. I love other Disney films too, some more than others (Tangled, Zootopia, Inside Out, etc.) but I still love Frozen. Not enough to wait five hours for the new ride, and not enough to not miss Maelstrom, but I'm okay with the overlay.

 

[Donald Duck888]

I've found that someone that really loved frozen may not be all that frozen anymore but the second you get them in the park near something frozen they snap right back to when they loved it more than anything.. and like a light switch, it flips right off when you walk away.

I found that this exact thing happened with my daughter last year when I took her to Disney. She was all "I dont know if I want to see the princesses" before we went and then when we were there she was wanting to stand in line for every one of them.

 

[Donald Duck888]

My daughter is 15 and went through a big HSM phase back then as well. I was amused recently to find her watching the movies again. It's come full circle and it's hip and nostalgic for and her friends to watch again!

I also think this is very true at least from observations I have made when at the parks with my daughter. When standing in line I see many "older" kids in line to meet characters that my daughter (and they too when they were her age most likely) says is for "little kids"

 

[glvsav37]

have a 10 y.o. girl who when Frozen came out was obsessed....like we had to ask her to Plllleease stop singing "Let it go" for at least 10 minutes!!

but that was what...3 years ago? Now, she could care less. Granted she is interested in the ride b/c its new, but when I told her that we could only do a FP for it 1x (b/c of the tiers and there are other attractions we would rather do), and there is no way we are waiting on a 4+ hour line...she was completely fine with it.

She also asked me when Frozen 2 was coming out, and when I said 2018, she laughed and said, "Thats a little too far away"

IMO, I think WDW completely missed the boat on this IP. They had lighting in a bottle and it took too long to materialize in the parks. A lot of their core original audience has moved on.

 

[Donald Duck888]

I love Frozen. I love other Disney films too, some more than others (Tangled, Zootopia, Inside Out, etc.) but I still love Frozen. Not enough to wait five hours for the new ride, and not enough to not miss Maelstrom, but I'm okay with the overlay.

We are going to go ride it this Dec (if we can get a fast pass, not waiting 4 hrs in line) but my daughter and I are somewhat biased. The original ride, which she still calls "the Troll ride" was always one I enjoyed at EPCOT. Due to that fact and the fact that really little ones could ride it it became one of her favorites pretty quickly as well, i think she was 18 months old the first time she rode it. Even as she grew and started to go on bigger more "thrilling" rides the 'Troll ride" stayed as one of her favorite rides in all of Disney. I can honestly say that even back when she was still taken up by Frozen Fever she still was not all that super interested in the new ride as it in her mind was not her "troll ride".

 

[brooke789]

I think we've had the opposite experience with Frozen. When we visited the parks in 2013 (Frozen was already out but characters not in park yet) my kids weren't interested in the movie or products. When we tried to watch they were bored and would just get up and leave. Fast forward to now they're all Frozen crazy, 5 year old girl and boy (6 today actually!) and 2 year old boy. You should have seen my daughter's face when she met Elsa for the first time earlier this month. It was amazing. We hate we just missed the new FEA ride, but we're glad we didn't have to decide to not ride it due to the line.

 

[sandy77d]

My girls are both 11 years old and have no interest in Frozen. They liked it the first time we saw it. Then, by the time it was on video, only one of them would admit to liking it. Now they both say it is for little kids. I told them that they will have to ride FEA with me because I want to ride it, but they would probably be fine to skip it.

 

[mikeyg1479]

Its just the natural progression of things- the film is a few years old now, so the mega fandom has died down somewhat as the kids move to different things. But, 5 hour lines for the ride (which is Maelstrom with a Frozen coat of paint) tell me people haven't really given up their fandom.

And when Frozen 2 releases, and shatters all Disney animation box off debut records, we'll see that the fandom didn't really go away.

 

[GPC0321]

I don't have children, but I teach high school, and it's amazing to me how many teenage girls (and though they won't admit it, boys too) turn into little squealing kids if I pull out my Frozen DVD and tempt them with (we have dreaded "babysitting" days along with finals in which we have kids for 3 hours straight with literally nothing for them to do because they've finished their coursework and exams).

And let me tell you, my sophomores were so excited about Finding Dory that they said the "little kids" better get out of the way at the theaters because they (the teenagers) are the ones that grew up with Nemo and they're the ones that have been looking forward to the sequel for so long.

So, I think there probably is a sweet spot where kids grow out of something and don't think it's "cool" to like it anymore. But they seem to still keep it in their hearts for later on when they've gotten old enough to be nostalgic about it.

I guarantee I know about a hundred 17 year old girls who would be ecstatic to get on that Frozen ride. And like another poster said, Disney is the place where you act like a kid even if you're "too old/cool" to behave that way outside of Disney.

Heck. My 73-year old mother and I rode Pooh. And we loved it! LOL!

 

[shruley]

My kids loved Frozen when it opened but it has not had staying power with my kids. And it's not because of growing out of it, because my youngest will turn 4 in Sept. For her, her true love is Ariel. Been going strong for almost 2 years now. She liked Frozen, but once the initial hype wore off, she just isn't into it. We actually just bought Frozen, Mickey, and Princess bandages, and she gets upset if we put on a Frozen one over the other 2. At this point she refuses to watch the movie anymore. My co-worker is taking her 3 year old next Feb., and she said Cinderella is her must-see Princess. Doesn't care too much about Frozen either. Not sure why?

Zootopia is a HUGE hit in our house right now, and that's with ALL of them- 12, 9, and 3. Not sure how long it will stick, though.

 

[tnd]

If she's seen the new movie, Rey is a pretty cool character. If she's seen the original ones, Leia is fairly strong and awfully pretty. Might not be all her brother's influence.

I can almost pinpoint the exact moment the Star Wars obsession began. We were at DHS last summer and i got her the Elsa makeover, and then we went to see big brother do the Jedi Training Academy. She was so upset I had not signed her up for JTA that we had to re-do our plans to go back another day so she could so it too. She's seen all the movies (DH and I are big fans too) and loves Darth Vader more than any other character. I wanted to get her a Rey costume but she insisted on Vader. I am not sure what that means, but I anticipate a rough time when she is a teen.

 

[suswa]

My soon to be 9 year old has been over Frozen for at least a half a year now. I think the tune may change when we are at Disney but who knows.

 

[Planogirl]

I can't speak for little girls but I can't find an adult anywhere but here that cares a bit about Frozen. They like other Disney movies but Frozen is never mentioned. I thought it was just me but I guess I'm not the only one that feels that way.

However I love Tangled (just bought it!) and Toy Story stuff and Sleeping Beauty and so on. Those never lose their charm for me.

As for the ride, any new Disney ride is inundated at first and since this one seems to have good animatronics it will likely stay that way. Plus it's in a park with little to do for non-shoppers.

 

[oceanmarina]

I found that this exact thing happened with my daughter last year when I took her to Disney. She was all "I dont know if I want to see the princesses" before we went and then when we were there she was wanting to stand in line for every one of them.

Yep to that! While my 8 year old DD has moved on from frozen, she still will want to meet her and go on the ride this Summer.

 

[MrsJamesPSullivan]

My daughter is 19 now and she has never liked it for some reason. It's the only Disney movie she has ever disliked. She's considering applying for the college program but is terrified she'll get stuck working in Norway! LOL

 

[PetePanMan]

there has been a slight dip in the 45-55 yo male demographic...probably short-term and definitely reversible after going to HS sing-along

 

[wendow]

I don't have children, but I teach high school, and it's amazing to me how many teenage girls (and though they won't admit it, boys too) turn into little squealing kids if I pull out my Frozen DVD and tempt them with (we have dreaded "babysitting" days along with finals in which we have kids for 3 hours straight with literally nothing for them to do because they've finished their coursework and exams).

And let me tell you, my sophomores were so excited about Finding Dory that they said the "little kids" better get out of the way at the theaters because they (the teenagers) are the ones that grew up with Nemo and they're the ones that have been looking forward to the sequel for so long.

So, I think there probably is a sweet spot where kids grow out of something and don't think it's "cool" to like it anymore. But they seem to still keep it in their hearts for later on when they've gotten old enough to be nostalgic about it.

I guarantee I know about a hundred 17 year old girls who would be ecstatic to get on that Frozen ride. And like another poster said, Disney is the place where you act like a kid even if you're "too old/cool" to behave that way outside of Disney.

Heck. My 73-year old mother and I rode Pooh. And we loved it! LOL!

You nailed it in your post. I have teen girls who love, love, love Frozen still...all things Disney, in fact...as do most of their teenage friends. There is a lot of nostalgia in this age group.

We saw 'Finding Dory' on opening day and I can guarantee you, 100%, that my teen girls were more excited than my 7yo and 5yo boys. We actually saw two sets of people in the theater that we knew and one was a teen group of girls and the other a family with teen girls.

All that to say, my teens would not let us skip FEA for anything. They are very much looking forward to it (as am I...!)

 

[StuckInKS]

I think its just because it is "old" for the kids who were old enough to enjoy it in the beginning. My just-turned-13 DD and my almost-10 DD still like A&E, even though they don't squeal and have to have everything with Elsa's pic on it. Although kids who are in a certain stage, where they want to turn away from "baby" stuff in order to feel older, will shun Frozen and maybe princess altogether, lots of people never get to old for animated Disney movies and the merch/rides that go with them. When we went to see finding Dory, my kids were the only kids in the theater. The rest of the people were 20/30-something couples.

 

[anniemae]

My dd was obsessed with frozen when it first came out. It feels like we spent a small fortune on frozen costumes, blankets, posters, cups, and assorted trinkets. Now she is sooooooooo over it and hates anything frozen. sigh.........