Malestrom Becomes "Frozen Ever After"

[eXo]

Every post about this ride is going to devolve into half the people saying they welcome change and half the people saying it has no place there. Every. Single. Post.

What cracks me up though is the original Norway pavillion was based on a version of Norway that is, oh... several hundred years or so out of date. I hate to break it to those of you who took Maelstrom for face value, but *gasp* there are no vikings in modern day norway! No three headed trolls either! It was already a bloody fantasy/historical pavilion in the middle of a bunch of modern day pavilions. Had IKEA sponsored the pavilion and you got to take a ride on a flat pack couch around a giant furniture store, would you guys have been happy then? because that's the "realistic" Scandinavian area for ya these days.

As others have said, they switched out one fantasy troll for another fantasy troll and the vikings got switched out for snowmen. Anyone acting like "the real" Norway has been lost in the muddle has either never been to Norway or considers 800 year old snapshots of culture and mythology to be "the real" Norway.

It's one of the flimsiest arguments against change I've seen yet. Do other parts of the park and other parks need to be rehabilitated as well? Yep. Could Frozen have fit into DHS? Who knows, we really don't know what the current plans are over there, now do we? And considering it is taking 2 years just to rehab a ride at Epcot, a Frozen ride at DHS would have had to have been built from scratch, so that would have easily pushed it out another year or 2 (or 3 knowing those guys).

I look forward to the day that Ellen's Energy Adventure gets gutted and the boards are filled with the moans and cries of widows and orphans lamenting how it was once their favorite ride, how they rode it every single time they went, and how dare those corporate money grubbers at Disney put something new in it's place. THINK ABOUT ALL THE POOR LITTLE ELLEN"S!

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Every post about this ride is going to devolve into half the people saying they welcome change and half the people saying it has no place there. Every. Single. Post.

What cracks me up though is the original Norway pavillion was based on a version of Norway that is, oh... several hundred years or so out of date. I hate to break it to those of you who took Maelstrom for face value, but *gasp* there are no vikings in modern day norway! No three headed trolls either! It was already a bloody fantasy/historical pavilion in the middle of a bunch of modern day pavilions. Had IKEA sponsored the pavilion and you got to take a ride on a flat pack couch around a giant furniture store, would you guys have been happy then? because that's the "realistic" Scandinavian area for ya these days.

As others have said, they switched out one fantasy troll for another fantasy troll and the vikings got switched out for snowmen. Anyone acting like "the real" Norway has been lost in the muddle has either never been to Norway or considers 800 year old snapshots of culture and mythology to be "the real" Norway.

It's one of the flimsiest arguments against change I've seen yet. Do other parts of the park and other parks need to be rehabilitated as well? Yep. Could Frozen have fit into DHS? Who knows, we really don't know what the current plans are over there, now do we? And considering it is taking 2 years just to rehab a ride at Epcot, a Frozen ride at DHS would have had to have been built from scratch, so that would have easily pushed it out another year or 2 (or 3 knowing those guys).

I look forward to the day that Ellen's Energy Adventure gets gutted and the boards are filled with the moans and cries of widows and orphans lamenting how it was once their favorite ride, how they rode it every single time they went, and how dare those corporate money grubbers at Disney put something new in it's place. THINK ABOUT ALL THE POOR LITTLE ELLEN"S!

Drops the keyboard!

 

[Ambear]

Every post about this ride is going to devolve into half the people saying they welcome change and half the people saying it has no place there. Every. Single. Post.

I think you missed the posts that complain about what other people post.

 

[MrKnight]

Its important to note that even though the actual track layout will not change, the loading/unloading area WILL CHANGE with the new ride configuration, the former loading area will be converted into an entirely new scene while the former unloading area will now serve dual-purpose as both the loading and unloading area. This will certainly add some time to the ride, not to mention the former loading area is quite a large space which means that the first scene will be a LARGE scene.

 

[Buzz-Light-Beer]

Every post about this ride is going to devolve into half the people saying they welcome change and half the people saying it has no place there. Every. Single. Post.

What cracks me up though is the original Norway pavillion was based on a version of Norway that is, oh... several hundred years or so out of date. I hate to break it to those of you who took Maelstrom for face value, but *gasp* there are no vikings in modern day norway! No three headed trolls either! It was already a bloody fantasy/historical pavilion in the middle of a bunch of modern day pavilions. Had IKEA sponsored the pavilion and you got to take a ride on a flat pack couch around a giant furniture store, would you guys have been happy then? because that's the "realistic" Scandinavian area for ya these days.

As others have said, they switched out one fantasy troll for another fantasy troll and the vikings got switched out for snowmen. Anyone acting like "the real" Norway has been lost in the muddle has either never been to Norway or considers 800 year old snapshots of culture and mythology to be "the real" Norway.

It's one of the flimsiest arguments against change I've seen yet. Do other parts of the park and other parks need to be rehabilitated as well? Yep. Could Frozen have fit into DHS? Who knows, we really don't know what the current plans are over there, now do we? And considering it is taking 2 years just to rehab a ride at Epcot, a Frozen ride at DHS would have had to have been built from scratch, so that would have easily pushed it out another year or 2 (or 3 knowing those guys).

I look forward to the day that Ellen's Energy Adventure gets gutted and the boards are filled with the moans and cries of widows and orphans lamenting how it was once their favorite ride, how they rode it every single time they went, and how dare those corporate money grubbers at Disney put something new in it's place. THINK ABOUT ALL THE POOR LITTLE ELLEN"S!

For starters Ikea is not from Norway, but was founded by Sweden. The ride did show realistic Norway and the cultures and beliefs that those people back than believed in. It doesn't have to be modern day. Take The American Adventure it talks about the history of the United Sates including the Civil War. The show is also hosted by two great men from the United States, Ben Franklin and Mark Twain. Those two are sure not modern day Americans. All the countries in Epcot talk richly about the history and past of there Country. Nothing different in the Maelstrom Ride or The Norway Pavilion from the others. Frozen has nothing to do with the Countries history, culture, or beliefs at all.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm thinking this will be FP+ only with some return tickets given out each morning for same day.



What happened to the Stave Church exhibit was painful to see and totally unnecessary.

They'll probably get rid of all of the good food at the bakery and make it all cupcakes.

No they won't.

It will be chocolate. Anna's favorite.

The gift shop will feature future brides and grooms for those willing to marry someone they just met. And a new Wedding Pavillion.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

For starters Ikea is not from Norway, but was founded by Sweden. The ride did show realistic Norway and the cultures and beliefs that those people back than believed in. It doesn't have to be modern day. Take The American Adventure it talks about the history of the United Sates including the Civil War. The show is also hosted by two great men from the United States, Ben Franklin and Mark Twain. Those two are sure not modern day Americans. All the countries in Epcot talk richly about the history and past of there Country. Nothing different in the Maelstrom Ride or The Norway Pavilion from the others. Frozen has nothing to do with the Countries history, culture, or beliefs at all.

Well--the wars did happen and Abe and Samuel Clemens were real people. So there's that. I guess if they talked about Washington chopping down cherry trees...I mean history versus folklore...

And I think you missed the sarcasm about The Pride of Sweden representing Scandinavian culture (as the posted mentioned Scandinavia and likely is privy to the origin country of the big blue store).

 

[Buzz-Light-Beer]

The thing is about the Norwegian history though is the folklore was a huge part of there way of life back then. George Washington chopping down the Cherry Tree is one small story concerning a figure in American History.

I must have missed the sarcasm .

 

[cjparker0110]

Maelstrom:
As with any change, there are always arguments. We all love the things that were special to us and miss them dearly when they are gone. I personally enjoyed Maelstrom. I discovered it in 95 one time when I was wondering through Epcot. I was completely surprised to find there was a ride in Norway because I had no idea it had existed. I made sure to ride it every time I went back after that. It was nice because it had a short wait but was still a bit of fun. However, I despised waiting for the movie afterwards. It seems I was always the first or second boat after the movie would start so I had to wait for the whole film before leaving. Often, they didn't even have a CM there to let you know what was going on. It was only because I had been there before that I wasn't upset. I only saw the movie once. I walked through every other time.

As for Norway itself, I guess I never paid much attention to how accurate the country was/is.

Changing it to Frozen:
I think they could have made a better choice in how they did this. There are many other places that could be a better fit simply because of the nature of World Showcase. That said, Maelstrom usually had little to no wait. That means it wasn't a big draw. We always walked past Norway until I found the ride. And even then, I only went to that and then continued on my way. Making this the Frozen ride will draw more crowds to the area. So what if the movie is in a fictional land that's based on Scandinavian culture. You can meet Aladdin and Jasmine in Morocco...that's not where Aladdin took place (That would be the fictional land of Agrabah which is supposedly located near the Jordan River...placing them on a different continent). So what does this mean? I don't know...I guess to me it just means that this is not a new thing for Disney to do. It is just annoying to purists.

A couple of quotes:

I think the whole frozen this has been done to death. there has not been this much hype over a movie ever I think.

I would disagree with you. Star Wars Episode I had far more hype than Frozen.

Maelstrom is being converted...even many of the CMs in the pavilion didn't seem pleased. None said so in words, but it was pretty obvious. .

They could be displeased about this. Or they could be just be getting tired of people making complaints about the change to Frozen over and over. That is something wholly out of their control.

A few people earlier said they though Frozen had kind of died out. Well...like anything, it hit a peak. However, I can tell you it is alive and well. Even just a few weeks ago our youth group worship team was doing their mic checks and all the girls were singing let it go. Walk into Wal Mart and see if you can get from one end of the other without spotting something with Frozen on it. Bonus points if you don't find a child with some kind of Frozen thing (toy, shirt, bag, whatever). When the ride opens it may not be as popular as it is now (and was a year ago), but with the sequel coming out it will have a surge in popularity.

One more thought:
The attraction doesn't sound particularly exciting to me, but it will to the target audience:kids. Epcot has Soarin' and TT and the Space ride (can't remember the name for some reason) for the thrill seekers. This one is for the kids. And it will do what Epcot has not been able to do before: excite them about being there instead of at MK.

 

[amg35]

My first thoughts that came to mind:

Yay, finally a new ride at Epcot!

I'm fine with it, never expected a whole lot from it, will ride it when we go back, will most likely enjoy it and it's something new. Never thought Maelstrom was all that great anyways.

I have all my hopes pinned on Avatar Land.....

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Frozen has nothing to do with the Countries history, culture, or beliefs at all.

Yeah outside of the ice harvesting, monarchy, trolls, etc. it has nothing to do with the history or culture of the country. It's funny people are up in arms about a ride that featured trolls being replaced with a ride that's going to feature trolls.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

I plan to smile and wave at the F queue as I pass by.

Make sure to use your whole hand to wave and not just one finger

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

What cracks me up though is the original Norway pavillion was based on a version of Norway that is, oh... several hundred years or so out of date. I hate to break it to those of you who took Maelstrom for face value, but *gasp* there are no vikings in modern day norway! No three headed trolls either! It was already a bloody fantasy/historical pavilion in the middle of a bunch of modern day pavilions. Had IKEA sponsored the pavilion and you got to take a ride on a flat pack couch around a giant furniture store, would you guys have been happy then? because that's the "realistic" Scandinavian area for ya these days.

As others have said, they switched out one fantasy troll for another fantasy troll and the vikings got switched out for snowmen. Anyone acting like "the real" Norway has been lost in the muddle has either never been to Norway or considers 800 year old snapshots of culture and mythology to be "the real" Norway.

The world showcase was intended to be a walk through the history and culture of the countries represented.
The way the park was designed represents the concept that history and culture are the backbone of our future; Future world in the front, history and culture behind it.
Vikings fit that bill, talking snowmen do not. There is "real" mythology, and it continues to define cultures even into this era. Frozen may be a new mythos that defines little American girls, but it certainly does not represent ancient or modern Norway. Putting this Frozen attraction into Norway reinforces a rather shallow American disconnect with world history and culture - sadly even our own history and culture - and a flippant disregard for a real people and place.

 

[Buzz-Light-Beer]

Yeah outside of the ice harvesting, monarchy, trolls, etc. it has nothing to do with the history or culture of the country. It's funny people are up in arms about a ride that featured trolls being replaced with a ride that's going to feature trolls.

I am sorry that my posts have come across to you that I am up in arms over the ride being replaced. My first posts basically states that I totally understand why Disney would be doing this and that is because of the popularity of Frozen. The company wants to make money and they feel they will make money with a Frozen ride. That is totally up to Disney. I guarantee you this will not be the last time Disney replaces an attraction at one of the parks because they feel they will make money. People will certainly enjoy the Frozen ride and people will miss the Maelstrom ride. Things change though.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

I am sorry that my posts have come across to you that I am up in arms over the ride being replaced. My first posts basically states that I totally understand why Disney would be doing this and that is because of the popularity of Frozen. The company wants to make money and they feel they will make money with a Frozen ride. That is totally up to Disney. I guarantee you this will not be the last time Disney replaces an attraction at one of the parks because they feel they will make money. People will certainly enjoy the Frozen ride and people will miss the Maelstrom ride. Things change though.

You just happened to be the most recent person imply that Frozen has no real ties to Norway which I disagree with. I think people romanticize EPCOT when it was designed by Disney to take your money and the countries hoped they would take your money at the parks and the tourism industry.

The Frozen ride accomplishes both tasks so it's a win/win for Disney and Norway(even though they've backed out prior to this). I don't know anyone who went to EPCOT to ride Maelstrom but people will go for a Frozen ride.

 

[Buzz-Light-Beer]

You just happened to be the most recent person imply that Frozen has no real ties to Norway which I disagree with. I think people romanticize EPCOT when it was designed by Disney to take your money and the countries hoped they would take your money at the parks and the tourism industry.

The Frozen ride accomplishes both tasks so it's a win/win for Disney and Norway(even though they've backed out prior to this). I don't know anyone who went to EPCOT to ride Maelstrom but people will go for a Frozen ride.

And that is why Disney is genius. They thrive on the popularity of something they created. What company would not do that. In the World Showcase at EPCOT I bet a lot of people went there to ride that ride because it is really the only ride in the World Showcase other then the Mexican Boat Ride which they also changed because it was not popular at all and added The Three Caballeros. The Maelstrom seemed always more popular than the Mexican Boat ride though. The rest of the Countries have a movie about the country or a show like the American Adventure. Most people enjoy The World Showcase for the food though in my opinion.

 

[Imagineer22]

So based on the scene descriptions it sounds like the loading station will be moved. The article mentions two scenes in the ride before climbing the lift hill. Does this mean the load will be at the old unload location? Also, sounds like "let it go" will basically be the entire backwards portion of the flume? If so it they should have called the attraction, "Let it Go, the ride!" (brings on soooo many meanings given the prime discussions in this thread.

I also find it interesting they say the ride time will be 4 minutes. Malestrom was like 2 minutes long, how the heck do they get to 4 minutes using the same flume?

Finally, those boats look the same as Malestrom's. Will Disney even renovate the boats?

Interesting the article mentions that the popularity of Frozen has pushed them to use the existing infrastructure of Malestrom. However in my mind IF Frozen is as popular as they say (which it seems to be) why not invest big and go big to do the IP justice instead of quickly throwing something together?

 

[Babsy]

I'm Norwegian. I'm well aware of what the Norway pavilion is. The Viking ship is gone, the stave church is frozen over, the ride and movie are now gone and replaced with frozen, the traditional Norwegian food that used to be offered at akershus is significantly watered down since adding the princesses.

The Kringla bakery is still amazing. The gjestost cheesecake...mm, just yum. The rest has been significantly watered down.

I LOVED the Norway pavilion the way it was years ago. We ate lunch there every trip. The food was so GOOD at that buffet! It really isn't as good since the princesses took over. I understand the economics, but I miss the former authenticity. Norway is an amazing country. It is sad that fewer people will get a true sample oƒ Norwegian culture and history now.

The world showcase was intended to be a walk through the history and culture of the countries represented.
The way the park was designed represents the concept that history and culture are the backbone of our future; Future world in the front, history and culture behind it.
Vikings fit that bill, talking snowmen do not. There is "real" mythology, and it continues to define cultures even into this era. Frozen may be a new mythos that defines little American girls, but it certainly does not represent ancient or modern Norway. Putting this Frozen attraction into Norway reinforces a rather shallow American disconnect with world history and culture - sadly even our own history and culture - and a flippant disregard for a real people and place.

Well said!!

 

[Angel Ariel]

I LOVED the Norway pavilion the way it was years ago. We ate lunch there every trip. The food was so GOOD at that buffet! It really isn't as good since the princesses took over. I understand the economics, but I miss the former authenticity. Norway is an amazing country. It is sad that fewer people will get a true sample oƒ Norwegian culture and history now.

Thank you for saying it so well

 

[Texas Mickey]

This thread is funny. I don't know about others but when I'm on vacation at WDW I leave reality at home. I get enough of that the rest of the year. I want to believe a talking mouse is real and princesses do exist. I'm there to ride rides, enjoy the resorts and relax. We live in a world driven by political correctness. Sometimes it's for the greater good and sometimes it's just stupid. If the mouse says Anna lives in Norway I'm fine with that and I'll ride the ride for what it is, a ride. With that said I have some words for anyone that wants to boycott the ride "Let it go, Let it go"