The Solution To The Frozen Mess At WDW

[jhaig]

After seeing the mess Disney has created in the Magic Kingdom with Anna and Elsa, I tried thinking of ways that it could possibly be fixed. Let's face it - their popularity is something Disney clearly underestimated and the Frozen phenomenon isn't going away any time soon.

So what needs to be done? Possible solutions:

1) Remove them from the parks - yeah right. They're making Disney mad cash. Not happening, ever

2) Frozen characters in each of the 4 parks - too much of a good thing. Supply and demand only works for WDW when they have something people really want and it's in short supply.

Then it hit me - drum roll please..... Move Anna and Elsa to the old Wonders of Life pavilion at Epcot and transform the entire building into "Frozen Central".

Epcot desperately needs something to begin with. They have Soarin, Test Track, and not much else. Future World is chock full of outdated attractions that need serious attention. What better way to inject some life into it by filling up an empty building with Disney's most popular movie franchise in history (if it isn't yet, it will be. They're not building off of Wreck It Ralph or Brave for a reason right?).

First off, you crank down the A/C to a comfortable Norway-like level. Make it immersive, chilly even. Not sub zero or anything, but cold enough that a penguin could walk in and say "hmm, kinda balmy today". That would be a crowd pleaser in the summer for sure. Next, an indoor dark ride like Maelstrom on steroids. Top that with the mother of all meet and greets with Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, heck even bring in a live reindeer for kiddie rides or something. Also load the place with Frozen merchandise (and be sure it stays stocked modestly - remember, supply and demand!)

This could be huge. You think Avatar is going to compete with Harry Potter? Wrong. It's Frozen. Disney needs to capitalize on their popularity now and not wait another ten years to think about it. Universal built half of a theme park in the same amount of time it took Disney to build a kiddie coaster themed to a 70 year old movie. Epcot has had nothing new of significance in ages - and no, the new Test Track doesn't count.

Turn the Wonders of Life building into the world of Frozen. You can thank me later with a pineapple Dole Whip.

And don't get me started on Star Wars......

 

[chapie1968]

Turn the Wonders of Life building into the world of Frozen. You can thank me later with a pineapple Dole Whip.

Face it, it's only a temporary fad so you probably wouldn't even have to go through the lengths you did. but it is a good idea, just use one of the desolate EPCOT pavilions for a giant meet and greet for the Frozen characters. Obviously with multiples of each. It wouldn't take much money or construction to set up the 3 or 4 themed greeting rooms and it wouldn't take much staff to run.

 

[ponyboy]

I'd like to see something new at Epcot but I don't think Frozen is it.

 

[jagfanjosh3252]

I don't see how it will fit with Future World though.

 

[Eastern]

I think it's a great idea. But they would need a budget, and they used up all their money on FP+ already.

 

[chapie1968]

I'd like to see something new at Epcot but I don't think Frozen is it.

I don't think either of us mean Frozen as the "something new" in EPCOT. More simply somewhere to help alleviate these ridiculous waits for these newly beloved characters. They have the empty pavilions sitting there, and as I said, to create temporary greeting areas and queues the construction costs and staffing would be minimal.

 

[morethananyonex]

I would rather see the waits at the meet and greets stay nuts than Frozen plopped right into Future World. The Nemo overlay on Living Seas is bad enough, but at least the overall idea of the pavilion is still there.

The imagineers have the ability to do amazing things based on nothing but stories they create. They don't need to base it off a movie, especially not in Future World. That's probably the last place in WDW something like that fits. What they do need is finance guys who will green light their ideas.

 

[Mama Mouse]

Unless they're gonna go all out and make the MNG part of a larger attraction, then they need to find a new system. Why not just give everyone who gets in line a ticket, similar to legacy fast pass, with an hour window to return. Then no one waits more than an hour and you don't waste a huge chunk of your day just standing in line. Honestly, that's a recipe for disaster and I'm surprised they're letting it go on. If they can figure something g out to ease the wait at Dumbo, then they can figure this out too.

 

[chapie1968]

I would rather see the waits at the meet and greets stay nuts than Frozen plopped right into Future World. The Nemo overlay on Living Seas is bad enough, but at least the overall idea of the pavilion is still there.

The imagineers have the ability to do amazing things based on nothing but stories they create. They don't need to base it off a movie, especially not in Future World. That's probably the last place in WDW something like that fits. What they do need is finance guys who will green light their ideas.

Yeah, but it wouldn't be a "Frozen land" . They don't have to do anything to the building on the outside itself. It would simply be using an empty Pavillion for a TEMPORARY meet and greet location. It wouldn't effect and of the futureland ambiance. EPCOT has(or had, still there?) the character greet/photo locations already. And the Pavillion is large enough that it could handle the traffic and not have any impact on the surrounding area/attractions.

 

[omurice]

MK did NOT need more crowds and IMHO this could have been the worst place to put the Frozen princesses -- let's drop a new 3 hour queue for a 1 minute M&G less than 100 yards away from a newer 3 hour queue (Mine Train) for a 2 minute ride. Without FP+ which will be hard gets, that's a lot of waiting for 3 minutes of meaningful activity. Well done next gen of Crowd Control...

I believe the Frozen princesses should have stayed at Epcot but maybe just move the M&G somewhere easier to manage. WoL like the OP said not a bad idea, but a big issue it is used 5 months a year for Festival space. Maybe part of Innoventions, the Odyssey, or World Showplace. Epcot can absorb crowds, has many light days, and MK this is just not so -- for me M&G should have stayed somewhere in Epcot.


DHS could have made sense after SWW is over -- a lot of empty buildings and the lowest attendance of the four parks Stage one near TSMM, the former Sounds Dangerous location could have been themed inside, FP+ added to the doors. Maybe someday when American Idol winds down we could get a Frozen stage show in there, with very low AC

 

[Jupiter]

I think it is a great idea, and every few years when the fad changes, just redecorate and you're good to go again.

 

[nighttowll]

I still think they'd be great at Blizzard Beach, and you don't even need to redecorate!

 

[surferdave]

I think it is a great idea, and every few years when the fad changes, just redecorate and you're good to go again.

I think something like that may work. It's what they've been doing in Fairytale Garden where Merida is now and Rapunzel was previously. It's not like they're putting anything else there anytime soon. It would have been a better solution to the mess in Norway than moving them to the most crowded park by far and displacing M&Gs that were already popular.

I realize the "fad" prediction is as valid as any other opinion, but I think some of you may be surprised in a few years by the staying power of this movie. Even if all DISers didn't like it so much it was generally hailed as Disney's best since Beauty and the Beast and they just built a whole freakin land to that movie 23 years after it's release, with a popular show still in another park and the protagonist princess being the centerpiece of a character meal and having her own meet & greet in yet another park. It may stick long after people start asking "what with these tall blue people in the zoo park anyway?"

 

[Sandy Mouse]

Face it, it's only a temporary fad so you probably wouldn't even have to go through the lengths you did. but it is a good idea, just use one of the desolate EPCOT pavilions for a giant meet and greet for the Frozen characters. Obviously with multiples of each. It wouldn't take much money or construction to set up the 3 or 4 themed greeting rooms and it wouldn't take much staff to run.

I think this fad has some staying power, but you are right about setting up the meet & greet with multiple sets of the characters in multiple rooms. That is the only answer to the long waits.

 

[KSL]

I was wondering whether Disney would consider moving them to the Town Hall M&G area, where Mickey is. I realize they just created this beautiful Princess Fairytale Hall and that is the better place in terms of theming, but if they were at Town Hall, Disney could create a queuing area from just inside the park entrance, if necessary. That would eliminate the stampede to Fantasyland, and/or CMs could do a "rope walk" just that far at park opening, ala TSMM-craze days. I'm sure there's a flaw in this plan (or more than one), but it was the first thing I thought of as a temporary fix until the hysteria dies down. With it the way it is now, I can't imagine even being able to MOVE in Fantayland once 7DMT opens!

 

[alexensmom]

I think I heard somewhere that Frozen was the #1 grossing animated film in history? The music alone is enough to take the "Frozen" experience to a whole new level. I can imagine a Philharmagic attraction where the audience can be immersed in the theming and can sing along with the characters. I'm all for adding attractions/meet and greets to Epcot. It would help with my family's "been there, done that" feeling we have.

 

[TwoMisfits]

It totally could fit in EPCOT - a new Wild Weather Pavilion - totally works with cranking the temp low, having tons of Frozen meet and greets, an all ages sensory playground with falling "snow" and drizzling rain and epic wind and heated areas, a dark indoor thrill ride (could even do the Frozen mountain scene), and an educational area of some type (either 4d movie of wild weather, computer consoles, small show, etc)...fast, easy, fits the theme (since the future is supposed to be more "wild" weather patterns), AND gives Future World something to see!!

 

[TooExcitedCantSleep]

After seeing the mess Disney has created in the Magic Kingdom with Anna and Elsa, I tried thinking of ways that it could possibly be fixed. Let's face it - their popularity is something Disney clearly underestimated and the Frozen phenomenon isn't going away any time soon.

So what needs to be done? Possible solutions:

1) Remove them from the parks - yeah right. They're making Disney mad cash. Not happening, ever

2) Frozen characters in each of the 4 parks - too much of a good thing. Supply and demand only works for WDW when they have something people really want and it's in short supply.

Then it hit me - drum roll please..... Move Anna and Elsa to the old Wonders of Life pavilion at Epcot and transform the entire building into "Frozen Central".

Epcot desperately needs something to begin with. They have Soarin, Test Track, and not much else. Future World is chock full of outdated attractions that need serious attention. What better way to inject some life into it by filling up an empty building with Disney's most popular movie franchise in history (if it isn't yet, it will be. They're not building off of Wreck It Ralph or Brave for a reason right?).

First off, you crank down the A/C to a comfortable Norway-like level. Make it immersive, chilly even. Not sub zero or anything, but cold enough that a penguin could walk in and say "hmm, kinda balmy today". That would be a crowd pleaser in the summer for sure. Next, an indoor dark ride like Maelstrom on steroids. Top that with the mother of all meet and greets with Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, heck even bring in a live reindeer for kiddie rides or something. Also load the place with Frozen merchandise (and be sure it stays stocked modestly - remember, supply and demand!)

This could be huge. You think Avatar is going to compete with Harry Potter? Wrong. It's Frozen. Disney needs to capitalize on their popularity now and not wait another ten years to think about it. Universal built half of a theme park in the same amount of time it took Disney to build a kiddie coaster themed to a 70 year old movie. Epcot has had nothing new of significance in ages - and no, the new Test Track doesn't count.

Turn the Wonders of Life building into the world of Frozen. You can thank me later with a pineapple Dole Whip.

And don't get me started on Star Wars......

Frozen in Epcot's future world is a darn good idea!!!!! I don't think it is a Potter swatter, though. Patience patience...... Star Wars will crush that eventually......not that Disney needs it too. Harry Potter has helped Universal but it hasn't hurt Disney.

 

[jhaig]

It totally could fit in EPCOT - a new Wild Weather Pavilion - totally works with cranking the temp low, having tons of Frozen meet and greets, an all ages sensory playground with falling "snow" and drizzling rain and epic wind and heated areas, a dark indoor thrill ride (could even do the Frozen mountain scene), and an educational area of some type (either 4d movie of wild weather, computer consoles, small show, etc)...fast, easy, fits the theme (since the future is supposed to be more "wild" weather patterns), AND gives Future World something to see!!

Can't you see it? That building sits there mostly empty, except for meetings or conventions, which could easily be moved.

Frozen isn't going anywhere. Disney should prepare to be into this for the long haul.

 

[leebee]

Move Star Wars to Epcot. It's about space travel, etc., and would somewhat fit with the "Future World" theme, and Mission:Space is already there. Then move Frozen into DHS. I like the OP's idea of a whole pavilion-like experience, but do it at DHS, where they have kid-movie kind of stuff anyhow (remember the old Hunchback stage show? and there's BatB, Muppets, TSMM). It'd work.