Theme park presence will be part of that mix. Disney's already introduced Frozen meet-and-greets in Disneyland's Fantasyland and Epcot's Norway pavilion at Walt Disney World. And Disney CEO Bob Iger has promised more for Frozen. So theme park fans are led to ask: What would a Frozen theme park attraction look like? And where would it go?
We've already addressed some of the problems with placing a Frozen attraction in Epcot's Norway pavilion. Furthermore, Frozen is set in a mythical kingdom called Arendelle, not Norway. Sure, both have snow and ice, but if that's the sole criterion for placement, you might as well put Disney's Frozen ride in the Hoth section of Star Wars Land as in Norway.
(Hold that thought, actually….)
But let's back up for a moment. The following is based on no insider information, but represents an attempt to logically think through Disney's options for putting a Frozen attraction in its theme parks, examining available locations and feasible concepts.
Let's start with the question of what a Frozen attraction might look like, and include. The movie takes place in two main locations: the castle in the port of Arendelle, and Elsa's ice palace, high in the mountains overlooking the port. The ice palace is supposed to be remote and relatively inaccessible, making it a more appropriate destination within a Frozen ride than the setting of the ride's entrance. Therefore, one might presume that the the facade of a Frozen attraction would recreate the castle and port of Arendelle.
To create that, Disney needs a body of water for the port, with mountains in the background, overlooking that setting. Obviously, those aren't inexpensive locations to create, so it makes sense to first look for an under-utilized location in a Disney theme park which already fits that description.
Actually, Disney has a couple of options here, one of which is so ideal that it's hard to believe it wasn't designed with Arendelle in mind. So where is this ideal setting for a Frozen theme park attraction?
Well, you've heard the phrase "the rich get richer"? That applies here, because the ideal existing setting for an Arendelle attraction would be in the Cape Cod section of the American Waterfront land of what is already Disney's best theme park, Tokyo DisneySea.
Tucked in between the the park's Port Discovery and main expanse of the American Waterfront (which is dominated by the Tower of Terror and S.S. Columbia), Cape Cod today is best known as the home of Duffy the Disney Bear. That might seem inconsequential to American Disney fans, but Duffy is big, big, big business in Japan, where Duffy merchandise outsells everything else at the Tokyo Disney Resort. Still, there's no Duffy ride in Cape Cod — it's just a restaurant with a show stage, next to a meet and greet area. It is a huge restaurant, though, providing the area necessary for at least a space-conscious attraction.
The Oriental Land Company, which owns and operates the Tokyo Disney Resort under license from Disney, couldn't, and wouldn't want to, evict Duffy from Cape Cod in favor of Frozen. Heck, the movie doesn't even open in Japan until next month. But if Oriental Land were to find a new home for Duffy in the park, say, nearer the park's new Toy Story Mania ride on the other side of American Waterfront, that would make Cape Cod available for Frozen.
The existing Cape Cod buildings surround a small cove, and Disney could reskin these buildings to create the Arendelle castle. The park's iconic Mount Prometheus stands in the background, providing the mountain backdrop. As Cape Cod stands on the opposite side of Mount Prometheus from the mountain's Mysterious Island setting, Disney might be able to cover the backside of Mount Prometheus with some "snow," further developing the transformation of Cape Cod into a Port Arendelle land without disturbing the look of the mountain from Mysterious Island or the park's Mediterranean Harbor entrance.
So what, then, goes into this castle? As we mentioned, space is a big tight — the footprint is wide but relatively shallow, with the DisneySea Electric Railway in the back — so Disney likely couldn't develop a massive, Indiana Jones-style indoor ride for this Frozen attraction. But let's think about some options.
The purpose of a Frozen attraction should be to create opportunities to spend time with the movie's main characters. A permanent meet-and-greet location for Elsa and Anna is a must, and would fit well into the castle's ballroom. But what about that fabulous ice palace? And the wonderful wintery backcountry? And the trolls?
Here's an idea: We take a ride on Kristoff's new sleigh, pulled by Sven the reindeer and accompanied by Olaf the snowman. We're heading into the backcountry to pick up a load of ice, when we're sidetracked by the bad guys from Weselton, once again trying to sneak their way into the kingdom. With the help of the trolls, we evade the bad guys. Along the way, we make it to the ice palace, we hear Elsa sing "Let it Go," Olaf cracks plenty of jokes, and we back it back, safe, sound, and well-entertained.
To work this ride into the available space, Disney might need to take a page from Universal's playbook and use motion-base sleighs with accompanying screens, a la Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, to create the visuals for the story. The even cheaper alternative is to go with a Star Tours-like motion base theater for the ride, but I'd rather see Disney try a mix of screens and practical sets here.
In addition to the available setting, Disney has another advantage with launching this attraction at DisneySea: it puts the initial capital design and development on Oriental Land's books, rather than paying for that development solely from its own pocket. That would give Disney a head start on adapting these plans to other parks at a lower initial capital expense.
But where else could Disney build a Frozen land? I mentioned two possibilities. The second isn't as ideal as DisneySea's Cape Cod, but still provides an under-utilized body of water with a mountain in the background. It's the old Motor Boat Cruise lagoon in Disneyland's Fantasyland.
Not familiar with that site? Today it's mostly hidden behind the old "Light Magic" stage next to It's a Small World, and the smoking area across from the Matterhorn. There's no room at all for an attraction show building here, as Autopia consumes the land on the far side of the lagoon.
However….
If Disney really is considering taking the Autopia space for a Star Wars attraction in Tomorrowland, it's conceivable that Imagineers could leave enough space to accommodate Arendelle on the far side of that Star Wars ride, facing the lagoon in Fantasyland. (Okay, it's not exactly placing Arendelle on Hoth, but hey, it's close enough to crack the joke!) The Matterhorn would provide a wonderful accompanying visual to one side of Arendelle castle, while an additional "mountain range" backdrop could provide a visual barrier between Arendelle and whatever the Star Wars ride turns out to be. The huge problem here is the monorail track, which provides another reason why the site isn't as ideal as DisneySea's. The monorail would have to move to make this work.
Just imagine, though, the one-two punch of a new Star Wars ride in Tomorrowland and a Frozen attraction in Fantasyland. That would provide a more than compelling response to Universal Studios Hollywood's new Wizarding World of Harry Potter and billion-dollar-plus "Evolution" redevelopment.
What about Disney's other theme park resorts: Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Shanghai Disneyland?
If Epcot's off the table at Walt Disney World, Animal Kingdom is getting Avatar, and Disney is just finishing tricking out its Fantasyland, it would seem that Disney's Hollywood Studios might be the preferred site for a Frozen attraction, perhaps again abutting the Star Wars land now in planning for that park. At Disneyland Paris, the woeful Walt Disney Studios Park certainly could use another richly-themed new pavilion to accompany its upcoming Ratatouille ride, and there are plenty of easily-forgotten attractions that Disney could rip out to make way for Arendelle there. Hong Kong Disneyland's rather cramped, but has space for a second gate, so perhaps Frozen could go there. And, finally, Disney just needs to get Shanghai open before developing any expansion there.
What do you think? What would you like to see Disney do in its theme parks with Frozen. Let's play Imagineer and share our best ideas, in the comments.
Tweet
Frozen could be the first film of a new trilogy that might lead to a further two trilogies, making for a total of three Frozen trilogies or nine Frozen movies altogether!
Disney is rumored to be considering cross-marketing opportunities among the Frozen universe, Star Wars universe and Marvel Superheroes universe.
For starters, the Ewoks could should up at the Frozen castle and have tea with our heroine, only to have their tea party crashed by mean Darth Vader and hot pink Stormtroopers.
Disney executives are said to be salivating at the rich merchandising possibilities. They might even throw the Muppets into the mix just for good measure.
Meanwhile, "Frozen 3D the theme park ride" is rumored to be opening on the 12th of Never, as creating a new ride would involve real capital expenditures in USA parks that do not need them.
I wish the Speedway could be removed at WDW and the Autopia removed at Disneyland. I like the idea of a Frozen ride going there in both places, but I really wish they'd build a Sleeping Beauty ride instead. I'd love anything to go there, so if it has to be frozen then I would love it...but a coaster themed to Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent's dragon and Phillip chasing it through the thorns is what I have always wanted. I'd like it to be just a little more adventurous than Big Thunder Mountain, but not too scary. It could be gorgeous, though.
Anyway, I think dreaming about Disney building a Frozen ride or even Star Wars is just a pipe dream. I'm ready to give up on the Mouse at this point. If Harry Potter's success at Universal could not make Disney spend money and build really awesome things then nothing ever will. That's sad to me.
Frozen to me is still very Magic Kingdom. I don't think it is deserving enough of an E-ticket space. I think it just needs to have a Peter Pan's Flight type space.... or even a show, since it is so musical. However, I think regardless of the numbers.... in the long term it is not universally attractive to enough diverse visitors to get an E-ticket budget.
Face it, if you go to Disneyland with a child between the age of like 5 and ten, you're probably going to get stuck doing the speedway because something about it draws in the kids. They want to ride it more than a lot of other rides in the parks. I remember going at that age and it was a big draw for me at that age. And when I went with my nephew and niece, of course we had to ride the speedway. Just wish it did not take up so much space.
"The Enchanted Snow Palace
A dark ride that was planned for Fantasyland at Disneyland. Marc Davis was instrumental in its design. It was designed as a boat ride on a river of melting ice, past naturalistic scenes of Arctic wildlife, beneath a display of the Northern Lights, and into the realm of the Snow Queen, a fantastical land populated by frost fairies and snow giants. Although eventually scrapped, extensive concept art still exists for this attraction."
Surely they'll take a look at this old stuff, right? A new dark ride in Fantasyland at disneyland would be wonderful. Maybe Pinocchio/Snow White need to be retired?
I would love to see Kristoff's sleigh begin at a gothic Norwegian pier near Arendelle and take you on a treacherous 3-D roller coaster immersive thrill ride through the Winter back-country, narrowly escaping Marshmallow, along with pine boughs smacking the sleigh and 'barely' grazing you, jumps and sharp turns with a grand finale at Elsa's ice palace.
I had also heard rumor from a park manager at one point that there would be dining/staged entertainment themed to Princess Tiana's restaurant and Mama Odie's bayou home in "Princess and the Frog" just NORTH of Liberty Square. This never came to fruition as of yet, but it would be exciting!
Who says that us Fox News watching, global warming skeptics can't think outside the box! ;>)
Disney is hurting because of there status qou and snail pace attitude while the suits pat each other on the back for another status qou year, Universal and other companies are seizing the day! So if we see anything worthwhile that is about Frozen it will be 8 to 10 years out at any Disney park.
I'm not holding my breath! Lead on Universal captain my captain.....
Look at this 20 year back-log of attractions that Disney could have brought to Orlando years ago:
1) Indiana Jones Adventure - rated 9/10
2) Radiator Springs Racers - rated 9/10
3) Journey to the Center of the Earth - rated 10/10
4) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - rated 9/10
5) Fortress Explorations - rated 9/10
6) Mystic Manor - rated 9/10
7) Pooh's Hunny Hunt - rated 9/10
8) Monster's Inc. Ride and Go Seek - rated 8/10
9) Aquatopia - rated 9/10
10) Storm Rider - rated 8/10
11) Sindbad's Storybook Voyage - rated 9/10
These rides are among the best attractions that Disney has anywhere in the world. Why are none of them in Orlando?!? Development costs are paid. Blueprints are ready. Why does Disney refuse to bring these rides to Orlando?
I did this to show what I was imagining:
http://imageshack.com/a/img691/8160/cxqe.png
Robert, do you know if Disney has analyzed adding a 5th gate for Orlando? Disney World needs more E-ticket attractions. Lines are way too long for the best rides.
Who else would vote in favor of splitting Epcot into two parks, if this split meant that Disney added 8 E-ticket attractions? Disney will only spend the money to add these rides, if it brings them additional income.
A 5th park would encourage visitors to spend more days at Disney, and 8 new E-ticket rides would shrink wait times at all the parks.
The following attractions would fit into the new parks very well and they could be built sooner than rides that are still undeveloped:
Journey to the Center of the Earth
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Fortress Explorations
Mystic Manor
Aquatopia
Storm Rider
Sindbad's Storybook Voyage
Frozen and Ratatouille are 2 more rides that would fit in the new parks, once they're developed.
Unfortunately TEAM DISNEY is horribly cheap and misguided. Why spend any money on the four parks in Florida, when foolish people will settle for less. Since Universal has been cranking out top notch attractions, Disney’s just shrugs, ignoring the white elephant in the room. They have decided not to even compete with (The boy who shall not be named) Maybe that’s the best approach at this point, since I doubt they have anything creative up their sleeves. I guess we will know in 2017 or 2018 with Avatar. (I don’t see Avatar selling the coveted food, drink, and souvenirs that make so much money…)
The rumor mill is Universal will open up a 3rd theme park with land (re-acquired) from Lockheed Martin. It has enough land for an entire theme park an 800 room resort, shopping, and a water park. I really would like to see the faces of Disney’s brass when Universal creates an entire park, hotel, shopping, dining, and a state of the art water park in less time than it takes Disney to build one simple attraction.
I guess until people wake up and realized how lazy Disney has become in Florida, they will continue to follow the flock of sheep and give Disney their money. All of this from a huge Disney fan. (Hopefully I won’t have to regress to “previous” Disney fan.)
A 3rd gate could add another Harry Potter ride, an Iron Man ride, a Thor ride, a Captain America ride. A 3rd gate might make it easier for Universal to license the rights to Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Hunger Games, and maybe even Charlie Brown for Orlando territory.
E-ticket attractions increase traffic into the park. Robert just posted that ticket sales are at record highs for Disney. Meanwhile, Universal is killing them on unique and highly desirable shopping/dining experiences (Diagon Alley especially). Disney can use less land, time and resources to pull in more money, quicker by copying this. I wouldn't be surprised if they build a restaurant to dine inside Elsa's ice castle (bubble snow and all!) something like Be Our Guest or Cinderella's Royal Table!
So a direct boost to Food/Merch sales, or an indirect boost to ticket sales? Which do they need more? At least here in WDW, I think ticket sales isn't the issue...
$$$$$$$$$ makes the (most magical place on) Earth go 'round
Four rides at Hollywood Studios: Toy Story, Twilight Zone, Rock N' Roller Coaster, Star Tours.
Three rides at Animal Kingdom: Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Dinosaur.
One ride at Epcot: Soarin'
How many rides at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure are worth experiencing more than once per trip? By my count:
Six rides at Universal Studios: Transformers, Despicable Me, The Simpsons, Men in Black, Revenge of the Mummy, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.
Seven rides at Islands of Adventure: Harry Potter, Spiderman, Popeye, Dudley Do Right, Incredible Hulk Coaster, Jurassic Park, Dragon Challenge.
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
Making over EPCOT's Norway is a horrendous thought. It's bad enough that the Mayan culture of Mexico was obliterated to accommodate Donald Duck.
Mr. STONEking