World of Frozen is opening to the public today (Monday) at Hong Kong Disneyland. It might seem premature to ask "what's next" for an attraction that just opened, but getting the news early is our job here at Theme Park Insider, so let's do it.
Disney's first Frozen-themed land includes three attractions, which we reviewed earlier: the plussed Frozen Ever After boat ride, the new Wandering Oaken's Sliding Sleighs kiddie coaster, and the Playhouse in the Woods character show. The attractions surround a picturesque lake at the heart of World's of Frozen's recreation of the Kingdom of Arendelle from Disney's Frozen franchise.
That lake makes for a great picture spot right now, but could it become the site for something else in the future?
Possibly. In fact, Walt Disney Imagineering has designed and built in the capability for Arendelle's lake to host water or projection shows at some point in the future.
I toured the new land with Imagineers during my visit to Hong Kong Disneyland last week, which you can read here: Making the magic in Disney's World of Frozen. During that tour, Amanda Chiu, Senior Producer, Walt Disney Imagineering, Asia, confirmed that Disney has installed conduit underneath the lake. Having that conduit in place should allow Imagineers to install a lake show without having to take the area down for an extended refurbishment first.
Disney also has installed bypass pathways behind the main pathway that connects the village and forest sections of Arendelle. That secondary pathway would allow for guest flow through the land when the main pathway is blocked by people viewing a show on the lake.
The stone pavement of the land's main pathway also sports lines that seem to mark what could be designated special viewing areas for anything happening on the lake.
Clearly, Disney has built the infrastructure to support a projection or fountain show on the lake. During World of Frozen's grand opening Thursday night, Disney hosted a drone show at the end of the evening, so that's another option that Disney could make available to extend the attractions it offers in this new land, if desired by management.
It's unlikely that Disney would look to expand World of Frozen anytime soon. The new attractions in the land - as well as the beauty of this new space - should be enough to draw crowds for the immediate future. But if Disney decides that it needs more at Hong Kong Disneyland, Imagineers thoughtfully have created that capacity in World of Frozen.
Beyond Hong Kong, the next stop for Frozen in the Disney theme parks is Tokyo, where Fantasy Springs will open inside Tokyo DisneySea in June 2024. That land will include a Frozen-themed section, though it will not be a clone of World of Frozen. Fantasy Springs' Frozen section will be called Frozen Kingdom and offer an all-new boat ride, Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey, and a counter-service restaurant called Royal Banquet of Arendelle.
Another installation of World of Frozen is coming, however, to the Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris. The Imagineers we spoke with in Hong Kong were on their way to Paris to supervise the construction of that land, which will recreate the Arendelle village half of Hong Kong's World of Frozen, including the plussed Frozen Ever After ride. The Wandering Oaken's roller coaster will remain exclusive to Hong Kong.
And Disney Parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro has teased that World of Frozen could be an attractive option for Disney to install at the Disneyland Resort in California, should the company get approval from the City of Anaheim for the DisneylandForward proposal, which would allow Disney to build attractions on resort land now reserved for parking and other uses.
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Building an entire land is a long way to go for a just-okay dark ride. Seems like a new land ought to have an E-ticket.
If Disneyland were to build a Frozen Land, where could they construct it currently? Obviously with the DisneylandForward proposal, they wouldn't have a difficult time and place to build it. But, if it wasn't approved, where could a Frozen themed land fit in Disneyland?
I just don't see World of Frozen expanding anywhere else until they come up with a true e-ticket attraction. The coaster and flume ride are nice, but unless it's being added as a miniland combined with other IPs (like what's being done at TDS), there isn't enough meat here to warrant installing this into other Disney parks.
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I also personally think there is a big argument for using the old motorboat cruise, the meet and greet stage on the way to small world, and Fantasia Gardens to build a Frozen ride next to the Matterhorn in Fantasyland at Disneyland. This could be a Fantasyland style dark ride similar to other rides in the land. It already fits into the Bavarian fairytale village and would look perfect with the Matterhorn as its backdrop. This could involve rerouting the monorail and Autopia, but the current space that’s mostly just those tracks would be some very valuable real estate. Disney has rerouted the Jungle Cruise, Rivers of America, and the railroad before, so Autopia and the monorail rerouting should be doable. But there is an argument for just having one standalone Frozen Fantasyland ride over a whole land. But a whole land in the DisneylandForward plot would also be lovely!