Name and first concept art revealed for Frozen ride at Epcot

frozen ride concept art

An article in “The Wall Street Journal” has presented the first piece of concept art for the new “Frozen” ride at Epcot, “Frozen Ever After”.

The article, entitled “How Disney Milks its Hits for Profits Ever After” includes these other details about the ride, which will open early next year:

Disney Imagineers who designed the ride recently got a virtual-reality tour at a warehouse in Glendale, Calif., wearing 3-D glasses while watching high-definition images of Olaf and Sven horsing around, Grandpappy Troll telling a magical story and Elsa belting out her song “Let It Go.” They will become animatronic characters that Epcot visitors float by on a log after “Frozen Ever After” opens next year.

The ride is replacing the former Maelstrom ride in the Norway Pavilion at Epcot. The concept art seems to represent the portion of the ride where the forward motion of the ride changes to going backwards. This area of the ride used to feature a three-headed troll sending riders “back back, over the falls”.

New construction is also taking place in the Norway pavilion for a Frozen character meet and greet and more.

UPDATE: June 9, 2015 – The Disney Parks Blog has given a few more details about the ride:

Guests will be transported to the Winter in Summer Celebration where Queen Elsa embraces her magical powers and creates a winter-in-summer day for the entire kingdom. They will also visit Elsa’s Ice Palace and the ice-blue world of the North Mountain along with other locations before returning to the Bay of Arendelle. Of course, favorite “Frozen” characters, including the Snowgies from the animated short “Frozen Fever,” will be part of this new attraction, along with the spectacular sights inspired by the film.

The Norway Pavilion’s exterior will be expanded with many unique Norwegian architectural features and the interior design of the “Royal Sommerhus” will reflect the cultural arts and crafts of Norway, providing a charming setting for guests to meet Elsa and Anna.

UPDATE 2: June 9, 2015 – The Speakeasy blog on The Wall Street Journal website has provided even more details about the ride:

While it doesn’t feature any new songs, there are several new lyrics to existing melodies written for “Frozen Ever After” by movie composers Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson Lopez.

While the logs and the path will remain the same, everything you see along the way is being replaced.

While waiting on line … visitors will walk by Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post. The trader with the thick accent will occassionaly clear steam on the windows to utter a hearty “yoo-hoo!” to people walking by.

Once they board their logs, “Frozen Ever After” riders will first see goofy snowman Olaf and equally goofy reindeer Sven setting up the Winter Festival premise.

Next is a stop at Troll Valley, where Grandpappy Troll tells a gathering of children the story of how Anna and Kristof met, before the log goes up a ramp to find Olaf again, singing a song while ice skating, right next to Anna and Kristof, who are singing with their friend Sven.

Behind a set of doors is the moment any visitor is sure to be waiting for: Elsa, on a balcony, singing “Let It Go” in her ice castle. … it features elaborate effects to create simulated snow crystals soaring around the room.

Visitors will next ride by Marshmallow, the giant, formerly evil snowman from “Frozen” and his miniature Snowgie pals, who show up in the short “Frozen Fever,” …

Marshmallow himself yells “Let It Go” in time with Elsa’s song before the log travels through a mist cloud and reaches the final scene, which includes fireworks and a wave from Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Sven and Kristof.

The audio-animatronic characters will be cutting edge … using a new technology that includes projectors behind the faces to enable more lifelike animation.

Here’s a full ride-through of Maelstrom, including the over the falls part:

Take a voyage aboard Maelstrom at Epcot - boat ride POV in Norway Pavilion
MouseFanTravel

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

3 Comments

  1. I love it!!! Going to be so so so fun and magical! Epcot is probably my least favourite Disney park but this is certainly a factor that is going to make me want to visit there!

  2. It’s not an incredibly super-duper Harry Potter-esque makeover or anything, but it will be exactly what the target audience is looking for. The kids are going to love this…even after standing in line for 4 hours.

  3. Does anyone else not like the animatronic figures with projected face like in The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride? I think it makes the figures less real?