Hong Kong Disneyland reveals new details for World of Frozen
World of Frozen, a new themed land in Hong Kong Disneyland, opens November 2023. New concept art shares new revelations about the expansion’s rides, dining locations, and character experience.
Hong Kong Disneyland’s World of Frozen will be the first full-fledged land dedicated to the hit 2013 film “Frozen” and its 2019 sequel. Various “Frozen”-themed attractions and shows exist (or have existed) at Disney parks around the globe, but never on this scale.
Summer Snow Day in Arendelle
Disney first announced its plans for the expansion in 2016, and last week revealed new concept art and story details. It just so happens that guests are visiting Arendelle on Summer Snow Day, the anniversary of the mid-summer date when Anna saved Elsa with an act of true love in the first film.
Of course, this is all fictional backstory and the land will take place at this point in the timeline regardless of the time of year guests visit.
Frozen Ever After
The land’s premise might sounds familiar to Walt Disney World guests as World of Frozen borrows the setup from Frozen Ever After, the boat ride that opened in 2016 in Epcot’s Norway pavilion as a renovation of the track layout and infrastructure of Maelstrom, a ride about Norwegian culture that closed in 2014.
Hong Kong’s World of Frozen will share many similarities with its Epcot counterpart, including its story of traveling from Arendelle to the North Mountain to visit Elsa. However, Disney announced a key difference earlier this year: the appearance of the ride’s audio-animatronics figures. Whereas Epcot’s robotic likenesses of Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff utilize screen technology to animate the characters’ facial expressions, Hong Kong’s figures will have fully molded faces, as seen below.
Other differences may be more subtle. This new piece of concept art featuring Olaf and Sven depicts a scene that looks nearly identical to the first moment from the Epcot ride.
Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs
In addition to Frozen Ever After, the Hong Kong Disneyland expansion will also debut the Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs roller coaster. As shown below in concept art from 2019, the attraction calls to mind Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom and Shanghai Disneyland, but with a narrative and aesthetic all its own.
Newly released artwork shows designs for the coaster’s queue, which will wind through Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post from the movies.
Travelers will even pass by Oaken’s sauna. The entrepreneur peeks his head to the window, similar to the effect in Epcot’s Frozen Ever After queue.
In the loading area, guests will board one of Oaken’s sleighs. As the ride begins, Olaf and Sven will pull the sleighs up a hill and send them for a thrilling ride around the mountain.
Imagineers recently began testing Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs as the coaster nears its opening later this year.
World of Frozen Character Experience
World of Frozen will be home to Playhouse in the Woods, just announced as the childhood playhouse of Anna and Elsa in the forest. Disney says Playhouse in the Woods will be “a unique interactive play experience.” This phrasing sounds like the attraction may take cues from Enchanted Tales with Belle at Magic Kingdom in presenting a way to interact with popular characters beyond the traditional photo-and-autograph session.
New concept art for Playhouse in the Woods shows Anna and Elsa in their outfits from “Frozen 2.” Sharp-eyed observers may notice the Nokk, the water spirit, on the left and Bruni, the fire spirit, on the right. Olaf appears to be part of the proceedings, as well. Tapestries on the wall depict Anna and Elsa as children, playing in different seasons of the year.
World of Frozen Shopping and Dining
As guests explore World of Frozen, they’ll be able to frequent local Arendelle establishments. Visitors can dine at the Golden Crocus Inn, named for Arendelle’s national symbol. New concept art shows seafaring paraphernalia and hunting artifacts throughout the space.
At the Northern Delights sweets shop, travelers will get to try some of Anna and Elsa’s favorite desserts, from frozen treats to all things chocolate.
An Arendellian wood carver operates Tick Tock Toys & Collectibles, the area’s main gift shop for “Frozen” souvenirs. (Notably, “Tick Tock Tale” is the title of a 2010 short film from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Perhaps the name of the store is a nod to the short, or it might simply be coincidental.)
More Frozen Fractals on the Way
World of Frozen opens November 2023 at Hong Kong Disneyland, and it’s not the only project in the works for our Arendelle friends. New “Frozen” attractions are also slated to open in the coming years at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris and Tokyo DisneySea. Meanwhile, a third “Frozen” film is in development at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
