Review: Frozen in Norway

Earlier this month, I spent a fun-filled week with friends at Walt Disney World, where I was able to experience the new Frozen updates to the Norway Pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase. New additions to the area include a movie inspired retheme to the original Maelstrom ride, and a new Anna and Elsa Meet & Greet area, called the Summerhaus. While these two areas are very crowded on a normal day, my friends and I were able to experience the area at night during Extra Magic Hours, in which the theme parks are open exclusively to WDW Resort guests. What would have been hours of waiting took very little time at all. So, what did we think of the updates? Here is a rundown.

Frozen Ever After

I will admit, though I hated to see my beloved Maelstrom ride go, the ride did need a refurbishment, especially since Norway was no longer supporting the pavilion financially like they used to. This gave Disney free-reign to give the area a facelift, and with the success of the Frozen movie and subsequent franchise, this was a no-brainer. Using the same track system and ride vehicles as the previous ride, Frozen Ever After gives guests the chance to visit Elsa up at her Ice Palace. Along the way, they meet all of the other beloved characters from the franchise: Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, Sven, Marshmallow, and even the Snowgies!

Instead of having a promotional film for Norway at the end of the ride (something my family and I always tried to skip), the theater was instead turned into a internal, partially interactive queue for the ride. Previously, waiting to board the boats was mostly outside of the ride. Included in this queue is a recreation of Oaken’s Tokens, which includes the famous sauna… in which Oaken is trapped in. While you are waiting in like, Oaken interacts with you, bringing fun times and laughs. Oh, and yes… I Disneybounded as Oaken this particular afternoon/evening, and the Cast Members loved it.

As for the actual ride, though it is a short ride, it is a fun one. The animatronics are some of the best I have ever seen, especially given that you are mere feet away from them. The Olaf and Sven animatronics are especially top-notch. I was not able to bring my good camera on the ride (hopefully when I go back down there again), but I was able to get a couple of decent shots with my iPhone camera. Additionally, I was able to get a ride-through video… not the top-quality but it gives you a nice feel for the ride, although experiencing it in person is a lot better.

Note that FastPass + is available for Frozen Ever After, and is highly recommended.

The Summerhaus

Located between the main Norway Pavilion and the Mexico Pavilion, the empty parcel of land has been converted to a Meet & Greet area for Anna and Elsa. Unlike Frozen Ever After, there is no FastPass currently for this Meet & Greet, but that could change. However, when Anna and Elsa first came to Walt Disney World, they were quickly shoe-horned into the Norway Pavilion, and that wait was always a 3-hour minimum before they were relocated to Princess Fairytale Hall at The Magic Kingdom. Now that they are back, the design of the Summerhaus to have multiple pairs of Meet & Greet characters “on stage” at the same time makes wait times a lot less chaotic.

Before you actually meet Anna and Elsa, you travel through their summer retreat, the Summerhaus. Here you find a new location in the Frozen compendium: a place where Anna and Elsa escaped Arendelle growing up. Inside this house are beautiful decorations that looked like they came right out of the movie, as well as a beautiful nod to an old Norwegian friend.

As far as the actual Meet & Greet area, Anna and Elsa have their own special themed areas in the same room, so that after you visit one you can visit the other (what I really liked about their original Norway Meet & Greet is that you got to meet them both together). While the Elsa we met with was very nice, albeit quite reserved, the Anna we met was very exuberant, loving my Oaken Disneybound and crafting a plan to free the real Oaken from the locked sauna (in the ride queue) with a jar of lutefisk. I am not sure how dried whitefish then soaked in lye can free someone from a sauna… but she was being very creative. Overall, it was a wonderful Meet & Greet in the new area.

PhotoPass Magic Shot/ Animated Magic Shot

Also added to the Norway Pavilion is a special PhotoPass Magic Shot with Sven. He can either appear in a photo (below) or in a video in which he gets his tongue stuck to the camera lens. I was able to get the shot both in front of the Stave Chuch and in front of the waterfall. As with all PhotoPass Magic Shots, you might need to specially ask for it from the photographer, and keep in mind that there is an additional charge for the PhotoPass service, if not included in a special deal such as Annual Passholder.

Overall, I really like the fun way that Disney incorporated Frozen into the Norway Pavilion. If successful I hope it leads to more development and possible inclusion of Disney characters in other areas of World Showcase, aside from the basic Meet & Greets. There is a lot of potential in Epcot as a whole, and this type of expanding is, in my opinion, a great way to go.

Have you experienced the new Frozen additions to Norway? What are your thoughts? Let me know below.