You really gotta love how they invoke the spirit of Walt himself -- how they invoke the promise Walt made that "Disneyland would never be completed so long as there is imagination left in the world." Which, truly, is one of Walt's greatest legacies and has given us the Disney Parks MGM and Animal Kingdom and attractions like Splash Mountain and the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.When Walt Disney promised that Disneyland would never be completed, so long as there is imagination left in the world, he made a promise to our guests that we take seriously at all our locations around the world. This year, one particular product of imagination — Disney Animation’s blockbuster hit “Frozen” — captured the hearts and minds of people around the world and gave us a new opportunity to make good on Walt’s pledge.We’ve made “Frozen” a part of the guest experience in a number of ways already and our guests have both loved them and asked for more. So I’m pleased to say that we’re starting construction at Walt Disney World Resort on a brand new “Frozen” attraction at the Norway Pavilion in Epcot. The new attraction, which replaces Maelstrom, will take our guests to Arendelle and immerse them in many of their favorite moments and music from the film. The pavilion will also include a royal greeting location where Anna and Elsa can meet our guests. We think these “Frozen” elements are great complements to the Norway Pavilion, which showcases the country and region that inspired the film.
But then they shift the agency to us, the visitors to Disney Parks, the people who have so eagerly and greedily consumed Frozen: "...our guests have both loved them and asked for more." Just in case you're unhappy with the news that Maelstrom will be no more, you really have no one to blame but yourself: you asked for it.
Now, here's the thing. I love Frozen -- I really, really do -- and haven't been shy about expressing my love for it. I've embraced the film, bought the merchandise, even took a trip in August for the sole purpose of seeing that "guest experience" firsthand.
But....Arendelle doesn't exist -- it's not real -- it's not a real place in Norway. It was inspired by Norway -- absolutely. There's a long tradition of Disney animators doing what they can to capture the authenticity of their subject -- whether it's visiting Norway to see the fjords or bringing a reindeer into the studio to watch its movements. Terri Wright, writing of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, noted that Disney "indicated a preference for the traditional folk/fairy tale genre that consists of a realistic setting into which some magic is introduced" (100).
So while Arendelle may look a lot like a town in Norway, it's nevertheless not a real place.
And this distinction is only really important when you consider the goal of the World Showcase at EPCOT. The park, in its current incarnation, is vastly different from what Walt originally envisioned it to be. As Mike Wallace points out, "the ExperimentalPrototype Community of Tomorrow was to be a laboratory city in which twenty thousand people would live. Disney dreamed of ”a planned, controlled community, a showcase for American industry and research,” a permanent testing ground for new ideas in urban planning" (41). Obviously, EPCOT is nothing like that today: you've got Future World with all its corporate sponsorship and you've got the World Showcase with its international sponsorship.
EPCOT, I feel, is probably the park you appreciate the least when you're a kid -- or at least, EPCOT the way it was when I was a kid (pre Test Track). It's the educational park, after all, where the only rides are (were) Figment's Journey Into Imagination and Maelstrom in Norway. That's changing, of course. Obviously there are new thrill rides like Test Track and Spaceship Earth, but they've slightly altered some of the older attractions to appeal to kids. The Living Seas used to be just an aquarium; now it's a Finding Nemo ride. The Mexico Pavillion used to have a boat-ride that relates (a Disneyfied version of) Mexican history and culture; now, Donald and The Three Caballeros journey with you providing a source of comic relief.
But that doesn't seem to be the plan for Maelstrom. What they're proposing, I think, is not to add Anna, Elsa, and Olaf to the current ride a la Mexico, but to completely erase the old ride and replace it with a new Frozen one. I'm not lamenting the creation of a Frozen ride -- I think that it could be great, provided it's not simply a "little kid" ride that just regurgitates the film -- I'm lamenting the loss of the cultural experience. One of the coolest and most unique aspects of the World Showcase as been it's (relative) commitment to cultural authenticity: the countries that sponsor a pavilion there were involved in the construction and design of the pavilion; the employees are all citizens of their respective countries (e.g. those who work at EPCOT-Germany are German citizens), and most of the pavilions have some sort of ride or movie that gives you a glimpse -- albeit a rosy, optimistic one -- into the country's history and culture.
And this new Frozen ride will erase all of that--all because Norway wouldn't (couldn't?) pay. When we went down in August, I read a few online articles about the Frozen phenomenon. I was trying to figure out if there were plans to extend the Frozen Summer Fun events, but what I learned is that Disney was asking for exorbitant amounts of money from Norway to keep Maelstrom and the cultural aspects there -- perhaps to offset the loss of the profit Disney would make from a Frozen ride (and inevitable gift shop). Given the fact that the new pavilion will include a new meet-and-greet location for Anna & Elsa (the old one simply couldn't handle the demand/long lines), I can't imagine that the new Norway will look much like the current one.
And that kinda breaks my heart a little.
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