Disney Reviews Ride Edition: #12: Frozen Ever After

I was going to jump right into food but, before I could get there, I ran across these pics and felt the need to review this ride/rant a bit. I have mentioned once or twice (or a hundred times) that I'm not a Frozen fan...I don't hate it, I just don't love it either. When I knew that they were tearing out Malestrom in Epcot's World Showcase Norway Pavilion, I was more than a bit upset, but not because I was a fan of the ride, on the contrary. It was kind of boring, it' moved too fast to really see any detail anyway, it smelled because they rarely ever cleaned the water like they do at Splash Mountain, and frankly, the cast members that worked there aren't the nicest ones in World Showcase.

Despite my overall Disney obsessiveness, I'm not a fan of Disneyfying every square inch of the parks. World Showcase has its own charm that makes it special. So, in 2014, I managed to get one final ride in.
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I wish I could say I had decent photos on the ride, but I just don't. Nine times out of ten, either I was just riding to get out of the rain (like this trip) or, like I mentioned, it just moved too fast to get a good picture. I have some, but they suck.

It took them forever, but they Frozen'ed it and it's now become the busiest and hardest ride to get on in all the parks. I'm not sure why. It's still way to fast to see details, the cast members still aren't very nice, but at least it's fairly new so it doesn't smell (yet). I will say, I do love the changes they've made to the area.
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Little Kristof:
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Interesting carvings on the rocks...although I'm not sure what the animation is supposed to represent other than moving ice blocks maybe?
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They completely moved around the inside of the ride so that what used to be the exit to a movie is part of the queue line, making it larger (which was needed), but it was weird walking through the exit as the entrance:
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Again, picture-wise, it was hard to take during the ride because I swear they sped it up even faster than before...Amber did way better than I did, so most of these are hers:
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You should have seen my Sister's face when I explained to her what a Snowglie was! Wish I had a picture of THAT!
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I tried SOOO hard to get a clear one of this, but never could:
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Overall, I will admit is was "cute" and better than Malestrom, but unless you have kids, SOOOO not worth the hours you have to wait in line to see it or the waste of a FastPass. We had a FP and still had to wait a significant amount of time which is why we only did it once.

But, and here is where the rant comes in, because of the success of this ride, Disney is about to Disneyfy the Hades out of World Showcase and I hate the mere notion of it! Keep it in Future World (more on that in another review), but World Showcase is no place for anything other than character meet-and-greets in their respective countries. It almost breaks my heart to think of all the Disney rides about to bombard World Showcase. Wouldn't the money be better spent adding more countries or updating the existing countries? Of all the upcoming Disney World renovations, these are the ones I hate the most. OK, rant over and next review will be food, promise!

Comments

Linda said…
I think the pictures look great Keiley.

Linda
Astrids dragon said…
I can take or leave Frozen too, maybe because I don't have a little girl who loves it. At least you can say you've been there, done that!
Anonymous said…
Hurray for the return of your stitching bug! (even if it's only for a few days). Good luck with work this week.

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I like Frozen but I think it is just because of Olaf. Great review and I just had to google snowglies. Ew.
Oh no, you showed runes and now I HAVE to go and translate them.
I used to be able to read runes without looking them up but that was when I was a teenager.
Sorry they are mucking about with the parts you like.
Not a fan of Frozen either, the story makes no sense but I do love the conspiracy theories around it!
We experienced the Frozen ride three times in March. We found that the ride opened at least one hour before FPs every day, so if we got there before FPs started, the line moved very quickly. I don't think we ever waited more than 25 minutes. We enjoyed the ride much more than Maelstrom. Although, like you, I am worried about the Disney-fying (is that a word?) of World Showcase.

I have a bit of a soft spot in my heart for Frozen. When my niece was 2-1/2 we took her to her first Disney movie which was Beauty and the Beast. When she decided that she was taking her daughter (my great-niece) to see her first Disney movie, which was Frozen, she insisted I be there for that moment to make it a tradition. It was special for me to be with them sharing that moment.

The old Maelstrom was very quirky...one minute you're with trolls and the next you're with polar bears and oil drilling platforms. But there was something nostalgic about it that made us ride it once every trip...smells and all. I think my hubby just enjoyed sticking his finger up the nose of the giant troll in the gift shop.
I have to admit, I do like Frozen...and was quite surprised that in Disneyland Paris, there was no Frozen-themed attraction at all (other than they being part of the parade, and of course some merch at the shops). It's a shame though they are ruining something you like to implement these new rides.