Frozen Ever After

[Alex23]

Wonder if they've pre-installed strobe lights on the Olaf AA?:ears:

 

[Nick]

Like that ever bothered Disney before.

It does when guests are spending 4 hours waiting in line instead of spending money in the park.

 

[Mad Dog]

It's back up again (for the past hour). They just reopened stand by.

 

[SkiBum]

My counter to that is if lines continue to be extremely long, they may be forced to build something to relieve crowds.

With Magic Kingdom, they tried with SDMT and Little Mermaid but one has capacity destroyed by FP+ and the other turned out to be just okay. They then closed Snow White's Scare Adventures and removed some of the capacity that they were adding. Frozen could have been supremely awesome but this looks pretty good. If only it had the capacity that it needed (we're talking 2,500 - 3,000 PPH). I know that Fantasyland was where it belonged but adding it as a miniland to DHS would have helped spread out the crowds. Trackless Frozen and a boat ride (yes, I know that would follow the Avatar trend) would have provided a good jolt to DHS.

Oh, I'm not a big fan of Frozen but can see where it would have been a top tier ride.

 

[hishedale]

That and everybody having their phone out taking crappy videos that they will never watch again.

I noticed that when I went to Universal two weeks ago.
We were in single riders on Forbidden Journey in the room before you get on, and people kept going through the line with their phone flashlight on straight in our eyes trying to get a video of the Sorting Hat.

 

[Cole]

I really hate to judge a ride on a YouTube video but from what I saw I'm not impressed. No real story and those projected animatronic faces are seriously uncanny valley territory. I'm gonna wait till I ride it for myself when I don't have to wait through a nightmare but yeah, this is an odd one

 

[UNIrd]

It does when guests are spending 4 hours waiting in line instead of spending money in the park.

If they didn't see that coming from a mile away, then they don't deserve the coins.

 

[SkiBum]

I really hate to judge a ride on a YouTube video but from what I saw I'm not impressed. No real story and those projected animatronic faces are seriously uncanny valley territory. I'm gonna wait till I ride it for myself when I don't have to wait through a nightmare but yeah, this is an odd one

I actually don't mind the lack of a story. It's one thing that I don't like about some of the dark rides. I don't need a retelling of the movie. Rides like the Haunted Mansion are great and don't so much as tell a story as introduce us to the happy haunts. Still, this is more of just a personal like/dislike and doesn't really change if the ride is actually well done.

 

[shiekra38]

Well,

What Worked
- Great sets
- Great use of traditional dark ride techniques
- Love how they freshened up Maelstrom to look new
- Love the amount of AAs in the ride
- Kids will love the music, of course
- The projection mapping is cool


What Didn't
- I don't care what anyone says, the glowing head AAs are not good
- Very weak ending, almost felt like they panicked and said "Oh crap, we didn't include 'In Summer'"
- Capcity, capacity, capacity (but we knew that)
- The queue is nice...for 10 minutes


Overall I got exactly what I expected from the ride..Disney has certainly nailed the slow moving boat ride game..I'm sure Avatar will look amazing too (if not more of the same)..

[Slight Rant Ahead]
I wasn't going to say this and be nice, but I feel I must..Everyone wants to bash Universal for not breaking away from screens..The last couple of rides that Universal has opened I had no idea what to expect at all...Every ride had major surprises, something Universal has never done before, and a new type of ride vehicle...This is why rides like Frozen bother me...Disney relies on the same techniques, the same dark ride tricks over and over..Every ride at Universal is an evolution of the last...I understand this is a layover of an old ride (and please read this part), I'm a bit nervous about Avatar and Star Wars..I don't want to see more of this kind of stuff from Disney..Change, evolve, move forward...that is what they are good at..
[/Rant]

 

[IzzyB]

Someone's gotta try to update this site.

Anyways, I bailed. Got there around 8:35 and the line was already about 3 hours long. I decided to see how it would move and by 9:30 it really hadn't moved very much. Capacity, echoing everyone else and previous thoughts, is going to be terrible.

Bri, I have fast passes for Friday. I can try and take a video if you want. I have an HD video camera. Not the best camerawoman out there, but I can try. Maybe someone else from here will ride it before me.

I just dropped my ones for tomorrow and never thought to ask if anyone needed them I could have linked accounts and transfered them. With my eye surgery we decided to give it a couple more days before going.

But yes, we all expected long waits and that was going to make this a disaster. However (and I have not watched POV) it sounds like this is much better than people that. That mixed with what DH said and how it may not be complete day one. This sounds like it is going to be a great little attraction as long as you have fast pass. Sounds like Mine Train. Great ride, little too short, capacity sucks, and only worth it if you have fast pass.

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

Alright. My thoughts based on video .

It looks awesome. I'd much rather have Maelstrom, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't want Frozen .
It seems like it belongs in the Magic Kingdom. And Yes I understand why it's in Epcot, just my thoughts.

The anamatronics are the best in the business as usual.

Overall, as a non Frozen fan, and semi-Disney fan, I am excited to ride it.

 

[Mad Dog]

Bri, I have fast passes for Friday. I can try and take a video if you want. I have an HD video camera. Not the best camerawoman out there, but I can try. Maybe someone else from here will ride it before me.

I just dropped my ones for tomorrow and never thought to ask if anyone needed them I could have linked accounts and transfered them. With my eye surgery we decided to give it a couple more days before going.

But yes, we all expected long waits and that was going to make this a disaster. However (and I have not watched POV) it sounds like this is much better than people that. That mixed with what DH said and how it may not be complete day one. This sounds like it is going to be a great little attraction as long as you have fast pass. Sounds like Mine Train. Great ride, little too short, capacity sucks, and only worth it if you have fast pass.

This is twice the length, nearly 5 minutes long, of SDMT. So length shouldn't be an issue.

 

[belloq87]

[Slight Rant Ahead]
I wasn't going to say this and be nice, but I feel I must..Everyone wants to bash Universal for not breaking away from screens..The last couple of rides that Universal has opened I had no idea what to expect at all...Every ride had major surprises, something Universal has never done before, and a new type of ride vehicle...This is why rides like Frozen bother me...Disney relies on the same techniques, the same dark ride tricks over and over..Every ride at Universal is an evolution of the last...I understand this is a layover of an old ride (and please read this part), I'm a bit nervous about Avatar and Star Wars..I don't want to see more of this kind of stuff from Disney..Change, evolve, move forward...that is what they are good at..
[/Rant]

I appreciate your overall review (which I found very fair and even-handed), but I think we could have a very healthy debate about some of these opinions in this specific section! I'll just say these two brief things:
1. Some people like dark rides in a more traditional, classic style. There's nothing wrong with that. Not every ride must be a "Something goes wrong!" thrill-a-minute spectacle; there's merit to the slower-paced, leisurely experiences, too.
2. Let's wait and see Fallon and F&F before proclaiming that Universal constantly evolves and innovates with each new ride.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

[Slight Rant Ahead]
I wasn't going to say this and be nice, but I feel I must..Everyone wants to bash Universal for not breaking away from screens..The last couple of rides that Universal has opened I had no idea what to expect at all...Every ride had major surprises, something Universal has never done before, and a new type of ride vehicle...This is why rides like Frozen bother me...Disney relies on the same techniques, the same dark ride tricks over and over..Every ride at Universal is an evolution of the last...I understand this is a layover of an old ride (and please read this part), I'm a bit nervous about Avatar and Star Wars..I don't want to see more of this kind of stuff from Disney..Change, evolve, move forward...that is what they are good at..
[/Rant]

Based on what's been said Flight of Passage and neither Star Wars rides won't be anything like that.

 

[IzzyB]

This is twice the length, nearly 5 minutes long, of SDMT. So length shouldn't be an issue.

Agreed but it sounds like this one has a minor fault in the ending like SDMT with length. Both are capacity nightmares.

 

[deathcab4cutie]

Like that ever bothered Disney before.

my guess is Disney will build stores and food stalls into the que so people can still spend money while waiting 4 hours

 

[UNIrd]

Well,

What Worked
- Great sets
- Great use of traditional dark ride techniques
- Love how they freshened up Maelstrom to look new
- Love the amount of AAs in the ride
- Kids will love the music, of course
- The projection mapping is cool


What Didn't
- I don't care what anyone says, the glowing head AAs are not good
- Very weak ending, almost felt like they panicked and said "Oh crap, we didn't include 'In Summer'"
- Capcity, capacity, capacity (but we knew that)
- The queue is nice...for 10 minutes


Overall I got exactly what I expected from the ride..Disney has certainly nailed the slow moving boat ride game..I'm sure Avatar will look amazing too (if not more of the same)..

[Slight Rant Ahead]
I wasn't going to say this and be nice, but I feel I must..Everyone wants to bash Universal for not breaking away from screens..The last couple of rides that Universal has opened I had no idea what to expect at all...Every ride had major surprises, something Universal has never done before, and a new type of ride vehicle...This is why rides like Frozen bother me...Disney relies on the same techniques, the same dark ride tricks over and over..Every ride at Universal is an evolution of the last...I understand this is a layover of an old ride (and please read this part), I'm a bit nervous about Avatar and Star Wars..I don't want to see more of this kind of stuff from Disney..Change, evolve, move forward...that is what they are good at..
[/Rant]

Did you ride or is this based on the YouTube video?

 

[RonaldsModernLife]

After watching a POV, I think it's a cute ride for the kids. The glowing heads bother me, but besides that, I think for what it is, it's fine. No one was expecting a breathtaking ride.

 

[Cole]

I actually don't mind the lack of a story. It's one thing that I don't like about some of the dark rides. I don't need a retelling of the movie. Rides like the Haunted Mansion are great and don't so much as tell a story as introduce us to the happy haunts. Still, this is more of just a personal like/dislike and doesn't really change if the ride is actually well done.

Oh don't get me wrong, a lack of story is typically not a big deal for the exact examples you used. When done right like HM, it can really let your mind wander and tell a story of its own. However that's an original creation for the parks, there wasn't a pre existing movie based on it. For that reason the story fails. We know these characters taking the whole mystery that made HM and pirates so interesting and original, pretty much gone. its comparing apples and oranges. I don't need a re telling either however I would prefer that than "let's go to elsa's tower to do.....things". Whatever, I set my bar low but remained hopeful, this doesn't look that great. If this was a bum rushed effort (still having lots of quality to it), I can only see avatar land as being nothing short of incredible in comparison

 

[shiekra38]

After watching a POV, I think it's a cute ride for the kids. The glowing heads bother me, but besides that, I think for what it is, it's fine. No one was expecting a breathtaking ride.

The glow heads are a very strange invention to me..I'm not sure if it is easier maintenance wise for them or what..They are just so obviously projected and arguably creepy..