“That’s It?” New Disney Attraction Slammed by Disappointed Fans

After years of hype, Disney’s new Frozen ride has left some fans questioning if it was worth the effort.

Disney is always on a mission to keep its theme parks fresh and interesting. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort debut the likes of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Avengers Campus, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and TRON Lightcycle / Run for this very reason – and if Destination D23 is anything to go by, there’s plenty more to come in the future.

A family walks through Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland — Credit: Disney

Further afield, Disney’s international parks are receiving just as much attention. Next year, Tokyo DisneySea will debut Fantasy Springs – a land made up of three mini lands – each of which is inspired by a different Disney classic: Peter Pan (1953), Tangled (2010), and Frozen (2013).

Meanwhile, Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris is set to add its own Frozen land in 2025 – and another undisclosed land that was previously said to be Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge but seems to have shifted – and Shanghai Disneyland will welcome its Zootopia (2016) land by the end of the year.

Zootopia land Mane Street at Shanghai Disneyland — Credit: Disney Parks Blog

Before then, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort will open the world’s first Frozen land on November 20, 2023. World of Frozen will throw open the gates to Arendelle, where Anna and Elsa are holding a Summer Snow Day.

The land will welcome the most rides of any of Disney’s other planned Frozen expansions, with a replica of Frozen Ever After (currently found at EPCOT) and a new family roller coaster named Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs.

Arandelle Castle, Elsa's Castle, houses and a lake at World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland, opening on November 20, 2023 — Credit: Disney

Through various sneak peeks from Walt Disney Imagineering – including those shown at Destination D23 – Disney has revealed that the area surrounding the new coaster is richly themed, with the ride taking inspiration from the Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna where Oaken works in the first Frozen film.

NEW: Disney shared new on-ride video of Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs at Hong Kong Disneyland. The upcoming attraction in World of Frozen opens on Nov. 20.

NEW: Disney shared new on-ride video of Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs at Hong Kong Disneyland. The upcoming attraction in World of Frozen opens on Nov. 20. pic.twitter.com/LKxfpQ5RRv

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) September 12, 2023

However, fans have now noticed something concerning about the attraction: its size.

According to the Roller Coaster Database (which aggregates statistics and information about roller coasters worldwide), the new roller coaster is 977 feet long.

Wandering Oaken's Sliding Sleighs at Hong Kong Disneyland's World of Frozen — Credit: Disney

As pointed out by X (formerly Twitter) user @GatorAndrew, this makes the Frozen ride “slightly longer than Barnstormer,” the family coaster located in Storybook Circus at Magic Kingdom. It also makes it “shorter than Flight of the Hippogriff,” which is the resident children’s ride in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure.

“Is this the most densely themed coaster by square foot ever built?” questioned @GatorAndrew. “Insane package for such a tiny ride.”

According to rcdb, the new Hong Kong Disneyland coaster clocks in at 977 ft long, slightly longer than Barnstormer but shorter than Flight of the Hippogriff.

Is this the most densely themed coaster by square foot ever built? Insane package for such a tiny ride pic.twitter.com/SHH1VGGJrK

— Andrew 🎢🍻🌁 (@GatorAndrew) September 12, 2023

As noted by several theme park fans, the initial impression of the new Frozen ride was that it would be similar to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom and Shanghai Disneyland. However, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is 2,001.3 feet long – over twice the length of Wandering Oaken’s.

“Beautiful looking,” wrote @NerdyBoh, “but holy crap, that’s it?”

“I was worried about this,” said @ParkHopperino. “Though insane how much money they spent for theming. No wonder it’s not coming to Paris then.”

Regardless of the length, the general consensus seems to be that Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs is still one of Disney’s more impressive efforts from the past few years. And ultimately, not every ride at a Disney Park needs to be an E-Ticket attraction. Any immersive, unique addition is welcome – especially at a park struggling with attendance like Hong Kong Disneyland.

Do you plan on visiting Hong Kong Disneyland to check out its new Frozen land? Let us know in the comments!