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Credit: DisneyOne of the best things about traveling to Walt Disney World Resort, or really, any Disney Resort in the world, is the ability to have your favorite movies come to life.
If you are walking into Magic Kingdom for the first time and Peter Pan was your childhood hero, Peter Pan’s Flight will immerse you into the film in a way you could have never imagined. Snow White fans can join the everyday life of the seven dwarfs on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Pirates of the Caribbean lovers can see a real-life animatronic of the illustrious Captain Jack Sparrow, who looks uncannily like Johnny Depp. Cinderella fans can actually dine in her castle at Cinderella’s Royal Table, and the list goes on.
Disney takes pride in not only creating top-tier theme park experiences at EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom and beyond, but allowing all guests to relive their favorite Disney film in an entirely new way.
From films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), The Sword in the Stone (1963) , The Princess and the Frog (2009), Tangled (2010), Moana (2016), Big Hero 6 (2014), and Encanto (2021) — Disney has found a way to incorporate every story into its theme parks.
One of the most successful Disney animated films, of course, is Frozen.
Even now, some parents find themselves unable to escape the incessant refrain of “Let It Go,” a phrase indelibly etched into their minds after their children watched the film countless times.
Upon its release in 2013, the first Frozen movie achieved remarkable success, raking in an astounding $1.28 billion at the global box office.
The narrative, centered around Elsa (Idina Menzel), her sister Anna (Kristen Bell), and various characters they encountered, including Olaf (Josh Gad) and Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), resonated with audiences. The film’s soundtrack, particularly the song “Let It Go,” became an immediate sensation, ranking among the most beloved Disney tunes and even securing a spot in the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
In 2019, Disney unveiled Frozen II, and unsurprisingly, the film surpassed its predecessor’s success, amassing an impressive $1.45 billion at the box office. It claimed the title of the third-highest-grossing film of 2019, the tenth-highest-grossing film ever, and the second-highest-grossing animated film to date.
Presently, Frozen II retains its position as the second-highest-grossing animated film, closely trailing behind The Lion King remake, also released in 2019.
There are also multiple new Frozen-themed land expansions that are coming to the parks, including Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Tokyo Disney Resort.
At Disneyland Paris, the Frozen-inspired land will be accompanied by the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge expansion. This land will be titled Kingdom of Arendelle and will be opening at Walt Disney Studios Park.
At Tokyo Disney Resort in Tokyo DisneySea, Fantasy Springs will bring the stories of Frozen, Tangled, and Peter Pan to life. Frozen Kingdom will bring the first two films to life with Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey, Royal Banquet of Arendelle, and Oaken’s OK Foods.
At Hong Kong Disneyland, Arendelle Village will open November 20! Disney wrote:
“Everyone dreams of stepping into the realm of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Frozen” – and that dream will soon come true with the world’s first Frozen-themed land debuting at Hong Kong Disneyland in the second half of 2023. World of Frozen prides itself as the park’s largest expansion and the world’s first Frozen-themed land that will be home to two new attractions, namely Frozen Ever After and the first-of-its-kind Frozen-themed family-friendly roller coaster Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs, a quick-service restaurant and other merchandise outlets. As The Walt Disney Company turns 100, I can’t help but feel pride in being an Imagineer — bringing so many cherished stories that have become an integral part of people’s lives, such as “Frozen,” to life.”
There will also be newer audio-animatronics, which Disney has already debuted. You can see the new Elsa animatronic below.
The original Frozen attraction can be found at Disney’s EPCOT, with Frozen Ever After in the Norway pavilion. The ride is one of the most popular in the parks, taking guests through the first time. Here, guests can see Olaf, Anna, Elsa, Sven, Kristoff, and more while some of the more popular songs from the franchise play.
Recently, however, it seems that Disney decided to share a “new” look for our two princesses (played by Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel).
CM_Brickflips recently shared a video which showed that they waited two hours to ride Frozen Ever After, only to find two new versions of the Arendelle sisters. The caption was titled “insane” and in the video, we can see why. The animatronics of Anna and Elsa were “replaced” with black screens. The ride typically animates the two through a screen on their face, but it appears that when broken, they look more like a turned-off TV set than a Disney princess (and queen).
@cm_brickflips Insane ☠️ #frozen #frozeneverafter #disney
♬ Into the Unknown (From “Frozen 2”) – Movie Sounds Unlimited
Luckily, this change is not permanent, and the animated faces we know and love remain the same.
Recently, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that Frozen 3 was in development, alongside Toy Story 5 and Zootopia 2. The franchise expansion makes sense, especially as multiple parks are growing with the Frozen IP at the moment.
Do you think that Walt Disney World should get a Frozen expansion, too?