Frozen Ever After

As you may already know this is one popular ride. From every news source I found, opening day saw crowds waiting in the 3 hour range just to ride it and those crowds have continued. Add into that the fact that the ride has had some maintenance issues, which have caused it to close down periodically, and you have a large crowd waiting to get on. Thankfully on June 17th they opened up FastPass+es for the ride, which worked out for our trip. I managed to get a FastPass+ for the 4 of us on June 29th from 12:50-1:50pm. Just out of curiosity I checked on June 18th for FastPass+es for other days and times during our vacation for the ride and they were all gone. My advice is that if riding this is a priority for you then get a FastPass+.

While I do advise you to obtain a FastPass+ be prepared that there are a lot of fun and interactive things in the queue that you will miss. I honestly wouldn’t even know what I missed if I hadn’t seen other people’s videos of the ride online. On the flip side of that, though, is the fact that you don’t have to wait in line for hours to experience the ride. That was, for me, more important especially with a 3 and 7 year old in tow.

The big day arrived and we had walked past Norway a few times while we were in Epcot for the day. There were times the wait time was up to 120 minutes and there were times the ride was closed down all together. At those times, they would not let people get into line until it was up and running again (if you were already in line you could wait). I did hear from other people in the parks that day who were able to use this to their advantage. If the ride was down they would stake out a spot near the ride and wait for it to open back up again. Then they made a mad dash to get onto the ride. This eliminated a long wait in line and, according to the families I spoke to, it really worked.

As I already mentioned the ride was down a few times while we were there. This was the only worry in my plan. My concern was not getting on the ride due to mechanical problems. There was a point around 12:30 where we received an email stating that there was a change to our FastPass+. It stated that due to Frozen Ever After being down we could use that FastPass+ for several other attractions in Epcot or try again later for Frozen. This was interesting to me since we had not even hit our time yet for the attraction. Either way by the time our FastPass+ time came we headed for Frozen Ever After and the ride was up and running. We scanned our bands and headed right inside.

Before I take you to the ride I want to warn you: if you are anything like my husband and do not want to see, hear, or have any prior knowledge about the ride before actually riding it then stop here. This is your Spoiler Alert warning! If you are like me, however, and like to take in everything and anything before riding then keep going.

The first thing I noticed is that the area we were standing in was part of the original exit area for the Maelstrom ride. For anyone who rode the Maelstrom you will notice this as soon as you come into the area. The queue area inside, however, has been completely transformed to night time scene in Arendelle. There were lights strung and a village in the background. We probably waited about 10-15 minutes before being loaded onto one of the Viking boats. Again former Maelstrom riders will notice that the boats are still the same. Actually the track itself is all the same, just with a complete re-theming transformation. Once we were on the boat Oaken (of Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post) reminded us to stay seated and bid us farewell (it’s just a voice recording).

We were then off into the land of Frozen. We saw Olaf and Sven first with Olaf singing a new version of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman”. His version invites you to visit Elsa’s Ice Palace. Past Olaf we have a quick meeting with Papa Troll and the little trolls being told the story of Anna and Elsa. After this scene we continued onto the Ice Palace where Anna and Kristoff are singing “For the First Time in Forever”. Then finally we come into the scene with Elsa on the balcony of the Ice Palace singing “Let It Go” and using her snow magic to make snow “fly” into brilliant snowflakes and fireworks. The computer effects along the walls make for a stunning display of color and “magic”. This is the point where the boat shifts and drives backwards away from Elsa into a long hall of snowflakes and fireworks created by Elsa’s “magic”.

Frozen Ever After Ride

The inside queue for Frozen Ever After Ride

After this we come up to a point at the top where we see the Snow Monster surrounded by little snowgies. The boat shifts to prepare to go down the small incline and the Snow Monster blows a little snow (really more like a cold smoke) at us and down we went. For those with little ones be prepared that the Snow Monster is a little scary. My 3 year old had a nervous moment seeing the monster and then going down the incline. Also don’t forget to smile here as there is a picture being taken. It links up to your Magicband and will be under your PhotoPass pictures. Finally we sail down into a scene of Arendelle in the distance with fireworks going off over head and then into the final scene where Olaf, Anna, and Elsa are all found singing about “Summer” together.

Overall I have to say the ride was worth the wait. The technology used to animate the characters is fantastic really making them “come to life”. The flow through from one character to another with the re-working of songs to fit the ride was amazing. There was not one moment that didn’t pull you into the fun and excitement of the Frozen world. From myself and my husband to our 7 year old son and 3 year old daughter everyone in the party really enjoyed the ride. Even if your family is “over” the Frozen thing it’s hard not to enjoy the new Frozen Ever After.

About the Author: Erin Martin enjoys all things Disney especially traveling to the World with her family.