Since opening in the early 80’s, the World Showcase at Epcot (part of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida) has offered guests a sampling of the food, music, culture, and aesthetic of 11 countries around the globe.
The Norway section of the park was previously home to Maelstrom, one of few ride attractions in the World Showcase, making the Norway pavilion popular among Epcot guests. Maelstrom was a scenic log-flume style ride that took its riders on a journey through Norwegian seas amongst trolls and Vikings. On October 5, 2014, Maelstrom closed its doors to riders for the very last time.
Earlier in the year, WDW announced its plans to replace the original Maelstrom ride with a Frozen themed attraction, following in the success of the hugely popular 2013 Disney movie. The announcement was met with the varied reactions of Disney fans everywhere, many of which fought in vain to save Maelstrom, going so far as circulating petitions around the internet.
Opinions were thrown every which way, but the strongest arguments against building a Frozen ride were rooted in the fact that the World Showcase is an authentic experience, containing very little of the commercialized, character-themed atmosphere that fills the other parks. Others suggested that Frozen is merely a fad, destined to die out in a few years at most, and the money that would be poured into this attraction would not be worthwhile.
With the ride now officially a thing of the past, families who have visited Disney in the past 26 years are left to reminisce on their memories of riding Maelstrom. I know I’ll never forget being stuck at the top of the ride for 2 hours in 2005, with nothing but a single churro from the Mexico pavilion as sustenance for our group of 7.
Although Disney fans may mourn the loss of the traditional Maelstrom ride, we look forward to the new memories to be made in the future as we await the new Frozen attraction.
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| (Theme Park Review) |
Written by: Maddy Kratz
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