Norway is a country of beauty, wonder and of course adventure, and this was represented incredibly well by the Norway Pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase. The pavilion opened in June 1988, and for over 25 years remained largely the same, with a single darkride that brought the spirit of Norway to Florida, among other services and attractions, a similar layout and idea to many other World Showcase pavilions. However, in the mid-2010s, Norway became the first pavilion to be represented by a fictional story, that captured the heart of so many when it was released in 2013.
“The spirit of Norway has always been, and will always be, adventure”
Quote from the end of the ride experience on Maelstrom, Epcot
The Creation of Epcot’s Norway
When World Showcase was designed, Imagineers made sure to leave plenty of expansion space around the pavilions, so that there will always be the potential for new countries to join. This expansion space was used for the first time in 1984, just two years after EPCOT Center opened, to make way for a new Morocco Pavilion, and most recently in the late 1980s, when ground broke for the eleventh and newest country in World Showcase: Norway. As construction progressed it became clear the pavilion would be home to a major, immersive darkride, and entrance signage showed that it would be named SeaVenture: A High Seas Norwegian Adventure.
The ride had a last minute name change just two months before it’s opening, and became Maelstrom, which is the Nordic word for a dangerous and powerful sea storm, while the slogan remained the same. On 3rd June 1988 the Norway Pavilion opened to guests, and Maelstrom in July of the same year. This amazing new darkride became an icon of World Showcase, and a powerful reflection of what EPCOT Center is all about: adventure, education and innovation.
A Perilous Norwegian Voyage
Maelstrom wasn’t actually a dangerous voyage through rough Northern seas, but, to many people who rode Maelstrom, it sure felt like it. The ride experience began when guests boarded a boat styled after traditional Norwegian Viking ships, and went on a gradual climb up a 28ft lift hill, while a voice told them “you are not the first to venture down this path”, before an intimidating lit image of the Nordic god Odin was revealed at the top of the hill. Immersive scenes of Norwegian villagers and seafarers depicted what life would have been like in Viking Norway, and it just seemed like a gentle boat ride through Norwegian history and legends-
That was, until you encountered the troll.
A three headed monster of a troll animatronic would be angered at the sight of the riders, for seemingly no apparent reason, other that they’re disturbing him, I guess, and cast a spell on the boat, causing it to sail quickly backwards on hidden conveyer belts under the water. The boats would come to a stop on a waterfall, and the back of the vehicle would peek out through the ride’s façade, which really built up anticipation for guests around the pavilion, either queuing for Maelstrom or simply exploring the pavilion.
Riders would be held on the waterfall for several seconds before plunging 28ft into the turbulent North Sea, adding an extra thrill element to this already thrilling darkride. The boat would then pass an oil rig and sail into a peaceful Norwegian harbour, where riders would exit their Viking ship and have the option to either exit out into the pavilion, or watch a film about the most beautiful tourist attractions in Norway.
Maelstrom was loved by guests young and old, and the only complaint the ride got was that it wasn’t long enough, and when it underwent a refurbishment in 2014, Imagineers took care of this problem, as well as putting a whole new spin on the ride and the entire Norway pavilion!
The Frozen Era
If you haven’t heard of Disney’s 2013 hit film Frozen, you’ve likely been living under a rock for almost seven years, or in an Ice Palace on the North Mountain, either one. This new Disney princess movie introduced us to Elsa and Anna, the Scandinavian queen and princess of Arendelle, a kingdom based mostly off Norway, and we also met their friends, ice seller Kristoff and his reindeer Sven, and magical snowman Olaf. Frozen showed the world the importance of friendship and sisterly love, and touched the hearts of many kids and kids at heart for years, and, as you can imagine, there was a huge need for a Frozen attraction at the Disney parks.
Magic Kingdom’s Festival of Fantasy parade debuted in 2014, with Anna, Elsa and Olaf waving to guests from the Princess Float, and, from the same year, guests could meet the much-loved sisters at the Norway Pavilion’s Royal Summerhaus. But this wasn’t the only change that would come to Norway in 2014 however, a major change was coming in September 2014, when it was announced that Maelstrom would be closing permanently, and a new Frozen attraction would replace it. Soon after the announcement construction began on the rethemed version, and in 2016, Frozen Ever After operated for the first time, attracting queues up to six hours on it’s opening day (and that was just the FastPass line!)
A Frozen Fairytale
Warning: if you haven’t yet ridden Frozen Ever After, and you want to keep the experience a surprise, now may be a good time to click off of this article, as there are going to be a LOT of spoilers from here on in. You have been warned…
Walt Disney Imagineering did a magnificent job on the new ride. The ride system and the boats remained the same, but the feel of the ride completely changed. Two new scenes were added before the lifthill to lengthen the ride, and the dark tunnel that riders travelled through at the beginning of Maelstrom was replaced with hanging icicles that sparkle in the light, before an impressive Olaf animatronic is revealed, singing one of a few variations of Do You Want To Build A Snowman.
Travel through the ride further and you would see Kristoff’s ‘family’ the rock trolls, telling the story of the first Frozen movie, and letting you know that you were travelling up to the ice palace to see Elsa, if you didn’t know that already. Projections of whirling ice and snow are shown on the walls, which were just black on the previous attraction. When you reach the top you meet Olaf once again, this time ice skating, and singing For The First Time in Forever, with Anna and Kristoff, before the great ice doors open, and Elsa is revealed, an incredibly lifelike audio animatronic singing that iconic song that I’m about to get stuck in your head: Let It Go!
Elsa sends your boat sailing quickly backwards past screens and physical sets, and riders sail past Marshmallow and the Snowgies, who blow out fog and send you speeding down the drop, into scenes of Elsa, Anna and Olaf singing the not so well known but still loved song In Summer, before you enter the unload station, which is now in the same place as the load station, while on Maelstrom they were in separate areas, and this change can affect the throughput on Epcot’s busiest days.
Like a Snowflake, No Ride Was the Same!
Why was this? Because in Frozen Ever After’s opening year of 2016, ride operations were plagued with issues, from animatronics malfunctioning, to special effects not working, it was almost rare to get a fully functional experience. Another common issue was the ride breaking down altogether, particularly at two specific points: the lifthill, and the beginning of the backwards portion of the attraction. When this occurred, the ride was powered down, the worklights switched on, and guests would get the ride evacuation experience that many of us Disnerds dream of.
It turned out many of these technical problems were actually just teething issues and by 2017 were mostly ironed out, but the queues still didn’t lighten by much- Frozen Ever After remained as one of the most popular attractions at Epcot, and still is today! Well, not exactly today, but you get what I mean.
Is Frozen Ever After a Worthy Successor To Maelstrom?
It’s impossible to have a definitive answer to this, as, like many things, different people have different opinions. Some people hate Frozen Ever After simply because it replaced Maelstrom, or just because they hate the movie, while others have a preference for one, but still have a soft spot for the other. Every rider has different ideas on what makes a darkride good or bad.
A complaint Frozen Ever After often receives is that there’s no storyline or meaning, its just a senseless product placement that has no business being in the educational park of Epcot. I may be a little biased, as I never rode Maelstrom and am a huge fan of the Frozen movies, but I LOVE Frozen Ever After! Many of the elements used on the ride were revolutionary at the time it opened and still are four years later- from the fluent animatronics to the immersive special effects, and its amazing that the Imagineers were able to turn a perilous adventure through Norway into a winter fairytale, all while keeping the ride system mostly the same. I say anyone who hates Frozen Ever After needs to just let it go!
The storyline may not be especially detailed, but it is there: it is Arendelle’s annual Summer Snow Day, and Elsa is inviting you, the guests, to come and visit her in her Ice Palace. I’ve never really understood the end scene in which Anna, Elsa, and Olaf are singing about summer though, it just seems a bit sudden after all the wintery scenes that came before it.
As much as I love Frozen Ever After, I don’t really think it belongs in Epcot. Sure, Arendelle is loosely based on Nordic regions like Norway, but it doesn’t actually teach guests anything about the culture or history of Norway, not the way Maelstrom did. Epcot was always meant to be about education, and widening our view of the world, right from the beginning when Walt Disney designed Epcot as a city of the future in the 50s and 60s. Frozen Ever After just doesn’t fit with the theme of learning and discovery, and I believe it would’ve worked much better in Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland, or even in Hollywood Studios.
At the time of opening, Frozen Ever After made no sense with it’s placement in World Showcase, but now it is becoming more understandable. In the last few years many new attractions have been announced for Epcot, such as Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, set to open at some time this year (hopefully!) and Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, Epcot’s first rollercoaster, opening in 2021, and it’s clear Epcot is beginning to move more towards the IP market with it’s attractions.
If you want to learn more about Epcot’s history and hear more of my thoughts on the park’s current move towards more IP based attractions, check out this other post about Epcot, where I discuss just that!
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What are your thoughts? Did you ever ride Maelstrom, and which Norway Pavilion darkride do you prefer? Let me know below, and join the conversation!
Your articles are amazing. Thank you for your hard work.
It’s definitely worth a visit! 🙂
Interesting! Never heard of that park before
Love this Lily
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Photo credits:
-@decoratedindisney on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/decoratedindisney/
-@ez_atdisney on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ez_atdisney/
-@disneyslostqueen on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/disneyslostqueen/
-Disney Parks Blog https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/07/vintage-walt-disney-world-looking-back-at-epcots-maelstrom/
-Theme Park Tourist / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
Coaster Dreamers 
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoy them. Sorry about the late reply -Lily 🙂