Hello, and welcome to a special Part 2 of this week’s Dateline Disney World. Today, we were planning on covering both Frozen Ever After as well as the new stage show at Magic Kingdom. But, due to extreme lines for Frozen, we’ll only be covering that today. Here we go!

Definitely make sure to either Fastpass this attraction or get there right at park opening and hustle over to World Showcase.
Definitely make sure to either Fastpass this attraction or get there right at park opening and hustle over to World Showcase.
Standby line reroutes over through China as soon as the park opens.
Standby line reroutes over through China as soon as the park opens.
Disney has placed umbrellas outdoors to help with the summer heat.
Disney has placed umbrellas outdoors to help with the summer heat.
They also have ice water in the outdoor part of the queue.
They also have ice water in the outdoor part of the queue.
As well as Viking entertainment while you wait.
As well as Viking entertainment while you wait.
There's the sign!
There’s the sign!
Yup. 240 minutes. That's four hours. We did it for this column, but would never do it again.
Yup. 240 minutes. That’s four hours. We did it for this column, but would never do it again.

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Info sign.
Info sign.
Once inside, the queue is pretty nice, very much like a higher end Fantasyland queue in a castle park.
Once inside, the queue is pretty nice, very much like a higher end Fantasyland queue in a castle park.

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Once through the initial indoor portion of the queue, you enter this quaint indoor village of Arendelle.
Once through the initial indoor portion of the queue, you enter this quaint indoor village of Arendelle.

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There's a screen in the sauna with some fun effects involving Oaken.
There’s a screen in the sauna with some fun effects involving Oaken.

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The load and unload areas are right next to each other, very different from how Maelstrom loaded and unloaded.
The load and unload areas are right next to each other, very different from how Maelstrom loaded and unloaded.

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Mural at the load area.
Mural at the load area.
The rest of the photos are from inside the attraction, so if you don't want to be spoiled, skip to the end!
The rest of the photos are from inside the attraction, so if you don’t want to be spoiled, skip to the end!
Olaf has multiple scenes in the attraction.
Olaf has multiple scenes in the attraction.

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The troll area was pretty neat.
The troll area was pretty neat.

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The animatronics have the same technology as the Dwarfs on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom. It is quite convincing.
The animatronics have the same technology as the Dwarfs on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom. It is quite convincing.

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When Elsa sings 'Let It Go', you take the former "Back, back, over the falls" backwards drop.
When Elsa sings ‘Let It Go’, you take the former “Back, back, over the falls” backwards drop.
This scene replaced the troll who knocked the boat back and sent you on the forward waterfall.
This scene replaced the troll who knocked the boat back and sent you on the forward waterfall.

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No more polar bear and oil platoon.
No more polar bear and oil platoon.

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The final scene involves Anna, Elsa, and Olaf all together.
The final scene involves Anna, Elsa, and Olaf all together.

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So, what are my thoughts? Well, I think the attraction is adorable. The queue (once you get inside) is really nice, and if someone blindfolded you and brought you there, you would think you were in Magic Kingdom or Disneyland, not Epcot. The ride is pretty good as well. It takes full advantage of the musical score, and has very convincing Audio Animatronics. There is one portion of the ride that relies on screens a bit, so those who don’t like screens might be a bit miffed. There are also a few odd transitions in the ride where there is just darkness and not much going on.

This ride is already extremely popular. Both members of the couple I rode next to were crying during it, and I saw nothing but smiles from guests when leaving the ride, even after waiting almost four hours to experience it. Four hours is a little crazy, and it will eventually calm down from there, but I do see this attraction being a capacity nightmare for a while. The queue is not very big, and they can only load and unload one boat at a time. So, be ready to wait, even with your Fastpasses.

To sum things up, am I happy that this attraction ended up in Epcot? No. I would have rather seen something more in line with the idea of World Showcase here, and have Disney use an expansion pad somewhere in Magic Kingdom for it. But, it is here, it is popular, and it is going to definitely draw people to Epcot.

What do you think? Will you be riding this summer? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

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Cory Disbrow
Cory likes Walt Disney World so much, he recently packed his bags and moved to Orlando. Cory is a photographer and writes MiceChat's Dateline Disney World columns every Friday.