I was strongly considering not writing an article about this, having said much of what I wanted to say in a previous blog post on negativity in the Disney fan community. There's been so much talk about #savemaelstrom, however, that I felt that it was time for me to air my opinions. In case you missed the news, Maelstrom is closing down (estimates seem to be around October 5th) to make way for an attraction inspired by Disney's hit animated feature Frozen. A lot of rumor had been swirling around the project for a long time, and fans had already built up quite a bit of venom that they were prepared to unleash when this announcement was made. Not surprisingly, approximately a dragon ship load of it gushed forth onto the internet when Disney finally made the official announcement.
So where shall I start on my opinion? Maelstrom has long been one of my favorite attractions at Epcot, a must do as often as I can. There are a lot of memories built up around this ride - in fact, as a youngster this attraction made me interested in checking out more information about Norway, learning about its culture, folklore, and geography. I could (and can) recite the ride's narration by heart, and frequently make the (admittedly stupid and not funny) joke "Hey, uh... do you think we're the first to pass this way?" when heading to the first lift hill, just before Odin's gaze falls upon the hapless faux Viking adventurers.
Removing my nostalgia from the factor, though, there are only a couple of parts that really stick out for me on this boat ride: entering troll country and being ordered to "Disappear! Disappear!" and being sent off to the North Seas by yet another mythical Norwegian creature. The Vikings at the beginning of the ride are rather horribly dated - they look like they jumped out of 70's-80's fantasy art. Meanwhile, there is the polar bear, who has seen rather better days (though the cub is rather adorable), and the oil rigs, which really kind of interrupt the idea of Norwegian adventure, even though they are an important part of Norway's economy, which is really neither here nor there. We won't mention the film that is shown after the attraction, which 90% of guests just file straight through.
Do I love this attraction? Absolutely. Is it perfect? Certainly not. Do I want to see it leave? Not particularly. Has it aged well, and is it still bringing in guests? Not really. So you see Disney's problem here - do they cater to a small, nostalgic minority, or do they give the fans of modern movies what they want? Obviously, the smart choice is the latter. Frozen may take place in the fictional Kingdom of Arendelle but the inspiration is extremely heavily Norwegian/Scandinavian
(as outlined in the current display inside the Stave Church). The name is inspired by the Norwegian port of Arendal, and much of the architecture is inspired by the city of Bergen. Norway's tourism board has been using Frozen to entice families to visit, and with a good amount of success, I might add. Not to mention that the film actually re-awakened my love of the folklore, architecture, and natural beauty of Norway, which had been long dormant.
In my opinion the argument that Anna and Elsa won't "fit in" at Norway is a false one, just as the assertion that Disney characters belong out of Epcot is rather silly. The Three Caballeros brought a lot more life to the incredibly dry and boring (and EXTREMELY dated) Rio del Tiempo, and it's nice to see characters like Mary Poppins and Alice right at home in the United Kingdom. These stories are inspired by or directly hail from the areas at World Showcase, so why not give kids a gateway into learning more about a culture? It's easy for grown-ups to stick their noses up at fairy tales invading the real world and causing children to not learn about true history and culture.
I recently attended a lecture by world-renowned scientist Dr. Jane Goodall, and do you know what inspired her to want to learn more about animals, especially in Africa? Dr. Doolittle and Tarzan. Hardly true-to-life educational material, those books. Children take inspiration and education from many different sources. I can almost guarantee you that there will be future marine biologists who exclaim that they first became fascinated with undersea life after watching Finding Nemo, if there aren't some out there already.
Now, I do think Disney has a responsibility here. They really need to create something spectacular, something using the tech that they've shown on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Radiator Springs Racers out at Disney's California adventure. Despite the overexposure, Frozen really is an excellent film, and deserves an excellent attraction. The other side of that responsibility is that they need to preserve as much of the Norwegian culture as possible throughout the rest of the pavilion, which I have heard will also include a much improved meet and greet area for the royal sisters. That's a lot of Disney in one area of the park, and it will be easy to lose the true Norway in all of the Arendelle, but I have faith that Disney can pull it off. I want to keep seeing delicious, traditional treats in the Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe, not Olaf cupcakes. I want to see tons of books about Vikings and Norwegian explorers, Marvel's Thor comics alongside books about the real mythology. The education should still be there, and I'm sure it will be. It'll just have Frozen as a magnet to bring it in, and I'm just fine with that.
I hope I shall get the chance to give Maelstrom one last ride, make one last dumb "Are we the first to pass this way? Oh... no? Okay..." joke. If I don't, I'll relish that last ride that I took, and look back fondly, not without a bit of jealousy as I hope that the final rider of the attraction makes a joke about actually being the last to pass that way.
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