The demand: All things Frozen. (Something we’ve known for a while.) The supply: A desperate attempt by every arm of The Walt Disney Company to meet consumers’ clamoring for anything relating to the franchise, including inside theme parks. But the landscape is about to rapidly change.
At Walt Disney World, the meet & greet for Anna and Elsa has quickly become the longest line across the entire property, spanning upwards of 300 minutes (not an exaggeration) daily. Parents are so eager to sprint to the greeting location at park opening that Disney changed the Magic Kingdom’s opening procedure for safety purposes. It’s that crazy.
Despite small efforts to temporarily lessen the insanity, including having Anna and Elsa make an appearance in the Magic Kingdom Welcome Show and Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade, nothing has quite eased the masses wanting to experience the resort’s only main Frozen offering.
The solution? Multiply the ways Frozen can be experienced while on vacation.
Beginning July 5, Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World will become the summer hub for everything a Frozen fan could dream of. Here’s the (long!) list from Disney of special events planned, which will last through September 1:
- Olaf on Summer Vacation – Olaf the snowman is having the time of his life on his very first summer vacation! He chimes in throughout the day to keep everyone updated on all his adventures. Plus, you can pick up your very own Take-Along Olaf from locations in the park, so he can join you on your summer vacation. And when you share your photos with Olaf on social media, be sure to tag them with #OlafSummerVacation. They may just get selected to appear in that day’s grand finale!
- Anna and Elsa’s Royal Welcome – At 11:00 a.m. each day, Elsa and Anna arrive in Hollywood as part of their goodwill tour of neighboring kingdoms, making their way down Hollywood Boulevard in a horse-drawn sleigh. Kristoff is along for the fun, too, joined by a flurry of skaters, skiiers, ice cutters and more! The entire procession culminates in a special moment at the Sorcerer’s Hat Icon Stage to officially welcome the visiting royalty to this kingdom of Hollywoodland.
- For the First Time in Forever: A “Frozen” Sing-Along Celebration – Cool down inside the Premiere Theater, where Anna and Elsa join the Royal Historians of Arendelle for a fun and comedic retelling of the unique history of their Kingdom, filled with delightful, sing-along moments from “Frozen.”
- Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post & Frozen Funland – Inside Soundstage One, Oaken and his cousins have created a Frozen Funland filled with cold weather activities, unique photo opportunities, and more! There’s a frozen pond with ice skating demonstrations, wintertime fun for kids in the “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” play area, a “big summer blowout” with plenty of “Frozen” merchandise, and special “Frozen”-inspired food and beverage offerings.
- “Coolest Summer Ever” Dance Party – Starting at 5:30 p.m. each day, a dance party takes over the area around the Sorcerer’s Hat Icon Stage, with a DJ, live band, and more! The band plays a variety of classic and contemporary summer rock & roll hits, as well as a cool, rocking medley of “Frozen” favorites. It’s going to be hot!
- “Frozen” Fireworks Spectacular – Everything wraps up at 9:45 p.m. when Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf come together at the Sorcerer’s Hat Icon Stage for a grand finale to the day’s festivities, kicking off an awe-inspiring fireworks display set to the glorious music of “Frozen!”
This is really everything any fan could dream for in such an immediate time span: New characters, fun entertainment, merchandise opportunities, and a whole honkin’ fireworks display. The stage show sounds similar in nature to the small skits performed in Disneyland’s Fantasy Faire centered on Beauty and the Beast and Tangled: moderately elaborate, more than a street performance but not quite a full musical. Anna and Elsa will continue to provide meet & greets over at the Magic Kingdom inside Princess Fairytale Hall like always (though, hopefully, with less insanity surrounding it).
Will you be visiting Walt Disney World during Frozen‘s big summer blowout? How else should Disney bring Frozen to the parks?