Walt Disney World Begins ‘Coolest Summer Ever’ with 24-Hour ‘Frozen’ All-Nighter

Even though the forecast calls for 96 degrees, Walt Disney World will freeze over on May 22.

As has become tradition, the Friday before Memorial Day will see 24 straight hours of operation for the Magic Kingdom in Florida. The park will open 6 a.m. on Friday, May 22, and close 6 a.m. on Saturday, May 23. The event serves as the kickoff of Disney’s “Coolest Summer Ever” and is themed to (surprise!) Frozen. As revealed on the Disney Parks Blog, some of the special activities freezing in from Arendelle exclusively for the party include:

• A special appearance in the 6 a.m. Welcome Show from Anna, Elsa, Olaf, and Kristoff. While the sisters greet guests every day, Olaf and Kristoff are still relatively rare.
• 4-11 p.m. Rockettower Plaza Stage in Tomorrowland will become Club Chill, with a dance party hosted by DJ Frost.
• Just before the 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. performances of the Main Street Electrical Parade will be a special pre-parade entitled “A Frozen Fantasy”. It will include Anna, Elsa, Olaf, and Kristoff as they put the park “on ice.”
• Midnight-4 a.m. Rockettower Plaza Stage will play the sing-along version of Frozen.
• Event-specific merchandise should be plentiful. Announced so far is the party t-shirt featuring Olaf.
• Event-specific food is expected to be announced soon.

Aside from the Frozen theme, other happenings at the party include:

• A Flag Raising ceremony in Town Square at dawn with the Reedy Creek Honor Guard.
• Radio Disney broadcasting 8 a.m. through midnight with Ernie D, Brooke, Candice, and Nate.
• Disney Channel and Disney XD stars featured as Grand Marshals of the 3 p.m. Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade. Appearances include Karan Brar (Jessie), Dove Cameron (Liv and Maddie and Descendants), Sofia Carson (Descendants), Garrett Clayton (Teen Beach 2), Skai Jackson (Jessie), Peyton List (Jessie), Ross Lynch (Austin & Ally and Teen Beach 2), Laura Marano (Austin & Ally), Maia Mitchell (Teen Beach 2 and The Fosters), Bradley Steven Perry (Mighty Med), Grace Phipps (Teen Beach 2), Jake Short (Mighty Med), and Calum Worthy (Austin & Ally).
• Dance parties at Cinderella Castle and in Frontierland 2 a.m. through 4 a.m. featuring classic Disney characters in their pajamas.

Many guests anticipated meet & greets with Olaf and Kristoff, though Disney confirmed there will be no special/rare character greetings for this year’s event, a change from years past. This is likely due to past events’ characters forming outrageous lines, resulting in frustrated guests. All of the park’s regular character greetings (including Anna and Elsa) will still be part of the fun.

Because we are the Rotoscopers and Frozen is kind of what we do, I will be on hand at the event and look forward to reporting back on all the excitement.

A similar event will be held the same day at Disneyland in California. There, though, the Frozen theme is swapped in favor of the kickoff for the resort’s year-long 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration.

What would you do with 24 hours in the Magic Kingdom? Which of the ‘Frozen’ events sounds most exciting to you?

Edited by: Morgan Stradling