Just heard news that Frozen Ever After opened at Epcot.  Not sure when it opened, perhaps today?  Anyway, it opened to over a 300 minute (5 hours) wait time!  There are multiple videos floating around on Facebook and other sites showing the insanity at Epcot on opening day.  Lines and lines of people!  There are also multiple POV ridethroughs starting to surface.  If you're curious and don't mind having the ride spoiled for you, you can check out one of the better HD POVs here:

 

https://www.facebook.com/RealKennythePirate/videos/1026800827416108/

 

My wife and I are heading down there in November, so I'm hoping the wait times calm down a bit.  If not, I guess there's always FastPass!

 

So what do you think of the ride?  Would you wait 5 hours to ride something like this?

I won't wait 5 hours to ride anything....

That being said, I hope the line calms down by December or we will use a FP as well!!

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My wife and I waited between 4-5 hours to ride Banshee on opening day.  Had I known about the hidden makeshift queue that I didn't see, we probably would've never gotten in line.  However, once I noticed there was a makeshift queue that went on and on for quite some time, I had already invested too much time in line and didn't want to bail.  I'll never wait that long for anything ever again though.

Including time at the front gate, I waited that long for Banshee on Opening Day. For a First Rider shirt, it was definitely worth it.

 

 

That being said, I hope the line calms down by December or we will use a FP as well!!

 

Frozen ride, firmly in the holiday season, with a capacity (presumably) the same as Maelstrom's?

 

I wouldn't count on a short line!

I wouldnt wait 5 hours, I couldnt... I have a bladder the size of a walnut.

 

That having been said, the ride looks terrific!  Those animatronics are incredible.  This is a MUCH NEEDED addition to EPCOT.  I hope more such attractions will follow.  EPCOT has always been the "yawner" park for me.

 

Shaggy

Well, we're not going to be there during a peak time holiday season.  We're going before the holiday season starts.  According to all Disney crowd guides and calendars, it's one of the lowest crowd weeks at the parks.  Just keeping my fingers crossed that all this is accurate.

Wow, after watching the POV video, this ride really exceeded my expectations! Great job, Disney!

 

But I don't think I could convince myself to ever wait in a 5 hour line for it...

lol

 

Queueing Ever After

 

 

I'll see myself out

When I have gone to Epcot I have usually hopped from a crowded Magic Kingdom. I ride Mission Space, Test Track and Soaring. Then hop a boat to the other side and walk to Disney's Hollywood.

I can't imagine the screaming hoards of children squealing about after waiting 25 minutes in a five hour line....

As far as Frozen Ever After.... Long lines? I'll have to Let it Go....

For me personally, nothing will ever beat the three-headed troll. It looks neat, with the animatronics and all, but I still prefer Maelstrom.

For me personally, nothing will ever beat the three-headed troll. It looks neat, with the animatronics and all, but I still prefer Maelstrom.

I agree.  I loved Maelstrom.  It was a must ride whenever I visited Epcot.  It was such a unique ride even though it wasn't based on any known property.  It was it's own thing and that's what made it so appealing.  Yeah, I'll probably ride Frozen Ever After whenever I visit Epcot and I'm sure I'll enjoy it, but a part of me will always wish it was still Maelstrom.

I was surprised that both of the Snowman's feet lifted. It's a small thing, but a cute innovation. His legs are so short, it's possible.

Most animatronics need at least one limb anchored to run the wiring up the leg- I guess Olaf just has a pole in his back.

I will get flamed for this but I really didn't care for the movie. The only way I would wait 5 hours for anything was if my dentist was with me and had a couple of tanks of N2O with him.

I imagine that in the future that there will be a totally scheduled FastPass (maybe called an E Ticket Pass) , where you will ONLY be allowed to ride a certain ride by being scheduled to ride it.... And I'm sure it will come with a nominal fee...

^ Disney tested going "FastPass+ only" at Soarin' awhile back. (Guests wanting to wait in a standby queue were instructed to book a FastPass reservation & come back.)

Well there ya go.... Lol!

Universal announced today that their new "water theme park" Universal's Volcano Bay will feature no waiting in queues once inside the park. We have yet to know how they'll manage it. We'll find out!

Universal announced today that their new "water theme park" Universal's Volcano Bay will feature no waiting in queues once inside the park. We have yet to know how they'll manage it. We'll find out!

$10,000 a day tickets?

Pre-booking your entire day?

 

Q-bots for everyone?

 

Capped daily attendance (like Discovery Cove)?

 

It really could be any of the above. Or something else!

If I can just plug myself for a minute, I have written two relevant features here: Lost Legends: Maelstrom and the 25 Most Incredible Animatronics On Earth (as determined by me). Both are fun reads and have to do with Frozen Ever After. The latter is one of my favorite things I've ever written. 

 

Anyone interested in any of my other theme park ramblings can click the link in my signature!

^Great articles! I especially enjoyed that second one about all of the animatronics. Very cool!

If I can just plug myself for a minute, I have written two relevant features here: Lost Legends: Maelstrom and the 25 Most Incredible Animatronics On Earth (as determined by me). Both are fun reads and have to do with Frozen Ever After. The latter is one of my favorite things I've ever written. 

 

Anyone interested in any of my other theme park ramblings can click the link in my signature!

I love dark rides, and I love animatronics. To be honest, I'd pay well for a character sheet of Albert for an animation class, but that would be cheating. (such a fool I am to choose monkeys as my subject.)

Universal announced today that their new "water theme park" Universal's Volcano Bay will feature no waiting in queues once inside the park. We have yet to know how they'll manage it. We'll find out!

I'm sure you of all people know by now, but Universal is testing out a line reservation system right now at Wet n Wild before that park kicks the bucket. It is assumed that they are ironing out the logistics now, so it is ready for a full roll out when Volcano Bay opens next summer.

Hopefully the pools are massive, assuming guests will be in them while waiting their turn to ride. People soup isn't much fun.

 

Cue Terp to say something about swimming with thousands of people. Perhaps Universal resort guests are more likely to have had a recent shower than the general population.

I refer to baths--not swimming.

The latter is perhaps best done in a lake.

That, too, though, offers its own problems I'd rather not think about.

Risk. Risk management.

We all do what we find comfortable.

Some even rationalize.

In this city which is target one for so many, I choose to live. And worry about water parks? Really?

The world's first water park?.... The Ganges River.

I have had an interesting observation regarding both Frozen Ever After and Reign of Kong.  2 brand new rides that have incredible technology behind them, yet executed very differently, and both with draw huge lines.  That being said Disney excels at the boat style dark ride and Universal is sticking with screen based attractions.  I think the ultimate dark ride lies somewhere between, some mix of these technologies and Frozen Ever After gives me extremely high hopes for the new Avatar Dark Ride.

Funny enough, halfway between Frozen Ever After's animatronic boat ride and Skull Island's screen-based dark ride is Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Sunken Treasure at Shanghai Disneyland which, yep, is probably the ultimate modern dark ride as of 2016. (See #8 here)

 

The thought / hope now among Disney Parks fans is that the Avatar boat ride will use the same technology. I'm still a pessimist when it comes to the whole Avatar thing and I think even a groundbreaking and mind-bogglingly technological ride simply won't be as praised as it would be if it were, say, an original story, or a beloved franchise. 

Agreed to a point. If they rely on knowledge from the movie then it would be terrible. If it's a original story based around he Avatar land (similar to Star Tours) it may be great

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I like Shanghai Disneyland's Pirates ride, especially the skeleton to Jack Sparrow transformation. I still prefer the original Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland, though.

I still think the best dark rides are the real, physical kind, not 4-D movie rides. The real kind just feel so much more immersive and real. IMHO the best dark ride ever built is the Haunted Mansion. Completely immersive and has head-scratching effects, but doesn't have a hint of video screens (at Disneyland at least, unless you count the Hatbox Ghost's face).