World of Frozen has now officially opened at Hong Kong Disneyland, and I had the absolute pleasure to explore the new area last week during a media event. We’ve already covered just about all there is to see and do in the land, so I wanted to highlight my experience and share some of my thoughts.
First off, we’ve got to talk about just how beautiful the World of Frozen truly is. While Disney typically wants to hide the outside world, here they took full advantage of the towering Lantau mountains and designed the village of Arendelle around them. The architecture is fantastic in its own right, but is even more impressive to look at with the mountains in the background.
The village area is accompanied by a new hour-long background audio track featuring orchestral versions of music from all Frozen projects. The music simultaneously feels grand and awe-inspiring, and also relaxing. This is one musical project that I hope ends up on Spotify soon!
Frozen Ever After, while very similar to its EPCOT counterpart, still has some significant differences. Guests enter through the clock tower first seen in the Frozen Fever short, into a queue that is very similar to the one at EPCOT, but just more fleshed out. The attraction itself features all of the same show scenes, however some are spread further apart, such as the opening scene with Olaf and Sven, going into the next scene with the trolls. As Imagineers didn’t have to work around a pre-existing layout, they had more freedom to play around.
Perhaps the most-hyped up difference is the change from projection face audio-animatronics to more traditional sculpted faces. During a tour with Walt Disney Imagineers, Imagineer Michel Den Dulk explained the reason behind the decision, which you can hear for yourself in the clip below.
The attraction is also a little wilder than the one at EPCOT, again with the new build allowing them to create a slightly more thrilling drop that really surprised me with its intensity. You will pop up out of your seat a little! (safely, of course)
The other half of World of Frozen is the forest section, home to Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs and Playhouse in the Woods. I was pleasantly surprised by Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs. While it is indeed a short roller coaster, similar in length to The Barnstormer at the Magic Kingdom, it does pack a bit of a pinch and offers up some stunning panoramic views of Arendelle.
Playhouse in the Woods is another fun experience, allowing many guests at once to get up close with Anna, Elsa and Olaf in an interactive setting.
Overall, I was very impressed by the level of detail on display throughout World of Frozen, and it's truly a great addition to Hong Kong Disneyland. A secondary entrance to the land near “it’s a small world” also helps flesh out the park’s layout and capacity.
World of Frozen is now open to all guests at Hong Kong Disneyland! Check out our World of Frozen tag for much more from this stunning new land.
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