Visitors of Disneyland Paris finally have the chance to experience Arendelle.
The World of Frozen opens on Sunday at the park’s Disney Adventure area and features an ice sculpture fountain, a Frozen Ever After ride and a walking Olaf.
The experience is based on the 2013 animated feature film about two sisters, Elsa and Anna, of Arendelle. Elsa’s (voiced by Idina Menzel) magical command over ice forces her to go into hiding. Anna (Kristen Bell) meets Kristoff and his reindeer Sven, who go in search of Elsa, and along the way, they encounter Olaf.
“Frozen” opened in 2013 and became the highest-grossing animated feature film ever. “Zootopia 2” currently holds the title. But aside from becoming a cultural phenomenon, its characters and songs quickly became beloved.
In 2018, the creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering, Michel den Dulk, started work on bringing the World of Frozen to the Parisian Disney Park. Den Dulk was no stranger to the process since he already installed “Frozen” in various iterations across the other Disney Parks, including Walt Disney World in Florida and Hong Kong Disneyland.
Here, he and creative director Roger Gould break down how they brought the World of Frozen to France.
Walking Olaf
No “Frozen” experience would be complete without Olaf, the film’s beloved snowman who loves a warm hug.
Innovation and technology are in the DNA of every Walt Disney Imagineer. Creating Olaf was a collaborative effort between the company’s research and development studio in Zurich, Switzerland and Walt Disney Imagineering HQ in Glendale, Calif.
Gould credits the advancement of imagineering in robotics for the hyper-realistic Olaf.
“It allows Olaf to be himself, to have this free-reining character who can walk around Arendelle,” he says. “It’s what you imagine. It felt so natural, and it’s an extraordinary combination of the advances in robotics that the Imagineering team is doing and this ability to really infuse him with the personality on the film.”
Helping to animate him are Hyrum Osmond and Darrell W. Johnson, who worked as animators on the film. And Olaf wouldn’t be who he is without Josh Gad voicing the character. Gad provides the voice of Olaf’s robotic character, who is part of the ride and the Arendelle celebration show.
The interactive Olaf can speak and engage in conversations, and his mannerisms and characteristics are spot on. However, he isn’t yet at the stage of giving and receiving warm hugs. That’s something in the future. Den Dulk says, “The goal is that we provide something where you can get up close to him and admire Olaf.”
The Frozen Ever After Boat Ride
Graham Uden
Frozen Ever After is a new family-friendly ride that takes visitors on a musical journey through Arendelle.
In constructing a ride for the World of Frozen, den Dulk explains that there are various components they take into consideration: What works in the parks and what guests are looking for.
The answer was the Ever After Boat Ride, which has “a bit of a thrill.” Spoiler alert! There’s a small drop backwards. Den Dulk adds, “There’s a bigger drop, and because it’s in the dark and a lot of people don’t expect the drop, it gives it a little bit of a wow moment.”
Bringing Frozen to Life
In bringing the World of Frozen to Paris, den Dulk was inspired by the animated feature’s world-building. “Wouldn’t you want to go to this grand ice palace?” he asks, referring to Elsa’s home.
However, creating ice proved challenging. Using real glass and crystals was not just expensive but also hazardous.
Den Dulk explains that with each “Frozen” project, he leaned into using different components and developing solutions. “With Elsa’s ice palace on the North Mountain on the exterior, that’s far away. We could do scenic painted tricks that make it look really beautiful.” He reveals, “Most of that is all made out of stainless steel, but we give it the illusion that it might be translucent.”
With the fountain in the middle of Arendelle village, again, it was about using different components. “The lights are slim pipes of fiber optics that are embedded in these clear crystals or ice snowflake arms.”
At nighttime, the fountain and ice palace all shine and sparkle. “That’s the exciting part of our job because we want to give people the illusion that they stepped into the kingdom of Arendelle and see and recognize things that they know and love from the film.”
Bobby and Kristen-Anderson Lopez Wrote the Music for “A Celebration of Arendelle“
“A Celebration of Arendelle” is a 15-minute show taking place on Arendelle Bay featuring all the characters riding on Viking Longships. One features Kristoff and Olaf, and another features Anna and Elsa.
The film’s songwriters and composers, Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, worked closely with Gould and the team. Gould says, “They collaborated with us on the show and crafted a whole musical journey.”
The duo who won the original song Oscar and the music for the film’s sequel, “Frozen 2,” also wrote custom lyrics for “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” and “Let it Go.”
Says Gould, “It was fun being with Josh, Bobby and Kristen. There’s just this ‘Frozen’ family that keeps getting together and expanding the world.”
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