Is there a film in Norway?

Walt Disney World Attractions
1

I think there was a movie about Norway at the exit of Maelstrom. Is that movie still there at the end of FEA?

2

No. According to WDWMagic.com article about FEA, “A brand new inside queue area makes use of the old movie theater from the Maelstrom.”

3

Thanks. So, there’s really nothing left in “Norway” about Norway. That’s a shame. Now it’s all about a fictional town loosely based on Norway.

4

The movie that was there was quaint but woefully outdated. It was easily 30 years old. There was a part that showcased Norway’s technology and the computers were circa 1970s.

The fact is, the country of Norway had no interest, for a very long time, in investing further in the pavilion. Disney’s duty to inject some new interest in the pavilion has led to the Frozen overhaul. Since Epcot has always had the bad reputation of being “boring” and “not kid-friendly”, at least this attraction will get the younger ones more excited to visit. That will be a welcome change for many parents.

I’m not shilling for Disney, but that pavilion was stagnant for ages. I’m looking forward to seeing the updates.

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5

The stave church is still there, and now reopened. Plus the restaurants, architecture, and decor. To me, that counts for something.

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6

I mourn Norway, but it needed an update. We’re not a Frozen family, but as long as the schoolbread is still available, I’ll be happy!

7

I really don’t agree with the decision Disney went with here. if they wanted to open up a Frozen attraction, all the power to them…however, I would’ve kept it out of EPCOT. To me, EPCOT should been kept grounded in reality.

Now if Disney wanted to create a whole new park where you can visit the various “lands” from their movies (more indepth than what you see in Fantasyland)…I would love that. Like expand on what they did with the Cars land out in DL.

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8

All of the architecture is Norwegian in style, the shops still have “some” authentic Norwegian items, and Kringla still sells Norwegian goodies. 3/4 of the lands in in WS offer little more than this. To me, losing a mediocre ride (and having it replaced by a much better one) is much less of a tragedy than losing a very good restaurant and having it replaced by a money-grabbing, mass feeding, Princess stable.

9

We are Norwegians, living in Norway, and I have to say that watching the film in the Norway pavillion in 2008 is the single most embarrassing moment of my life. It was just awful. My DH and I were in shock. It was so outdated, and I panicked to think that people actually thought this film showed modern life in Norway. We have not been to the Norway pavillion since that shock.

We have tried to find out why the film wasn’t replaced with an updated film. The only explanation we heard was that the Norwegian Tourist Board had decided against financing an updated film because their research showed that people who go to Disney are not very likely to be persuaded to visit the WS countries based on their Word Showcase experience. (their respondents said they prefered the Disney experience to the real deal - mainly for financial reasons, which is very understandable).

This year we are very curious to see the new attractions in the Norway pavillion! We are not die-hard Frozen fans (my nickname here is meant to be taken literally - it IS cold here in Norway). From the pictures I have seen, it looks like the Disney Imagineers have done a wonderful job with the Royal Summerhus (btw it is called “hus” in Norwegian - not “haus”, which many bloggers call it). The Imagineers truly have a great eye for details!

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10

I really don’t understand why Disney hasn’t updated MANY films throughout Epcot. I mean, Ellen’s Energy Adventure is crazy old too, for instance. These films should never be allowed to exist for more than 5 years, IMO.

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11

I think it’s all a matter of sponsorship. If a sponsor wants to pay for it, DIS will produce a new version. If they don’t, the film stays the same and often ages a little less than gracefully.

12

Of course. But I wonder why Disney is OK with such old material. Even if they have to pay for it themselves, they should update it just to keep the attractions fresh & relevant. On the other hand, they keep raising prices without updating many things, and people keep coming in droves. So, from a business standpoint, I guess they don’t need to update anything. I was surprised to hear the new Soarin’ Around the World film has the same “pre-flight” movie with Patrick Warburton as Soarin’ Over California. Why update one without the other? I would like to know who made that call and why!

13

‘Course one of my favorite things about Soarin’ was “Putty” doing the flight intro. I was worried it was going away - I could see updating it, but was hoping Patrick would still be doing it if they did. I’m not sure the intro film is really dated though, is it?

WDW is currently putting huge $ into the other parks with AK getting the night time festivities plus Pandora and HS with Star Wars & Toy Story Lands which somewhat explains Epcot’s neglect. One would presume Epcot has “next” on the huge refurbs/redesigns and it should be interesting exactly what changes.

But I think you hit the nail on the head with the business aspects - sales are good, demand is high, so why invest big $ on freshening up a movie if there’s no fiscal payoff?

14

I certainly agree with updating information on “feature” film attractions. But nothing about the mechanics of Soarin’ has changed, so there really wasn’t a reason to do a new pre-ride brief. And the original DOES have a nostalgia aspect to it…

15

Yeah…the original pre-boarding spiel never mentioned anything about the original Soarin’ other than the seat belt and the fact you would become airborne. So it actually still fits in with the current theme. I think most of us agree we’d rather them re-use this than eliminate it completely or replace it with some boring spiel like they’ve done before. I do wish they could re-record it again with Patrick and have him make mention to the fact you’ll be traveling around the world.

16

It would make logical sense. MK got a new Fantasyland. AK getting Pandora. HS getting two new lands (Toy Story & Star Wars). Epcot did get a Norway & Soarin’ makeover, but that’s very localized and not a huge innovation. Hell, they still have multiple empty buildings, abandoned by sponsors and yet to be replaced with anything. So, yeah, you’d hope Epcot will be next.

17

Let me put your mind at ease…no one thought that film was contemporary!

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18

I wasn’t following Disney very closely when Akershus became a character meal, but was there outrage at the non-Norwegian princesses invading the table service restaurant when that happened? How about when the distinctly American Donald Duck and his friends (one of whom is Brazilian) took over the Mexican boat ride? I know it’s popular to last out against something after it becomes popular, but characters in a World Showcase pavilion where they don’t quite fit isn’t exactly unprecedented.

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19

Adding characters into existing authentic lands is one thing (DD into Mexico). Creating a land that is based on fiction is another. (Arendale in Norway).

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20

Adding the characters and changing the whole spirit of the boat ride in Mexico most assuredly DID cause a big stir on the various forums. The denigration of Akershus happened before I really started to follow things closely - but I’m sure it DID cause a stir.