Frozen Ever After at EPCOT has reopened after a short closure but a major update. The ride has been closed since January 26 to primarily give the animatronics of Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff physical faces instead of projected ones.
Frozen Ever After Reopens
Frozen Ever After opened at EPCOT in 2016, replacing Maelstrom in the Norway pavilion. The human characters had projected faces, a technological feat for the time, but it didn’t always look (or work) great.
In 2023, World of Frozen opened at Hong Kong Disneyland with its own Frozen Ever After featuring technical updates like new Audio-Animatronics with articulated, physical faces. Disney announced last year that the physical faces would come to the EPCOT version of the ride next.
After Disney shared a first look at the updated animatronics, we got to see them in-person. The change applies to all of the human figures. These include Anna and Kristoff in the “For the First Time in Forever” scene, Elsa in her Ice Palace, and Anna and Elsa at the end of the ride.
Though the bodies weren’t replaced, they were updated to have more refined movements. The heads are all brand-new and feature silicone skin. The costumes also appear to be refreshed.
The refurbishment also included updates to the show control system, set touch-ups, and refreshed show lighting. The lighting is particularly noticeable.
Scenes with the projected faces had to be darker so the images would show up better. Without the projections, Disney could make these scenes brighter.
All of the Olaf and Sven figures already had articulated faces, except for projected eyes, which remain. The trolls near the beginning of the ride also still have partially projected faces.
Watch our video of the updated Frozen Ever After at EPCOT:
Here is our previous Frozen Ever After POV video for comparison.
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The post PHOTOS, VIDEO: Frozen Ever After Reopens With New Audio-Animatronic Faces & More Updates appeared first on WDW News Today.
