“Frozen” World Opens at Disneyland Paris: How the Walt Disney Design Team Brought Olaf and Elsa’s Ice Palace to Life
According to the CinemaDrame News Agency, the world of Frozen has opened at Disneyland Paris, giving visitors the long-awaited chance to experience Arendelle firsthand.
Frozen World officially opened on Sunday in the Disney Adventure section of the park and features an ice fountain sculpture, the Frozen Ever After ride, and a life-sized animatronic Olaf.
This experience is based on the 2013 animated film about two sisters, Elsa and Anna, from Arendelle. Elsa’s magical powers (voiced by Idina Menzel) force her into hiding, while Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) teams up with Kristoff and his reindeer Sven to find her, encountering Olaf along the way.
The film Frozen, released in 2013, became the highest-grossing animated film of its time, though Zootopia 2 now holds that record. Its characters and songs quickly became cultural phenomena.
In 2018, Michel den Dulk, creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering, began work on bringing the world of Frozen to Disneyland Paris. He had previously installed various Frozen attractions at other Disney parks, including Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Hong Kong.
Animatronic Olaf
No Frozen experience is complete without Olaf, the beloved snowman who loves warm hugs.
Technology and innovation are at the core of every Walt Disney Imagineering team member. Olaf was developed through collaboration between Disney’s R&D studio in Zurich, Switzerland, and the Walt Disney Imagineering headquarters in Glendale, California.
Roger Gould credits advances in robotics for making Olaf feel real:
“It allows Olaf to be himself and freely roam Arendelle. It looks natural, and it’s an amazing combination of robotics and the ability to inject the character’s film personality into him.”
Film animators Hyrum Osmond and Darrell W. Johnson assisted in animating Olaf. His voice is provided by Josh Gad, bringing the robotic Olaf to life during his journey and the Arendelle celebration show.
The interactive Olaf can speak, engage in conversation, and behaves exactly like the character in the film, although he does not yet give warm hugs—a feature den Dulk promises in the future.
Frozen Ever After Ride
This new family ride takes visitors on a musical journey through Arendelle.
In designing the ride, den Dulk considered factors such as park compatibility and guest expectations. The result is the Ever After boat ride, which features a mild thrill and a small backward drop that surprises and delights many visitors.
Creating Elsa’s Ice Palace
To bring Frozen to Paris, den Dulk drew inspiration from the film’s world-building: “Who wouldn’t want to go to this massive ice palace?”
Creating real ice presented challenges. Using glass and actual crystal was expensive and hazardous. Most elements are made of stainless steel, designed to appear transparent.
The fountain at the center of Arendelle village incorporates fiber optic lighting tubes embedded in crystals and snowflake branches. At night, the entire fountain and ice palace glow, evoking the magic of the film for visitors.
“A Celebration of Arendelle” Music Show
A Celebration of Arendelle is a 15-minute performance in Arendelle Bay, featuring all the main characters on Viking ships. Some ships include Kristoff and Olaf, while others feature Anna and Elsa.
The film’s songwriters and composers, Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, worked closely with Josh Gould and the Imagineering team to produce the show’s music. They wrote custom lyrics for Do You Want to Build a Snowman? and Let It Go.
Gould says, “Working with Josh, Bobby, and Kristen was a lot of fun. The Frozen family continues to come together and expand its world.”
