If your favorite attraction at Disney World's EPCOT Center is the Norwegian-themed boat ride Maelstrom, you have until Oct. 5 to ride it as many times as possible before it shuts down forever.
Not even an army of Vikings can save the Maelstrom now, as Disney plans on replacing it with a Frozen-themed attraction, set to debut in 2016. Maelstrom opened in the World Showcase in 1988, and is filled with polar bears, waterfalls, and trolls. Fans enjoyed it because it didn't feature made-up characters and actually showcased the culture of Norway. Many of them are turning to Twitter to voice their anger about the closure (rallying around the hashtag #savemaelstrom).
Robert Niles, editor of ThemeParkInsider.com, told Today.com that their passion just isn't enough. "It had some nice elements but it was never an attraction in terms of actually 'attracting' people," he said. "No one ever booked a trip to Disney World just to ride Maelstrom."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Niles obviously has never met Alexandra Tighe, a 26-year-old super fan from Boston who visits EPCOT once a year. "To me, the World Showcase at EPCOT is exactly that: a showcase of the world, not of Disney films or the fairytale princesses that crowd up the other parks," she said. "The fact that [Disney] is ridding the World Showcase of its true meaning is heartbreaking."
Despite the pleas of passionate fans, Disney knows that having a Frozen ride will bring in even more throngs of people; right now, lines for meet-and-greets with Anna and Elsa can last up to four hours, and merchandise flies off the shelves. It's a proven money maker, so until the trolls come out with a movie that brings in more than $1 billion in ticket sales, it looks like Frozen will come out on top.
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate brandingIn the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
