If you’re heading to EPCOT later this month, be forewarned that one of the park’s most popular rides is going to close for a LONG-AWAITED refurbishment.
Who doesn’t love Olaf?
On January 26th, EPCOT’s mega-popular Frozen Ever After attraction is set to close for a comparatively quick refurbishment that is scheduled to make major changes to the attraction’s original animatronics.
When Frozen Ever After first debuted as the replacement for Maelstrom in 2016, the animatronic figures of Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff featured on the attraction were game-changers. They were the first Disney animatronics to be completely run on electric motors and the first to be manufactured using 3D printing techniques. However, there was one thing about their design that some took issue with: Their faces.
Frozen family!
See, instead of using traditional sculpting for their heads, the characters’ faces were projected using animation. While some liked this look, seeing it as true to the original animation, others felt the approach was very uncanny valley, giving them a “creepy” bulb-headed look.
The … unique heads only became more pronounced over the last decade as more advanced animatronics like those on the Hong Kong and Tokyo Frozen rides have combined the smooth, electronic movements of the Frozen animatronics with remarkable sculpted faces that better capture the characters in three dimensions.
©Disney Frozen Ever After Hong Kong Disneyland
In 2025, Disney announced that the Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff animatronics at EPCOT’s Frozen Ever After would be receiving upgrades similar to the highly regarded figures from the Hong Kong version, including sculpted faces that accurately capture the characters’ animated look in three dimensions.
Anna and Elsa
While Disney has not confirmed an official reopening date for the new and technologically improved Frozen Ever After quite yet, they have given a general February 2026 time for the debut of the new animatronics. Stay tuned to DFB for further updates on this and other Disney World projects.
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With a bit of luck, they will restore Norway the attraction.