How much Frozen is too much Frozen?

There is always a lot of talk about the latest hype item and its place (or normally lack of it) in Disneyland Paris. In November 2013, Disneyland Paris updated its parade to include characters from the film Frozen. At this time, these characters were dubbed as being from ‘the upcoming film’. Here we are three years on and the Frozen characters have created a polemic. So how much Frozen is too much?

What is there at Disneyland Paris?

Since November 2013, the Frozen sisters have enjoyed their time on Disney Magic on Parade daily. The section of the parade consists of half a float decorated in a Frozen landscape with a small Olaf waving to his fans. This float replaced The Little Mermaid section of the parade.

During the Christmas season Disney Dreams! becomes Disney Dreams! of Christmas which has a very heavy Frozen plotline. Olaf hosts the show which features multiple numbers from the film’s soundtrack. The show is widely regarded as a lesser version of the main Disney Dreams! show, but still delights guests and sets a wonderful Christmas tone to end a magical park day.

Olaf during Disney Dreams! of Christmas

Merchandise. Lots of it. Frozen is the hit film of the moment, guests love it and it still makes a fortune in merchandise sales. It only makes sense that Disneyland Paris follows up on this. The merchandise is mostly targeted at the child audience and there is very little in the way of adult merchandise.

So what about Frozen Summer Fun?

In 2015 Disneyland Paris debuted a new season based on the film. Frozen Summer Fun could really be described more as a ‘mini-season’ than a full-scale season in the same vein as Spring, Halloween or Christmas but manages to pack in various fun elements that makes it a joy to take part in.

Elsa in Frozen Sing along
Elsa in Frozen Sing along

Frozen Sing-along, which also takes place as part of Disney’s Enchanted Christmas, is a fun show that takes place in both English and French. It’s not a show on the same scale as Mickey and the Magician and so it would be unfair to judge it using the same criteria. What it does is done very well and provides a really fun 30 minutes with the film’s characters and songs.

There are also opportunities to see the characters in a carriage ride and in Disney Dreams! with the inclusion of the hit song Let it go!

So is this too much Frozen?

Put simply. No.

Frozen is the franchise that makes Disney a stack of cash for the moment. Will it always be this way? Probably, the success seems to have sustained so far and will only increase with the sequel in a few years time. It is realistic to say that Frozen will remain popular for years to come.

Frozen Summer Fun will not be back next year, but what can Disneyland Paris do to create a real presence for Anna and Elsa?

Boosting the Frozen presence

Anna and Elsa need to be characters that guests can meet. Disneyland Paris tried this during the 2014 Christmas season and it simply didn’t work – or rather it did but Disneyland Paris refuse to admit to this as the princesses gained such long queues they were deemed to be too popular.

Anna in Disney Magic on Parade

So how do we control this? Anna and Elsa need to be placed inside the Auberge de Cendrillon and you would have a guaranteed sell out for each and every sitting. Ideally, a Frozen ride would be a fantastic addition, but I would also very much like to see a musical much like the one that has recently debuted in Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.

When does it get too much?

This is the million dollar question. A question that has no answer. When Toy Story is considered, we seem rather ambivalent towards it. Recently, a new Toy Story puppet show debuted in The Lucky Nugget Saloon and we didn’t say ‘Woah, too much now’ despite the fact it has 4 rides, a land, a restaurant (technically, even though it is pretty much closed down), numerous meet and greets, a large merchandise line and parade inclusion.

There’s no such thing as too much as long as the execution is right, the characters are good and it’s not too much in your face. So let’s look forward to more Frozen in the parks. And as soon as possible – please?

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