Frozen Taking Over Disney California Adventure

Whether, you love it, hate it, or love to hate it, Frozen is here to stay. And, as it's one of the highest grossing films of all time, you can expect Disney to capitalize on it as long as they possibly can. So, it should come as no surprise that they have brought the child-favorite to the California parks. Anna, Elsa, and Olaf have been added to the Disneyland parades and many of the shops now have Frozen sections. In Downtown Disney, Olaf has an ice rink (during the holidays), and Anna and Elsa have a new boutique. But, the true changes have occurred in Disney California Adventure, where Frozen Fun now reigns supreme.

The first Frozen Fun offering is For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration. This is, in my opinion, the best they have to offer. It's a 30-minute show that summarizes the movie and features clips of the sing-along version of the film and appearances from special guests. It is located in the theater Muppet Vision 3D was formerly held in, and some of the "4D" effects from the Muppets have been transitioned into the new Frozen show. Though the change was reported by Disney to be a temporary one, from what I can tell, this appears to be a permanent, or at least a long-term transformation. All traces of the Muppets are gone from the theater, and the Muppets Studio Store is now Wandering Oaken's Trading Post.

The second Frozen Fun offering is Olaf's Snow Fest! Here you can do a meet and greet with Olaf, get some Frozen-inspired treats, and play in an indoor snow play area, complete with a sledding hill. (It's snow, but photographs rather terribly because of the purple-pink lighting.)

Over in the Animation building, Frozen Fun has caused some major alterations. Two scenes from Frozen were added to the lineup in the main hall. So, if you haven't heard "Let it Go" enough, you're in luck. In Animation Academy, you can only learn to draw snowmen now. Happily, Marshmallow is an option, so it's more than just Olaf. But, I can't say I'm not sad to see the other options gone. I never saw the Animation Academy at full capacity, but I believe this is due to lack of advertising. Few people I've been with even knew what the building had to offer and were always pleasantly surprised.

Frozen Fun caused two other losses as well. In the Sorcerer's Workshop, Ursula's Grotto is now unavailable. When you go to the Workshop now, instead of coming out through the Grotto, you must turn back in Beast's Library and go back out the entrance. Ursula's Grotto has been turned into Anna and Elsa's Meet and Greet in the Character Closeup area. The Anna and Elsa meet and greet also caused the biggest loss, in my opinion, that of the Toy Story Zoetrope. The Zoetrope was one of the true gems in all of Disneyland, and I hold out hope that it can someday soon find a new home, possibly over by Midway Mania or by Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters.

The final Frozen Fun offering is the change from Mad T-Party to Freeze the Night. This nighttime-only offering has been one that few seemed to know about, or appreciate, but those who did, truly loved it. It started with elecTRONica after Tron: Legacy was released. I believe the first iteration was the best, but Mad T-Party's live music is truly a great loss. I will definitely miss Alice and the Mad Hatters. Freeze the Night uses most of the same decorations the T-Party did, though they're mostly white now.  They have live ice-carving demonstrations, which are kind of interesting, and adult beverages that light up. But, the deejayed music is top-forty, and really rather disappointing.

Frozen Fun has some really great stuff, but other than the Sing-Along and Snow, I can't say they're really improvements. And, for those of us who like Frozen, but don't think it's the best movie they have to offer, the things we lost are hard to overcome. Plus, there is a shocking lack of Kristoff and Sven.