#SaveMaelstrom
Today change is defined as “to take or use another instead”. Although change happens every day, some people take change better than others. At Walt Disney World and the other Disney parks, change is expected to happen over time. When the parks were planned out, Walt Disney’s vision was that they would never stop growing and changing so that they would keep getting better.
With most of the changes that Walt Disney World makes to their parks, there is usually positive feedback. In September of 2014 one major change to Walt Disney World caused uproar on the Internet. Petitions were circulated, social media hashtags were made, and emails and letters were written to the company all trying to undo a change that had been announced.
Image: Orlando Informer
On September 12, 2014 a blog post was made on the official Disney Parks blog announcing the closure of Norway’s attraction, Maelstrom, to be replaced with a Frozen attraction by 2016. The ride was to be closed permanently October 6, 2014, less than one month after the announcement. Many Disney fans were upset that Arendelle, a fictional country, was replacing Norway, a real country. Like with the closures of other popular attractions in Walt Disney World, some people were not ready to see Maelstrom gone for good. As the blog post started to get shared over different social media platforms, everyone was giving their opinion on the matter.
Although the original news was posted on a blog, it was quickly shared to Facebook and Tumblr. Discussions broke out on various Disney fan Facebook posts about concerns with this change. Over 100,000 shares and comments took place on Disney’s official Facebook update. Someone created a Save Maelstrom Facebook page with over 550 likes. On Tumblr, users posted blog entries and photos of their thoughts on the matter. On Instagram people were sharing their favorite moments and childhood photos standing by Maelstrom. Over 1,200 photos have been posted to Instagram under #SaveMaelstrom. Discussion videos and parodies about the ride closure began to pop up on YouTube.
Out of all the social media platforms, Twitter received the most impact from the news. When the Disney news made its way to Twitter a @SaveMaelstrom handle was formed. Thousands of tweets began to flood the platform and the hashtag “#SaveMaelstrom” was born. Top trending words on Twitter on September 12, 2014 included “Norway”, “Epcot”, “Disney”, “Frozen”, and “Maelstrom”.
We’re not going down without a fight! #SaveMaelstrom pic.twitter.com/IagY8AGt6X
— Disney Parks Memes (@DisParksMemes) September 13, 2014
While the social media response to the change was significant, fans took things a step further. Petitions began to circulate, letters and emails were written to Disney Executives asking them to reconsider, and some fans even began to plan a quick trip to Disney to try to ride the attraction one last time.
As October 5, 2014 drew closer and closer the fans became nervous that there was nothing left they could do. During Maelstrom’s last few days open the attraction traffic has significantly increased. Another hashtag #OneLastRide was created and t-shirts were made to support the #SaveMaelstrom cause. On October 5, 2014 Maelstrom’s line wait time sky rocketed from its normal 20 minute wait to a 130 minute wait! Everyone wanted the honor of being on Maelstrom’s very last boat ride. When the last boat ride took place at around 9:00 PM, the fans were refusing to leave the Norway Pavillion.
Image: disneyattractions
Despite all of the feedback on this major change to Epcot’s World Showcase, Walt Disney World’s representatives remained quiet. Although they did respond to a few of the emails sent by concerned fans. In their responses they would thank the fans for their support of the attraction, but explained that it would be closing because Walt Disney World is supposed to continuously change to keep getting better.
The biggest response by Disney to the upset about the attraction closure was when the ride boats from the attraction were immediately loaded onto trucks the morning after the Maelstrom closed. This action was Disney’s way of letting everyone know that they would be going through with the closure.
One thing that Epcot’s World Showcase did to respond to the closure of Norway’s Maelstrom takes place in Epcot’s Mexico pavilion. If a guest visits La Cava del Tequila in the Mexico pavilion they can order a Maelstrom Margarita. The special margarita was released two days after the Maelstrom closure and will be available as long as people request it. (I’d say it was requested pretty often though because it’s a part of the menu now!)
Image: @disneyfied_ash
Despite my personal beliefs about if Arendelle belongs in Epcot or not, I can’t deny that Walt Disney World played their cards right when it came to this controversial attraction change. They knew that whether the ride closed or not, people would still come back to Epcot. They also knew that a new and popular attraction like Frozen would cause even more traffic than what the current attraction had.
Image: BlogMickey
All in all the closure of Maelstrom did the park and the attraction a lot more good than people realize. During Maelstrom’s last twenty-three days it was open, the attraction received more traffic than it had seen in YEARS. Even after the closure of the ride and during construction of Frozen Ever After, guests would make an effort to go visit the Norway pavilion and take a photo outside of the building where Maelstrom used to be. Although Maelstrom is gone for good, the spirit of Norway lives on in the fans that keep it alive.
