It’s always a big day when Disney Parks do something new, even when that new thing is half a world of way. Frozen at Walt Disney World already has a big footprint, but World of Frozen officially opens today at Hong Kong Disneyland. The first of two new theme park lands dedicated to the biggest hit for modern Disney animation is a big deal for any fan, but it’s a really big deal for franchise writer and director Jennifer Lee, who said she fought back “literal tears” seeing the land for the first time. But with the news that not one, but two Frozen sequels are in development, Lee is already planning World of Frozen’s first expansion.
I have been lucky enough to talk to a few of the creative people who have seen their stories and characters brought to life inside Disney Parks. More than one of them has gotten emotional talking about what it meant to see their creations at Disney Parks in a physical, “real” state. Jennifer Lee had a very similar reaction, as she explained to EW, saying that she got quite emotional when she visited the home of Anna and Elsa, saying…
I think emotional is the first word I said: 'I’m so emotional.' It was that.
It seems that Arendelle is an even more personal creation for Jennifer Lee than we thought. She explained that some elements of the land exist as they do for very specific reasons, though not all of them have been revealed in the films, so seeing certain buildings that exist in World of Frozen in Hong Kong Disneyland means even more to her. She continued…
What’s amazing about the experience here is it’s completely immersive. I’m walking in Arendelle. I have [personal] stories about why there’s a clock tower in the film, and the clock tower is here. I remember how we created Wandering Oaken, and he’s here
The opening of the new World of Frozen comes alongside news that not only are we getting a Frozen 3, but Jennifer Lee is also in the (very early) stages of developing Frozen 4. Obviously, the new theme park land doesn’t include elements of th new stories, as far as we know, but Jennifer Lee appears to be planning for World of Frozen’s inevitable expansion, saying…
I think beyond, because I hear there's more room, because I'm like, 'You're going to need it,’ There's a lot more story coming.
There isn’t an official Phase 2 planned for World of Frozen, at least not one that’s been made public, though a second version of the land is coming to Disneyland Paris, you can be sure Walt Disney Imagineering will be keeping an eye on what Jennifer Lee and company do with Frozen and there’s a good chance that parts of it will make way to at least one of Disney’s theme parks around the world.
