After a decade of guest requests, Frozen Ever After at EPCOT is set to receive updated Audio-Animatronics of Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff, modeled after the newer figures introduced at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2023.
Disney has announced that the new Audio-Animatronics figures of Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff in Frozen Ever After at EPCOT will debut in February 2026. The ride will be closed beginning on January 26, 2026. January 25 will be the last day guests will see the animatronics’ projection faces.
When Frozen Ever After replaced Maelstrom in 2016 in the Norway pavilion at EPCOT, the projection or “screen-face” figures were groundbreaking as it was the first Disney attraction ever to have all-electric Audio-Animatronics, and the first to combine electric motors and 3D printing. Since then, these techniques have become standard implementations.
Since Elsa is known for her magical, ice-forming hand gestures, her Audio-Animatronics figure had to handle the fluid movements just like the character does on screen. Imagineers needed enough space to run cables and motors down her arms and hands, so they figured out how big Elsa’s wrist needed to be and scaled everything else in the attraction to match.
In 2023, World of Frozen opened at Hong Kong Disneyland, featuring many technical updates for the Frozen Ever After boat ride. Among those updates were impressive Audio-Animatronics figures of Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff with articulated, physical faces. The immediate feedback from Disney fans was strong: bring these figures to Walt Disney World. Well, it appears Disney has listened.
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