Five Things to Know About A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration

For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration is a combination of live action storytelling and video scenes from the first Frozen film. It’s fun for all ages, especially fans of the Frozen franchise! To learn more, read on. Or if you prefer to slide on over to the nuts and bolts, here’s your shortcut.

1. It’s OK if you didn’t see the movie.

For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration lasts 25 minutes, but for fans of the franchise, it goes by too quickly. The premise is actually kind of sweet. The Royal Historians of Arendelle, Erik and Aria, are portrayed by live actors on stage. They retell the story of the first Frozen film, adding in some comedy bits, wordplay, and even a little bit of audience interaction. They provide continuity and bring those who haven’t seen the film up to speed. For my money, these performers make the show! Their banter is hilarious!

2. You can sing along!

Interspersed with the narrative and spiel are video highlights from the first animated feature, projected on a drive-in-size screen in the background. Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff appear live on stage, and the show climaxes with a surprise in-theater “snowstorm.”

And you might have guessed this from the name, but throughout the presentation, you’ll have the chance to sing along with your favorite songs (you’ll be humming them the rest of the day).

3. There’s some fixer-upper in the history.

The theater was originally named the Super Star Television Theater and hosted the SuperStar Television attraction which ran  from May 1989 to September 1998. Doug Live! replaced SuperStar Television from 1999-2001; the theater’s name was changed to ABC-TV Theater. The theater was not used for any attraction from 2001-2008!

The American Idol Experience opened in February 2009, with the theater returning to the name Super Star Television Theater. This attraction re-created the American Idol workflow, where guests could audition to perform on stage and have the audience vote for their favorite. It was initially very popular, but it required a significant time commitment and over time attendance dwindled. It closed in August 2014.

Enter the Frozen Sing-Along Celebration. The show originally debuted at the Premiere Theater on July 5, 2014, in the Streets of America section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios as part of the Frozen Summer Fun LIVE event. It was intended to be a temporary performance that would end when the event itself concluded. But warm hugs and corny banter are popular, and the show was so well-received that it took up permanent residence in the newly renamed Hyperion Theater on June 17, 2015.

4. A Few Frozen Fun Facts.

⭐ During the holiday season, in addition to Anna, Elsa and Kristoff, Olaf also makes an appearance in the special five-minute holiday segment that’s added to the show. In this portion, the cast joins in singing “That Time of Year” from the 2017 “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure.”

⭐ Other versions of the show have been performed at Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Disney California Adventure. The only other Disney Park with performances currently is Shanghai Disneyland.

⭐ During “In Summer,” random audience members may randomly finish the unspoken end to this line that Olaf sings: “Winter’s a good time to stay in and cuddle, put me in summer and I’ll be a…” At that point, someone may yell out “puddle!”, which causes the Historians to react from the stage. Not that we encourage that behavior…

⭐ At one point, I have read that if you sat close to the stage, you might get a little paper confetti “snow” that drops along with the bubble snow during the finale. Scrapbookers in particular were eager to grab some. I cannot attest to whether this still happens, so if you know about it, please leave us a comment!

5. The Nuts and Bolts.

For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration is performed in the Hyperion Theater. Located between Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Indiana Jone Epic Stunt Spectacular! it’s in the Echo Lake Area of Disney’ Hollywood Studios. The queue area is open with a large covered area, but if you’re near the tail end of the crowd you’ll be exposed to the elements. There are about 10 shows a day, and the runtime is about 25 minutes.

The 1000-seat theater (it’s one of the largest at Disney World) offers comfortable seating with padded backs and armrests. There is no minimum height, and guests may remain in Wheelchair/ECV. So that everyone may enjoy the show, Video Captioning. Handheld Captioning, and Assistive Listening are available.

Frozen Sing-Along Celebration doesn’t run during Early Theme Park Entry or Extended Evening Theme Park Hours. You can secure Lightning Lane entry via Genie+, but given the theater’s capacity, you don’t really need to. Even if you arrive late, there are few bad seats in this house.

The Bottom Line.

If you’ve got a Frozen Fanatic™ in your family, this is probably a can’t miss attraction. Otherwise, we like the show and think it can be a worthwhile addition to your touring plan, especially on a second day at Hollywood Studios. The actors portraying the Arendelle Historians really make the performance come alive. It’s also a hoot to watch the audience really get into belting out “Let it Go!” at the top of their lungs. If you’re a fan of the movie – and even if you’re not – you’ll enjoy the show’s spirit and the energy that’s generated by a theater full of enraptured kids. (Count my grandkids among them when we attended a recent performance.)

Have you been to the sing-along? What was your favorite part? Let us know in the comments.