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    Maelstrom

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This attraction's final day of operation was October 5, 2014.
The information below is provided for historical reference.

Description And Comments

On September 12, 2014, Disney announced that Maelstrom will be replaced by a Frozen-themed attraction.

In one of Disney World's shorter water rides, guests board dragon-headed ships for a voyage through the fabled rivers and seas of Viking history and legend. They brave trolls, rocky gorges, waterfalls, and a storm at sea. A second-generation Disney water ride, the Viking voyage assembles an impressive array of special effects, combining visual, tactile, and auditory stimuli in a fast-paced and often humorous odyssey. Afterward, guests see a 5-minute film on Norway. We don't have any major problems with Maelstrom, but a vocal minority of our readers consider the ride too brief.

Touring Tips

Sometimes, several hundred guests from a recently concluded screening of Reflections of China arrive at Maelstrom en masse. Should you encounter this horde, postpone Maelstrom. If you don't want to see the Norway film, not to worry. You will be given the opportunity to exit before the film begins. If you're spending the day at Epcot, try to get a FastPass+ reservation at Maelstrom around 2 p.m.

Attraction Photos

Special Comments

Animatronic polar bears may frighten a few small children.

Special Needs

Disney Dish with Jim Hill
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THINK OF THE SOUVENIR TOWELS WE COULD HAVE SOLD

If the Imagineers had gotten their way back in 1988, every guest would have been issued a rain slicker when they boarded Maelstrom. The boat would have tried to cross the “North Sea” in the middle of a fierce “storm,” with pouring rain and huge waves of artificially churned seawater crashing over the side of the boat. Disney’s lawyers put the kibosh on the fierceness of the storm.

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