Frozen is Disney’s most valuable franchise according to CEO Bob Iger. That’s hardly hot off the presses news. Since becoming an overnight smash success a decade ago, the movies and characters have taken the world by storm. Disney is all-in on more Frozen, and for good reason; the original remains one of the top 10 most-streamed movies to this day.
For its part, Imagineering has been gradually adding Frozen to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and the international parks. It started with the most popular meet & greets ever, continued with stage shows and seasonal events, and more. Pretty much any new montage entertainment offering is guaranteed to have a Frozen presence.
Then came Frozen Ever After in the Norway pavilion of EPCOT’s World Showcase a few years later. That reimagined ride marked the first standalone Frozen attraction, replacing the cult favorite Maelstrom. The boat ride went from one of EPCOT’s shortest lines, an almost perpetual walk-on, to one of its longest. And that really opened up the gates…
Since Frozen Ever After, the company has gone even bigger on Frozen in its theme parks. The World of Frozen debuted at Hong Kong Disneyland, and another very similar Arendelle area is slated to open in the Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris in Spring 2026. On top of that, the biggest new theme park land ever, Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea, contains its own version of the new land.
But wait, there’s more! (Probably.) During the opening event for World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland, Bob Iger spoke with even more exuberance about Frozen. He teased that not only is Frozen 3 in development, but also, Frozen 4. Along with that, he suggested that Arendelle is ripe for even more theme park lands, as setting is “just fantastic” and translates wonderfully to the parks.
“I think the thing that is great about it is you actually feel like you’re in the place that the movie took place in and it just gives you this powerful sense of story that I think people have grown to love over the last decade,” Iger said. This didn’t completely come out of the blue. Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro had previously called Frozen an “untapped story” that “could have a presence at the Disneyland Resort.” (If Frozen is an untapped story, I’d love to see what a tapped one looks like!)
Point being, another World of Frozen is probably coming to Disneyland in California and, who knows, maybe Shanghai Disneyland someday. Should the next two sequels perform well enough, I wouldn’t even put it past them to try and add more Frozen to Walt Disney World.
But that’s not the purpose of this post. Rather, it’s to travel way back in time to April 2015, when the world’s first Frozen land was announced. Before being quietly cancelled only a couple of years later. Here’s what transpired…
Back in Spring 2015, the Oriental Land Company (owners and operators of Tokyo Disney Resort) shared that company’s aggressive 10-year plan to spend 500 billion yen on its two existing theme parks, including a Scandinavia port-of-call on an expansion pad in Tokyo DisneySea.
This was announced alongside expansion to Tokyo Disneyland, including a New Fantasyland with Alice in Wonderland and Beauty and the Beast areas, plus a relocated “it’s a small world” and more. Some of this happened; most did not. The plans changed, as often happens with 10-year plans.
What’s most interesting about these particular changes is that they were true evolutions. OLC opted to go bigger, at least with the Tokyo DisneySea expansion, spend even more, and use a larger plot of land between the two parks.
Instead of a fully-fledged Frozen land, a mini-version of this area called Frozen Kingdom (concept art above) is incorporated into Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea, which is the larger Frozen, Tangled, and Peter Pan expansion of the park.
While I’m pretty confident this is a case where change truly meant evolution (in the positive sense of the term), I still wonder what might’ve been. During a visit to Walt Disney Imagineering, I was surprised to stumble upon a model for the unbuilt Frozen port-of-call at Tokyo DisneySea. Even more surprising was that it was located in one of the few years of the campus where photos were allowed. So let’s take a look!
Let’s start with a little orientation for those who are unfamiliar with Tokyo DisneySea.
This Frozen Land was slated for a different, smaller expansion pad that was earmarked than where Fantasy Springs was built. This was to be between Lost River Delta and Port Discovery on a still-vacant plot of land.
The blank building at bottom of the image is the Nemo & Friends SeaRider attraction (StormRider at the time) in Port Discovery. To the right and up a bit is the Hangar Stage, where stage shows are (were?) presented. Across the bridge from that in the upper right corner is Indiana Jones Adventure. To the left of the model is the monorail track and Tokyo Bay.
The model indicates the Frozen land was called “Nordic Kingdom.” To the best of my recollection, that name was never publicly released and could’ve changed until that announcement. But regardless, the expectation always was that this was a version of the unbuilt Glacier Bay port-of-call, and not a strictly Frozen land. We called it the Scandinavia port.
Nordic Kingdom would have featured Arendelle castle and village on the left, with a mountain, waterfall, and woods to the right. It was expected to feature multiple attractions, restaurants, and retail. It would’ve been the eighth port at Tokyo DisneySea.
Where everything would’ve been located is difficult to say.
Frozen Kingdom in Fantasy Springs is probably at least somewhat instructive. That area of the port features Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey; a boat ride that’s approximately 6.5 minutes long and is not an upgraded clone of Frozen Ever After. Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey is one of Disney’s best dark rides ever.
Royal Banquet of Arendelle restaurant is located in Arendelle Castle; it’s a large-scale counter service restaurant that reminds us of Be Our Guest Restaurant in Magic Kingdom. There’s also Oaken’s OK Foods, which is a small snack spot run by Oaken.
The Royal Banquet of Arendelle counter service restaurant and Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey more or less match up with the model. That’s not to say these were the exact concepts for Nordic Kingdom–things have a way of evolving and changing over multiple years.
Just that the Nordic Kingdom model looks like its Arendelle Castle is the right size for a restaurant but not a ride, and there’s a large show building hiding behind the North Mountain rockwork and spanning all the way behind the village. That’s large enough for one E-Ticket, or possibly two smaller-scale attractions.
If you look closely at the model, there are potential attraction entry and exit points all over the place. The only “problem” in identifying them is that Tokyo DisneySea is known for detail, pathways to explore, and quiet corners–so some of the spots that could be entrance/exit corridors could also be nothing at all. (Some seem too narrow for a blockbuster land addition.)
The village undoubtedly would’ve housed a lot of retail, dining, and other facilities, but some of this is likely detail for detail’s sake. This whole area looks to me like Cape Cod on steroids, which is very high praise. Perhaps they would’ve invented a Nordic Duffy to live in this land.
This is one of the biggest misfires of Fantasy Springs; there are a handful of similar facades in the Arendelle area, but they’re nothing at all (aside from restrooms). One of the compromises in doing a 3-in-1 port was that each franchise doesn’t get the same breathing room. This is one way World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland is better, and we wouldn’t be surprised if some of these abandoned concepts found new life there.
Across from the bulk of the Nordic Kingdom, there would be another station added for the DisneySea Electric Railway inside a stave church looking building.
This already connects American Waterfront to Port Discovery, so extending the track a bit farther and adding another station at Nordic Kingdom would’ve made perfect sense and been yet another lovely addition to the park’s portfolio of transportation rides. Out of everything that could have been, missing out on this is honestly the biggest bummer for me. That, and the Cape Cod-esque village area.
However, I’m not all that bummed about losing any of this. I’m pretty confident the substance of the land itself will be surpassed by Fantasy Springs. I’m also optimistic that, whenever this expansion pad is developed, it gets the same Electric Railway extension. That was not dependent upon the Nordic Kingdom concept.
Ultimately, we’re really looking forward to finally stepping foot in Fantasy Springs and experiencing Frozen Kingdom, as well as the Peter Pan and Tangled areas of the port-of-call. While I do wonder what could’ve been with Nordic Kingdom, I’m fairly confident the core elements lived on as this evolved into World of Frozen at HKDL and now Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea. The biggest loss is the Electric Railway extension, but hopefully that’ll happen down the line with whatever the ninth port-of-call becomes. (Might I suggest Chanduland?)
It’s also interesting how Imagineering managed to cram so much into what seems like a small space. You can see the expansion pad from the boats or existing bridge from Port Discovery to Lost River Delta. It doesn’t look that large, and yet, it is. Some future port-of-call concept could conceivably be even larger if it were to annex the area of Lost River Delta that’s currently a winding walkway and home to the underused Hangar Stage. There’s nothing that says that area couldn’t be reimagined, and it would open up even more possibilities for another large scale expansion at Tokyo DisneySea!
Planning a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort? For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea Trip Planning Guide! For more specifics, our TDR Hotel Rankings & Reviews page covers accommodations. Our Restaurant Reviews detail where to dine & snack. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money post. Our What to Pack for Disney post takes a unique look at clever items to take. Venturing elsewhere in Japan? Consult our Ultimate Guide to Kyoto, Japan and City Guide to Tokyo, Japan.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of these Frozen lands and Arendelle areas? Does this expansion look like something you’d like to see at Walt Disney World or Disneyland? Would this be enough to push you over the edge and convince you to visit the parks in Paris, Hong Kong, or Japan? Any other thoughts or speculation to add about the project? Please share any questions and comments you have!