My household is gripped by Disney’s Frozen, so much so that its hero track, Let It Go, was my most listened to song on Spotify last year. It’s playing in my head right now. Yes, I have a nearly four-year-old daughter, Lyra, and she is devoted to Elsa, the heroine with ice-making powers. The Disney film was released in 2013 but its heartwarming tale, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, seems to have captured the popular imagination more than any other story.
Which is perhaps why Disney has spent £1.7 billion on expanding its Paris theme park, creating a whole new Frozen land, World of Frozen, which opened last weekend. I am here with Lyra, my sister Felicity and niece Betsy for a preview. The girls — “we are not Betsy and Lyra, we are ELSA!” — have packed everything from Elsa clip-clop shoes to Elsa dresses, Elsa handbags, Elsa dolls and a Disney princess umbrella “for the snow”. Poor old Anna (Elsa’s sister) doesn’t get a look-in. They are positively vibrating with excitement. And, to be honest, so are we. Disney knows how to push all your buttons, all at once. It gets you from the moment you walk in — all that rousing music played at full volume, evoking childhood memories, can move even the most jaded heart.
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World of Frozen, which for Disneyland Paris aficionados sits between Marvel Avengers Campus and Worlds of Pixar in Disney Adventure World, is billed as an immersive experience — it has only two rides. The two-park ticket also includes Disneyland Park (and you do want this, not least for Sleeping Beauty’s famed castle). To get to World of Frozen there’s a long walk up so-called Adventure Way, past a large lake to the Kingdom of Arendelle (including the offices of the Arendelle Daily Press, tagline “as reliable as the weather”), which is overlooked by Elsa’s frozen palace atop a snow-cloaked mountain. It’s cleverly done and a masterclass in set-building.
Jenny Coad’s daughter and niece by Adventure Bay at the World of Frozen
What’s World of Frozen like?
Anticipation (in my parental and indeed personal experience the best bit) builds as we walk through Adventure Way. New original music by the French film composer Philippe Rombi is blasting out of speakers encouraging the girls to spin, twirl, sing and run as if they are in the movies. Rombi apparently started his career playing the piano in the Disneyland hotel. What an encore.
What you need to know
Where is it? World of Frozen, Disney Adventure World, Disneyland Paris is in Marne la Vallée, about 20 miles east of Paris
Insider tip If you’re travelling on Eurostar, get the metro — it takes an hour, is quicker than a taxi and costs only £2.20 each way. When it comes to Disneyland tickets, if you can stretch to premier access (from £13 per ride, or £98 for the package, per day) on top of your ticket, you will avoid the worst of the queues
Who will love it? Children aged 3-7 (when the Frozen spell begins to lift, according to my contemporaries with older kids) and Disney-nostalgic adults
Everything leads to the mountain and one of two new rides, Frozen Ever After. This is pretty amazing — featuring all the film’s characters telling the story as you float past in a boat. There’s a thrilling moment when Elsa belts out Let It Go and your boat swooshes backwards but it is a touch scary for little ones with its rushing water, drop into misty, swirling darkness and cameo from Marshmallow, the snow monster. Our two only want to ride it once. And, to be honest, so will you when you have to queue for it — queues were up to four hours long on the opening day and I do not even begin to know how you would navigate that with a pre-schooler. Watch Frozen twice? Meeting robot Olaf (as realistic as they come) outside the palace was a gentler pursuit.
Olaf and Sven Audio-Animatronics in the Frozen Ever After attractionDISNEY
The other ride, Raiponce Tangled Spin, is catchier than the name suggests and inspired by the Rapunzel film Tangled. This proves more popular and we have several goes.
But what the girls really want to do is meet Elsa –- and Anna. We’ve been promised princesses at lunch in the Regal View Restaurant and Lounge — the princesses’ summer home, ostensibly, with lake views. Will they be there? Betsy draws a blank when she asks Ariel (The Little Mermaid), “But where IS Elsa?” Gathering her strength for the onslaught, I should think. Jasmine (Aladdin), Merida (Brave) and Mulan (Mulan) will have to do for now. We particularly like Merida, who has more energy than we can muster by this stage. Mulan asks if the girls are “warriors”, to which my sister and I reply, weakly, in the affirmative.
Of course they don’t eat much lunch — with princesses popping by for a photo op, would you? But it doesn’t help that the kids’ menu is overly cheffy — pea velouté, fish rillettes. I know French children are supposed to be petits gourmands but really? Even the pulled chicken looks like a tasting menu dish, though it does have a pastry crown, which of course they do manage. The desserts, though, are charming and princess-themed. Mine is a white chocolate shell in a sea of bright blue jelly. Can you guess? It’s expensive but you’re really paying for one-on-one princess time (three courses £43 for children, £87 for adults).
One of the two new rides, Tangled SpindISNEY
On our visit Elsa and Anna are revealed in the evening, receiving their young fans in the depths of their Arendelle castle, beneath the mountain. Betsy, who has all day been planning to ask Elsa if she can use her magic powers to cure her and Lyra’s nursery coughs (if only!), is rendered entirely speechless. The princesses — in extraordinarily flamboyant wigs — are all grace and hugs, twirls and hand-holds. The girls are entranced. They’ve seen “Elsas” at birthday parties but this feels like the real deal.
We see them again in the Celebration in Arendelle show on the lake, which involves singing (of course), water displays, fireworks and — finally — snow. The umbrella has its moment.
It feels cold enough for real snow — yes, we are freezing in World of Frozen. We warm up in the Nordic Crowns Tavern — much is made of the Nordic connection — and this, to me, does indeed have the feel of an Ikea restaurant, down to the turkey meatballs. You order from a screen and if you get the set menu it all comes at once, including ice cream, which does present a couple of difficulties: one, in convincing your child to eat their first course, and two, in melting. Still, it is good value and pretty healthy (set menu from £12 for children, £19 for adults).
The Nordic Crowns Tavern has the feel of an Ikea restaurantdISNEY
Which brings me to the merch. Wow, the merch. If you can escape World of Frozen or indeed Disneyland Paris without buying an overpriced bubble wand that sings and flashes then you are a stronger parent than me (£26). The shopping opportunities are exhaustive and relentlessly tempting for youngsters (I also find myself wondering if I need a Mickey hoodie). But this was all part of Walt Disney’s genius. We did well to escape with only two beribboned hair clips and the aforementioned wand. You can go absolutely crazy here — everyone seems to be sporting a magnetic Disney character on their shoulder — and one of the new toys is a Frozen troll, Runa, which will interact with you while you are in the park (£65). Cheaper than bringing a friend, admittedly, but not nearly as fun.
Talking of interactions, the staff are uniformly wonderful. The children are always referred to as “princess” and pens and stickers are constantly produced. One man on the turnstile is so twinkly, he reminds me of Robin Williams. In this high-energy, high-colour, highly commercial and very noisy (bring headphones if your children are sensitive to loud noises — there are even daytime fireworks) environment, the human touch still has the power to make the difference.
You may spot Disneyland Paris’s Marching Band “La Fanfare” while walking around
As does taking a pram, if you are still in the pram zone. There is a lot of walking. We are staying at Disney Hotel New York — the Art of Marvel, which is full of incredible drawings of the Marvel bunch and about a 15-minute walk to the entry turnstiles, from which World of Frozen is about another ten-minute walk. There are eight hotels to choose from — the five-star option is the pink Disneyland hotel, in pole position for the park. You could do it in a day and that would be cheaper than staying but possibly more tiring.
So, if you’re going, brace yourself. It’s an assault on the senses and the bank account. But magical moments? For sure, this is Disney, after all — it invented them. As Elsa would say, “Let it go”.
Jenny Coad was a guest of Disney, which has one night room-only from £179pp, including unlimited access to Disneyland Park & Disney Adventure World (disneylandparis.com). Day tickets from £83 for an adult and £79 for a child. Take the train to Paris