Anna's Frozen Sleighs
Written by @DashHaber
Hop aboard a sleigh, and have yourself a thrilling ride across the Arendelle mountain range. Follow Anna as you take your fear and let it go, braving the rocky terrain to reach Elsa’s wondrous ice palace.
Queue
Tucked away from the main town buildings in the shadow of the North Mountain (whose structure is designed so imposing thanks to forced perspective) is an ornately-carved wooden gate. Walking through this gate, guests enter a walking path through a forest. The trees are a beautiful sight, topped in snow with shimmering strands of ice hanging from their branches. Beautiful, but oh so cold. Even for a place that is in the middle of winter, it seems the cold has struck harder here. Continuing, guests reach the mouth of a cave and enter in.
The cave walls are covered in mossy patches and mushrooms, while guests navigate around rock walls. There are even a few piles of rocks scattered around…some of which seem to move when guests are nearby. Eventually, they pass through a meeting hall-like chamber in the cave, where Grand Pabbie (an animatronic) stands atop a rock ledge. He welcomes us, warning of the dangers out in the cold and offering some warm advice: that only an act of love can thaw a frozen heart. Eventually, we reach the loading area. The ride vehicle (designed to resemble sleighs) await, as some final warnings from the trolls offer safety advice and proper riding procedure.
Ride Description
Properly seated in our sleighs, we leave the loading area and emerge from the cave. We curve around a patch of wintry field between the rocky structures around us. Resting in this field is a sleigh with Sven the reindeer in front and Olaf the snowman on the sleigh, sitting in the back with childish delight. We start up a lift hill, between two snow-covered rock walls. As we head up, we pass Kristoff standing on a ledge, looking upward as he remarks how most people who disappear into the mountains want to be alone. Further up, Anna awkwardly tries to climb up the rocks, retorting that nobody wants to be alone. Passing her, we reach the top of the hill and curve away into a dip.
With our sleigh speeding along, we curve and cruise along the mountainside and weave through canyons. Periodic bunny hops bring us further up along the rocky terrain, as we “climb” our way up the North Mountain. Eventually, our sleighs slow down as we are greeted with rings of icicles. Curving through, we reach another lift hill, this time flanked with icy staircase rails. We head upwards toward an impressive sight: the Ice Palace. We reach the top of the lift hill, entering the Ice Palace. Inside, we are treated to a real spectacle: Elsa (a more complex animatronic than the others) standing atop a frozen staircase, singing “Let It Go”. As her arms move and hands gesture, fractal snowflake designs glimmer and shine along the icy walls. It is a breathtaking sight, making for a delightful break from the earlier thrills while we move through the Ice Palace. As we leave Elsa and continue down an icy hallway, a loud thump starts to follow us. Emerging from an alcove to our left is Marshmallow, a hulking snow golem who tells us to go away. His mighty words push us outside, into a fast drop.
From here on, our sleighs are making a downhill run. We speed through tight turns, running along mountain edges and careening through icy caverns. Occasional dips give sparks of thrills to our descent. At last, one final dip brings us out of the ice, as our sleighs slow down in a sunnier-looking pasture. To our right is Sven’s sleigh, with Olaf and Kristoff seated aboard. Anna and Elsa stand together near the sleigh, with Elsa thanking Anna for finding her as an instrumental of “For the First Time in Forever” plays in the background. With the sisters reunited, we pull away from the happy scene and head into the troll cave to unload from our sleighs.