A Decade On, Fans Still Mourn EPCOT’s Maelstrom as IP Era Reshapes Disney World

Overview

• Maelstrom, which opened in 1988 at EPCOT’s Norway Pavilion, earned devotion for atmospheric cultural storytelling, a brief backward segment, and a final flume drop.
• Disney closed Maelstrom after Frozen’s success, reopening the route in 2016 as Frozen Ever After with musical scenes, advanced figures, and popular characters that draw long waits.
• Longtime guests describe the loss as uniquely painful and still echo the ride’s famed line, “Back… back… over the falls.”
• EPCOT’s modernization features recent additions such as Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana.
• Recent retirements and rethemes shaping operations include MuppetVision 3D’s June 2025 closure, redevelopment of parts of DinoLand U.S.A., the permanent closure of Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, and Splash Mountain’s conversion to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.