Maelstrom (ride)

{{Infobox attraction

| name = Maelstrom

| logo =

| logo_width =

| image = Epcotnorskpaviljong.jpg

| imagedimensions = 250px

| caption = Entrance of the ride

| location = Epcot

| section = World Showcase, Norway pavilion

| coordinates = {{coord|28|22|15|N|81|32|47|W|region:US_type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki|display=it}}

| status = Removed

| cost =

| soft_opened =

| opened = July 5, 1988

| closed = October 5, 2014

| previousattraction =

| replacement = Frozen Ever After

| type = Musical Boat Cruise/Shoot the Chute

| manufacturer = Intamin

| designer = Walt Disney Imagineering

| model =

| theme = History of mythological Norway

| music =

| height_ft =

| height_m =

| drop_ft = 28{{cite web|title=Maelstrom|url=https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/maelstrom/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141005175403/https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/maelstrom/|website=disneyworld.com|publisher=Disney Parks|accessdate=5 October 2014|archivedate=5 October 2014}}

| drop_m =

| length_ft = 964

| speed_mph =

| speed_km/h =

| sitearea_sqft =

| sitearea_sqm =

| gforce =

| capacity = 1000

| vehicle_type = Viking boat

| riders_per_vehicle = 16

| rows = 4

| riders_per_row = 4

| participants_per_group=

| audience_capacity =

| duration = 4:27

| virtual_queue_name = FastPass+

| virtual_queue_image = Fastpass+ Logo.svg

| virtual_queue_status= was available

| single_rider =

| pay_per_use =

| accessible =

| transfer_accessible =

| assistive_listening = yes

| cc =

| custom_label_1 = Lift count

| custom_value_1 = 1

| custom_label_2 = Movie Length

| custom_value_2 = 5:52 minutes

| custom_label_3 = Number of drops

| custom_value_3 = 1

| custom_label_4 =

| custom_value_4 =

| custom_label_5 =

| custom_value_5 =

| vehicles = Viking boat

| custom_label_6 =

| custom_value_6 =

| custom_label_7 =

| custom_value_7 =

| custom_label_8 =

| custom_value_8 =

}}

Maelstrom was a reversing Shoot the Chute dark ride attraction located in the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, the ride opened on July 5, 1988, in the Norway Pavilion of the park's World Showcase section. It was a mix between a log chute and a traditional film attraction. Visitors rode boats patterned after longships that passed through various scenes that featured audio-animatronic figures. The attraction was originally supposed to be called SeaVenture, with the entrance sign during construction even displaying it as such. Sometime between March 1988 and the ride's opening, it was changed, likely to avoid confusion with The Living Seas pavilion in the same park.{{Cite web|url=https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/07/vintage-walt-disney-world-looking-back-at-epcots-maelstrom/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707232821/http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/07/vintage-walt-disney-world-looking-back-at-epcots-maelstrom/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 7, 2012|title=Vintage Walt Disney World: Looking Back at Epcot's Maelstrom|website=Disney Parks Blog}}

In September 2014, it was announced that the ride would be replaced by an attraction based on Disney's 2013 animated film Frozen.{{cite web|author1=Tom Staggs|authorlink1=Thomas O. Staggs|title='Frozen' Attraction Coming to Epcot|url=http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/09/frozen-attraction-coming-to-epcot/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913055901/http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/09/frozen-attraction-coming-to-epcot/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 13, 2014|publisher=Disney Parks Blog|accessdate=September 12, 2014|date=September 12, 2014}}{{cite news|last1=McNary|first1=Dave|title=Disney Adding 'Frozen' Attraction at Epcot|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/disney-frozen-epcot-1201304634/|accessdate=September 12, 2014|work=Variety|date=September 12, 2014}}{{cite web | url=https://money.cnn.com/2014/09/12/media/disney-frozen-ride/index.html?iid=EL | title=Yet another 'Frozen' spinoff: An Epcot theme park attraction | work=CNN Money | date=15 September 2014 | accessdate=29 September 2014 | author=Pallotta, Frank}} Maelstrom's final day of operation was October 5, 2014.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpmQ37G1rUs |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/FpmQ37G1rUs |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Maelstrom at Epcot - The Final Moments (Last Ride, Last Film) 10/5/14|date=October 6, 2014|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web|title=Maelstrom - Epcot Attractions - Walt Disney World Resort |url=https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/maelstrom/ |website=disney.go.com |accessdate=14 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141005175403/https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/maelstrom/ |archivedate= 5 October 2014 }} Frozen Ever After opened on June 21, 2016.{{cite web | last=Sentinel | first=Orlando | title=Disney: Opening dates for Frozen ride, Soarin', Star Wars fireworks, more | website=OrlandoSentinel.com | date=2016-05-20 | url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/theme-park-rangers-blog/os-disney-epcot-frozen-ride-open-20160520-story.html | accessdate=2016-06-18}}

The ride

Riders departed from a dock traveling by boat, which turned a corner into a dark tunnel and up the flume's lift hill. A voice tells riders that "those who seek the spirit of Norway face peril and adventure, but more often find beauty and charm." Arriving at the top of the hill, a lit face of the Germanic and Norse god Odin hovered above. Riders passed through scenes of seafarers and maritime villages depicting a mythological version of Norway's Viking days. Entering a marsh, the boat would come face to face with audio-animatronic depictions of a Nokken and a three-headed troll. The trolls, angered by the trespassing boat, cast a spell onto riders as the vehicle began to move backward rapidly, accelerated by hidden conveyor belts underneath the water's surface. The boats floated briskly past scenes of Atlantic puffins, polar bears and living trees, before coming to a stop on the edge of another waterfall, exposing the Norway pavilion's main thoroughfare. The backwards edge of the boat peeked out through the facade as the track pivoted to let the vehicle travel forward again. Correctly oriented, the boats plunged forward down a {{convert|28|ft|m|adj=on}} flume into a stormy depiction of the North Sea. After passing very close to an oil rig, the ride came to an abrupt end in a calm harbor of a small village, where the narrator announced, "Norway's spirit has always been, and will always be adventure." As guests exited the ride, they had the option of watching a 5-minute 70mm tourism film, "The Spirit of Norway", which highlighted various attractions in Norway including skiing, hiking, and Kjerag mountain.

Hidden Mickeys on the ride included:

In the ride's loading area, a large painted mural included many people and elements from Norway's history. Hidden in this painting was a Viking whose helmet had Mickey Mouse ears, and another figure wearing a Mickey Mouse watch.
Inside the stave church, King Olaf II had a small Mickey embroidered on his tunic, near his right thigh.{{cite web | url=http://www.insidethemagic.net/2014/09/d-tales-2-historical-details-hidden-in-maelstrom-as-frozen-soon-makes-its-move-into-more-of-walt-disney-world/ | title=D-Tales #2: Historical details hidden in Maelstrom, as Frozen soon makes its move into more of Walt Disney World | work=Inside the Magic | date=26 September 2014 | accessdate=29 September 2014}}