Once upon a time, in a faraway land – farther even than the farthest kingdoms of the North – a queen born with the touch of winter’s breath reigned over a palace as frigid as permafrost and as fragile as blown glass…
Like so many of our trips into what almost was, you may think you know the prologue, but our story may not be quite what you expect… Long before Elsa, another icy princess nearly reigned over Fantasyland in a one-of-a-kind attraction once envisioned for Disneyland. The Enchanted Snow Palace would’ve sent guests on a watery voyage through a musical wonderland of joyful scenes, fantastic creatures, and a finale encounter the Snow Queen herself… Of course, it was never built.
That makes it a perfect fit for Possibilityland – our growing collection of in-depth legends behind the could-be classics that were planned… but never premiered. From an entire theme park dedicated to the hard truths of America; a Californian EPCOT that would’ve redefined Disneyland; an unbuilt backlot of Muppet moviemaking; a sci-fi Tomorrowland that never was; and even complete walkthroughs of “alternate reality” Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios with their never-built E-Tickets in-tact…
En route to the icy realms of fantasy, we’ll dig into Disney’s seventy-year quest to melt the icy antagonist of “The Snow Queen” and trace animators’ on-again, off-again attempts to turn this Scandanavian legend into a workable character in films… and theme park rides!
Continue reading “The Enchanted Snow Palace: Inside Imagineering’s Icy Quest for “The Snow Queen””
