Maelstrom – You Are Not The First To Pass This Way

I love the World Showcase at Epcot for so many reasons, and I have to rank the Maelstrom attraction in the Norway Pavilion as one of the top reasons.  Norway is of course well known for being the home of the mighty Vikings, some of the most feared Norsemen to ever live.  The Maelstrom attraction pays tribute to all things Norway and is centered around the history of Norway starting with the Vikings and ending with more modern times of working oil rigs, and polar bears.  When you first enter the Norway Pavillion, you are greeted with a statue of a Viking seen here:

 

Just down the road past several shops is the sign and entrance way for the mighty Maelstrom:

 

Once you enter the queue line, you should keep your eyes peeled for the beautiful mural on the wall behind the boat entrances.  This mural is one of those that no matter how many times you look at it, you will always see something new.  And if you look very closely you will find a hidden Mickey on one of the Vikings helmets.

You then board your Viking boat and set sail across the peaceful waters of Norway.  As the boat departs from the dock, it turns a corner into a dark tunnel and up the rides lift hill. A voice tells the riders that “You are not the first to pass this way”, and those who seek the spirit of Norway find adventure and peril. As the boats arrive at the top of the hill, they pass under a mysteriously lit face of the God Odin.  Visitors find themselves transported back to a mythological version of Norway’s Viking days, passing through scenes of seafarers and maritime villages in order to demonstrate the importance of the sea in Norwegian culture. The boats then enter an marsh where they are found face to face with the fearsome trolls of the marsh, Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar.

The trolls, angered by the trespassing boat, cast a spell onto the riders which causes your Viking boat to plummet backwards down the river and soon you find yourself looking back at what appears to be a waterfall that you are about to plunge backwards down!

The boats float briskly past scenes of polar bears and living trees…

before coming to a stop on the edge of another waterfall, exposed to the Norway pavilion’s main thoroughfare. The backwards edge of the boat peaks out through the facade as the track pivots to let the vehicle travel forward again. Correctly oriented, the boats plunge forward down a 28 foot flume into the stormy North Sea. The boats pass dangerously close to an oil rig and the ride comes to an abrupt end in a calm harbor, where the narrator again announces the attraction’s thesis, “Norway’s spirit will always be adventure.” After the ride, guests disembark and then have the option to watch a 6 minute tourism film that highlights Norway’s adventurous attractions, including skiing and hiking.

The Maelstrom is always a welcome adventure and a great way to get out of the Florida sun and into some welcome air conditioning.  I also love the store that the ride dumps you out into as it has all manner of Viking hats, hairy troll heads, and viking swords to try on and have your picture taken in.  Dare to trek through the stormy waters of Norway aboard the Maelstrom and face the trolls you will!

Thanks for spending a little time with me as I continue to share my love for all things Disney with you here at disney247.  I appreciate your time and wish you a very blessed day.  I’ll see you real soon at the Norway Pavilion.  I’ll be the large guy in the Viking hat holding up a pint of Norwegian brew and telling tales of all the trolls I defeated on my journeys through the Norwegian seas.