Lake Buena Vista
Disney Springs is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. The complex opened on March 22, 1975, and has been expanded and renamed at other times over the years, until 2013, when plans were announced for a three-year renovation and expansion of the complex, and on September 29, 2015, the name officially changed to Disney Springs.The complex includes four distinct areas: Marketplace, The Landing, Town Center, and West Side. Buses and water taxis operated by Disney Transport provide transportation between Disney Springs and other areas of Walt Disney World.HistoryEarly expansion; multiple rebrandingsThe Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, which opened on March 22, 1975, was originally envisioned as an area shopping mall. Two years after its opening, the complex was renamed Walt Disney World Village. With the advent of new management under Michael Eisner in 1984, Disney began looking for ways to keep vacationers on Walt Disney World property longer, and prevent them from leaving for entertainment beyond Disney's borders.To compete with the popular Church Street Station clubs in downtown Orlando, Disney announced the addition of Pleasure Island, featuring nightclubs showcasing Disney's quality and creativity, to Walt Disney World Village on July 21, 1986. Construction began the following August and Pleasure Island was opened on May 1, 1989, the same day as the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park. Later that year, the complex was renamed Disney Village Marketplace.
Frozen Ever After, stylized as Frozen ever after, is a dark water ride attraction in Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort. Part of the Norway Pavilion of the park's World Showcase section, the attraction features scenes inspired by Disney's 2013 animated film Frozen as well as the 2015 animated short Frozen Fever. It opened on June 21, 2016 and replaced the former Maelstrom attraction, utilizing the same ride vehicles and a similar track layout.HistoryOn September 12, 2014, Walt Disney World officials announced that the Maelstrom attraction would be replaced by an attraction based on Frozen. Maelstrom's final day of operation was October 5, 2014.In June 2015, then-Disney Chief Operating Officer Tom Staggs revealed that plans for a Frozen attraction were discussed prior to the film's release, but were accelerated after the film's worldwide success. On responding to whether converting a portion of the Norway pavilion into an attraction based on a fictional place was appropriate for World Showcase, Staggs stated: "If the goal is to give people a taste of something like Scandinavia with the Norway pavilion, then Frozen would only increase the extent to which people would be drawn to it. To me it doesn’t seem out-of-character at all."