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/* Fun Facts and Trivia */
Maelstrom permanently closed on October 5, 2014 in order to make way for a new attraction titled [[Frozen Ever After]] <ref> http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/the-daily-disney/os-farewell-to-norway-maelstrom-ride-at-epcot-20141005-story.html </ref>.
===Imagineers===
Imagineers that worked on the development and creation of Maelstrom included:
'''Randy Carter'''- Producer <ref name= "mouseplanet"/>
==Attraction Plot==
Maelstrom began with guests boarding a Viking boat longboat and sailing off into the distant past of Norwegian folklore. After being set in motion, the boat ascended up a lift, which was surrounded by hieroglyphics. On top of the hill, a large mask of Odin was seen. As guests approached the mask, light radiated from Odin's only eye and wind howled in the background. Odin then spoke to guests saying :
{{Quotation| "You are not the first to pass this way, nor shall you be the last. Those who seek the spirit of Norway face peril and adventure. But more often find beauty and charm. We have always lived with the sea, so look first to the spirit of the seafarer."}}
Heeding Odin's advice, guests would then enter a scene which depicted a coastal Viking settlement, where various Vikings were shown preparing their boats. After seeing the settlement, the scope of the scene was expanded and guests witnessed Viking ships sailing off into the distance, as a nearby man blew a horn to announce their departure.
After traveling through the Viking village, guests entered the next scene which depicted a Norwegian forest. As the boats traveled ahead, a large three headed troll emerged. The troll had been angered by guests guest's intrusion in the forest (which he called Troll Country) and he then cast a spell on the boat, telling guests to go "Back! Over the falls!". At this point in the attraction, the boat began to move backwards and guests went down a small decent.
After the drop, guests found themselves in Norway's polar region. Here, the boats their boat floated past a polar bear menacingly standing on its hind legs. Continuing backwards, guests headed towards the pavilion's exterior waterfall, giving them a view of World Showcase. Just as it seemed that the boats boat would go plunging down the waterfall however, a large tree-stump troll rose up, and changed the direction of the boats once again. At this point, guests fell (forward) down a 28 foot drop, before finding themselves in the middle of a North Sea storm. As wind and rain howled around their boatsboat, guests came dangerously close an oil rig. Eventually however , the boats boat passed through the storm and arrived safely at a harbor in a small fishing village. Before unloading, guests heard one last narration which concluded that, "Norway's spirit has always been, will always be, adventure!”
When Maelstrom initially opened, after disembarking from the ride, guests would be held in an intricately themed nighttime plaza while waiting to enter the [[Spirit of Norway]] theater, which was located in the attraction's exit. In the years before the attraction closed however, the doors to theater had remained open, allowing guests to enter and exit the theater at will <ref> http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/walt_disney_world/theme_parks/epcot/world_showcase/norway/ M</ref>. This also gave guests the option of skipping the film altogether.
==Fun Facts and Trivia==
* The large troll that emerges in Maelstrom was inspired by Theodor Kittelsen's painting "The Monster of the Lake" <ref> https://twitter.com/EpcotLegacy/status/1544477274023645186/photo/2 </ref> * The boats used as ride vehicles in Maelstrom were designed to look like those from in the time of Eric the Red <Ref name= "parksblog"/>.
* As guests went down the attraction's largest drop, they could see a cruise ship sailing nearby. This was there due to the fact that Norwegian Caribbean Lines was once one of the pavilion's sponsors <ref name= "Jack"> http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2012/01/norway_pavilion_part_two.html </ref>.
* The trolls in Maelstrom were also sculpted by Peter Kermode <ref name= "part2">https://www.mouseplanet.com/7132/Walt_Disney_Worlds_Maelstrom_Part_2 </ref>.
* When Maelstrom opened, it featured Disney’s Walt Disney World's largest smoke machine system used to date <ref name= "Martin"/>.
* 5.7 million people rode Maelstrom in its first year of operation <ref name= "book"/>.
* Some of the Viking Audio-Animatronic figures were reused models molds from other [[EPCOT Center ]] attractions such as [[Spaceship Earth]] and [[World of Motion]] <ref name= "part2"/>.
* The Maelstrom boats were some of the last work done by Imagineer Jack Ferges before his retirement.
==References==
