Disney just revealed a new next-generation robotics entertainment figure of Olaf from Frozen that looks almost perfectly screen accurate. When I first saw the footage, I did a double take thinking that it was animation from the movie on top of the new World of Frozen area.
This new figure is coming to Disney’s second World of Frozen land and will also go to the existing version of the land. In a new video, we got a look at how Disney creates incredible, complex figures like this one. At Mickey Visit, we bring you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including looks at new rides and changes at the parks.
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New Disney Frozen Olaf Audio-Animatronics Figure
Disney just revealed the new self-walking Olaf robotics figure as part of the seventh episode of the “We Call it Imagineering” YouTube series. This episode went inside the Research and Development facility and looked at new technologies in robotics, artificial intelligence, and rendering that is powering new additions at the Disney theme parks.
Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro visited the research facility in Zurich, Switzerland, and while there, revealed a look at this new Olaf figure coming to the World of Frozen.
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Disney previously debuted self-walking BD-X droids that looked a bit like little ducklings. These robots represent a big step forward in that they are learning figures that keep adapting to their surroundings so they can walk freely. They have brought these robots all around the world, including to both Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge lands and different Disney conferences. Those droids are even in the new Mandalorian and Grogu movie.
Those droids, due to their exposed parts and lack of an emotional connection to guests, felt more like robots than characters. Cute robots, but still robots. This new Olaf figure feels like a massive leap forward in a way that only Disney can deliver. Imagineering has taken their robotics breakthroughs and blended them with the iconic character to deliver something that feels like pure magic right out of the movie.
This new character will be a big change from the over six-foot-tall current, meet and greet version that can be seen in various Disney settings. Here’s a look at the Olaf figure from a photo at Disneyland from 2017.
Kyle Laughlin, the SVP of Research and Development at Walt Disney Imagineering said, “Olaf is one of our most popular characters. He shows up in parades, live entertainment shows, as well as character meet and greets, so the demand to bring him to our parks is off the charts.”
Josh shared, “I can’t even imagine this, like seeing people meet Olaf for the first time in his form. I think this is gonna be just incredible, a really, really inspiring day.”
The Olaf figure chimed in, “Hands down, this is the best day of my life”, and then let out an iconic Josh Gad laugh.
Later in the episode, they showed off the feature of the robot that breathes life into this character. Olaf’s carrot nose comes off the figure in the way you would exactly imagine based on the character.
The creative director of Imagineering for Disneyland Paris said, “This character is really a symbiosis of the latest technology and storytelling.”
Here’s a closer look at the figure moving through the new World of Frozen land.
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The new figure will debut at the World of Frozen in Hong Kong Disneyland and the upcoming World of Frozen land at Disneyland Paris early next year. The Disneyland Paris version of this land is slated to open in the first half of next year.
We should be hearing the opening date for the new land in the next few hours. There is currently a media event ongoing where Disney is set to announce the opening date.
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development is on the cutting edge of entertainment robotics, leveraging reinforcement learning and advanced simulation. These innovations are powered by high-performance GPUs and an open-source physics engine developed in partnership with NVIDIA and Google DeepMind.
They are working together to bring true-to-life Disney characters from the screen into the physical world. This early-stage R&D is where Imagineers blend creativity and technology to spark ideas for the Disney experiences of tomorrow.
The “We Call It Imagineering” series is an interesting look behind the curtain at all of the different aspects of the design process of Disney’s theme parks around the world.
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