Fridays with Jim Korkis: The Trolls of Norway in Epcot
By Dave Shute
Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.
THE NORWAY PAVILION TROLLS
By Jim Korkis
In June 2021, the beloved giant troll who is a favorite photo opportunity location for guests returned to its original location in the Fjording shop after some extensive renovation of the store in the Norwegian Pavilion at Epcot.
Scandinavian folklore has two kinds of trolls: the giants (often called jontar) and the smaller folk called huldrefolk. The jotnar borrow their name and many of their characteristics from the mythology of the ancient Norse ice giants.
They tower above an average person and have rugged features with wild hair. Generally, they were considered primitive, dim-witted creatures. They have a total of eight fingers and eight toes.
That giant troll in the shop, sometimes referred to as “the forgetful troll” because he never remembers when the morning arrives his name or that he came to life during the night, was designed by artist Bjorn Schultze of Ny Form Trolls, a company started in 1964 that specialized in making authentic handmade trolls.
There are ten other huge duplicates of this same troll found around the world, including one on display in Voss, Norway at the Flam Railway, except that one is fully painted and has hair.
Trolls are very common in Scandinavian myths and tales, and are generally unpleasing in appearance. They often live in mountain caves, under bridges, or at the bottom of lakes. A huge variety of trolls roam Norway and some can have up to nine heads.
(c) Disney
An entire section of the shop is devoted to different trolls that can be purchased, but trolls are also hidden throughout the Norwegian pavilion.
At one point, Disney publicity told the media that more than twenty trolls were hidden in the pavilion but they often changed locales. The press release also emphasized that while trolls are known for mischief and pillaging, “all of Epcot’s trolls are friendly and those that might be feisty turn to stone when exposed to sunlight.”
The official opening and dedication of the Norway Pavilion was on Friday June 3, 1988. Then-Crown Prince Harald V (who has been King since 1991) and his wife Sonja of Norway dedicated the location.
“We think the pavilion will make Norway much better known,” said Gunnar Jerman, president of NorShow, a group of eleven different companies sponsoring the pavilion along with the country.
NorShow gave the Imagineers a list of items they wanted shown in the Maelstrom attraction that they felt uniquely related to the story of Norway including Vikings, a fishing village, a polar bear, an oil rig and, of course, a troll.
The Three-Headed Troll appeared during the troll country scene of the Maelstrom attraction when guests enter the domain of the Jotunn. When it became aware of the human mortals that had trespassed, it became angered and its heads began talking to one another.
The troll uses its magical abilities on the boat and the vehicle begins to move briefly outside over a waterfall and then back into the attraction and rapidly backwards thanks to hidden conveyor belts. Its design was inspired by the artwork of early 20th century illustrator John Bauer.
The troll’s magic effect was repurposed in the new Frozen Ever After attraction for the magical powers of Elsa. A tapestry within the Royal Sommerhaus where Arendelle royalty can be found depicts the trolls. The tapestry shows the troll’s three heads looming overtop of a waterfall with the rock-troll from the ride at the bottom of the falls. The swirling magic of the trolls appears overhead of them.
The Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe offers the Troll Horn, a sugar-coated cone-shaped pastry shell filled with jam and whipped cream. It was originally known as a Cloudberry Horn, filled with cloudberry jelly.
As the Disney merchandise proclaims: “The only way is Trollway.”
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Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!
In the meantime, check out his books, including his new books Kungaloosh! The Mythic Jungles of Walt Disney World and Hidden Treasures of Walt Disney World Resorts: Histories, Mysteries, and Theming, much of which was first published on this site.
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