History@Disney on Instagram: "Maelstrom opened in EPCOT’s World Showcase as a bold experiment in how Disney could tell national history through a thrill filled dark ride. In EPCOT’s first “thrill” ride, guests would sail past Viking legends, North Sea fishing villages, oil platforms, and stormy seas, blending myth, industry, and modern Norway into one continuous journey. It wasn’t just spectacle, Maelstrom reflected EPCOT’s original mission: edutainment. The ride’s sudden backward plunge became