Disney fans are about to meet a whole new kind of magic: a fully self-walking Olaf. The lovable snowman from Frozen is set to debut at international Disney Parks, bringing an unprecedented level of realism and personality to character interactions.

The reveal came on Monday from Bruce Vaughn, president and chief creative officer of Walt Disney Imagineering, and Natacha Rafalski, president of Disneyland Paris. Guests will soon be able to spot Olaf roaming the World of Frozen areas at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and at Disney Adventure World in Disneyland Paris.


Image Credit: disneyparksblog.com

So how does Olaf walk on his own? Walt Disney Imagineering used reinforcement learning — a type of artificial intelligence that teaches robots to make decisions based on trial and error. IBM describes it as a process where “autonomous agents learn to make decisions by interacting with their environment.”

In the newest episode of We Call It Imagineering, Disney’s creative team explains how they used this technology to help robotic characters learn to walk, balance, and move more naturally.

This isn’t Disney’s first foray into autonomous robotics. Last year, the parks introduced BD-X droids at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. These little droids can dance, hop, bow, and even gently nudge guests like friendly pets. More recently, a self-balancing H.E.R.B.I.E. — inspired by The Fantastic Four: First Steps — made special limited-time appearances at Disneyland.

As for bringing Olaf to Disneyland in California or Walt Disney World in Florida, nothing official has been announced yet. However, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro previously teased the possibility of bringing immersive lands based on Frozen, Black Panther, and Coco to life at the U.S. parks.

For now, international visitors will be the first to witness Olaf’s new AI-powered charm — but with Disney’s robotics innovations accelerating quickly, it may just be a matter of time before he waddles his way stateside.