Moana, the latest Disney animated masterpiece, just hit theatres over Thanksgiving and became an instant mega-hit, the biggest from Disney we’ve seen since Frozen. Believe it or not, Frozen came out way back in 2013, and Frozen 2 is still nowhere near being ready. Now that Moana is done and out there, can we look forward to Frozen 2 sometime soon? The answer, as is true frustratingly often with Disney, is: Kind of.

Frozen 2 Release Date: Probably 2018, But Lots More Frozen Beforehand

Frozen 2 doesn’t have a definite release date confirmed by Disney, although lots of unofficial statements and sort-of-well-sourced rumors are floating around. The most likely scenario is that Frozen 2 will come out in November 2018, and at this point it’s quite unlikely that the movie could release next fall.

But the release of Moana does clear the way for Frozen 2 in some sense: From here, there’s going to be a lot of buildup for the next movie. Next winter, we’re getting a Frozen television special, which will hopefully set the stage for the next movie. Then, in the spring of 2018, Frozen will burst back into the public consciousness with the opening of the Broadway show.

Those two events are the perfect warmup for Frozen 2, which Disney has taken its sweet time on for a good reason. Frozen 2 is a big risk for the company, which doesn’t usually make animated theatrical sequels. Disney has allowed the directors, writers and composers to take their time to make Frozen 2 right. And that’s meant a frustratingly long wait, but it also makes it more likely that Frozen 2 will live up to the hype.

The success of Moana more than justifies the amount of time Disney is spending on Frozen 2, and it ends a year of Frozen drought. It won’t be all that long now before Frozen 2 news starts popping up more regularly, leading up to the television special next winter. And then we’re in the home stretch to Frozen 2 and, at long last, the return of Elsa and Anna.