News Splash Mountain retheme to Princess and the Frog - Tiana's Bayou Adventure

[Lil Copter Cap]

In fairness, for all their wonderful qualities, Joe Rohde and Tony Baxter never did their work single-handedly, and they would be the first to tell you so.

Additionally, Tony Baxter’s involvement in PATF was less “Help us Obi-Wan Kenobi” and more “Give us your blessing on letterhead”.

Precisely this. Joe is one incredibly talented individual, but Imagineering is more than just one person.

I don't think Imagineers are to fully blame for any of the lackluster creations in recent years. Those in control of budgets, however...
(Not to say you can't create something exceptional that is 'low' budget)

Additionally, if we want to talk about poor quality in recent years...I would have to say Live Entertainment takes the cake.

 

[UNCgolf]

Precisely this. Joe is one incredibly talented individual, but Imagineering is more than just one person.

I don't think Imagineers are to fully blame for any of the lackluster creations in recent years. Those in control of budgets, however...
(Not to say you can't create something exceptional that is 'low' budget)

Additionally, if we want to talk about poor quality in recent years...I would have to say Live Entertainment takes the cake.

I don't think you can claim they haven't been given enough money, considering Guardians reportedly cost $450M+. Control of budgets/spending the money wisely, on the other hand...

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I don’t see how it’s inconceivable that this can open within two years. I don’t see major additions coming to the Queue or surrounding structure (other than the boat on top).

Everything else is simple set replacements. Nothing is that complex. Maelstrom overhauled the queue, added new scenes, and replaced old scenes. This is just scene replacement. Yes, the overall scale is greater because Splash Mountain is larger, but the work in each scene should be lesser in scope.

I’m glad I’m not the only one with low expectations, they are essentially re-theming the backdrop from a swamp to a swamp, I don’t expect anything to change on the 90% of the ride that doesn’t have characters in it, just the show scenes and that’s it.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

I’m worried they’re going to rip out 90% of the AAs and set pieces and replace it with screens. They’re better off building in the ADJACENT expansion areas! There’s tons of space at MK or DHS for a brand new PatF or anything else ride. They’re idiots! That’s the only thing I can imagine. They’re just incompetent buffoons who don’t know how to run a theme park.

 

[Disney Glimpses]

So….seeing as how the track runs through part of Splash’s show building, will this mean they’re going to keep the railroad closed until 2024 as well?


Because that would mean it will have been shut down for nearly six years.

No, they will simply conceal the final scene.

 

[Lil Copter Cap]

I don't think you can claim they haven't been given enough money, considering Guardians reportedly cost $450M+. Control of budgets/spending the money wisely, on the other hand...

That's a fair assessment, absolutely. Not to say there AREN'T bad apples that have made their way into the offices of Imagineering.

The reported $450 million, however, leads me to believe that OTHER projects were partially funded through this Guardians budget. I think of how the film industry will take money from a production to fund another production simultaneously. Disney does/did this specifically with their films and Disney+ projects. And, in my opinion, one of the exact reasons why Bob Chapek has placed Kareem Daniel as THE centralized budget manager going forward. [source: CNBC]

I know film/TV is a different beast...but that's the only way I can justify their reported over bloated budget.

 

[SplashJacket]

For a retheme like this, all they have to do is demo and install. Likely everything got built in a warehouse hundreds of miles away months before it’s ready to be installed.

Shouldn’t take long at all.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I’m worried they’re going to rip out 90% of the AAs and set pieces and replace it with screens. They’re better off building in the ADJACENT expansion areas! There’s tons of space at MK or DHS for a brand new PatF or anything else ride. They’re idiots! That’s the only thing I can imagine. They’re just incompetent buffoons who don’t know how to run a theme park.

I think a lot of the animal animatronics will stay, it’s cheaper to just leave then and reprogram them to sing a new song then to rip them out and replace them.

 

[celluloid]

what in tarnation?

That was wrong of me. I typed Wyatt Earp but my brain was thinking Buffalo Bill's west shows and the era. Ha.

 

[Midwest Elitist]

Is this juggernaut attraction going to compete against Epic Universe opening?

 

[EricsBiscuit]

I think a lot of the animal animatronics will stay, it’s cheaper to just leave then and reprogram them to sing a new song then to rip them out and replace them.

Disney always finds the least efficient way to get something done.

Is this juggernaut attraction going to compete against Epic Universe opening?

That’s the other thing, instead of focusing on expanding to counter Zuni’s amazing new park, they’re focusing on problems that do not exist! They’re so stupid!!!

 

[Midwest Elitist]

I thought I would be more upset, but my ability to care has dropped off at this point. Now I'm in the "oh well, let's grab popcorn together" phase.

 

[Kirby86]

Is this juggernaut attraction going to compete against Epic Universe opening?

I can see the marketing pushing this as Disney's new thing to go against Epic Universe. In California it's going to miss Nintendo worlds opening.

 

[Chester&Hester Enthusiast]

I happen to think there's some interesting potential for an Interactive Queue at the Mansion, but what was built is overly cartoonish, noisy, and out of step with the ride it precedes.

Even worse, it breaks the established logic of the ride in an obnoxious way. The ghosts aren't able to fully manifest until Leota does her thing, but here they are, before we even enter the house, reciting poetry and sneezing and blowing bubbles. Within the logic of the attraction, before the Seance Room, the spirits are only able to manipulate the environment around them, not directly interact with us. We're also supposed to think that they might be a threat to us until we see the beginnings of the Swinging Wake in the Ballroom, yet in the queue they're already playful and fun.

Then there's the obvious design flaws, like the fact that there's no room for a body under the tombstones in the queue. The whole thing is just bad.

Not to further derail, but here's an excellent piece on the interactive queue and the damage it does to the attraction's story:

Decadence

. In March and April of this year (2011), major additions came to the WDW Mansion. Since this is the first time a big change has occurred ...

longforgottenhauntedmansion.blogspot.com

 

[J4546]

I dont think theres much Disney could do to counter Epic Universe when it opens. We are talking about a completely new massive theme park with a bunch of themed lands and major rides.

 

[GoneForGood]

A random thought:
I've heard people saying that Splash is very hard to maintain. Which explains it's current condition.
For me, that begs the question. Will they bite the bullet and suddenly turn that attitude around for the PATF version? Or will they make changes to the attraction and show building to make it easier to maintain. Or just remove certain AAs and swap in screens/projection mapping to make it easier?

The way they maintain the current version scares me enough.

 

[Midwest Elitist]

I dont think theres much Disney could do to counter Epic Universe when it opens. We are talking about a completely new massive theme park with a bunch of themed lands and major rides.

They could have added another ride for this theme?

 

[J4546]

yeah but adding a new ride wouldnt counter EU imo. Again we are talking about a massive completely new park with multiple areas and rides vs 1 new expansion. 2025 is just gonna be Universals year

 

[UNCgolf]

That's a fair assessment, absolutely. Not to say there AREN'T bad apples that have made their way into the offices of Imagineering.

The reported $450 million, however, leads me to believe that OTHER projects were partially funded through this Guardians budget. I think of how the film industry will take money from a production to fund another production simultaneously. Disney does/did this specifically with their films and Disney+ projects. And, in my opinion, one of the exact reasons why Bob Chapek has placed Kareem Daniel as THE centralized budget manager going forward. [source: CNBC]

I know film/TV is a different beast...but that's the only way I can justify their reported over bloated budget.

It's possible, but that would be easier to believe if it wasn't happening on basically every project. They supposedly spent over $100M on the Little Mermaid almost a decade ago and that ride looks like it was done as cheaply as possible other than the queue/facade.

 

[Kirby86]

A random thought:
I've heard people saying that Splash is very hard to maintain. Which explains it's current condition.
For me, that begs the question. Will they bite the bullet and suddenly turn that attitude around for the PATF version? Or will they make changes to the attraction and show building to make it easier to maintain. Or just remove certain AAs and swap in screens/projection mapping to make it easier?

The way they maintain the current version scares me enough.

Seeing as how maintenance for attractions as a whole is less then steller and not just a Splash issue. I'm assuming it'll still be in rough shape after a bit.