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

[Trauma]

Wow what a train wreck this is shaping up to be.

Does anyone here have any faith this refurb will be completed without budget cuts?

We are losing one of the greatest themed attractions of all time in return for budget cut Tiana.

 

[Kirby86]

Good point. Massive is a vague term anyway, but if the attraction does not move the needle and is the same in ridership as it is now,
it would certainly not be a big win. Guest spending is the biggest want, but they clearly need to move the needle with such an investment.

I think they would be disappointed if the new ride averages around the same amount of riders as the current one. Since in theory you are getting rid of a dated IP with a more modern one. If the new IP however doesn't attract more people to that part of the park you spent millions of dollars to stay stagnate numbers wise. However it does add more retail space for princess merchandise which is good for guest spending.

 

[BobPar]

Oh, I totally believe that! My son wanted to ride Buzz Lightyear over and over.

But that's not the ONLY reason a person might ride or re-ride a ride at WDW, right? You can imagine other possible criteria a guest may use when determining what to ride or re-ride?

Yes quality of ride etc as i mentioned. I just dont see this living up to its predecessor and as stated earlier also eliminates some of the guests that go its a “princess” Ip

 

[Smiley/OCD]

You think people decide what rides to re-ride based on how much they like the IP of the theme?

I can give examples, but one in particular would be any of the SW attractions at HWD…I know several people who aren’t SW fans, but rode it because it was new and the land was so hyped…it was one and done for them.
For me? I’ve NEVER seen ANY of the SW movies start to finish, I’ve seen and grew up with it, but was never a fan. Rode it once, cool ride, but not a must do. I’m sure people will ride Tiana, not like it and not necessarily ride it again. Will it be most? Of course not, but there will be some.

 

[BobPar]

By this metric, Splash should already be failing since, relatively speaking, very few people even recognize Song of the South. It’s popular because it’s a fun attraction.

Likewise, there are many rides with no IP ties at all that remain consistently popular.

See thats where your comparison is incorrect and where Disney failed. Not many people only maybe diehards looked at Splash and said hey thats SOTS IP everyone just saw the beloved characters that have been there for 3 decades. Also i agree you dont need an IP for a ride to be a classic.

 

[_caleb]

Wow what a train wreck this is shaping up to be.

Does anyone here have any faith this refurb will be completed without budget cuts?

We are losing one of the greatest themed attractions of all time in return for budget cut Tiana.

Wait, what? How is it shaping up to be a train wreck? Why are you expecting budget cuts to the retheme work?

 

[BobPar]

Wait, what? How is it shaping up to be a train wreck? Why are you expecting budget cuts to the retheme work?

It would be a safe assumption if there Was budget cuts lol… its pretty much the norm for them from announcement to build…

 

[_caleb]

I can give examples, but one in particular would be any of the SW attractions at HWD…I know several people who aren’t SW fans, but rode it because it was new and the land was so hyped…it was one and done for them.
For me? I’ve NEVER seen ANY of the SW movies start to finish, I’ve seen and grew up with it, but was never a fan. Rode it once, cool ride, but not a must do. I’m sure people will ride Tiana, not like it and not necessarily ride it again. Will it be most? Of course not, but there will be some.

But we are (or, we're) talking about Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Lots of people wait in long lines to ride Splash Mountain. And some (many?) of those same guests ride it again at some point during their visit.

You think wait times will be shorter for this ride due to the switch from Splash Mountain to Tiana?

 

[MagicHappens1971]

But we are (or, we're) talking about Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Lots of people wait in long lines to ride Splash Mountain. And some (many?) of those same guests ride it again at some point during their visit.

You think wait times will be shorter for this ride due to the switch from Splash Mountain to Tiana?

No. The wait times will be longer. It will technically be a brand new attraction + a Disney Princess attraction. It won’t matter as it will no doubt be a VQ when it opens in 2027

 

[Smiley/OCD]

But we are (or, we're) talking about Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Lots of people wait in long lines to ride Splash Mountain. And some (many?) of those same guests ride it again at some point during their visit.

You think wait times will be shorter for this ride due to the switch from Splash Mountain to Tiana?

No, not in the beginning, but if the ride doesn’t live up to the hype, it will go from a VQ, to a normal line with average wait times within a year or so. Please don’t get me wrong, I wish it wasn’t getting changed, BUT, I will definitely go on it and give it SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES to live it. I just don’t have faith in the current “administration” to make a quality attraction…I HOPE I’M WRONG…

 

[James Alucobond]

See thats where your comparison is incorrect and where Disney failed. Not many people only maybe diehards looked at Splash and said hey thats SOTS IP everyone just saw the beloved characters that have been there for 3 decades. Also i agree you dont need an IP for a ride to be a classic.

I assure you that practically no standard guest cares about the Br'ers at all. Probably 98%+ of the general population would be unable to name or place them if shown in a character lineup. This attraction is not popular because of the characters at all. It is popular because it has detailed sets and animatronics, lovely music, a surprisingly long ascent, and a thrilling descent. It's a wonderful, world-class version of a proven ride mechanism.

Also, your last sentence confuses me. If you agree IP isn't necessary for an attraction to be a re-rideable classic, I'm not sure what your argument was in the first place. Do you simultaneously think Splash is unique in surviving on IP alone and that the Br'ers are somehow more popular than Tiana?

 

[UNCgolf]

I think they would be disappointed if the new ride averages around the same amount of riders as the current one. Since in theory you are getting rid of a dated IP with a more modern one. If the new IP however doesn't attract more people to that part of the park you spent millions of dollars to stay stagnate numbers wise. However it does add more retail space for princess merchandise which is good for guest spending.

I think it would be hard to average many more riders. It's not like Splash Mountain was underutilized capacity; it was consistently one of the busiest rides.

 

[Trauma]

Wait, what? How is it shaping up to be a train wreck? Why are you expecting budget cuts to the retheme work?

Why would you assume anything but budget cuts?

It’s what they do.

 

[LittleBuford]

Pretty simple. If you are not a fan of the IP re rides usually dont happen… ride has to be mind blowing which pretty safe to say this will
Not be and will
Not live up to what Splash was…. Like ive never seen Avatar but will ride FoP many times and Navi only out of boredom or a filler….

I think it has much more to do with the execution than the IP itself. My favourite Disney film is The Little Mermaid, but Ariel’s Undersea Adventure is most certainly not my favourite ride. And as you yourself acknowledge, one doesn’t have to like Avatar to really enjoy Pandora.

Splash Mountain is popular in spite of its IP, not because of it. Whether the rethemed version will be worth (re)riding is impossible to say at this stage.

 

[BobPar]

I think it has much more to do with the execution than the IP itself. My favourite Disney film is The Little Mermaid, but Ariel’s Undersea Adventure is most certainly not my favourite ride. And as you yourself acknowledge, one doesn’t have to like Avatar to really enjoy Pandora.

Splash Mountain is popular in spite of its IP, not because of it. Whether the rethemed version will be worth (re)riding is impossible to say at this stage.

But ill disagree. People dont associate Splash w SOTS. Heck before a couple years ago majority of guests probably had zero clue about. And we can pretty much agree Zero kids knew about it. All they knew were Brer’s that was the IP they loved.

 

[LittleBuford]

But ill disagree. People dont associate Splash w SOTS. Heck before a couple years ago majority of guests probably had zero clue about. And we can pretty much agree Zero kids knew about it. All they knew were Brer’s that was the IP they loved.

You’re actually agreeing with me. As I said, Splash’s IP is not the cause of its popularity.

 

[BobPar]

I assure you that practically no standard guest cares about the Br'ers at all. Probably 98%+ of the general population would be unable to name or place them if shown in a character lineup. This attraction is not popular because of the characters at all. It is popular because it has detailed sets and animatronics, lovely music, a surprisingly long ascent, and a thrilling descent. It's a wonderful, world-class version of a proven ride mechanism.

Also, your last sentence confuses me. If you agree IP isn't necessary for an attraction to be a re-rideable classic, I'm not sure what your argument was in the first place. Do you simultaneously think Splash is unique in surviving on IP alone and that the Br'ers are somehow more popular than Tiana?

I think Splash may be one of the best attractions Disney has made and my favorite tbh. Brer’s were the Ip people knew not SOTS. I agree with your 1st statement why the ride was great altho i disagree with your 98% thats just absurd but thats besides the point. If you think this overlay will have the same catchy tunes like Splash has and all the AA from its glory days i would wager against that. People will definitely say they love it bc Disney will spin it that way and God forbid anyone says otherwise on social media they will be afraid of that backlash but imo the retheme has zero chance of topping Splash… just one mans opinion.

 

[BobPar]

I assure you that practically no standard guest cares about the Br'ers at all. Probably 98%+ of the general population would be unable to name or place them if shown in a character lineup. This attraction is not popular because of the characters at all. It is popular because it has detailed sets and animatronics, lovely music, a surprisingly long ascent, and a thrilling descent. It's a wonderful, world-class version of a proven ride mechanism.

Also, your last sentence confuses me. If you agree IP isn't necessary for an attraction to be a re-rideable classic, I'm not sure what your argument was in the first place. Do you simultaneously think Splash is unique in surviving on IP alone and that the Br'ers are somehow more popular than Tiana?

I think Splash may be one of the best attractions Disney has made and my favorite tbh. Brer’s were the Ip people knew not SOTS. I agree with your 1st statement why the ride was great altho i disagree with your 98% thats just absurd but thats besides the point. If you think this overlay will have the same catchy tunes like Splash has and all the AA from its glory days i would wager against that. People will definitely say they love it bc Disney will spin it that way and God forbid anyone says otherwise on social media they will be afraid of that backlash but imo the retheme has zero chance of topping Splash… just one mans opinion.

 

[BobPar]

You’re actually agreeing with me. As I said, Splash’s IP is not the cause of its popularity.

I think the ride layout how great it is along w the great music which is from the IP correct? Those characters etc. im just saying that most people do not associate the ride w SOTS the movie… maybe we are saying the same thing i dk tbh lol tough when writing etc. all im saying is Tiana retheme imo will not be as popular as Splash is and was…no matter how hard they push it to be. Maybe im wrong but do you think we are going to get the same amount of AA like og Splash? Do you think the ride can have better music to sing along with? Everyone has opinions and likes. In sure the retheme will
Have people that love it but i dont see it being as popular.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I think Splash may be one of the best attractions Disney has made and my favorite tbh. Brer’s were the Ip people knew not SOTS. I agree with your 1st statement why the ride was great altho i disagree with your 98% thats just absurd but thats besides the point. If you think this overlay will have the same catchy tunes like Splash has and all the AA from its glory days i would wager against that. People will definitely say they love it bc Disney will spin it that way and God forbid anyone says otherwise on social media they will be afraid of that backlash but imo the retheme has zero chance of topping Splash… just one mans opinion.

Yup, I know what I’ll be labeled on here if the ride is subpar and I say so…it’s been the elephant in the room.