News Tiana's Bayou Adventure - latest details and construction progress

[Brer Panther]

I have a new theory.

What if this project was indeed "in the works for a year" before the announcement - but it wasn't specifically a Splash Mountain retheme, rather just a simple Princess and the Frog dark ride concept they were still figuring out? And then the uproar and petitions for Splash Mountain to be rethemed to The Princess and the Frog caused them to turn the idea into a Splash Mountain replacement? I dunno, I think that sounds plausible.

• There will be original animation created by Walt Disney Animation Studios that will be used on screens within the attraction.

Hand-drawn or CGI?

• The attractions overall story will touch on some new themes
  • Tiana’s father being a WWI veteran and what’s it like for an African American man to fight for his country back then
  • Tiana’s mom made dresses not only for Charlotte but for other clients in the community which served as an inspiration for Tiana’s entrepreneurship
  • New representation of the other nationalities that make up New Orleans including Philippines, Mexico, Caribbean, nations of Africa and China

Aaaaaaaaaaaand here we go. In addition to food co-ops and how Tiana being an entrepreneur is inspiring girls of all races, the ride is also going to talk about World War I. What?

And the "new representation of other nationalities" stuff... this is just more of Disney trying so hard to show how "inclusive" and "woke" they are and it feels so insincere. Like they're trying to compensate for the fact that this attraction is replacing the "eeeeeeeeeeeevil racist ride about a cartoon rabbit".

Was the original "Louis can't find his trumpet" plotline going to have all this, or was it created when the backlash made them rework the ride?

• Prince Naveen will play humorous role in the story

Oh, goody. Has the "Louis can't find his trumpet, everybody laugh at the dopey alligator" plot been reworked into "Naveen can't find his ukulele, everybody laugh at the clueless male"?

I’m sure the queue loop will be lovely but they are really making it harder by the day for this to fit in Frontierland.

Well, that's why they're turning Frontierland into New Orleans, Coco, Encanto and Villains Land.

If it would be a tiny detail in a queue, why talk about it in a press release?

Like I said, it's Disney bragging about how "inclusive" they are.

Actually the backstory of the ride was that Bre'r Rabbit was tired of his life and was setting out on new adventures...

Yeah, but when everyone suddenly decided that Splash Mountain was racist, a lot of people also started looking way too far into the attraction for specific things to be offended about. For example, I've heard people say that Brer Rabbit's story was meant to be a metaphor for slavery... I sincerely doubt the Imagineers meant to include any racist messages.

 

[harrisonm]

Construction photos from today

https://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/tianas-bayou-adventure/gallery/01jun2023-tiana's-bayou-adventure-construction---june-1-2023.htm

Interesting, did they remove the water tower scaffolding?

 

[Figments Friend]

For those who have not yet seen this….

A little momento passed out to the closing Cast on the final night of operation.
Printed on authentic old Fastpass paper, too!

 

[HoustonHorn]

I've said this before, I do not expect to see much of the rightly maligned Salt Mine backstory and such when the actual ride "begins". I would guess that's largely going to be contained to the queue and parts of the exterior. I think that following the first drop, the ride will become almost exclusively a "critters playing instruments" affair.

And the experience of a black soldier fighting for America in WWI and the multicultural experience of 1920s New Orleans that, according to another's research, was 74% white and 26% black and a negligible % other races at the time. PARTY TIME!

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

It doesn’t really say anything about the number of animatronics though. Just that the main characters and 17 other animatronics. Could literally be 22 total based on her statement.

It's more than 22.

17 new characters is consistent with what I was told in October last year. Specifically, I was told "over 15 new characters". Some of which are supposed to appear in the D+ series.

And to elaborate, no this doesn't mean there are only 17 animatronics (nor 22). I'm not even sure if 17 is the true extent of new ones when counting all of the animal characters. It's probably including the "focal point" critters who are playing instruments, but my guess is that there are also going to be additional "incidental" animals that will appear (like regular frogs, birds and turtles who have been seen in the art without instruments). The returning PATF characters will add a decent chunk to the roster as well. Tiana, Naveen, Eudora, Charlotte, Big Daddy La Bouff (I think), Mama Odie, Louis, Ralphie and the King and Queen I believe have all been said to be appearing.

And keep in mind that quite a few of the characters will get multiple figures. Brer Bear had 5 figures in WDW's Splash, Brer Fox had 6, and Brer Rabbit had 7. JUST Tiana, Naveen and Louis will probably have at minimum 4+ figures each. Tiana and Louis have already been seen twice in two different pieces of art showing two different scenes, and it's safe to say they'll be in the finale scene as well and likely others. Some of the other characters will no doubt have multiple figures too. I've also seen that new Otter character in two different pieces of art located in different show scenes.

The information shared with me last year thus far has turned out to be true. The one claim i'm still waiting to see pan out is whether they're going to reuse/reskin any of the older America Sings figures.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

And the experience of a black soldier fighting for America in WWI and the multicultural experience of 1920s New Orleans that, according to another's research, was 74% white and 26% black and a negligible % other races at the time. PARTY TIME!

Very much doubt this is going to feature much (if at all) in the actual ride. Maybe a photo on the wall at the end of the ride or something. Everything they're sharing about the backstory sounds like queue stuff.

 

[Kirby86]

For those who have not yet seen this….

A little momento passed out to the closing Cast on the final night of operation.
Printed on authentic old Fastpass paper, too!

View attachment 720591

That's neat to bad WDW didn't do that for their splash crew

 

[Figments Friend]

That's neat to bad WDW didn't do that for their splash crew

It is the Disneyland difference.



-

 

[Drdcm]

17 new characters is consistent with what I was told in October last year. Specifically, I was told "over 15 new characters". Some of which are supposed to appear in the D+ series.

And to elaborate, no this doesn't mean there are only 17 animatronics (nor 22). I'm not even sure if 17 is the true extent of new ones when counting all of the animal characters. It's probably including the "focal point" critters who are playing instruments, but my guess is that there are also going to be additional "incidental" animals that will appear (like regular frogs, birds and turtles who have been seen in the art without instruments). The returning PATF characters will add a decent chunk to the roster as well. Tiana, Naveen, Eudora, Charlotte, Big Daddy La Bouff (I think), Mama Odie, Louis, Ralphie and the King and Queen I believe have all been said to be appearing.

And keep in mind that quite a few of the characters will get multiple figures. Brer Bear had 5 figures in WDW's Splash, Brer Fox had 6, and Brer Rabbit had 7. JUST Tiana, Naveen and Louis will probably have at minimum 4+ figures each. Tiana and Louis have already been seen twice in two different pieces of art showing two different scenes, and it's safe to say they'll be in the finale scene as well and likely others. Some of the other characters will no doubt have multiple figures too. I've also seen that new Otter character in two different pieces of art located in different show scenes.

The information shared with me last year thus far has turned out to be true. The one claim i'm still waiting to see pan out is whether they're going to reuse/reskin any of the older America Sings figures.

Thank you for your detailed response. I am more reassured knowing that what you’ve been told seems to be coming true. I think it will be a great ride. FWIW, I have an extremely dry sense of humor and half of what I say on here is along those lines, I should make that more clear. I feel better with this announcement because they seem to be paying a lot of attention to the music, which was my favorite part of splash.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Does bring up the question will the Tiana and Naveen look as good as these newer AA's they are rolling out lately..

I'm sure by Destination D they may show more details...

I certainly hope so!

 

[Incomudro]

So the co-op is not just a backstory…

A story within a story, within a story, within a story...

 

[Incomudro]

Every possible storyline from every ethnic people that lived in the New Orleans river delta will be included...lol... Messy is right... and still there is no Facilier...no villain... Just lots of people that were not part of the plot or storyline of the source material...I don't get it...How much more can they cram into this attraction? A little worried about new animation for screens....

It sounds like it's headed to be very much like every recent film that goes the same route.
Every box needs to be checked.
Art done by committee and for focus groups.
They had an excellent source material with the film itself.
I do believe the ride will look good, and we're getting the animatronics.
But sheesh! This company has completely lost track of how to make things fun.

 

[James Alucobond]

It sounds like it's headed to be very much like every recent film that goes the same route.
Every box needs to be checked.
Art done by committee and for focus groups.
They had an excellent source material with the film itself.
I do believe the ride will look good, and we're getting the animatronics.
But sheesh! This company has completely lost track of how to make things fun.

I kind of disagree with the last statement. This sounds like they know how to make it fun (great music, detailed scenes, lots of animatronics), but they’ve completely lost the plot on how to market attractions. Like, they’re weirdly tight-lipped on the most basic of things (i.e. the stuff any normal person would care about), yet they spill the beans on all the easter eggs, which are completely superfluous and also now kind of spoiled because those are the sorts of things that are supposed to be fun to either discover on your own or as a community.

 

[Bocabear]

I kind of disagree with the last statement. This sounds like they know how to make it fun (great music, detailed scenes, lots of animatronics), but they’ve completely lost the plot on how to market attractions. Like, they’re weirdly tight-lipped on the most basic of things (i.e. the stuff any normal person would care about), yet they spill the beans on all the easter eggs, which are completely superfluous and also now kind of spoiled because those are the sorts of things that are supposed to be fun to either discover on your own or as a community.

I kind of agree with the previous poster...design by committee and focus groups, checking every box and make sure there is no villain is messing with the whole fairy tale formula... What is any adventure without some adversity? From what they are talking about it feels to me like they have completely lost their way...Yes it will be a good attraction, but will the characters be memorable? because from what they are currently talking about, I don't get it... Who is Ralphie and who cares? Just as I would not really care about one of Ariel's sisters or a cousin to Snow White...It feels off track...
And what we know of the attraction that has most people scratching their heads is directly from their marketing department...so I will agree that marketing also doesn't know what to do with all of this. Next I expect a big press release about the flooring on the exit ramp exactly matching the floor on an un-named, not-part-of-the-movie, shipping warehouse somewhere in New Orleans... Look, I get being authentic, and I love great details, but a lot of this feels like subterfuge because they really don't have anything to talk about...and none of it seems to relate to the source material for the attraction...unless you are really stretching beyond the scope of what we know about the characters...

 

[James Alucobond]

I kind of agree with the previous poster...design by committee and focus groups, checking every box and make sure there is no villain is messing with the whole fairy tale formula... What is any adventure without some adversity? From what they are talking about it feels to me like they have completely lost their way...Yes it will be a good attraction, but will the characters be memorable? because from what they are currently talking about, I don't get it... Who is Ralphie and who cares? Just as I would not really care about one of Ariel's sisters or a cousin to Snow White...It feels off track...
And what we know of the attraction that has most people scratching their heads is directly from their marketing department...so I will agree that marketing also doesn't know what to do with all of this. Next I expect a big press release about the flooring on the exit ramp exactly matching the floor on an un-named, not-part-of-the-movie, shipping warehouse somewhere in New Orleans... Look, I get being authentic, and I love great details, but a lot of this feels like subterfuge because they really don't have anything to talk about...and none of it seems to relate to the source material for the attraction...unless you are really stretching beyond the scope of what we know about the characters...

You're inventing criteria just so that this attraction doesn't meet them. There are many incredibly popular rides at WDW that feature no adversity whatsoever, including in the fantasy category. Frozen Ever After has none at all, and Seven Dwarves Mine Train only utilizes the Evil Queen for a half second cameo as a peeping hag.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Frozen Ever After has none at all, and Seven Dwarves Mine Train only utilizes the Evil Queen for a half second cameo as a peeping hag.

Are either of those even close to the level of an imagineering masterpiece such as Splash Mountain.

The ones that stand out are the 2 Avatar attractions, Soarin, and Small World.

 

[Incomudro]

You're inventing criteria just so that this attraction doesn't meet them. There are many incredibly popular rides at WDW that feature no adversity whatsoever, including in the fantasy category. Frozen Ever After has none at all, and Seven Dwarves Mine Train only utilizes the Evil Queen for a half second cameo as a peeping hag.

Those aren't the greatest examples.
Frozen didn't have a villain anything approaching Facilier.
Not only that, but the ride is not considered to be one of Disney's best.
As for Mine Train, well - it's a rollercoaster. There aren't a heckuva' lot of opportunities for animatronics etc., along the course of the ride.
PatF is perfectly laid out for such an application and build up.
And the Dr. was right there in the film.
A huge element in what made that film what it was.

 

[TDLFan]

I asked this before, but can't remember, what was the reason they decided to not retell the story of the film? It just seems like this is way more complicated than it needed to be, especially when they're bleeding money.

 

[James Alucobond]

Are either of those even close to the level of an imagineering masterpiece such as Splash Mountain.

The ones that stand out are the 2 Avatar attractions, Soarin, and Small World.

The poster I quoted specifically mentioned fantasy rides, so I was staying in that lane. But yes, there are many great attractions that don't meet that criterion.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The poster I quoted specifically mentioned fantasy rides, so I was staying in that lane. But yes, there are many great attractions that don't meet that criterion.

Oh yes, and I agree. But that’s my point, all of the good fantasy style rides have adversity.