There’s an interesting thought that crossed my mind, and it has little to do with the current theme. Who is the target audience for this attraction going forwards? We’ve long been looking at this with our own older perspective when we’ve needed to look at it with a child’s perspective.
It is true that PatF is far more relevant to younger children, but is a 50 ft log flume a great ride for young children. I imagine the target audience, specifically with the post ride merchandise, is going to be 3-10, same as most Princess attractions and Fantasyland attractions. But there’s a reason why most Princess attractions have been dark rides. When you get to a theme park, inclusivity isn’t just about background, but height, size, and thrill level as well.
The height requirement for the ride is 40”, which the average age for that height for both genders is 4-5. So far not too bad, but it’s likely a no go for the youngest side of the targeted age. But then you have the thrill level of the ride itself. It’s the most thrilling ride at the park, no question, and the scariest part is on full display. Many younger children (not all, I realize there are some daredevils) are going to be intimidated by the drop. This is going to be a very hard sell for anyone under the age of 8, as the ride has always been, and with less of that target audience going through the ride, less are going to get to go on the ride based around their role model, Princess Tiana, and less are going to go through that gift shop and buy toys and dresses.
So my question is, what do you think they can do to mitigate this issue? Will they tone down the drop? They did that from Maelstrom to Frozen, but that drop was also incredibly small to begin with. Will they create a supplementary Princess and The Frog attraction for intimidated youngsters? Maybe on TSI? Or a restaurant to replace Pecos Bill/Country Bears? Maybe they retheme the boat?
