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

[Animaniac93-98]

Yes, I think this is the typical re-writing of history on these boards where cautious optimism or just neutrality morphs into enthusiastic endorsement.

I'm kind of curious to know how this re-theme is looking to Disney in retrospect. I suspect they would rather have not spent the money, though I would be curious whether guest ratings of Tiana are better, worse, or the same as Splash's in its final years. I would also be interested to know if they see it bringing in much in the way of extra revenue from LL or merchandise or if, again, that's more or less a bust.

Based on info from Tour Plans, guest ranking of Tiana compared to other Magic Kingdom rides is the same as it was for Splash.

Merch and LL are presumably higher, as Splash Mountain did not offer ILL and there's more merch in general.

I can't imagine they're thrilled with the ongoing reliability and effects issues, but they probably see the ride as more "Disney" and on brand now for being based on one of their more recent movies. We know trying to reshape the parks to be more about current IP is a major initiative they're willing to spend a lot of money on.

If Disney has any regrets, it's likely all the time they spent trying to turn PatF into it's own franchise, only to ultimately cancel the spin off series (that was supposed to connect with this ride) after 5 years of work. Tiana never had a sequel (theatrical or direct-to-video), no Broadway adaptation, no stand alone ice show or parade in the parks since 2009, TV series like Tangled or Big Hero Six etc. This was the chance for the character to make a big return and they basically gave up after the ride opened.

 

[dmc493]

Based on info from Tour Plans, guest ranking of Tiana compared to other Magic Kingdom rides is the same as it was for Splash.

Merch and LL are presumably higher, as Splash Mountain did not offer ILL and there's more merch in general.

I can't imagine they're thrilled with the ongoing reliability and effects issues, but they probably see the ride as more "Disney" and on brand now for being based on one of their more recent movies. We know trying to reshape the parks to be more about current IP is a major initiative they're willing to spend a lot of money on.

If Disney has any regrets, it's likely all the time they spent trying to turn PatF into it's own franchise, only to ultimately cancel the spin off series (that was supposed to connect with this ride) after 5 years of work. Tiana never had a sequel (theatrical or direct-to-video), no Broadway adaptation, no stand alone ice show or parade in the parks since 2009, TV series like Tangled or Big Hero Six etc. This was the chance for the character to make a big return and they basically gave up after the ride opened.

I think they gave up independently of the ride, it feels like the show was cancelled more based on realignment of priorities for Disney+ and the animation studio

 

[WaltWiz1901]

I don't think anyone knows how to do whimsy anymore. At least not anyone mainstream and certainly not anyone Disney has hired. I can't remember the last thing I experienced that seemed to hit that spot.

I blame the obsession with irony and self awareness that just will not die.

the dearth of tastefully done whimsical attractions in the 21st century stings harder when you realize that Imagineering could theoretically still pull it off, and have...overseas and for the most part not even under TWDC's money (it helps that the company doing the spending there has greater enthusiasm for the Disney brand than Disney themselves and isn't dominated by egotists driven by hubris and envy/hostility towards the greats).

imagine if, over the past decade-and-a-half, the American parks had gotten whimsical attractions on par with Hunny Hunt, Sindbad, etc. rather than Little Mermaid, Tiana, etc. I can guarantee you no one would be lamenting the abandonment of whimsy if they had put in that extra effort

 

[Tha Realest]

How much, I wonder, does these reliability issues affect the decision process over what to do in TDL?

I get TWDC really wants them to change it. The poor quality in both parks makes that a really hard sell, one would think.

 

[WaltWiz1901]

How much, I wonder, does these reliability issues affect the decision process over what to do in TDL?

I get TWDC really wants them to change it. The poor quality in both parks makes that a really hard sell, one would think.

fairly certain @Brer Oswald said they had given up on getting OLC to change theirs a few months ago. OLC more than likely didn't think it was worth the trouble replacing one of their most popular E-tickets

 

[EagleScout610]

fairly certain @Brer Oswald said they had given up on getting OLC to change theirs a few months ago. OLC more than likely didn't think it was worth the trouble replacing one of their most popular E-tickets

Basically it boils down to OLC doesn't want Bayou. If they get something, they're getting something good, since The rumor is Bob is willing to pay the retheme cost.

 

[mickEblu]

I was at the park yesterday and Tiana had a posted 90 minute wait time. It was a nice warm Spring Day and I’m sure you have a lot of first timers/ Spring Breakers who are at the parks on either regular tickets or those So Cal 3 day tickets. Maybe even some MK’s who didn’t want to ride in the cold last year. Anyway my question is do all the negative comments and dislikes on social media / YouTube matter to Disney when the park is packed and the ride wait time is posted at 90+ minutes? The equivalent in the movie world would be Disney caring about social media comments when the movie is raking in 100’s of millions in the box office.

Obviously the wait time should surprise nobody as a thrilling 10 minute water ride at one of the busiest theme parks is going to pull guests no matter what (especially when it’s warm) but I wonder what metrics Disney might look at when deciding to invest more money to better the attraction? It feels like it would have to almost be an imagineers passion project and that said imagineer would have to have some pull with the suits.

Then again if it was so straight forward, why would any functioning attractions with decent waits ever get plussed at Disneyland? Things like adding the explosion effect to Big Thunder Mountain must be a passion project that an imagineers gets off the ground. I guess there all sorts of reasons perfectly functioning, well attended attractions get invested in from synergy, merch opportunities, relevancy, DEI initiatives, anniversary budgets etc. Just wondering what good reason Disney would decide to invest a few more million into TBA to make it a decent attraction if you have (posted) 90 minute wait times? Maybe the answer is there is no good reason… right now. I guess that Facilier Halloween overlay idea I’ve been throwing out there for years might be the only thing that would make sense/ cents to Disney at any point in the short term.

 

[lentesta]

If I’m not mistaken, @lentesta has said the reviews he collects show great enthusiasm for the new ride. I personally think it’s a major downgrade, though it needn’t and shouldn’t have been.

Yep. One of the top 3 rides in the MK based on reader feedback.

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ֊ᗩζᗩᗰ]

Yep. One of the top 3 rides in the MK based on reader feedback.

It's the end times. That's all folk. Hang it up! Goodnight.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Yep. One of the top 3 rides in the MK based on reader feedback.

Perfect evidence to show that we basically live in a glass bubble here, an echo chamber. The perspectives shared here can feel like they must be the general consensus, but the truth is... they're not.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Perfect evidence to show that we basically live in a glass bubble here, an echo chamber. The perspectives shared here can feel like they must be the general consensus, but the truth is... they're not.

Tiana being in the top 3 rides of MK is not necessarily proof of everyone agreeing it's better than what it replaced.

I believe Touring Plans data suggests people like it about as much as what it replaced, but not everyone surveyed would have been on Splash before to make such a comparison.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I think if Disney knew how far right the country would shift and how much the company would become a punching bag of the anti-woke crowd during 2022-2024, it would have in retrospect not gone forward with the retheme. But there's no way the company could have foreseen that in 2020. I think the Disney company of 2025 — the version of the company that edits out trans characters from Pixar shows, removes disclaimers before old films, and hides Rachel Zegler from the press — would be fine leaving Splash Mountain as is.

To be clear, I think it was the right decision in theory to move beyond the Song of the South theme in favor of the Princess and the Frog. But the execution of the retheme was so mishandled that I cannot help but prefer the OG version of Splash Mountain. Had the new version actually have been based on The Princess and the Frog instead of a boring search for an animal band, we could have had a classic new ride.

IMO it would have happened anyway for the same reason they're ripping out the rest of Frontierland.

Maybe they would have chosen something else instead of Tiana, but they would have done something.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Tiana being in the top 3 rides of MK is not necessarily proof of everyone agreeing it's better than what it replaced.

I believe Touring Plans data suggests people like it about as much as what it replaced, but not everyone surveyed would have been on Splash before to make such a comparison.

Right, which was kinda my point. That's a question a minority (us types) can answer, consider, ponder, argue about, theorize, etc. The vast majority of visitors every day, wouldn't even think "is this better than what was here before?"

I'd wager you could survey a large swath of visitors any day, and they'd think it's a brand new attraction.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Right, which was kinda my point. That's a question a minority (us types) can answer, consider, ponder, argue about, theorize, etc. The vast majority of visitors every day, wouldn't even think "is this better than what was here before?"

I'd wager you could survey a large swath of visitors any day, and they'd think it's a brand new attraction.

It's sold and advertised as a brand new attraction, so I wouldn't blame them for not knowing what was there before.

 

[Brer Oswald]

fairly certain @Brer Oswald said they had given up on getting OLC to change theirs a few months ago. OLC more than likely didn't think it was worth the trouble replacing one of their most popular E-tickets

Correct.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Based on info from Tour Plans, guest ranking of Tiana compared to other Magic Kingdom rides is the same as it was for Splash.

Merch and LL are presumably higher, as Splash Mountain did not offer ILL and there's more merch in general.

I can't imagine they're thrilled with the ongoing reliability and effects issues, but they probably see the ride as more "Disney" and on brand now for being based on one of their more recent movies. We know trying to reshape the parks to be more about current IP is a major initiative they're willing to spend a lot of money on.

If Disney has any regrets, it's likely all the time they spent trying to turn PatF into it's own franchise, only to ultimately cancel the spin off series (that was supposed to connect with this ride) after 5 years of work. Tiana never had a sequel (theatrical or direct-to-video), no Broadway adaptation, no stand alone ice show or parade in the parks since 2009, TV series like Tangled or Big Hero Six etc. This was the chance for the character to make a big return and they basically gave up after the ride opened.

While I realise we have to tread carefully on these topics, I tend to agree with @Ghost93 that, at the very least, they would have been less likely to make this change today given the current political environment. Based on the information we have, though, it seems hard to know whether they regret spending the money and making the change in retrospect. PatF not becoming a franchise does kind of undermine the "franchise mandate", but then PatF is part of one of their most profitable franchises (Princesses) anyway.

As @lentesta mentioned, guests seem to like the ride at similar levels to Splash. However, do we know if Splash was also one of the top three most popular rides in the park before it closed anyway?

I don't know quite why I am so interested in this, but I really do wonder whether internally they view this change as a success given that the fan response goes so far in the other direction.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Yep. One of the top 3 rides in the MK based on reader feedback.

You mean the average person doesn’t ride it thinking, “Omg, that little critter I see for 1/4 of a second isn’t moving!”

Neither did I. Put me in the “dig it” column.

However, do we know if Splash was also one of the top three most popular rides in the park before it closed anyway?

Excellent question. Of course, we can always expect fluctuation based on what is new at the time.

 

[Smooth]

Maybe people just like the ride, the big drop and splash at the end, as long as it has some Disney characters thrown in?

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

I'd be really curious to see the results of a survey that asked specifically which one people prefer if they rode both.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I'd be really curious to see the results of a survey that asked specifically which one people prefer if they rode both.

I don't know why that would give you better data, though, than comparing satisfaction ratings of both when they were open. If, for example, surveys show the new ride averages 4.6/5 satisfaction rating while the old ride was averging 4/5 on surveys when it was open but when you ask people who rode both which they preferred a majority say the old ride, what do you do with that data? Do you say the new attraction is worse or do you say people's memory is faulty because the data shows people, on average, rated the old ride one lower than the new one when it was open?