El Rio Del Tiempo vs Grand Fiesta

CaptainJackNO

CaptainJackNO

Well-Known Member
It's the same ride except for the addition of the three caballeros and the change in soundtrack. I prefer the old soundtrack. It was more authentic.
 
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CheshireCat12

Well-Known Member
Gran fiesta is cute and it does remind me of IASW a lot. I love the colorful AA's and decorations, not such a big fan of the video bit BUT this is an attraction I look forward to each trip.
BTW, El Rio del Tiempo- I remember NOTHING about it (went in 1988 and then not again for 20 years)
 
Bairstow

Bairstow

Well-Known Member
Cmdr_Crimson said:
Makes me still wish that they could've reused the AA's of them from the Mickey Mouse Revue and get them updated to have been used for the finale rather than the animation.
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Bit of an update-

In a recent podcast Jim Hill claims that the three animatronics above were actually shipped from Tokyo to EPCOT for Gran Fiesta Tour.
However, they've been sitting backstage for over three years because Erin Youngs hasn't wanted to budget the money to install them.

Can anyone confirm?
 
Y

yellowb

Well-Known Member
Gran Fiesta Tour! We actually rode it three times during our last trip. I admit that the 3 Caballeros mariachi song is very catchy and fun to hum to yourself while walking around World Showcase.
 
harlock2977

harlock2977

Member
I gotta go with El Rio. I especially liked the Aztec gods depicted in the first act of the ride. I also thought the finale seemed a lot more kinetic with the carousel and mirrors. And last but not least, another one of X Atencio's catchy songs.
 
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George

George

Liker of Things
Premium Member
Both versions are fairly lame. I always felt like this ride was a big lie. The best part is the volcano, restaurant beginning. No follow through after that.
 
HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
I love Donald and prefer many elements of the current ride, but a coworker of mine who is of Mexican origin went to WDW back in April and was offended by the current ride. I showed her a video of the previous ride and she was more pleased with that, but she was bothered enough that she wrote a letter to Disney. Obviously, they're not going to revamp an entire attraction from one person's complaint, but she was really hot over the matter and felt that the current ride made a mockery of her culture. We were at work and I didn't want to get into a deep conversation that could grab the attention of the HR rep near us, but it definitely has me wondering how many others have been bothered by this. Then again, I know this girl is overly sensitive on a number of things as she was also angry about certain aspects of PotC.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
HouCuseChickie said:
I love Donald and prefer many elements of the current ride, but a coworker of mine who is of Mexican origin went to WDW back in April and was offended by the current ride. I showed her a video of the previous ride and she was more pleased with that, but she was bothered enough that she wrote a letter to Disney. Obviously, they're not going to revamp an entire attraction from one person's complaint, but she was really hot over the matter and felt that the current ride made a mockery of her culture. We were at work and I didn't want to get into a deep conversation that could grab the attention of the HR rep near us, but it definitely has me wondering how many others have been bothered by this. Then again, I know this girl is overly sensitive on a number of things as she was also angry about certain aspects of PotC.
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It is truly sad when one is born without a sense of humor. Makes for a life of constant turmoil. I have two grandchildren like that. They do not have the ability to recognize a joke or even someone teasing them a little. They are quick to correct anyone that they perceive as wrong no matter how much older they are then them. I worry about them for later years because if you don't have a sense of humor, life can be pretty tough.
 
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Becky

Active Member
Sped2424 said:
El rio de Tiempo*"(Op if you wanna have a conversation ya gotta get the title right my friend) While I agree the music is fun and energetic and I am a huge fan of the 3 caballero's I don't feel they adequately represent mexico simply because Panchito is labeled as Mexican. If anything he is a negative stereotype and the ride ends up showing little or nothing to do about the culture and richness that mexico has to offer. What it is instead is like a post card that one could find in walgreens that says mexico on the front, nice and organized shot of someplace famous but gives you little or nothing about what is actually there. Also as a narrative Rio had way more going for it than the current version which is the same ride just with Donald and the gang slapped up in there."

If you want to have a conversation about Mexico you need to capitalize the country's name my friend.
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Funmeister's Delight

Funmeister's Delight

Active Member
El Rio Del Tiempo was okay but what you are all missing here is that 75% of what the ride was supposed to be was cut during production. It was supposed to be a full cruise through the history of Mexico. The ride was going to be completely cut due to the whole park going over budget (this is why World Showcase is rather bare when it comes to attractions). An extremely short version of the ride was green lit after the Rhine River cruise was cancelled and they needed more capacity. Thus became El Rio Del Tiempo.
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Without having read the entire thread....

MarkTwain said:
I remember thinking in Rio de Tiempo's twilight years that it was starting to feel a little long in the tooth, that some of the scenes were starting to feel hokey or even stereotypical, and that the market scene (now the party scene) seemed almost downright racist.
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After reading the thread title my first thought was the market scene...and how spot-on it used to be. Having been to Mexico ports 4x last year on 2 DCL Western Caribbean voyages the barking shop keepers trying to sell you anything and everything is pretty spot-on. At the end of the day it even turns to guilt trips, "You promised" and "My turn". If anything, the market scenes were too nice. If you were on your way out they'd be working the guilt angles. Just sayin'.

I think Tiempo was awesome back in the day. You really got a sample of what a Mexico vacation might offer. It just needed the video segments updated. I suppose the easier route was inserting characters which is cute, I guess. But really, having been to Mexico last year, 4 port stops on 2 cruises, there is so much more to Mexico than that ride delivers now. On that alone I vote Tiempo.

**edit**
I'd like to add that if I had my choice between a vaca to Mexico & a vaca to WDW I'd prob'ly choose Mexico every day and twice on Sunday. Lake Bacalar is calling me.
 
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