Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros. Better?

[DDuckFan130]

I have to completely disagree. What was educational about the old El Rio? It was just a bunch of stereotypical, 70s travel footage meshed together in various really odd ways. There was no plot, story, or real education involved. The new attraction takes something familiar to children (at least donald) and reaches out to give them a plot. The attraction opens up the world of exploring Mexico (the only educational aspect of the old ride) to children. To me, that's not dumbing down. It's revitalizing an outdated and boring experience.

:sohappy:

Excellent post! It's what I've tried to say over and over again. It is not dumbing down Epcot, it's actually making the ride coherent.

 

[sbkline]

What's all this pish posh I keep hearing about "stereotypes"? :brick:

That word, like the word "racism" really has no meaning anymore because use those words at the drop of a hat without having any clue what they are talking about. If someone shoots a video of Mexicans doing the things that they do in Mexico, some loud mouth whiner always has to come along and boo hoo about "stereotyping". Things are what they are and the whole point of World Showcase has always been to showcase the cultures of the world. I don't know why so many people single out the Mexican pavillion as stereotyping when it is simply doing the same thing all the other pavillions do: give a sample of the countries, their cultures and their cuisine. Using that logic, ALL the countries of World Showcase are stereotyping. The Norway Ride has Vikings and Trolls. OH NO! They're stereotyping. Italy has alot of Renaissance stuff. Oh my Heavens! They're stereotyping. Germany has Octoberfest performers performing in their dining hall. Oh my gosh, they're stereotyping Germans as being a bunch of fat, drunken party animals!

Please people get over it and get a grip and quit the darn boo fricky fricky hooin' about stereotypes because that's what World Showcase is all about.

 

[sbkline]

Back on topic, though, I say that if we want to continue the trend of dumbing down Epcot with silly cartoons just to pander to the children, maybe Disney should acquire the rights to the old Pink Panther cartoons. Then, they can do away with "Impressions de France" and replace it with a silly slapstick cartoon of Inspector Clousseau searching the French countryside in search of the elusive Pink Panther. Why not...we would still be getting a lesson on France, but in a fun, entertaining way. :lol:

 

[DDuckFan130]

What's all this pish posh I keep hearing about "stereotypes"? :brick:

That word, like the word "racism" really has no meaning anymore because use those words at the drop of a hat without having any clue what they are talking about. If someone shoots a video of Mexicans doing the things that they do in Mexico, some loud mouth whiner always has to come along and boo hoo about "stereotyping". Things are what they are and the whole point of World Showcase has always been to showcase the cultures of the world. I don't know why so many people single out the Mexican pavillion as stereotyping when it is simply doing the same thing all the other pavillions do: give a sample of the countries, their cultures and their cuisine. Using that logic, ALL the countries of World Showcase are stereotyping. The Norway Ride has Vikings and Trolls. OH NO! They're stereotyping. Italy has alot of Renaissance stuff. Oh my Heavens! They're stereotyping. Germany has Octoberfest performers performing in their dining hall. Oh my gosh, they're stereotyping Germans as being a bunch of fat, drunken party animals!

Please people get over it and get a grip and quit the darn boo fricky fricky hooin' about stereotypes because that's what World Showcase is all about.

Okie dokie :wave:

Eh yeah all WS countries are stereotyping. My thing is with this whole belief that El Rio taught you something and now Gran Fiesta does not. El Rio did not teach you much. The ride was too confusing, whereas now you get a storyline and you get to see much more of Mexico than before because Panchito and Jose are looking for Donald everywhere.

:shrug:

As for your second post...heh that would be awesome! Unlike a lot of people, I am for change and even if they got rid of my favorite rides like Splash and ToT, I don't care. Get over THAT and move on and quit the boo hoo'ing and over El Rio being gone.

 

[sbkline]

Okie dokie :wave:

Eh yeah all WS countries are stereotyping.

I'm not sure if you were being sarcastic there or not, but my point wasn't that World Showcase is bad or anything. My point was that World Showcase is supposed to showcase a culture and that's what it does. And the other countries don't do anything that the Mexico pavillion didn't do, so I don't know why people single out Mexico to whine about stereotyping. If Mexico is stereotypical, then so is every other pavillion there. I just don't understand this constant whining about stereotypes. It seems that people always whine about wanting us to be "multicultural" and celebrate other cultures and diversity. But then when we do, they whine that we are "stereotyping". We can't win either way. What do these people want from us?!?! :brick: :shrug:

My thing is with this whole belief that El Rio taught you something and now Gran Fiesta does not. El Rio did not teach you much. The ride was too confusing, whereas now you get a storyline and you get to see much more of Mexico than before because Panchito and Jose are looking for Donald everywhere.

I don't see it that way, but you're just as entitled to your opinion as I am to mine, and that's what these threads are all about. :wave:

As for your second post...heh that would be awesome! Unlike a lot of people, I am for change and even if they got rid of my favorite rides like Splash and ToT, I don't care. Get over THAT and move on and quit the boo hoo'ing and over El Rio being gone.

:lol: Alright, fair enough! :ROFLOL:

 

[mickhyperion]

I'm not normally one for the inclusion of characters in a ride just to give it more kid appeal and I don't believe that is the case with the addition of The Three Caballeros to the old El Rio attraction. I think they have successfully tied a movie made by Walt himself into an attraction that almost seems tailormade for the movie. The movie itself was a travelogue of Mexico and so is the attraction. If anything, adding the movie association to the attraction gives the attraction additional levels of meaning. It's not just a romp through Mexico with random cartoon characters, it's a tribute to Walt Disney and a specific movie - a movie originally commissioned by the government to educate and entertain audiences interested in learning more about Latin America. I don't see any "dumbing down" happening here at all.

 

[DDuckFan130]

I'm not sure if you were being sarcastic there or not, but my point wasn't that World Showcase is bad or anything. My point was that World Showcase is supposed to showcase a culture and that's what it does. And the other countries don't do anything that the Mexico pavillion didn't do, so I don't know why people single out Mexico to whine about stereotyping. If Mexico is stereotypical, then so is every other pavillion there. I just don't understand this constant whining about stereotypes. It seems that people always whine about wanting us to be "multicultural" and celebrate other cultures and diversity. But then when we do, they whine that we are "stereotyping". We can't win either way. What do these people want from us?!?! :brick: :shrug:

Nah I wasn't being sarcastic with my post...I do see the stereotypes with every country for the most part...at least with the ones we are most familiar with. Mexico and Canada are our neighbors, and therefore the most familiar to us.

I will say this for the Mexico pavilion...my family enjoyed their food, and I bought a book of folktales for my class from there last weekend. Really random but it's the little things that make me come back to WDW...not the problems :shrug:

 

[Ivan72]

We were not happy with the Mexico refurb at all. I miss the early Mexican history scenes as well as the funny street vendor scene before the Mexico City scene. I know that The Three Caballeros dates back to Walt's day and that is important, but I feel it could have been included in scene or two, not dominate the entire ride. We will continue to ride if only for the beginning as you pass the San Angel Inn. Very nice atmosphere and scenery.

 

[Dragonrider1227]

Well, I had no personal interest to ride it before they were added. Infact, I don't recall knowing this ride even existed before they were added :ROFLOL:
and i'm with sbkline on the whole stereotyping thing. Next thing you know, It's a Small World will be closed for it's "Stereotyping"

 

[fizzle75]

No, I don't think it's an improvement at all.

I'm still honked off about it, to be honest and you just had to go and post something on it to get me started again. :lol:

I miss the old version. I miss the song the most . I also miss the narrator and the way he says "May-hee-ko" (meaning "Mexico"). To me, it was part of the classic Epcot experience to hear the festive music of El Rio del Tempo. And then they had to go and ruin it with this crap.

I'm not against characters in the World Showcase, per se. I have no problem with them roaming around outside, or doing autographs, such as Mulan in China, or Belle in France, etc. But I think the movies or rides of WS should be focused on the country and its culture and history, not Disney Characters. Just yet another way to dumb down the place to pander to the kiddies, and I think it sucks in a major way.

I've used this analogy before and I'll use it again...what's next on the agenda? Gutting out "reflections of China" and replacing it with a friggin Mulan movie? Heck, with the recent refurb of "Oh Canada", I'm surprised they didn't just put a Brother Bear movie, or Dudly Doo-Right in there. Heck, why not freakin Rocky and Bullwinkle? :brick: I'm being a little facetious there, since I know the latter two aren't Disney, but you catch my drift I'm sure.

Sorry brother, but I must respectfully disagree.:wave:

Let me first say that I really didn't like El Rio Del Tiempo very much at all and as a result I had absolutely no emotional/sentimental attachment to it. I can't even remember the theme song unlike alot of the other posters on this thread. Being a relative WDW newbie I have no problem whatsoever with characters being incorporated into the attractions at World Showcase. I have been a humongous fan of these characters since I was a child and loooong before I became a fan of WDW. While I don't think Gran Fiesta is a "must see" attraction, I do think it is tons better than it's previous incarnation.

Many have talked about how uninformative Gran Fiesta is compared to El Rio but I must say neither one of them gives you a very good glimpse into the culture they are representing. I always walked away from El Rio knowing no more about the Mexican culture than I did before I went in and I still feel the same way when I walk out of Gran Fiesta.

Did WDI do a great job with Gran Fiesta? Not really. I definitely think they could have incorporated the characters AND made it much more informative than El Rio. I think they should have placed more emphasis on Jose Carioca and/or Panchito or even made them the stars of the ride.

Do I LIKE Gran Fiesta? Yes, if for no other reason than I am a huge Donald Duck fan(I'm watching him right now).


VIVA DONALD!!!:sohappy:

 

[marinoalulema]

Gran Fiesta Tour

I must agree that adding the 3 Caballeros made it worse. So much worse that it went from being one of my all time favorites to a ride that I will be avoiding from now on.

Problem is that it was not done well. The entire ride should have been redone and updated, not only the film footage and a few items here and there. It should have gotten a newer brighter paint job, some way to combine it with the new "cartoon" feel they were giving it.

I hate the new film footage, all it says is Donald, Donald? over and over again

 

[Thiger]

I loved El Rio and this Monday will be my first time on the new version...To say the least I'm a lil unhappy hearing that not too many enjoyed the ride but I still have to see it for my own eyes.

I still think the best part is right at the beginning when you float by the dining area

oh and the if you had wings guy too

i'm sure he's finally retired

 

[Rototom]

I loved El Rio del Tempo and I really like "Fiesta"

I will miss all of the things others have said - the music, narrator & funny scenes but I do not feel the new version is bad. It's a good update and I will ride it everytime I am there.

I will Youtube it when I want to hear / see things from the original.

The Epcot I loved in my youth is gone, I've accpeted it and I'm enjoying today's Epcot. (Except Imagination, that HAS to be fixed!)

 

[ImaYoyo]

Just my 2 cents that I'm a fan of the Fiesta.

 

[Mr_Tom_Morrow]

It's tolerable.

The new one is humorous,but i preferred the more educational feel to it

I loved the music in the ride especially the beginning with the flute thing,and I liked watching the native dancing,but was overly annoyed by the annoying salespeople in the market scene,some of the new scene are pretty comical,which is a good change

So yeah I can tolerate the new version lol

 

[tirian]

Everyone at Epcot is lost.

Nemo? Nemo, where are you?

Donald? Donald, where are you?

Bill, this is Ellen. I'm stuck with a bunch of dinosaurs. Where are you?

...

:dazzle:

 

[Mr_Tom_Morrow]

Everyone at Epcot is lost.

Nemo? Nemo, where are you?

Donald? Donald, where are you?

Bill, this is Ellen. I'm stuck with a bunch of dinosaurs. Where are you?

...

:dazzle:

lol i never realized that

 

[mousermerf]

Back to the standard arguement..

If El Rio del Tiempo was educational, and you loved it so much, what was it about?

Explain, in detail, what the ride was teaching you. Type it all out and then take a quick snack break and come back to read the rest of this post...

*waits for you*

Welcome back! I know what El Rio del Tiempo was about. I have more then thoroughly proven it on these boards - feel free to do a search. If you find my description of the attraction and scene explination and compare it with "your version" - how do they compare?

Was there little to nothing in common between the two? Where there huge gaps of information and large segments of symbolism and history which is in my version and not in yours? Do those sections unarguably make El Rio actually make sense?

Now - why didn't your version match mine? My version, unarguably (based on tons of research), is the correct one. Perhaps El Rio had a message but -no one- was getting it?

We had this debate on this board when El Rio closed. Everyone screamed and said they knew what it was about. I researched and found the actual ride information and scene explination. Everyone was shocked. It's not about what anyone thought it was about. That's why there aren't threads here ranting against it. The community here generally accepts that the original ride was of poor quality in conveying it's theme, though it had some cute kitsch touches. It was not a work of art or granduer. It was a mess.

We know this, history knows it, and the world has moved on.

 

[Texas84]

LOVE the new version. Hated the old one. As a native South Texan, the old version made me embarrassed for my hispanic friends. Now I'm looking forward to riding it again this December! :xmas: Donald does indeed rule!

 

[JEANYLASER]

I love Gran Fiesta Starring The Three Caballeros it is so awsome and cool! A Perfect 10!