Okay, so as you all know, I'm against the Splash Mountain retheme. I've suggested this before, but I still think it'd be a good idea to spare Splash Mountain and build a Princess and the Frog ride elsewhere in the parks that could actually act as a companion to Splash Mountain, a tamer alternative to children afraid of the drops. For Disneyland, my idea is to have this attraction replace the Winnie the Pooh attraction (I love Pooh, but Disneyland's version of the attraction is weak and I feel the character deserves a better ride in Fantasyland) and the Magic Kingdom's version could replace the Princess Fairytale Hall (as many people have pointed out, The Princess and the Frog would be ill-fitting in Frontierland). I've used the former as a basis for this ride-through. And before anybody says anything, I know the reason why Splash Mountain is being rethemed is not simply to give The Princess and the Frog a ride but so that Disney can ignore Song of the South ever happened (actually, it's because people on Twitter demanded it. Yeah, I said it). Please refrain from bringing that up. I'm just sharing an idea.
The bridge that once led to Country Bear Hall is still there, with a new wooden sign featuring Tiana, Naveen, and Louis' likenesses over the entrance. I think a good name for the attraction would be "Goin' Down the Bayou" or something along those lines. I'm not sure whether the rest of the queue would still be outdoors or now enclosed. The Magic Kingdom's queue, of course, would be indoors, appearing to be in a boat rental shack. It's here that guests board their ride vehicles, small wooden rafts (the attraction isn't a boat ride, but the floors would be painted to look like water) and head off into the bayou.
After leaving the shack, we find ourselves in a bayou at night. Ray appears in front of us and invites us to follow him. Suddenly, the bayou is aglow with Ray's family, other animals peeking out of logs, bushes, tall grass, etc. as Ray sings "Goin' Down the Bayou". Tiana and Naveen are seen aboard a riverboat, greeting us and bringing up that they're on their way to Mardi Gras, and they'll see us there. Louis is inviting various animals (turtles, raccoons, possums, etc.) along to Mardi Gras with him. He spots us, greets us, and tells us that he knows a shortcut to New Orleans. This scene, in the Disneyland version, replaces the Blustery Day sequence.
We continue into the bayou, encountering more singing animals who are excited for Mardi Gras. Suddenly, we see a group of hunters emerge from the tall grass, causing the animals to scatter. Louis peeks out from behind a tree and warns us not to let the hunters know we're here. This scene, in the Disneyland version, replaces the Floody Place sequence, with Louis and the hunters about where Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, and Rabbit are currently.
After getting away from the hunters, the bayou grows dark. Big, nasty gators emerge from the water on all sides of us. They're hungry! We dodge them, but there seems to be another one everywhere we turn. Fortunately, Louis reappears and tells his fellow gators that we're with him, prompting the gators to back off. This scene, in the Disneyland version, replaces the Tigger scene.
From there, we make it out of the bayou and zip down the streets of New Orleans. Louis excitedly tells us that we're almost there... and then, all of a sudden, Dr. Facilier appears in front of us in a puff of smoke. "A tip of the hat from Dr. Facilier. How y'all doin'?" he asks. When Louis asks what he's doing back in New Orleans, Facilier claims that his friends on the other side were craving fresh souls (or something like that)... and that they'd love to meet us. Our rafts are suddenly jerked towards the open mouth of that big tiki head thing from the movie. Louis tries to save us from being sucked in, but winds up getting pulled in too. In the Disneyland version, this scene replaces Pooh's house.
We find ourselves in the realm of Dr. Facilier's "friends". Chanting tiki heads, cackling shadows, and drumming voodoo dolls are all around. "Are you ready?! Are you reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaady?!" Facilier shouts. Louis is being restrained by two gigantic snakes (the same ones that restrained Naveen in the film). There's an opportunity to do some neat blacklight effects in this part. But before Facilier can take the riders' souls, Mama Odie appears with a torch and spooks the shadows away (I know it's a blatant Deus Ex Machina, but whatever). She fights Dr. Facilier, allowing us to escape. This scene, in the Disneyland version, replaces the Heffalumps and Woozles sequence (Louis and the snakes are where the pink Tigger pounced on Pooh is now, whereas Mama Odie is where the Heffalump Cannon is now).
We see Louis standing at the exit to the other side, advising us to get out while Facilier is distracted. We climb through the exit and wind up back in New Orleans. Spoonbills appear and tell us to follow them to Mardi Gras. Jazz music can be heard playing in the distance. This scene, in the Disneyland version, replaces the scene with Pooh eating honey and the Heffalump Bees.
Finally, we arrive at Mardi Gras. Giant floats parade down the street. Louis is playing his trumpet. Tiana, Naveen and everyone are partying and singing a medley of "Dig a Little Deeper" and "Down in New Oreans". As we turn to leave, Ray appears again and says, "Y'all come back, y'hear?" (a reference to Country Bear Jamboree). We head back into the load area/go back outside and disembark.
The bridge that once led to Country Bear Hall is still there, with a new wooden sign featuring Tiana, Naveen, and Louis' likenesses over the entrance. I think a good name for the attraction would be "Goin' Down the Bayou" or something along those lines. I'm not sure whether the rest of the queue would still be outdoors or now enclosed. The Magic Kingdom's queue, of course, would be indoors, appearing to be in a boat rental shack. It's here that guests board their ride vehicles, small wooden rafts (the attraction isn't a boat ride, but the floors would be painted to look like water) and head off into the bayou.
After leaving the shack, we find ourselves in a bayou at night. Ray appears in front of us and invites us to follow him. Suddenly, the bayou is aglow with Ray's family, other animals peeking out of logs, bushes, tall grass, etc. as Ray sings "Goin' Down the Bayou". Tiana and Naveen are seen aboard a riverboat, greeting us and bringing up that they're on their way to Mardi Gras, and they'll see us there. Louis is inviting various animals (turtles, raccoons, possums, etc.) along to Mardi Gras with him. He spots us, greets us, and tells us that he knows a shortcut to New Orleans. This scene, in the Disneyland version, replaces the Blustery Day sequence.
We continue into the bayou, encountering more singing animals who are excited for Mardi Gras. Suddenly, we see a group of hunters emerge from the tall grass, causing the animals to scatter. Louis peeks out from behind a tree and warns us not to let the hunters know we're here. This scene, in the Disneyland version, replaces the Floody Place sequence, with Louis and the hunters about where Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, and Rabbit are currently.
After getting away from the hunters, the bayou grows dark. Big, nasty gators emerge from the water on all sides of us. They're hungry! We dodge them, but there seems to be another one everywhere we turn. Fortunately, Louis reappears and tells his fellow gators that we're with him, prompting the gators to back off. This scene, in the Disneyland version, replaces the Tigger scene.
From there, we make it out of the bayou and zip down the streets of New Orleans. Louis excitedly tells us that we're almost there... and then, all of a sudden, Dr. Facilier appears in front of us in a puff of smoke. "A tip of the hat from Dr. Facilier. How y'all doin'?" he asks. When Louis asks what he's doing back in New Orleans, Facilier claims that his friends on the other side were craving fresh souls (or something like that)... and that they'd love to meet us. Our rafts are suddenly jerked towards the open mouth of that big tiki head thing from the movie. Louis tries to save us from being sucked in, but winds up getting pulled in too. In the Disneyland version, this scene replaces Pooh's house.
We find ourselves in the realm of Dr. Facilier's "friends". Chanting tiki heads, cackling shadows, and drumming voodoo dolls are all around. "Are you ready?! Are you reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaady?!" Facilier shouts. Louis is being restrained by two gigantic snakes (the same ones that restrained Naveen in the film). There's an opportunity to do some neat blacklight effects in this part. But before Facilier can take the riders' souls, Mama Odie appears with a torch and spooks the shadows away (I know it's a blatant Deus Ex Machina, but whatever). She fights Dr. Facilier, allowing us to escape. This scene, in the Disneyland version, replaces the Heffalumps and Woozles sequence (Louis and the snakes are where the pink Tigger pounced on Pooh is now, whereas Mama Odie is where the Heffalump Cannon is now).
We see Louis standing at the exit to the other side, advising us to get out while Facilier is distracted. We climb through the exit and wind up back in New Orleans. Spoonbills appear and tell us to follow them to Mardi Gras. Jazz music can be heard playing in the distance. This scene, in the Disneyland version, replaces the scene with Pooh eating honey and the Heffalump Bees.
Finally, we arrive at Mardi Gras. Giant floats parade down the street. Louis is playing his trumpet. Tiana, Naveen and everyone are partying and singing a medley of "Dig a Little Deeper" and "Down in New Oreans". As we turn to leave, Ray appears again and says, "Y'all come back, y'hear?" (a reference to Country Bear Jamboree). We head back into the load area/go back outside and disembark.
