Tiana's Bayou Adventure: Disneyland Watch & Discussion

[el_super]

They have subsequently corrected that statement. They are on board with this being just routine maintenance.

In the past few years, they have routinely closed Splash Mountain (and sometimes all of Critter Country) from Jan to Mar due to low ridership. I would not expect that much gets done in the form of "maintenance."

Maybe they ll just keep delaying this until people forget about it. Besides hasn’t cancel culture been cancelled already? I still believe that Splash would be around for another 20+ years if Disney didn’t chicken out/ virtue signal during the height of BLM.

I don't know, that kind of assumes that the reasons for the BLM protests have been completely addressed, and there won't be another rise in violence in the future that puts the spotlight back on Splash Mountain. If another incident occurs in the next ten years, and everyone sees that Disney did nothing to change the ride, it would look really, really bad.

Just develop a new PatF ride and drop it somewhere at DL and WDW…done. It’s certainly worthy of a dark ride. They need to stop pandering. Their first Black princess deserves her own, novel ride, not a layover. And this would be easy for DPB to spin. “While developing an update to Splash Mountain, we realized we have so many ideas for Princess and the Frog that it really deserves it’s own new ride… blah blah blah paint colors blah blah blah you are the Magic.”

They should be willing to build a new PatF ride, but they would still need to close Splash Mountain. I'd be all for just tearing down the whole thing and starting from scratch though.

 

[CaptinEO]

I mean the fact that the ride still is up a year and a half after they called it problematic, and that no one visiting their park is bothered shows that the ride is fine and how they overreacted in their original announcement.

Disney will never say the retheme was cancelled, it will just be like many of their projects such as MK Theater or the Spaceship Earth retheme where they go silent about it.

 

[el_super]

Disney will never say the retheme was cancelled, it will just be like many of their projects such as MK Theater or the Spaceship Earth retheme where they go silent about it.

No. They are still actively working on the Splash Mountain re-theme.

 

[mickEblu]

Just develop a new PatF ride and drop it somewhere at DL and WDW…done. It’s certainly worthy of a dark ride. They need to stop pandering. Their first Black princess deserves her own, novel ride, not a layover. And this would be easy for DPB to spin. “While developing an update to Splash Mountain, we realized we have so many ideas for Princess and the Frog that it really deserves it’s own new ride… blah blah blah paint colors blah blah blah you are the Magic.”

Exactly. It would be very easy for the DPB to spin it and the more time that passes the easier it gets. Perhaps, they re delaying it because they want to see if they can build a new PatF ride with the Disneyland Forward expansion? Of course Smart money is still on this being delayed for $$$ reasons and that Splash Mountain still gets rethemed but the more time that passes the easier it is to see an outcome where Splash survives.

 

[Disney Irish]

Exactly. It would be very easy for the DPB to spin it and the more time that passes the easier it gets. Perhaps, they re delaying it because they want to see if they can build a new PatF ride with the Disneyland Forward expansion? Of course Smart money is still on this being delayed for $$$ reasons and that Splash Mountain still gets rethemed but the more time that passes the easier it is to see an outcome where Splash survives.

I know you keep holding out hope my friend, but you have to face facts, the likelihood of Splash surviving the long term in any form is pretty much zero. Even if PatF got a purpose built ride somewhere else at DLR, Splash would still be rethemed to something else.

 

[mickEblu]

I know you keep holding out hope my friend, but you have to face facts, the likelihood of Splash surviving the long term in any form is pretty much zero. Even if PatF got a purpose built ride somewhere else at DLR, Splash would still be rethemed to something else.

It’s not likely but I disagree that it’s zero.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I know you keep holding out hope my friend, but you have to face facts, the likelihood of Splash surviving the long term in any form is pretty much zero. Even if PatF got a purpose built ride somewhere else at DLR, Splash would still be rethemed to something else.

Unlikely but to be fair, they cancel projects all the time. It’s clear this isn’t a priority.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Someone on Twitter named Scott Gustin stated that he verified with Disney that Splash is not permanently closing in January. I don't know who he is or what he knows but Blog Mickey ran with his tweet.

Scott is media, he has direct contact with Disney media relations. He normally posts Disney news as it drops, as he is given the press releases under embargo in advance, etc.

 

[Disney Irish]

It’s not likely but I disagree that it’s zero.

It would be very surprising at this point for Splash to be saved. So yeah I would put it still at zero chance of being saved. They're determined to change the attraction one way or another.

Unlikely but to be fair, they cancel projects all the time. It’s clear this isn’t a priority.

There is a difference in financial priority and corporate mandate priority. Its clear there is still a corporate mandate to change the attraction. Just because it hasn't happened yet due to other financial priorities taking precedence doesn't mean it been cancelled. Just this past summer they were still talking about it with interviews happening on Good Morning America, released videos, etc., so its not like its been forgotten or shoved under a rug.

 

[Dear Prudence]

Ironically, I think there's a lot to learn from this. All of the Brer Rabbit/ Rabbit/ Nanaboozho/Zumo stories have to do with not getting mixed up with things you have no business with in the first place. The egg on their face now is what they get-- what they get for their sheer arrogance of using our oral literature and theology to where we will never be able to use it or even talk about it again, their sheer arrogance of letting the attraction fall into disrepair and now probably have to do CONSIDERABLE work on them beyond a retheme, and their sheer arrogance in the way they've continuously handled this entire thing for almost 80 years. They took something that wasn't theirs (to the detriment of the people it rightfully belonged to), squandered it, disrespected it, ruined it, got caught, and now continue to make fools out of themselves. YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOE, DISNEY!

 

[Brer Oswald]

Just develop a new PatF ride and drop it somewhere at DL and WDW…done. It’s certainly worthy of a dark ride. They need to stop pandering. Their first Black princess deserves her own, novel ride, not a layover. And this would be easy for DPB to spin. “While developing an update to Splash Mountain, we realized we have so many ideas for Princess and the Frog that it really deserves it’s own new ride… blah blah blah paint colors blah blah blah you are the Magic.”

It would be difficult, but not impossible, to give Princess and the Frog a dedicated attraction AND adjust Splash Mountain and their version of Brer Rabbit accordingly. Though it would probably take lots of little content adjustments to the ride, a "for general audience consumption" retelling of the stories (with optics that would be difficult to overcome), and an admittance that the way they've handled the property for the last 30 years just "isn't it" (something they will never do).

Sometimes the proper thing to do isn't the easiest thing to do, and to be honest, they don't have much to lose here by going through with the retheme. Even if they do a hack job, the usual suspects will still praise it, and it will still be popular being the only log flume in the park.

Make no mistake, the company will probably be underfire for the "problematic" aspects of this decision, as well as the "problematic" past of their version of the tale, that they have swept under the rug. But as is the trend of Disney management today, "that's the next person's problem". They will be fine for awhile after they go through with it.

 

[Roger_the_pianist]

Let's be clear this ride wasn't just deemed problematic a year and a half ago...it was met with concern when it opened over 30 years ago and the source material movie has been a problem ever since it was released 75 years ago.

 

[Dear Prudence]

I hope this delay will do two things

1. Make sure that the refresh is the best that it can be, and to really take their time and not cut corners. If this has as much meaning as folks want it to, then it has to be done the right way.

2. That someone somewhere realizes this is going to take more than what they're doing, and to actually make things right and rectify their past transgressions. This is going to take a LOT MORE that multiple repeated propaganda videos just re-echoing how great they are over and over-- LIKE THIS ISN'T THEIR FAULT IN THE FIRST PLACE?! No one did this to them, they did it to themselves, and caused irrevocable damage in the process.

 

[Mac Tonight]

Let's be clear this ride wasn't just deemed problematic a year and a half ago...it was met with concern when it opened over 30 years ago and the source material movie has been a problem ever since it was released 75 years ago.

Let's also be clear, it was obviously met with such concern that it has... existed for over 30 years, even being replicated in two other parks around the world. It can also be argued that one doesn't even need a cursory knowledge of Song to enjoy it.

But, ya know... whatever.

 

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

I hope this delay will do two things

1. Make sure that the refresh is the best that it can be, and to really take their time and not cut corners. If this has as much meaning as folks want it to, then it has to be done the right way.

2. That someone somewhere realizes this is going to take more than what they're doing, and to actually make things right and rectify their past transgressions. This is going to take a LOT MORE that multiple repeated propaganda videos just re-echoing how great they are over and over-- LIKE THIS ISN'T THEIR FAULT IN THE FIRST PLACE?! No one did this to them, they did it to themselves, and caused irrevocable damage in the process.

This. They’ve baked their cake on this, and the Brers are going away.

That said, there’s no urgency to scrap this right now, and if they’re going to do this they should do it right. Commit an E-ticket budget to the retheme, make it the ride it deserves to be. Don’t cheap out.

 

[EagleScout610]

This. They’ve baked their cake on this, and the Brers are going away.

That said, there’s no urgency to scrap this right now, and if they’re going to do this they should do it right. Commit an E-ticket budget to the retheme, make it the ride it deserves to be. Don’t cheap out.

I don't think they're stupid. They know Splash is one of their best and they need to truly hit a grand slam to just be even with current Splash and do something truly impressive to top it

 

[Brer Panther]

Even if the retheme is bad, people are still going to gush over it and dub it better than Splash Mountain simply for not featuring the Brers alone.

 

[Dear Prudence]

This. They’ve baked their cake on this, and the Brers are going away.

That said, there’s no urgency to scrap this right now, and if they’re going to do this they should do it right. Commit an E-ticket budget to the retheme, make it the ride it deserves to be. Don’t cheap out.

I also hope during this time that more people learn the real meaning of the Brers, not just the copypasta clickbait nonsense everyone keeps regurgitating. One of the things that people keep missing when they talk about this (because why would they? it's not their culture, it doesn't center them or their massive ego, and it's far beyond their realm of understanding) is just HOW messed up it is that they were used for this in this way. That to me is honestly one of the most insidious things about this whole ordeal. So, even if they leave the parks, and the comics and the whatever forever (Even though they waffle about everything as it suits them), that they might have some other kind of cultural revival from the people whom they belong to (without interference from people on Twitter telling us about our own cultures because they're...One of the Good Ones or Not Like Other Girls--or whatever they think they're doing).

And that last sentiment, right there---ALL OF THIS--they made such a big deal about this, they just keep congratulating themselves but have shown zero urgency to remediate it anytime soon.

 

[Dear Prudence]

Let's also be clear, it was obviously met with such concern that it has... existed for over 30 years, even being replicated in two other parks around the world. It can also be argued that one doesn't even need a cursory knowledge of Song to enjoy it.

But, ya know... whatever.

That just means they didn't care. They have never cared. They don't even care now.

 

[Mac Tonight]

That just means they didn't care. They have never cared. They don't even care now.

Oh right. They're doing the remake because they don't care. Its so obvious. How did I miss that?