News Splash Mountain retheme to Princess and the Frog - Tiana's Bayou Adventure

yensidtlaw1969

Well-Known Member
I’m sure you’re right, but I wasn’t even alive in the pre-Splash days so I’ll just have to take your word for it. As for the picture, I hate it of course.
I'm surprised that I had an easier time finding a picture of the Station than I did of Splash from the same angle, so forgive the Google Earth shot, but this is the before and after roughly from the Big Thunder queue:

Scan 1.jpg


Screen Shot 2020-06-30 at 1.04.00 AM.png


I believe the Contruction Walls in the first photo are from the beginnings of contstruction for Splash.
 

imagineer97

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
It is confirmed to be post-film - likely in an effort to quell concerns that Tiana would be featured as a Frog in the ride rather than as a human.

I wouldn't read too much into the concept art - I suspect the transformation of the Mountain itself will generally resemble the art, but it's unlikely that figures of Tiana and Louis will be featured at that particular juncture in the ride. Their presence in the art is probably more of an editorial flourish to contextualize everything else happening in the image - "The Mountain will be redone, it will look basically like this, and these are the characters who will feature in this new journey".
So is the mountain now supposed to be the built-up area around Mama Odie's tree? Will they eliminate the forced perspective completely? They would have to, right? In order for its appearance to make any sense?
 

yensidtlaw1969

Well-Known Member
So is the mountain now supposed to be the built-up area around Mama Odie's tree? Will they eliminate the forced perspective completely? They would have to, right? In order for its appearance to make any sense?
I mean, not necessarily - essentially the dead tree at the top of Splash Mountain is being replaced by a "live" one, and I'm sure there will still be some forced perspective to make it look bigger than it is. But I suppose it's possible they may try to downplay the forced perspective on the rest of the structure rather than play it up since the Bayou is not a place known for its mountains . . . but the building is as tall as it is, so I assume we're just gonna have to let that be.
 

imagineer97

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Is it just me, or does PatF feel like it would be much better suited to a Pirates-style dark ride?
A Pirates style dark ride would work great, but I think what would be even better is if they had put a dark ride of PatF into the former Snow White site. Then very young kids could have ridden the PatF ride and age wouldn't be a factor. Instead, they've created a very weird combination of circumstances for this ride. It's a thrill ride (appeals to adults). It's a princess ride (appeals to young girls). It's a water ride (some people don't want to get wet). I'm sure some PatF fans would rather not get wet. But they're getting their PatF ride in a water ride. There are a myriad of reasons why this plan is illogical.
 

MagicHappens1971

Well-Known Member
Does anyone else feel that if Disney waits 2-3 years to move forward with this they may just trash the whole idea? Or by then maybe give it an appropriate budget? Option 1 would obviously be a PR nightmare, but so would not giving it a proper budget, to gut this attraction for the sake of erasing the racial prejudices that come from Song of the South and then replace a great attraction with a subpar one? I don't feel anyone really has a solid idea of what Disney's next move will be with this project.
 

celluloid

Well-Known Member
The same place the Waterfall came from:

View attachment 480449

And the rest of the mountain, for that matter. It is called Chickapin HILL, after all.
The waterfall is explained in the Splash Mt backstory.(maybe a backstory for the house will happen, but in recent times Disney does not show the track record)
To your point about the hill, when you are the side of the characters in scale, is a mountain. Many mountains are called foothills btw. But it does not matter, Mt becomes iconic in scale, hence Space and Thunder's canyons too.
That being said, it def has more thought put into it than the bayou treehouse now five stories in the air.
 

MotherOfBirds

Well-Known Member
With regards to when the ride's story takes place, I really wish we could get away from the idea that the plots of theme park attractions need to very carefully constructed so as not to conflict with the canon or timeline of the IP. The bending over backwards does not contribute positively to the final product.

All the villains are dead, but we have M&G's for them. Rapunzel has a pixie cut, but her face character has the long braid. Beast is still a beast and the castle is still spooky. I could go on. People are going to ride PatF to see their favorite characters and get drenched in bromine. Maybe the canon-worship was good for GE because of the large adult fanbase who cares very much about that sort of thing (it wasn't, IMO). For animated Disney IP's, if an incongruent timeline is enough to shatter your suspension of disbelief, or to lower your opinion of the ride, then it was never really meant for you. Or, you've got low blood sugar and it's making you grumpy.

Side note, it is my greatest wish that we will ascend the ramp to the final drop surrounded by Facillier's minions as they sing, "ARE YOU REEEEEEADY?"
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
Any new storyline might have more to do with the future of the IP than the origin story. Amazing watching people try to invent reasons the reimagining of Splash and the new PatF storyline won't work when it most likely is still a work in progress.
 
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jt04

Well-Known Member
Wow. Looks like Disney transferred the Tree of Life from DAK to Frontierland. Even more of a reason why it doesn’t fit the land either!

This is what needs to happen. A quarter scale version of the ToL. The thorns becoming the trees roots.

I'm less and less inclined to believe Frontierland from Diamond Horseshoe to Pecos survives this. That of course wouldn't mean a new Frontierland-esque land wouldn't still be part of the MK. Big Thunder clearly has to stay.
 

yaksplat

Well-Known Member
Back in 2014, PhotoDave219 (who used to post here and was often a good source of information) stated that Frozen at Epcot was approved at $75 million (after a significant 40% cut apparently). I believe this included the ride along with new restrooms and meet & greet facilities. I don't know how much was spent on the ride itself, but one would think a significant portion. Perhaps $50 million, though someone who knows the exact amount can clarify. The reason I bring this up is to give some perspective about what that budget gets you in the modern era. A very small handful of somewhat advanced face-projected AA's, and a lot of barren corridors with projections on the walls.

The original Splash Mountain at Disneyland by contrast also had a reported budget of $75 million. Most animatronics were reused, but they still had to create an entirely new building, ride system, scenery etc etc. It was still a very expensive attraction for the time, but imagineering was far less bloated and much much better at managing costs back then.

I'm not sure what the budgets for WDW and Tokyo Splash Mtn were. They share similarities but largely have very different and more detailed scenery, a somewhat different ride system, and a handful of more advanced AA's (though slightly fewer in quantity). Regardless of the version though, if modern Disney were to gut and replace most of the interior Splash Mtn scenes with the same amount of quality scenery and number of AA's (assuming their creative teams even have the capacity to do so anymore), it would still likely cost at least 3-4 times more than the original's $75 million.

WDW Pro (whose source was correct about Splash Mtn and other attractions being looked at for overhauls several weeks ago) has thrown out $50 million for this PATF overhaul. I don't know if this was an assumption, or a number shared by the source, but I assume it was the latter. That in and of itself is a pathetic amount. That's comparable to what I ballparked for the Frozen ride, but stretched far thinner due to Splash Mtn being an immensely longer ride with far more scenes to have to deal with.

The alleged budget I saw was even lower... Which is a disaster if true, but honestly either of these amounts is absolutely unacceptable. Even with the best and brightest creatives involved (assuming there's even anyone left at the company who could match Tony Baxter and the original Splash Mtn team), doing justice to the original scenery detail and animatronics in Splash Mtn would require a budget of several hundred million.

If that's the case, why even bother. Kill the best attraction in the park and make it into a shell of its former self, sprinkled with screens.
 

yaksplat

Well-Known Member
Does anyone else feel that if Disney waits 2-3 years to move forward with this they may just trash the whole idea? Or by then maybe give it an appropriate budget? Option 1 would obviously be a PR nightmare, but so would not giving it a proper budget, to gut this attraction for the sake of erasing the racial prejudices that come from Song of the South and then replace a great attraction with a subpar one? I don't feel anyone really has a solid idea of what Disney's next move will be with this project.

I'm hoping for the same scenario as Tower of Terror to Guardians. Do it in DL and abandon it elsewhere. Variety across parks is a good thing.
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
I'm hoping for the same scenario as Tower of Terror to Guardians. Do it in DL and abandon it elsewhere. Variety across parks is a good thing.

Agree mostly. But SotS story still will go at the MK. Perhaps a Critter Country overlay instead?

MK also needs NO Square featuring PatF and Tiana. IMO.
 

MickeyMouse10

Well-Known Member
I'm totally down for the new Splash if they can make it a part of a new section. This section would have to have at least 2 attractions though to be seen as a real land/section. Tiana's Mardi Gras Mountain and perhaps a "The Rescuers" dark ride would be pretty tempting.
 

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