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

[LittleBuford]

I still think most do.

I agree, but I also think it's worth listening to those who feel differently.

 

[deWild]

Normally I'm with you, but I would also anticipate the replacement to be "less than" Splash. Disney doesn't typically build those 10+ minute long rides anymore. This is a situation where if it must go, I'd welcome retaining the track layout from a storytelling standpoint.

I do think Tiana is out of place in the current version of Frontierland, and if the do go through with this as announced, I would welcome an answer to that theming problem.

Add New Orleans Square as a land from the Adventureland corridor (parade start/finish) up to Splash. They can worry about theming continuity from the rest of Frontierland to BTMRR later, when Tom Sawyer’s Island is inevitably rethemed.

 

[sup]

This really sucks frog water. Princess T. her frog and New Orleans have nothing to do with frontier land. It is so sad the magic and fun is being taken away. Why didn't they build it in America in Epcot. Really won't be the same without Zippidy Do Dah.

 

[J4546]

ROTR and MMRR are both pretty long rides and they are new

 

[networkpro]

This really sucks frog water. Princess T. her frog and New Orleans have nothing to do with frontier land. It is so sad the magic and fun is being taken away. Why didn't they build it in America in Epcot. Really won't be the same without Zippidy Do Dah.

Thats a great example of why the attempts to clone attractions from one park to another fail so miserably. Disneyland (the concrete jungle) has Splash Mountain located in Critter Country just beyond New Orleans Square. What fits thematically for one, doesn't for others with a different distribution of rides in lands.

 

[DisneyDodo]

ROTR and MMRR are both pretty long rides and they are new

Both solid length, but MMRR is shorter than the ride it replaced, and both are shorter than Splash (when considering only the actual ride portion of RotR).

Maybe @MisterPenguin or someone has a spreadsheet with data on this, but I'm fairly confident that on average, ride length has gone down significantly over the past decade or so.

 

[UNCgolf]

ROTR and MMRR are both pretty long rides and they are new

MMRR is less than 5 minutes long. If you count the preshow it adds some time (and I think the preshow is an important part of the attraction), but Disney has no issues skipping it. The actual ride length isn't close to the old EPCOT classics or other rides like Pirates of the Caribbean.

I think Rise is also only around 5 minutes in terms of the actual ride -- the preshow is an integral part of the experience (even moreso than MMRR), but again, Disney apparently thinks it's fine to skip. The full intended experience is much longer than MMRR, though.

With that said, Disney did build much shorter dark rides too -- the Fantasyland ones are generally 3-4 minutes long.

 

[GimpYancIent]

The Shanghai POTC is mind-blowing in person... The show scenes are massive...The overall attraction is quite impressive. Don't let the videos fool you...It is a real hit!

If its SD = so what as in don't care.

 

[Roger_the_pianist]

I wish I could go back in a time machine and tell Tony Baxter to just...stop. It could have been just "America Sings! The Log Flume"

 

[RSoxNo1]

Add New Orleans Square as a land from the Adventureland corridor (parade start/finish) up to Splash. They can worry about theming continuity from the rest of Frontierland to BTMRR later, when Tom Sawyer’s Island is inevitably rethemed.

My suggestion was to eliminate Liberty Square as a theme and take the stretch from Mansion to Princess and the Frog a new area called "Riverfront Square" and lean into the Rivers of America / the Mississippi River.

 

[erasure fan1]

My suggestion was to eliminate Liberty Square as a theme and take the stretch from Mansion to Princess and the Frog a new area called "Riverfront Square" and lean into the Rivers of America / the Mississippi River.

While that makes sense. My money is on them slapping this new ride in, and doing nothing to rework the surrounding area to fit a theme. This would be a time I would gladly eat crow. I just have zero confidence they actually try.

 

[Splashin' Ryan]

My suggestion was to eliminate Liberty Square as a theme and take the stretch from Mansion to Princess and the Frog a new area called "Riverfront Square" and lean into the Rivers of America / the Mississippi River.

While I like that idea, I think many people forget that Big Thunder is its own dead end so whatever themed area Splash currently sits in would have to be stretched down there too, and retheming Big Thunder to anything else other than what it is wouldn't work because the attraction doesn't revolve around any IP or characters, its theme is the theme of the land it's in, Frontierland.

 

[RSoxNo1]

While that makes sense. My money is on them slapping this new ride in, and doing nothing to rework the surrounding area to fit a theme. This would be a time I would gladly eat crow. I just have zero confidence they actually try.

Part of my proposal was also to lean into a few different food concepts along the way including something... anything... that gets me the Cafe Orleans monte christo in the Magic Kingdom.

 

[RSoxNo1]

While I like that idea, I think many people forget that Big Thunder is its own dead end so whatever themed area Splash currently sits in would have to be stretched down there too, and retheming Big Thunder to anything else other than what it is wouldn't work because the attraction doesn't revolve around any IP or characters, its theme is the theme of the land it's in, Frontierland.

So we did a hypothetical build out to 2035 on our show. My proposal also included connecting Haunted Mansion to Tom Sawyer Island to Thunder via bridges, permanently docking the Riverboat and use it for live entertainment near Splash and using part of Tom Sawyer for a new major Frontierland attraction (my suggestion was a Western River Expedition variant).

Tom Sawyer Island is the most inefficient use of space in the Magic Kingdom. I know there are absolutely fans of it, but if you're going to strip any sign of Song of the South from the parks, Tom Sawyer / Huckleberry Finn certainly are "problematic" in today's society. Disney is in the mindset that their attractions shouldn't have to be put in context and I have to believe Tom Sawyer Island is certainly on the list of future targets.

 

[owlsandcoffee]

I wish I could go back in a time machine and tell Tony Baxter to just...stop. It could have been just "America Sings! The Log Flume"

It still could be! In WDW anyways.

 

[SailorMercury]

While that makes sense. My money is on them slapping this new ride in, and doing nothing to rework the surrounding area to fit a theme. This would be a time I would gladly eat crow. I just have zero confidence they actually try.

If it does happen, which from the looks of the new statement it ain’t, they’ll make a southern bluegrass version of the soundtrack and call it a day

 

[Kirby86]

So we did a hypothetical build out to 2035 on our show. My proposal also included connecting Haunted Mansion to Tom Sawyer Island to Thunder via bridges, permanently docking the Riverboat and use it for live entertainment near Splash and using part of Tom Sawyer for a new major Frontierland attraction (my suggestion was a Western River Expedition variant).

Tom Sawyer Island is the most inefficient use of space in the Magic Kingdom. I know there are absolutely fans of it, but if you're going to strip any sign of Song of the South from the parks, Tom Sawyer / Huckleberry Finn certainly are "problematic" in today's society. Disney is in the mindset that their attractions shouldn't have to be put in context and I have to believe Tom Sawyer Island is certainly on the list of future targets.

I think if it was called Huckleberry Finn Island there would be more calls for a change. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer isn't as controversial as it's sequel.

 

[Mr. Moderate]

Whether or not YOU approve is irrelevant - both to Disney and to the conversation of whether or not the ride actually is problematic.

(It is problematic.)

In the grand scheme of things, no it’s not. It’s only problematic to those who want it to be, who thrive on drama, wokeness, and division. Scouting out and/or inventing problems so they can feel good about themselves and absolve any guilt they may feel about past sins from our nation’s history.

For the record, not once does Uncle Remus or any human for that matter, is portrayed in the story of the ride. If you have a problem with the song then change it, there’s no reason to gut this ride and completely redo it in the name of wokeness. Give the IP, Princess and the frog, their own dedicated ride, not some rehashed makeover on one of the most beloved rides in Disney park history. Both deserve better than that.

This ride is harmless and most people don’t even see or think about other races and people of color, when riding this ride, I never have.

 

[owlsandcoffee]

Guys I really don't think Tom Sawyer is problematic, and I'm politically somewhere in the vicinity of the people who want SotS evicted.

The current statement does translate from corpo-speak to English as "We aren't doing it, like at all" which is fascinating.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Guys I really don't think Tom Sawyer is problematic, and I'm politically somewhere in the vicinity of the people who want SotS evicted.

The current statement does translate from corpo-speak to English as "We aren't doing it, like at all" which is fascinating.

I'm all about people being smart enough to put things in context, but Disney has decided they don't want guests at their parks to have to do that. There were calls for Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn to be banned long before Disney recognized Song of the South as being offensive. Regardless of your personal opinions on the matter, you have to recognize that it would be a target for Disney's sensitivity / inclusiveness team.