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

[J4546]

heck yes, i cant wait for this retheme to happen in DL! Looks great imo

 

[Incomudro]

I'm excited for the Princess and the Frog retheme.

I will say though, there wasn't much said in the video to get people hyped. They just spoke for 30 minutes on the power of representation, inclusivity, and feeling seen, etc. This is all well in good, but it doesn't really do much to showcase the more thrilling or storytelling aspects of Splash Mountain — the type of thing that makes one want to hop on the log in the first place. It very much felt like a PR move to prevent those who petitioned for the retheme from stirring up drama in the media. It's just a bland reminder that the retheme is still going to happen. Disney wants the news on the SPlash Mountain retheme to be positive. Disney doesn't want headlines to read: "Disney silent on Princess and the Frog attraction" or "Disney keeps up RACIST ride after promising change."

And therein lies the potential problem when it comes to things like this.
It (the ride, movie, tv show or whatever else the subject may be) has got to be good first.
Inclusivity, diversity, etc., etc., don't make anything good in and of themselves. Well, some portion of people who dwell on that stuff will find that to be enough, but the vast majority won't.
Make a product that is entertaining and amazing on it's own merit at the core.

 

[TikibirdLand]

The delusional self-importance of the people in the "revealing details" video is astounding. "Tiana's powerful story." "We want to honor her heritage." "Princess week!" blah blah blah.

People....it's a cartoon princess and a cartoon frog. Get over yourselves.

That being said, when is this thing actually happening? I couldn't stomach the whole video. Do we assume sometime AFTER the 50th celebration?

Sorry. I listened to the whole video. I think they made some good points. I'll be sad to see Splash Mountain to go away and wish they had dedicated a NEW ride to Princess and the Frog (and we REALLY NEED more rides). But, Disney lacks racial diversity on both film and in the parks and has for a very long time. The story they told (I realize it was for dramatic effect) about the 3 yr old pulling at Tiana's dress makes me think of my own daughter who didn't relate to any of the princesses. Was it because of skin color? I'm not sure. Frankly, the deck is stacked WRT white female princesses throughout TDO's history. I'd rather see them give a few of the up. I pick Aurora to demote. She doesn't have an attraction anyway.

Long story short... I'm looking forward to the re-theme. From that conversation, I think they'll do it justice. If anything, the video makes sure plenty of people -- on both sides of the fence -- will be watching.

 

[rreading]

You know...... Most of us used to be excited when a new attraction was announced. Not so much anymore. Is that a reflection of us or TWDC?

I guess you're new here.

Maelstrom was a second-tier ride. Great Movie Ride was outdated and should/could have been updated but something had to be done with it.

This one takes one of the still-great three mountains of MK to put in this:

Seriously?!

 

[Tha Realest]

Here's where I generally find myself:

• No real emotional attachment to SOTS (I'm a Midwesterner) or Splash (I'm a ride wimp)
• Appreciate and understand the need for the parks to be more diverse
• Don't agree with each and every change that's been made to remove those things which could be perceived as offensive
• Think Tiana and Princess and the Frog are underserved by getting a reskin/remake of an existing ride, and deserve their own attraction from the ground up that gives them more freedom to make that world come alive

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I guess you're new here.

Maelstrom was a second-tier ride. Great Movie Ride was outdated and should/could have been updated but something had to be done with it.

This one takes one of the still-great three mountains of MK to put in this:

Seriously?!

I'm struggling to follow exactly what is getting under the skin of people on here.

I get being upset they are replacing Splash Mountain, but why is a painting they did to honour one of the inspirations for the character to hang in her family's New Orleans restaurant so irritating?

 

[MisterPenguin]

I guess you're new here.

Maelstrom was a second-tier ride. Great Movie Ride was outdated and should/could have been updated but something had to be done with it.

This one takes one of the still-great three mountains of MK to put in this:

Seriously?!

Pretty sure that's not going in the ride.

And even the other two artist concepts are not in a final form that Imagineering would use to engineer the ride.

 

[TikibirdLand]

I'm struggling to follow exactly what is getting under the skin of people on here.

I get being upset they are replacing Splash Mountain, but why is a painting they did to honour one of the inspirations for the character to hang in her family's New Orleans restaurant so irritating?

But, coming out with new concept art that is quite a bit different from what was shown over a year ago when this was announced seems a bit disingenuous, frankly. I do like the artwork though. It so much more alive than the stuff the animators produced. I hope the sights and sounds of New Orleans will be brought into the new ride. And, I'll be looking for a Cafe du Monde beignet stand in the courtyard area!

 

[Bleed0range]

I don't necessarily hate everything Disney changes. I prefer MMRR to Great Movie Ride, I prefer Incredicoaster to California Screaming,and I actually prefer the film-update to potc in 2006. I'm sure all those changes were debatable when they were announced, but now they've turned out to be great!

HOWEVER, there is NO DOUBT in my mind that this PATF refurb will be a less enjoyable ride than Splash Mountain, and as previously stated, not even a tiny BIT of my is excited for it. This type of refurb, one that happens because the ride is 'racist' or 'culturally outdated' isn't the same to me.

Fair. I have always liked the ride but I’ve never loved it the way I do Pirates or Haunted Mansion. I guess maybe I see through the cracks a bit? I see a well themed attraction with a hard to understand story (and hard to hear because audio is awful on the interior) unless you’re somewhat familiar with it already.

I see a great cost saving measure by reusing a bunch of old animatronics (which these days would be seen negatively) that don’t all work as well they should after years of neglect inside a water ride. But the basic ride itself is fun. So I look forward to how they may be able to make it better.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Not sure about the triggering. But, coming out with new concept art that is quite a bit different from what was shown over a year ago when this was announced seems a bit disingenuous, frankly. I do like the artwork though. It so much more alive than the stuff the animators produced. I hope the sights and sounds of New Orleans will be brought into the new ride. And, I'll be looking for a Cafe du Monde beignet stand in the courtyard area!

Wasn't the only new concept art the image of everybody in the log inside the mountain and the only old concept art the exterior of the attraction?

Maybe I am missing something, but I don't see anything especially different between the two representations.

 

[TikibirdLand]

Wasn't the only new concept art the image of everybody in the log inside the mountain and the only old concept art the exterior of the attraction?

Maybe I am missing something, but I don't see anything especially different between the two representations.

Could be me reading more into the pictures they released. Here's the old one I was thinking of:

and here's the other one from the latest announcement:

The second is more "inspiration", than concept. But, it represents New Orleans much more than the first picture, wouldn't you agree?

 

[Chester&Hester Enthusiast]

Wasn't the only new concept art the image of everybody in the log inside the mountain and the only old concept art the exterior of the attraction?

Maybe I am missing something, but I don't see anything especially different between the two representations.

Yeah, I'm a bit confused too here. I think people are under the impression that all three of the new images are concept art?

 

[Chester&Hester Enthusiast]

Could be me reading more into the pictures they released. Here's the old one I was thinking of:

View attachment 581875

and here's the other one from the latest announcement:
View attachment 581876
The second is more "inspiration", than concept. But, it represents New Orleans much more than the first picture, wouldn't you agree?

I don't think that's meant to be any sort of art for the ride

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Exactly. They used to crank out attractions with 10+ AAs, and while they certainly weren't as impressive as modern-day animatronics, at least they were freaking there

Agreed, though often more like 50+. That's the amount in Splash Mtn, World of Motion, Pirates of the Caribbean etc. The most i've ever seen is Sinbad at Tokyo Disneysea. It literally has around 140, just the first scene alone has about 45. And i'm only counting actual animatronics, not the simple moving props used in classic Fantasyland dark rides.

Disneyland's Splash Mtn has about 70 animatronics and WDW's has about 60. These are my own personal counts as Disney's claim is inflated to include basic moving props that really shouldn't qualify IMO (such as otherwise static prairie dogs triggered to pop out of holes, or the bees that spin around hives). Regardless, 60-70 legit animatronic figures is a huge number.

They still sprinkle a small handful into some of their new attractions. But it's nowhere close to the large dense populations they used to do. Look at their recent work. Frozen Ever After has about 15 (all the face-projected type). The new Beauty and the Beast ride in Tokyo has about 18. Rise of the Resistance has 5. The entire Avatar Land only has 2 (one of which is in stasis and barely even moves). Mickey's Runaway Railway has a handful of simple moving figures, but arguably only 1 "real" animatronic. Daisy being the only one I can be sure has any movement below the neck, the rest seem to be face projected "bobbleheads" of sorts. Great Movie Ride by comparison had over 40.

I'm sure PATF will still have a handful of animatronics. Probably a few sets of the main Tiana, Naveen and Louis trio. Probably also Mama Odie and a few new miscellaneous animal figures (though there's a good chance they'll use a lot of static or simple motion props for a lot of these). But I expect one or two popular characters won't appear physically since it's post-movie. There's every reason to believe there will be a massive culling of animatronic numbers during this conversion. I'd be surprised if their numbers break the teens when it reopens. I expect a heavy overreliance on lasers (you can tell they're going to do this for the fireflies) and video projection.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I don't think that's meant to be any sort of art for the ride

Yes, I think this is the only new concept art

 

[DCLcruiser]

Could be me reading more into the pictures they released. Here's the old one I was thinking of:

View attachment 581875

and here's the other one from the latest announcement:
View attachment 581876
The second is more "inspiration", than concept. But, it represents New Orleans much more than the first picture, wouldn't you agree?

Correct, they commissioned a local NO artist to create artwork that would inspire the Imagineers. This piece is not reflective of Disney's artwork.

"Tying to Leah Chase’s love of art, one of the early sources of inspiration has come from Sharika Mahdi — a visual artist, art educator, and alumna of the renowned YAYA (Young Aspirations Young Artists) Arts Center located in New Orleans — who was commissioned to create a series of four original paintings to inspire Imagineers, one of which was revealed today."

Gather Around The Table For a Conversation and Peek at the Latest Developments of the Upcoming Attraction Inspired By “The Princess and the Frog”

Last year, we announced that Imagineers are developing an all-new attraction coming to both Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort inspired by the fan-favorite Walt Disney Animation Studios film, “The Princess and the Frog.” With the kick

disneyparks.disney.go.com

 

[Tha Realest]

I honestly thought that first "concept" art they released last year was from The Thomas Kinkade Collection which could be purchased at Art of Disney stores in the parks and Disney Springs.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Yes, I think this is the only new concept art

It's concept art for concept art.

 

[RSoxNo1]

You know...... Most of us used to be excited when a new attraction was announced. Not so much anymore. Is that a reflection of us or TWDC?

It's a reflection of management that is not fostering the most creative environment to build new things. It's a function of current Imagineering and management that is either unwilling or unable to create attractions that satisfy sufficent crowds. It's a function of an overall lack of understanding by current leadership on how theme parks work. Pick one or all.

 

[DisneyDodo]

Not sure about the triggering. But, coming out with new concept art that is quite a bit different from what was shown over a year ago when this was announced seems a bit disingenuous, frankly. I do like the artwork though. It so much more alive than the stuff the animators produced. I hope the sights and sounds of New Orleans will be brought into the new ride. And, I'll be looking for a Cafe du Monde beignet stand in the courtyard area!

I wouldn't put any stock whatsoever into last year's concept art. It seems like the ride was still very much in development at the time and the artist was probably instructed to just draw Splash Mountain with some PatF elements thrown in.