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

[yensidtlaw1969]

Here is the thing. June 2020 was a long time ago. It has been over two years and the ride is still flourishing. It is a very bad business decision or at least from a creative perspective to take away one of your crown jewels. It also sets a bad precedent. There are loads of woke people that don't like things about Pirates. How close are we to having that close down because of the offense someone might have to Johnny Depp's character being on that ride? Or whatever that may be. People aren't as mad about the Splash thing as they should be. It is a creative nightmare for a once very creative company.

Plus, having the ride still operate with no end date makes me think the longer it goes the more chances there are that it gets reversed and it stays. Surely there are people with common sense in Disney and there is at least a bit of a power struggle.

"Common sense" is not nearly as common as people think. Clearly.

You know not of what you speak.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Well, the ideas that we do have aren't promising. Hopefully they're all wrong ideas.


What is the reason for your optimism? What if they remove a large number of animatronics? And if they don't, will they suddenly start maintaining the attraction once it's rethemed? What if the storyline is simplistic and not exciting?

There's a lot of ways in which this ride could go wrong. Of course it's all speculation, but I'm genuinely curious what makes you so optimistic.

Because the world is too negative as it is to dwell in negativity before the ride has hatched.

I also believe PatF is a strong IP with a gorgeous art direction, and that the team working on it is passionate and wants to do it well.

Do I suspect less AAs? Yes. Will it bother me? That depends on how they design the new scenes and how the story unfolds.

Less AAs does not mean the ride is a failure.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I think we, as a thread, might need to make up our minds to stop feeding the trolls and instead just report their posts to the mods. Some people clearly are not here in good faith and it's not worth engaging them.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Disney is cheap and cheap enough to get rid of a timeless attraction that

It's not inexpensive to retheme a ride. It's not cheap. No matter how many times you say "it's cheap," we all know it's not.

SotS references are going away. Period.

Making them go away costs money when you have to put something else in its place. It's not cheap.

 

[Disney Analyst]

It's not inexpensive to retheme a ride. It's not cheap. No matter how many times you say "it's cheap," we all know it's not.

SotS references are going away. Period.

Making them go away costs money when you have to put something else in its place. It's not cheap.

Very true. Cheapest option was to do nothing.

Which was clearly not an option in Disney’s eyes.

 

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

The goal of the modern WDC as determined by CEO Bob Chapek and the board right now is to promote Disney+ and increase subscriptions while simultaneously driving parks attendance. It’s why the opening of this attraction is also tied loosely to the new Tiana show in 2024 which is likely to be a new franchise.



And if a film can’t stream on Disney+, the company’s virtual library of the 21st century, it’s not worth it’s weight in Disney dollars under Chapek and co. There is no secret agenda here. Just old fashioned corporate synergy and money making that would make Scrooge McDuck proud.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Disney has been actively adjusting rides with problematic areas. Splash was always on the list.

This is what it boils down too, Jungle Cruise, Pirates… now it’s Splashes turn, Disney made a decision to get ahead of potential issus before they became actual issues, no conspiracy theory needed.

I love Splash but as long as they do the retheme well I get it and won’t care, I’m just worried they won’t do it well.

I’m hoping Splash is where they draw the line though, a lot of the older Disney movies have racially insensitive scenes, if guilty by association is cause for removal Dumbo, Fantasia, and some other classics might need to watch their back.

 

[Disney Analyst]

This is what it boils down too, Jungle Cruise, Pirates… now it’s Splashes turn, Disney made a decision to get ahead of potential issus before they became actual issues, no conspiracy theory needed.

I love Splash but as long as they do the retheme well I get it and won’t care, I’m just worried they won’t do it well.

I’m hoping Splash is where they draw the line though, a lot of the older Disney movies have racially insensitive scenes, if guilty by association is cause for removal Dumbo, Fantasia, and some other classics might need to watch their back.

I think the next may be some small adjustments to Pan.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Isn’t that what Snow White got also? I think the academy award with the 7 mini statues was honorary also.

Yes, Snow White received an honorary Oscar for its achievement in animation for a full-length film, which was unheard of at the time. The Oscars didn’t add the Best Animated Feature category until 2002, which is crazy to think about now. Beauty and the Beast is the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture, followed by Up and Toy Story 3.

Disney has a history of wonderful firsts and great achievements in film. I wish they’d make another great live-action movie already. They haven’t made an Oscar-worthy live-action since Curse of the Black Pearl, which will be 20-years-old next year. It’s time.

 

[CaptinEO]

Is Tony Baxter still a part of this?

 

[TwilightZone]

Muppets.

Maybe it's a generation gap thing but I just do not like the idea of any full scale muppet ride. I like Kermit and the gang fine enough but a whole ride? Nah.

For me replacing Splash with Coco (in WDW) is a no brainer to people like me who grew up after the Muppets prime...but maybe that's just me.

 

[maemae74]

They built a business on the back of theme, invented the standard and to just lump it together and say its made up so why care discounts all the people that worked their whole careers to make sure everything you see works together to create an experience. To the op, things are in their place because they were designed with great thought and effort to be that way. The lot today takes a dump on all that hard work.

I don't disagree but unless we all just stop spending our money there the current leadership is going to continue to behave like this. Just like the old gray mare ain't what she used to be neither is WDW. So I personally can say I am spending my money else where or I suck it up enjoy the parks and resort as they are and keep trucking. Just like many I miss the old Disney where dark rides like Mr. Toad and Snow Whites Scary adventure they were beloved attractions but it is apparent no amount of complaining is going to stop the direction things are heading .

 

[The Mom]

This is a thread about the attraction - not a rehash of the announced Splash Mountain closing.

 

[Artemicon]

Frontier land is a bad spot for this ride. I wish they would have put it in liberty square or Main Street USA where it would make some sense, but in reality, It's not about making a good ride that's themed well in a good area, it's about deleting a 'problematic' ride and shoe horning an IP for inclusivity's sake. Just sucks they couldn't keep Splash Mountain and give Tiana her own ride, not a re-themed afterthought.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

They built a business on the back of theme, invented the standard and to just lump it together and say its made up so why care discounts all the people that worked their whole careers to make sure everything you see works together to create an experience. To the op, things are in their place because they were designed with great thought and effort to be that way. The lot today takes a dump on all that hard work.

I think the disagreement here, though, is how strict the themes of the different lands in Magic Kingdom are in terms of representing specific times and places. To me, the genius of the model established at Disneyland is that it features a collection of themed lands broad enough to include a range of different experiences under an umbrella of, say, Adventure, the Frontier, Fantasy, and Tomorrow/the future. The complaints about Tiana not fitting seem to be retroactively imposing far stricter limits in terms of geographical (and geological) accuracy than ever existed in the park. Certainly far stricter than when they added Splash Mountain in the first place.

If anything, I think Disney has wandered too far away from this model to the other extreme of lands dedicated to one specific IP which really box them in regarding what they can add. Tomorrowland, for example, could feature Buzz Lightyear, Star Wars, Stitch, and, if it is a hit, an attraction from the new Strange World film. If Strange World is a hit, however, there's no place for it in the new 'lands' they are building such as Toy Story land, Galaxy's Edge, Pandora, Cars Land, etc.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

We have no idea what quality the new version will be. Perhaps you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Well, if you think screens are awesome and audio animatronics are stupid and old fashioned, you’ll probably love it…as a matter of fact, there’s a group on here that even if the quality is a solid D compared to Splash, they will NEVER admit it.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Frontier land is a bad spot for this ride. I wish they would have put it in liberty square or Main Street USA where it would make some sense, but in reality, It's not about making a good ride that's themed well in a good area, it's about deleting a 'problematic' ride and shoe horning an IP for inclusivity's sake. Just sucks they couldn't keep Splash Mountain and give Tiana her own ride, not a re-themed afterthought.

How would a ride with a story that takes place in 1920s New Orleans fit on Main Street or in Liberty Square?

 

[Chip Chipperson]

What if Tiana's Bayou Adventure is Tiana leading a river tour while retelling the story of something that happened along that route in the 19th Century? That would make it a better fit for the land while also explaining why Tiana is there when her character exists after the time when Louisiana would be considered a new frontier.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Is Tony Baxter still a part of this?

I think he’s listed as an advisor (IMHO in name only)

 

[LittleBuford]

Well, if you think screens are awesome and audio animatronics are stupid and old fashioned, you’ll probably love it…as a matter of fact, there’s a group on here that even if the quality is a solid D compared to Splash, they will NEVER admit it.

I don’t think those things and will candidly admit if the retheme fails to live up to its potential. Until we have something to praise or complain about, I refuse to let myself get mired in pessimism. Life’s too short for such doom and gloom.