HATE the crown on top of the water tower. And if the "scary" elements of this ride are gone in the retheme it'll be a confirmed lost cause.
Even if the scenery and atmosphere is changed to make it less intimidating, at it's core, it's still going to be one of Disney's most intense rides. When DL's version opened, it was the tallest and fastest flume ride in the world. All 3 versions worldwide remain among the fastest rides in their respective resorts, and among a very small handful of Disney's true "thrill" rides.
Barring major structural changes to the facility (which we know they won't do because of budget/effort, and can't do because of the railroad crossing through the mountain), there really isn't much they can do to tone down the physical intensity of the ride. Which makes it an interesting choice for conversion to an IP (Princesses!) whose target demographic may not even be tall enough to ride the revamped attraction, let alone brave enough.
Louisiana has water towers. I don't love it here but it's not like it's completely out of place. I think it's just there as a signpost to say "we're not putting a ton of money into this but want to make it clear that this is not Splash Mountain."
Sure, Louisiana has water towers. A lot of places do. But that doesn't make it a unique or distinctive piece of placesetting.
Heck, it's not even the first place in WDW to use a water tower as an icon. At various times, River Country, Disney-MGM Studios/Disney's Hollywood Studios, Dixie Landings/Port Orleans Riverside, and Disney Springs have all used water towers as their symbols. Even Fort Wilderness and the MK railroad occasionally use water towers in their imagery. There just isn't much about a water tower that is immediately recognizable as being related to Louisiana or Princess and the Frog.
But at least this one has a tacky tiara on top, so we know it's supposed to be whimsical. More timeless! More family!
One element that is distinctive about Louisiana, and bayous in particular, is that they're flat. Among the flattest places on earth. That's sort of the whole point of how slow-moving water works in wetlands, estuaries, and river deltas. And so Disney decided the best way to depict this was with...a mountain?
Even in the unlikely event that the revamped attraction turns out to be great, it's going to be hard to ignore so many fundamental bad decisions made at a high level that led to the creation of this overhaul. While there still remain a lot of unknowns, very little of what we do know inspires confidence that this will turn out well.
I was just playing coy since for some reason people got annoyed when people mentioned salt mines may be part of the ride....After the Research trip video mentioned salt mines.
Disney would never threaten guests with sending them to the salt mines on a ride...
