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

[ToTBellHop]

Since we're in the WDW section of the forums, may I remind everyone that, AFAIK, the AAs in MK's Splash Mountain aren't from America Sings. Those AAs went into DL's Splash Mountain (and two became droids elsewhere).

Also, those original America Sings AAs are now close to 50 years old. I doubt many of them have any of their original parts. Ships of Theseus and all that. And the ones in MK's Splash Mountain are 30 years old.

I find nostalgic attachment to those specific limited-movement animatronic skeletons to be a bit odd. "We got to keep them and reskin them!!" Why? Why wouldn't we hope for newer, better AAs?

My concern is that, with the cost of AAs and the budget of this ride, we won’t end up with many.

Something like RotR. It’s a great ride, but not an AA tour de force like Splash (or in the way it was hyped).

 

[montyz81]

I had a thought; It would be interesting to see if ridership priority for this ride goes down once the retheme is done. To me that would be the best indicator to whether or not Corporate made the right decision to return this ride.
I am not sure if or how that could be tracked, but it would really be interesting to see.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I had a thought; It would be interesting to see if ridership priority for this ride goes down once the retheme is done. To me that would be the best indicator to whether or not Corporate made the right decision to return this ride.
I am not sure if or how that could be tracked, but it would really be interesting to see.

It will be new and in far better shape than Splash has been in for some time, so that’s a hard comparison to make. I would expect it to have very long lines.

Splash has been in a deplorable state for years. It’s a real pity that this is how it ends. The least they could have done was a proper refurb before its final year. Instead, half of the leaves were painted and its condition has deteriorated further this year. Ugh.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I had a thought; It would be interesting to see if ridership priority for this ride goes down once the retheme is done. To me that would be the best indicator to whether or not Corporate made the right decision to return this ride.
I am not sure if or how that could be tracked, but it would really be interesting to see.

I would be shocked if demand isn't higher once the new ride opens vs now ... it will be new and the elements will be in better shape, using an IP way more people in the park are familiar with, a princess IP at at that which has high demand

 

[Disstevefan1]

I would be shocked if demand isn't higher once the new ride opens vs now ... it will be new and the elements will be in better shape, using an IP way more people in the park are familiar with, a princess IP at at that which has high demand

Folks usually flock to new rides because they are….. New.

I know I do.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I had a thought; It would be interesting to see if ridership priority for this ride goes down once the retheme is done. To me that would be the best indicator to whether or not Corporate made the right decision to return this ride.
I am not sure if or how that could be tracked, but it would really be interesting to see.

People are going to ride it no matter how poor this version is, so that’s not a legitimate argument…look at the state Splash is in right now and it’s still commanding long waits. The REAL determining factor would be on guest feedback which, unfortunately, we will never be privy to. Then you will have the pro Tiana people that (even if the reboot is horrendous), will say it’s 1000% better than the original because they can’t be wrong, and it’s the PC thing to do.
I’m not for the reboot, but I WILL give credit and props IF Tiana is equal to or better than Splash…
As a NY Jets fan, I think they have a better shot of winning the SB this year than Tiana being superior to Splash, but hey, stranger things have happened…

 

[erasure fan1]

I'm sure they're not actively trying to make it worse, even if that seems like the probable result to us.

They’re certainly going for something at least as good. Whether they succeed is another matter, but there’s no doubt they’re at least aiming for a ride that people will find impressive and enjoyable.

The proof will be how this all ends up. If this opens with 50% or 60% of the AAs gone, a bunch of screens and lame story, we can say they weren't actively trying to make it better. They know that when push comes to shove, the splash ride system is enjoyable no matter the IP behind it. But to make it impressive you need the scope of AAs and physical sets. Obviously no one knows if they are or aren't trying to make it better. But if they were actively trying to make it better, they'd be talking about all the great stuff they're going to do. And they're not. Maybe they will eventually, but I doubt it.

 

[ToTBellHop]

The proof will be how this all ends up. If this opens with 50% or 60% of the AAs gone, a bunch of screens and lame story, we can say they weren't actively trying to make it better. They know that when push comes to shove, the splash ride system is enjoyable no matter the IP behind it. But to make it impressive you need the scope of AAs and physical sets. Obviously no one knows if they are or aren't trying to make it better. But if they were actively trying to make it better, they'd be talking about all the great stuff they're going to do. And they're not. Maybe they will eventually, but I doubt it.

The lack of true details at D23 for a ride opening in 2 years (or less) was concerning.

 

[OrlandoRising]

The proof will be how this all ends up. If this opens with 50% or 60% of the AAs gone, a bunch of screens and lame story, we can say they weren't actively trying to make it better. They know that when push comes to shove, the splash ride system is enjoyable no matter the IP behind it. But to make it impressive you need the scope of AAs and physical sets. Obviously no one knows if they are or aren't trying to make it better. But if they were actively trying to make it better, they'd be talking about all the great stuff they're going to do. And they're not. Maybe they will eventually, but I doubt it.

This could also be a deliberate shift in strategy by Disney on how it talks about upcoming attractions -- as in stop overpromising and then underdelivering, like what happened with attractions announced at the 2015, 2017, and 2019 Expos. That approach really didn't help the company, whereas Universal's approach of giving far fewer details ahead of time hasn't led to the same overhype and then disappointment.

 

[UNCgolf]

The proof will be how this all ends up. If this opens with 50% or 60% of the AAs gone, a bunch of screens and lame story, we can say they weren't actively trying to make it better. They know that when push comes to shove, the splash ride system is enjoyable no matter the IP behind it. But to make it impressive you need the scope of AAs and physical sets. Obviously no one knows if they are or aren't trying to make it better. But if they were actively trying to make it better, they'd be talking about all the great stuff they're going to do. And they're not. Maybe they will eventually, but I doubt it.

It's almost certainly going to end up worse, at least for what I want in a ride.

That's still not the same thing as Imagineers going out and intentionally trying to make it worse.

 

[Disstevefan1]

The proof will be how this all ends up. If this opens with 50% or 60% of the AAs gone, a bunch of screens and lame story, we can say they weren't actively trying to make it better. They know that when push comes to shove, the splash ride system is enjoyable no matter the IP behind it. But to make it impressive you need the scope of AAs and physical sets. Obviously no one knows if they are or aren't trying to make it better. But if they were actively trying to make it better, they'd be talking about all the great stuff they're going to do. And they're not. Maybe they will eventually, but I doubt it.

It's almost certainly going to end up worse, at least for what I want in a ride.

That's still not the same thing as Imagineers going out and intentionally trying to make it worse.

I think what happens is the Imagineers come up with these fantastic, elaborate, beautiful designs.

Then the bean counters calculate how much the fantastic, elaborate, beautiful designs would cost.

Then we end up with 3 AAs and some screens.

 

[LittleBuford]

The proof will be how this all ends up. If this opens with 50% or 60% of the AAs gone, a bunch of screens and lame story, we can say they weren't actively trying to make it better. They know that when push comes to shove, the splash ride system is enjoyable no matter the IP behind it. But to make it impressive you need the scope of AAs and physical sets. Obviously no one knows if they are or aren't trying to make it better. But if they were actively trying to make it better, they'd be talking about all the great stuff they're going to do. And they're not. Maybe they will eventually, but I doubt it.

More animatronics don't automatically equal a better ride. The Great Movie Ride was full of them yet fell flat as an experience (at least for me).

 

[Incomudro]

More animatronics don't automatically equal a better ride. The Great Movie Ride was full of them yet fell flat as an experience (at least for me).

Yes, you're correct.
We can't measure the success of the makeover by a statistical count of less AA's, and more screens add up to a less satisfying experience.
Though I too sort of dread the reduction in AA's and increase in screens - there's more to how well done a ride is than such a straight up count yields.
Conceivably a much better looking, visually beautiful and more entertaining ride can be done with fewer AA's.
Now, will it be done?
I don't know, and I've got serious doubts.
But it could be done.
As I've indicated, I'm more concerned with what appears to be a lack of key elements from the film.
Though, who knows?
Maybe those elements will be in the ride?

 

[celluloid]

The funny thing is without Ray and Dr. F you just have Louis as comic relief.

The two biggest steal the show characters of the movie will not be present.

The protagonist is relatively uninteresting compared to the things omitted and does not bode well for at least the thought of conflict. And no, an attraction does not require a conflict, but it sure tends to make things more interesting.

 

[Joel]

More animatronics don't automatically equal a better ride. The Great Movie Ride was full of them yet fell flat as an experience (at least for me).

GMR was full of them and was awesome.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

It's almost certainly going to end up worse, at least for what I want in a ride.

That's still not the same thing as Imagineers going out and intentionally trying to make it worse.

No one is saying the new imagineers are intentionally making Tiana inferior to SM, it’s just that the 2022 vision is not in the same ballpark as the old school vision…its apples and oranges…the 2022 vision of superior design is 1 or 2 AA’s and lots of computer generated screens and the AA’s will have those awful FEA facial projections because they’re too cheap to crate the traditional ones.

 

[LittleBuford]

GMR was full of them and was awesome.

Unless I'm mistaken, it didn't score all that well with guests when Disney decided to pull the plug on it. It's a matter of personal taste at the end of the day, and I realise that you are far from alone in missing the ride.

 

[UNCgolf]

No one is saying the new imagineers are intentionally making Tiana inferior to SM, it’s just that the 2022 vision is not in the same ballpark as the old school vision…its apples and oranges…the 2022 vision of superior design is 1 or 2 AA’s and lots of computer generated screens and the AA’s will have those awful FEA facial projections because they’re too cheap to crate the traditional ones.

I'm far from a Disney apologist and don't like most of what they've built in the past couple of decades, but the person I responded to originally was insinuating that they didn't want to make it better. That was the whole reason I commented.

 

[Joel]

Unless I'm mistaken, it didn't score all that well with guests when Disney decided to pull the plug on it. It's a matter of personal taste at the end of the day, and I realise that you are far from alone in missing the ride.

The Robert Osborne narration ruined it a little for me, and it really needed to be updated.

I love MMRR, too. I just wish it had been an addition instead of a replacement.

 

[Incomudro]

The funny thing is without Ray and Dr. F you just have Louis as comic relief.

The two biggest steal the show characters of the movie will not be present.

The protagonist is relatively uninteresting compared to the things omitted and does not bode well for at least the thought of conflict. And no, an attraction does not require a conflict, but it sure tends to make things more interesting.

Conflict would certainly work with the PatF ride, build the conflict throughout the ride with a sense of dread rising, to be relieved after the drop
It could be done so well with Dr. Facilier.
Perhaps, they'll still use some rising conflict? I don't know...
But the Dr. would have been such a great way to do it.