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

[Elijah Abrams]

It's just common sense that once the next "refurb" begins, that is the end of Splash Mountain. The idea was that Splash (at least the version at WDW) would remain in operation until Tron opens for capacity reasons. I assume this is probably still the plan, it makes logical sense to handle it that way. Unless they've pushed the date up for some reason and don't care about the capacity issue anymore. We'll see.

That’s the worst common sense I’ve heard.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

That’s the worst common sense I’ve heard.

How? The PATF overhaul is already going to start before summer next year. Again I was previously under the impression WDW's would remain online until Tron opens, but I suppose it's also possible they pushed it up. You think they're going to pay for another routine refurbishment of the existing ride and reopen it again for such a short amount of time before closing it AGAIN? Hardly. They've already given up on routine day-to-day maintenance of the show elements and it's dying a slow gradual death, even the version in California (Disneyland typically has far better maintenance than WDW). Once it goes down for "rehab" again (not counting the normal daily breakdowns), it's not going to be reopening as Splash Mountain again. Unless by some miracle they cancel the overhaul (which isn't happening).

 

[EagleScout610]

That’s the worst common sense I’ve heard.

If they're truly going to get this done in an 18 month window or whatever the time frame is, late December/early January is their best bet to shut down Splash 1.0 and reopen as Tiana in October 24 [That's my best bet]

 

[matt9112]

As far as I’m concerned, if “Friends on the other Side” is not playing on the lift hill it will be a huge fail/ missed opportunity. If they don’t do that it’s for no other reason then them over thinking it and not wanting to do something “obvious.”

I just had a thought though, what if they’re saving Dr. Facilier and his friends from the other side for a Halloween overlay?

I have zero faith in that….that requires going above and beyond the status quo

 

[EagleScout610]

 

[JoeCamel]

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Thank you for using a screenshot rather than a link to the rag

 

[BrerFoxesBayouAdventure]

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It's obvious they're letting it rot so they have an excuse to go forward with the retheme, we know this. Everyone knows this. I don't know why ITM feels the need to report on it every time an animatronic breaks down or stops working.

 

[Kirby86]

It's obvious they're letting it rot so they have an excuse to go forward with the retheme, we know this. Everyone knows this. I don't know why ITM feels the need to report on it every time an animatronic breaks down or stops working.

It still gets clicks.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I don't know why ITM feels the need to report on it every time an animatronic breaks down or stops working.

Cause it’s still very bad show for an e-ticket at the worlds most visited theme park.

 

[Casper Gutman]

It’ll be no more wiped away than Song of the South has been. People will still be able to read about it in literally hundreds of books and on thousands of websites.

Comparing this to the actions of a fictional totalitarian regime is pretty absurd.

Inc is being absurdly hyperbolic and I can absolutely see the justification, even the necessity, for replacing Splash (though I think there is every indication that they're going to do so in an absurd, half-hearted way that almost replicates the problem they're supposedly correcting). That said, it is absolutely true that destroying Splash is very different then placing Song in the vault. Song will remain available in its original form, just as most corporately-produced films or books or pieces of music produced in the last 90 years remain extant, no matter how offensive (there are caveats here, of course, and those are threatening to increase with the death of physical media). Splash will not exist. It will be destroyed, lost, just like World of Motion or Horizons or any number of rides before it. If we're going to seriously consider theme parks as art - and I think we must - we need to start to reckon with their unique ephemerality. No picture or video or collection of blueprints and other primary documents can actually truly capture the experience of a lost ride. I don't have a solution nor do I oppose the basic idea of replacing Splash, but I think the broader issue is worth considering.

 

[Bocabear]

Inc is being absurdly hyperbolic and I can absolutely see the justification, even the necessity, for replacing Splash (though I think there is every indication that they're going to do so in an absurd, half-hearted way that almost replicates the problem they're supposedly correcting). That said, it is absolutely true that destroying Splash is very different then placing Song in the vault. Song will remain available in its original form, just as most corporately-produced films or books or pieces of music produced in the last 90 years remain extant, no matter how offensive (there are caveats here, of course, and those are threatening to increase with the death of physical media). Splash will not exist. It will be destroyed, lost, just like World of Motion or Horizons or any number of rides before it. If we're going to seriously consider theme parks as art - and I think we must - we need to start to reckon with their unique ephemerality. No picture or video or collection of blueprints and other primary documents can actually truly capture the experience of a lost ride. I don't have a solution nor do I oppose the basic idea of replacing Splash, but I think the broader issue is worth considering.

That is so true...No video or pictures can capture what these lost attractions were like. Horizons, World Of Motion, The Original Journey Into Imagination, even If You Had Wings and Alien Encounter... It is a shame that there is no accessible database to the production files of these rides...They were truly masterfully done... Even Alien Encounter lol

 

[ppete1975]

That is so true...No video or pictures can capture what these lost attractions were like. Horizons, World Of Motion, The Original Journey Into Imagination, even If You Had Wings and Alien Encounter... It is a shame that there is no accessible database to the production files of these rides...They were truly masterfully done... Even Alien Encounter lol

Ive been saying for years that now with 8k cameras and the technology that we have, that disney should run ride vehicles with cameras 360 on them and cycle them through a few times. That way the ability for a true ride through would be possible. You could even have a black box ride where you could be surrounded by screens that mimic any ride and could be swapped out. Or VR could be used. Who knows what the future will provide, but now that the technology is there.. lets do it the right way and not fan videos. Even if wasnt to be used today, they could have it saved digitally. Not just for rides that are going to be removed but for all rides in case of fire or hurricane or some other unexpected damage.

 

[JoeCamel]

Ive been saying for years that now with 8k cameras and the technology that we have, that disney should run ride vehicles with cameras 360 on them and cycle them through a few times. That way the ability for a true ride through would be possible. You could even have a black box ride where you could be surrounded by screens that mimic any ride and could be swapped out. Or VR could be used. Who knows what the future will provide, but now that the technology is there.. lets do it the right way and not fan videos. Even if wasnt to be used today, they could have it saved digitally. Not just for rides that are going to be removed but for all rides in case of fire or hurricane or some other unexpected damage.

You described a simulator

 

[LittleBuford]

Inc is being absurdly hyperbolic and I can absolutely see the justification, even the necessity, for replacing Splash (though I think there is every indication that they're going to do so in an absurd, half-hearted way that almost replicates the problem they're supposedly correcting). That said, it is absolutely true that destroying Splash is very different then placing Song in the vault. Song will remain available in its original form, just as most corporately-produced films or books or pieces of music produced in the last 90 years remain extant, no matter how offensive (there are caveats here, of course, and those are threatening to increase with the death of physical media). Splash will not exist. It will be destroyed, lost, just like World of Motion or Horizons or any number of rides before it. If we're going to seriously consider theme parks as art - and I think we must - we need to start to reckon with their unique ephemerality. No picture or video or collection of blueprints and other primary documents can actually truly capture the experience of a lost ride. I don't have a solution nor do I oppose the basic idea of replacing Splash, but I think the broader issue is worth considering.

I agree with much of what you’ve written, but I don’t think the ephemerality you’re referring to is unique to theme parks. We tend to think of historical artworks as being relics fixed in their original state, but this was seldom the case. Artists and architects made things knowing full well they may be altered, repurposed, or even destroyed as tastes and needs shifted. Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel involved the destruction of paintings by some of the best artists of the previous generation. Works of impermanent architecture were routinely created for special occasions before being dismantled. It’s only with the advent of the modern museum that we’ve come to fetishise art as something fixed and unchanging.

At any rate, we’re in a much more fortunate position than past generations in that Splash Mountain is extensively documented. Beyond the countless photos and videos taken by fans, there are the materials preserved in Disney’s own archive. True, the animatronics and sets will all be lost, but in that, they’re really no different from thousands of other artworks that have experienced the same fate over the centuries.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I agree with much of what you’ve written, but I don’t think the ephemerality you’re referring to is unique to theme parks. We tend to think of historical artworks as being relics fixed in their original state, but this was seldom the case. Artists and architects made things knowing full well they may be altered, repurposed, or even destroyed as tastes and needs shifted. Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel involved the destruction of paintings by some of the best artists of the previous generation. Works of impermanent architecture were routinely created for special occasions before being dismantled. It’s only with the advent of the modern museum that we’ve come to fetishise art as something fixed and unchanging.

At any rate, we’re in a much more fortunate position than past generations in that Splash Mountain is extensively documented. Beyond the countless photos and videos taken by fans, there are the materials preserved in Disney’s own archive. True, the animatronics and sets will all be lost, but in that, they’re really no different from thousands of other artworks that have experienced the same fate over the centuries.

I understand your point, and I think it's valid. There also is the principle of association. It would be like repurposing the Sistine Chapel into a restaurant serving actual Italian classical dishes. But attempting to make no reference to the building's historic and religious history. I don't know that I would classify Splash as impermanent architecture. Art can absolutely be changed, but it is often modernized and evolved vs. abandoned. This is truly an attempt to abandon. I don't mean to get into whether that's right, wrong or otherwise. Rather that the reuse of something in this case has different results - even if the predecessor is visually documented well. The art and architecture still exists in many ways, and that will have a different impact.

 

[matt9112]

It's obvious they're letting it rot so they have an excuse to go forward with the retheme, we know this. Everyone knows this. I don't know why ITM feels the need to report on it every time an animatronic breaks down or stops working.

Closing it or not isn’t an excuse to let it fall into poor condition until that time.

 

[LittleBuford]

I understand your point, and I think it's valid. There also is the principle of association. It would be like repurposing the Sistine Chapel into a restaurant serving actual Italian classical dishes. But attempting to make no reference to the building's historic and religious history. I don't know that I would classify Splash as impermanent architecture. Art can absolutely be changed, but it is often modernized and evolved vs. abandoned. This is truly an attempt to abandon. I don't mean to get into whether that's right, wrong or otherwise. Rather that the reuse of something in this case has different results - even if the predecessor is visually documented well. The art and architecture still exists in many ways, and that will have a different impact.

I don't agree with your chapel-to-restaurant analogy. Even after the retheme, it'll remain in purpose what it has always been: a combination of a log flume and dark ride, with essentially the same overall structure and ride system. It's worth remembering that the initial plan was to build a log flume, not a Song of the South ride, and it was only when Tony Baxter hit upon the idea of recycling the America Sings animatronics that we ended up with the rather unlikely theme that we're about to lose.

 

[Phil12]

Closing it or not isn’t an excuse to let it fall into poor condition until that time.

It's simply a cost savings measure. Why spend the money on upkeep for an attraction that they know will be replaced? Also, it's not one of the attractions that Walt built such as CoP, PoC, JC and the others. There is a lot of reverence for those attractions but Splash is just not on par with any of those. It's a log flume with a huge drop and any story can be put in that structure and still do great business. Splash is still doing great business in its dilapidated condition. No one really cares about that clever bunny except for over the top fan boys!

 

[BrerFoxesBayouAdventure]

It's simply a cost savings measure. Why spend the money on upkeep for an attraction that they know will be replaced? Also, it's not one of the attractions that Walt built such as CoP, PoC, JC and the others. There is a lot of reverence for those attractions but Splash is just not on par with any of those. It's a log flume with a huge drop and any story can be put in that structure and still do great business. Splash is still doing great business in its dilapidated condition. No one really cares about that clever bunny except for over the top fan boys!

I dunno what you're on about, but the ride has a catchy soundtrack and fun characters. There's a reason it's existed for well over 30 years.

 

[matt9112]

It's simply a cost savings measure. Why spend the money on upkeep for an attraction that they know will be replaced? Also, it's not one of the attractions that Walt built such as CoP, PoC, JC and the others. There is a lot of reverence for those attractions but Splash is just not on par with any of those. It's a log flume with a huge drop and any story can be put in that structure and still do great business. Splash is still doing great business in its dilapidated condition. No one really cares about that clever bunny except for over the top fan boys!

Splash is just as good if not better than some of those rides you listed. Our splash for example is far superior to OUR potc. Your argument essentially is that people don’t care and I agree….but they also wouldn’t care if it was any of those other rides you mentioned. Guests don’t care if splash is closing soon or not.