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

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Kirby86

Well-Known Member
I was under the impression since the WDW version is similar to the Tokyo version Disney would like to try and wow the Japanese market into changing their mind about saving their version of Splash.
I don't think OLC is interested plus they have a few projects on the docket already eating up funds. Also they love exclusivity, now they have the only Splash Mountain and Princess and the Frog wasn't popular in Japan.
 

Touchdown

Well-Known Member
Tiana pointing at some other AAs seems like a waste of a figure and awful storytelling (like hanging a giant banner that explains the plot). When was the last time WDW successfully built AA SCENES, ala Pirates, Mansion, WoM, Horizons, Spaceship Earth, Imagination, Splash, etc. rather then just posing one or two figures doing not very much in front of a screen ala Avatar, Frozen Ever After, RotR, etc.?
The Shaman in Pandora is a really well done scene, as is the build up to it. Don’t blame those scenes for the abrupt ending afterwards nor the sin of thinking one AA is enough to serve as a climax to a ride.
 

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
The Shaman in Pandora is a really well done scene, as is the build up to it. Don’t blame those scenes for the abrupt ending afterwards nor the sin of thinking one AA is enough to serve as a climax to a ride.
I profoundly disagree. I understand and sympathize with folks who like the ride because it is the kind of three-dimensional world creation Disney doesn't do anymore. But a single off-putting AA gesturing vaguely to the side of the ride path is not a well constructed scene. It also strikes me that we know she is a shaman and the objective of the whole (distantly glimpsed) pilgrimage because we're nerds who read the published backstory. What establishes that in the ride?
 

Touchdown

Well-Known Member
I profoundly disagree. I understand and sympathize with folks who like the ride because it is the kind of three-dimensional world creation Disney doesn't do anymore. But a single off-putting AA gesturing vaguely to the side of the ride path is not a well constructed scene. It also strikes me that we know she is a shaman and the objective of the whole (distantly glimpsed) pilgrimage because we're nerds who read the published backstory. What establishes that in the ride?
See it’s clear to me from the ride that she is calling all of us to gather for a (presumed) religious purpose thanks to the scenes before of the Na’vi slowly marching with solemn silence along with us. My issue was what in the world are we marching for? First time I ride I expected one more scene where I would see Navi preforming a ritual around the white tree (Eway.). Instead I got a barely themed cave and the loading platform.
 

DCBaker

Premium Member
Some additional information shared at a press presentation yesterday -

"Two Imagineers shared a few details about the Tiana project ahead of Friday’s Splash Mountain announcement. Charita Carter, executive creative producer, reiterated that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be set in Louisiana in 1927. Carter said the characters’ costuming, hair and ambiance will reflect that era.

“She’s fantastical but she comes from a very real place. It’s a real location, a real culture,” Carter said. Members of her creative team traveled to New Orleans for inspiration.

The setting for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be one year after the conclusion of the animated film. Tiana will be portrayed as a successful entrepreneur with strong connections to her family and community, said Rod Robledo, executive creative director.

“She’s actually started an employee-owned company called Tiana’s Foods,” he said. The company logo has been seen on a water tower in a rendering of the future attraction.

That part of the attraction’s story also helps explain the lack of mountain that has been seen in Frontierland since the early 1990s. Louisiana, in real life, is mostly flat.

“What Tiana has done is purchased this old, abandoned salt dome mine, and that was turned into this operation called Tiana’s Foods,” Robledo said. Disney creative types saw such domes during a Louisiana visit.

“We thought to ourselves, ‘Hey, that’s the perfect way in for us to sort of explain why there’s this elevation there,’” Robledo said."

 

JohnD

Well-Known Member
If that's really the answer, why that particular zip code and not 32836, the zip code for WDW?
Here's a Louisiana connection for March 28, 1972:
  • Mar 28 Ledisi [Young], American Grammy Award-winning jazz and R&B singer-songwriter, and record producer (Pieces of Me; The Wild Card), born in New Orleans, Louisiana

But then again, I could still be grasping at straws.
 

JohnD

Well-Known Member
Some additional information shared at a press presentation yesterday -

"Two Imagineers shared a few details about the Tiana project ahead of Friday’s Splash Mountain announcement. Charita Carter, executive creative producer, reiterated that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be set in Louisiana in 1927. Carter said the characters’ costuming, hair and ambiance will reflect that era.

“She’s fantastical but she comes from a very real place. It’s a real location, a real culture,” Carter said. Members of her creative team traveled to New Orleans for inspiration.

The setting for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be one year after the conclusion of the animated film. Tiana will be portrayed as a successful entrepreneur with strong connections to her family and community, said Rod Robledo, executive creative director.

“She’s actually started an employee-owned company called Tiana’s Foods,” he said. The company logo has been seen on a water tower in a rendering of the future attraction.

That part of the attraction’s story also helps explain the lack of mountain that has been seen in Frontierland since the early 1990s. Louisiana, in real life, is mostly flat.

“What Tiana has done is purchased this old, abandoned salt dome mine, and that was turned into this operation called Tiana’s Foods,” Robledo said. Disney creative types saw such domes during a Louisiana visit.

“We thought to ourselves, ‘Hey, that’s the perfect way in for us to sort of explain why there’s this elevation there,’” Robledo said."


"“We thought to ourselves, ‘Hey, that’s the perfect way in for us to sort of explain why there’s this elevation there,’” Robledo said.""

More like shoehorn a contrived explanation and storyline for the final drop.
 

EagleScout610

These cats can PLAAAAAYYYYY
Premium Member
“What Tiana has done is purchased this old, abandoned salt dome mine, and that was turned into this operation called Tiana’s Foods,” Robledo said. Disney creative types saw such domes during a Louisiana visit.

“We thought to ourselves, ‘Hey, that’s the perfect way in for us to sort of explain why there’s this elevation there,’” Robledo said."
Sort of...kinda...not at all
 

Ghost93

Well-Known Member
I think PatF is a great choice for a Splash Mountain retheme, but it is a bit worrying that all the press for the retheme is talking about family, community, inclusion, representation and being inspirational and NOTHING about "fun, thrills, and excitement!"

Don't get me wrong, I think representation is important but I don't think it should be the selling point of a theme park ride. It should just be an added bonus.
 

LittleBuford

Well-Known Member
Some additional information shared at a press presentation yesterday -

"Two Imagineers shared a few details about the Tiana project ahead of Friday’s Splash Mountain announcement. Charita Carter, executive creative producer, reiterated that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be set in Louisiana in 1927. Carter said the characters’ costuming, hair and ambiance will reflect that era.

“She’s fantastical but she comes from a very real place. It’s a real location, a real culture,” Carter said. Members of her creative team traveled to New Orleans for inspiration.

The setting for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be one year after the conclusion of the animated film. Tiana will be portrayed as a successful entrepreneur with strong connections to her family and community, said Rod Robledo, executive creative director.

“She’s actually started an employee-owned company called Tiana’s Foods,” he said. The company logo has been seen on a water tower in a rendering of the future attraction.

That part of the attraction’s story also helps explain the lack of mountain that has been seen in Frontierland since the early 1990s. Louisiana, in real life, is mostly flat.

“What Tiana has done is purchased this old, abandoned salt dome mine, and that was turned into this operation called Tiana’s Foods,” Robledo said. Disney creative types saw such domes during a Louisiana visit.

“We thought to ourselves, ‘Hey, that’s the perfect way in for us to sort of explain why there’s this elevation there,’” Robledo said."

I truly hate this backstory. Thankfully, the new concept art doesn’t seem to reflect it, so I hope it remains at the level of promotional verbiage rather than something we encounter much in the ride itself.
 

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
I truly hate this backstory. Thankfully, the new concept art doesn’t seem to reflect it, so I hope it remains at the level of promotional verbiage rather than something we encounter much in the ride itself.
I fear that, with the emphasis on the concept in PR, its not going to be particularly subtle. Imagineering seems very proud of it. The artwork we've seen all seems to be variations on the first scene after the first falls. I would expect the "salt mine" theme to be very prominent in the Laughing Place (aka what should have been the other side, just because a concept is obvious doesn't mean it isn't also the best, you overthinking Imagineers).
 

LittleBuford

Well-Known Member
I fear that, with the emphasis on the concept in PR, its not going to be particularly subtle. Imagineering seems very proud of it. The artwork we've seen all seems to be variations on the first scene after the first falls. I would expect the "salt mine" theme to be very prominent in the Laughing Place (aka what should have been the other side, just because a concept is obvious doesn't mean it isn't also the best, you overthinking Imagineers).
I hope you’re mistaken. I’ll never understand why they felt the need to justify the elevation. It was a solution in search of a problem.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
-Pandora>Camp Minnie Mickey
-Millennium Falcon>Backlot
-Finding Nemo the Musical>Tarzan Rocks
-HEA>Wishes
-New Fantasyland>Poohs Thoughtful Spot/Ariel Meet and Greet (you cut off at 20 years)

Smuggler's Run isn't anywhere near as good as the original Backlot Tour. Even just Catastrophe Canyon alone was better.

Smuggler's Run is a terrible attraction though, so that's not saying all that much. It'd be better as a walkthrough of the Millennium Falcon without the truly awful video game attached.

They could potentially improve Smugglers Run by adding 4 or 5 separate missions (and hopefully more interesting ones), but that would cost millions of dollars and I'll believe it when I see it (they don't even really have any reason to do as long as the ride stays relatively busy).
 
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