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

[Disney Analyst]

I think it would be criticised only because of the frog issue. The idea that book-report rides in general are bad is a relatively new one that I don't think exists outside certain hardcore fan circles.

Replacing Splash with a 12 minute book-report of PATF would (in my opinion) be disastrous for them.

Little Mermaid is a cute ride, but it’s not considered a great Disney attraction. Held back by the limitations of a retold story, in a small scale format.

The Disneyland Fantasyland dark rides perfected the concept of taking a movie, and quickly pulling you through moments you know, while still making it feel fresh and adventurous. I think it works in that format well.

But Disney hasn’t done an attraction on the scale of Haunted Mansion, POTC, or Splash, that is a direct retelling of a movie (that I can think of).

(Well you mentioned Splash is a book report, but I concede I had no idea).

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Suppose they skipped scheduled maintenance and then something happened on the ride that injured a guest. The lawyers would have a field day with them skipping scheduled maintenance, even if the maintenance was more for cosmetics than anything else.

Splash Mountain is not closing for Scheduled Maintenance this coming January - it is closing permanently to begin the transformation into Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

 

[JohnD]

Splash Mountain is not closing for Scheduled Maintenance this coming January - it is closing permanently to begin the transformation into Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

They're using the normal refurbishment schedule to take it down for the retheme.

 

[LittleBuford]

Little Mermaid is a cute ride, but it’s not considered a great Disney attraction. Held back by the limitations of a retold story, in a small scale format.

What holds the ride back isn’t that it’s based directly on the film, but that it’s poorly executed. If a ride is done well, people don’t care whether it’s a book report or not.

 

[Disney Analyst]

What holds the ride back isn’t that it’s based directly on the film, but that it’s poorly executed. If a ride is done well, people don’t care whether it’s a book report or not.

I mean for sure, but I guess I appreciate that Disney is trying to create something more original, with a known IP.

I just hope it's good.

 

[TwilightZone]

looks like its time to dip out of this thread again

 

[UNCgolf]

Agreed.


It's a 12-minute ride, they wouldn't need to linger on the frog parts. All the banger songs are in the beginning anyways.

Down In New Orleans (Tiana is human)
Almost There (Tiana is human)
Friends on the Other Side (Tiana is human)
Gonna Take You There / Dig a Little Deeper (frog)
Down In New Orleans Reprise (human)

It would probably be a lot more work for Disney, though, because the whole interior couldn't be bayou scenes (or mainly bayou scenes). They'd have to do have New Orleans with possibly some building interiors, then transition to bayou, then eventually transition back to New Orleans.

Not that that's an argument against doing it, but it may have been a consideration.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It would probably take a lot more work for Disney, though, because the whole interior couldn't be bayou scenes (or mainly bayou scenes). They'd have to do have New Orleans with possibly some building interiors, then transition to bayou, then eventually transition back to New Orleans.

Not that that's an argument against doing it, but it may have been a consideration.

Couldn't the interior be half Facilier / magic and half bayou?

 

[UNCgolf]

Couldn't the interior be half Facilier / magic and half bayou?

I only meant if you were trying to incorporate all those songs, since the first couple would require a New Orleans setting at the beginning but not Facilier/magic.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

They're using the normal refurbishment schedule to take it down for the retheme.

That it happens to be closing in the same month they typically perform its annual maintenance is pretty irrelevant here. People are talking as if Splash Mountain will be recieving its regular annual maintenance this coming January, and that's absolutely not true. These posts about "scheduled maintenance" make it seem like the Splash Mountain will reopen to guests at some point, which it won't, it will become Tiana's Bayou Adventure. What they'll be doing come January 23rd is very different from "scheduled maintenance", and Splash Mountain as we know it will never be seen in Walt Disney World again.

 

[Rush]

I'm keeping fingers crossed for a mini New Orleans makeover to the area adjacent to the ride.

 

[JohnD]

These posts about "scheduled maintenance" make it seem like the Splash Mountain will reopen to guests at some point, which it won't

Wrong. Tiana will open "at some point" in 2024.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Now we're really getting off topic but Meredith Inglesby guest starred as Mother Gothel on the Magic last year and she also did a couple of sets in Fathoms that gave me feelings.

She did a fantastic job, both with her singing and acting.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I mean for sure, but I guess I appreciate that Disney is trying to create something more original, with a known IP.

I just hope it's good.

Agreed. I appreciate that they are coming up with new material, finally. Whether it’s good or not remains to be known, and even that is subjective. But at least they’re trying something different.

 

[VJ]

looks like its time to dip out of this thread again

time to be movin' along?

 

[GoneForGood]

Just wanted to share this. I read the blog entry and saw that the newly released artwork is intended to be the first show scene after we drop down into the showbuilding. From the image Disney shared, this may potentially involve partial if not full re-build of the sets, as if this scene is placed on the first "bend" in the attraction, there isn't any room there currently.

(The "tunnel" before the fishing pond has a CM/Emergency walk way that comes out a little, right up on the trough on the right hand side, there would be no room for it as is.)

But then I thought about it for a bit, the dock in the image looks similar to the one that the three geese are standing on a little further into the show building. The issue is, this dock is on the RIGHT hand side of the track, while in the new image it's on the left. So I went ahead and mirrored the image out of curiosity:

The frogs in the image are situated where the bullfrogs on Splash are now. The same with the dock. If true...then I wonder why the image was revealed mirrored. I hope I explained that in a way that makes sense.

Now of course, this is likely me WAY overthinking it, and Disney intends on doing a full or partial gut. Just random speculation on my part.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Concept art isn't necessarily going to accurately showcase the finalized placement of characters and setpieces. Though that is an interesting thing to note about the dock, because that does indeed look like something they could probably maintain in its proper place with your flip.

I could imagine Disneyland's Splash requiring less effort to convert since it already takes place in a dark swamp. Disney World however will need a lot more work because it doesn't share this setting. It's a bright sunny and hilly countryside with farmland and passing river. Even the tree foliage is completely different. Disneyland uses weeping willow vines along its ceiling, whereas WDW uses what appears to be maple trees. Some of the tree trunk structures could potentially be reused as well, but even those will need to be touched up to make them more swamp-appropriate. Pretty much everything on the shores, the tree foliage lining the ceiling, and the painted walls will all need to be replaced though. Perhaps this is also why WDW's variant is closing first, it will require more time to convert.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

They're using the normal refurbishment schedule to take it down for the retheme.

Wrong. Tiana will open "at some point" in 2024.

Seems like you are purposefully missing my point, which I would encourage you not to do.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Multiple major articles cite "late" 2024 as the opening date, but I'm not seeing a source for that on any official Disney website. I wonder if it will even make the 2024 deadline. It's a pretty substantial project for something that's only supposed to take less than 2 years. Even without the excuse of a pandemic, Disney is terrible at completing major projects in a timely manner. I'm also surprised they wouldn't target more mid-year date given that it's a very wet ride (even Florida can get pretty cold in December and also parts of November).

 

[DCBaker]

Multiple major articles cite "late" 2024 as the opening date, but I'm not seeing a source for that on any official Disney website. I wonder if it will even make the 2024 deadline. It's a pretty substantial project for something that's only supposed to take less than 2 years. Even without the excuse of a pandemic, Disney is terrible at completing major projects in a timely manner. I'm also surprised they wouldn't target more mid-year date given that it's a very wet ride (even Florida can get pretty cold in December and also parts of November).

See here -

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Coming to Disney Parks in Late 2024

Strike up the band because we’ve saved a seat for you on this musical journey with Tiana and friends! The name of the new attraction evolving from the reimagining of Splash Mountain was announced today during ESSENCE Fest in New Orleans: Tiana’s

disneyparks.disney.go.com