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

[Tha Realest]

I never even considered that they might try to downplay the drop. I think it would be a huge mistake, and just emphasize the fact that they are shoehorning a theme this ride wasn't designed for.

Let's minimize a 50-foot drop to unsuspecting 6-year-olds!

 

[JoeCamel]

I suspect one of the reasons for this is that the drop is now so iconic that it doesn’t need to be advertised. It’s also the one part of the ride experience that’s going to stay largely unchanged.

"Its Star Wars do we really need to advertise?" Bob...

Why yes Bob you do...

 

[Purduevian]

Let's minimize a 50-foot drop to unsuspecting 6-year-olds!

I mean, it's impossible to get in line for it and not see the drop. Kind of like Tron going outside to show the seats and speed.

 

[Tha Realest]

I mean, it's impossible to get in line for it and not see the drop. Kind of like Tron going outside to show the seats and speed.

Did you read the post I quoted, and those that preceded it? They discussed some attempts to minimize 1) the drop, or 2) guests awareness of it.

 

[Purduevian]

Did you read the post I quoted, and those that preceded it? They discussed some attempts to minimize 1) the drop, or 2) guests awareness of it.

I think the discussion was just that the marketing didn't seem to discuss the drop nearly as much as the Splash Mountain marketing did. I was simply stating that no one is getting on the ride that didn't see the drop.

Unless you are like my grandpa and somehow sat on big thunder thinking it was the WDWRR

 

[Tha Realest]

It's been mentioned that the main flume drop will be intimidating to younger children, does anyone know if Imagineering is doing anything to lessen that perceived peril making it appear less intense? Would they employ some type of inversed force perspective at ground level? Or strobe lights to create the illusion of moving in slow motion? I don't think it likely, but I wonder if Imagineering has thought of making such changes.

The final lift hill won't be as scary at least. I spotted Mama Odie's colored bottles inside the cave on the model, so I would guess the trek up to the top will be more upbeat and happy compared to the foreboding music and visuals that are currently there. There also won't be a briar patch at the base anymore, just swamp grass. Though there's probably not much you can do to alleviate children's fears at the peak and during the drop. I also very strongly hope they don't use strobe lights, they won't even work in the daytime. And they're even more likely to induce nausea and disorientation than not at night, it would also pose an ugly distraction to the scenery.

I think the discussion was just that the marketing didn't seem to discuss the drop nearly as much as the Splash Mountain marketing did. I was simply stating that no one is getting on the ride that didn't see the drop.

Unless you are like my grandpa and somehow sat on big thunder thinking it was the WDWRR

 

[Touchdown]

Unless you are like my grandpa and somehow sat on big thunder thinking it was the WDWRR

It wasn’t grandpa but a family friend (who has since passed) very much was tricked on BTMRR by the people (not my family) who were with him at the time.

 

[EagleScout610]

Did you read the post I quoted, and those that preceded it? They discussed some attempts to minimize 1) the drop, or 2) guests awareness of it.

To me it reads as they're gonna market the drop as less of "Heart stopping, thrilling, adrenaline rush filled plunge that you take to escape from Br'er Fox who's about to skin Br'er Rabbit for dinner", and more of "Oh that silly Mama Odie just sent us on a fun drop into the briar patch swamp" to make it more marketable to children

 

[SpectreJordan]

Put aside the wisdom of changing this ride - it really is a head scratcher that they decided to shoehorn a princess that appeals to the under-10 female set into one of the more imposing thrill rides in the park.

To be fair, the original mascot for the ride is a cute bunny rabbit instead of some serious action hero or something like that.

 

[JohnD]

Splash Mountain was supposed to be named after Brer Rabbit. It could very well have been named "Brer Rabbit's Adventures" or something like that. Instead, Michael Eisner had some screwy thought to tie it to promoting the movie Splash with Tom Hanks, so it got called "Splash Mountain". The promotional reason faded away but the name still stuck because that is what happens after the large drop. You could still refer to the new ride as "Splash Mountain" (like calling HS "Disney-MGM") even with the new theme. That name has nothing to do with Brer Rabbit, except that is what most remember it for the current theme.

 

[JohnD]

Imagine if you went to a coffee shop at 4PM and the employees refused to serve you because "we're closing in an hour anyway".

Guests are paying for show quality and they are not recieving it. And unfortunately, in Splash's case, the damage is so bad its noticeable even to the uninitiated.

Add to that the fact that the lack of maintenance on Splash does not actually stem from senioritis and it becomes clear this is a larger problem that needs addressing if guests are expected to pay so much.

That is an absurd comparison. You're talking about a $5.00 cup of coffee (still too much but that's for another discussion) vs. a multi-million attraction. In both situations, the coffee shop and the ride remain open until daily closure. An apples-apples comparison would be that the coffee shop theme is dated, maybe with peeling paint, and they plan to renovate next month. They're not going to bother sprucing up the current theme of the coffee shop if they're going to close for a short period in order to renovate it next month.

Seriously. Give it a rest. They're not going to waste money sprucing up the current theme just to tear it out a month later.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Just from the past two weeks-

- With the exception of the greenhouses (which is one of the only places on WDW property that is well maintained), Living with the Land is in deplorable condition and suffers very similar if not worse issues to Splash Mountain. Lighting fixtures are inoperable or heavily misaligned, a huge portion of the animals in the ride are either static or missing. Not one single figure in the rainforest scene was moving last week for instance, and a handful were missing outright. None of these are even remotely as complex or difficult to repair as Splash's AA's either, their movement is basically on the level of a classic Fantasyland dark ride.

- Small World received a fairly decent refurb not all that long ago and is at least still much cleaner than it had been in previous years. But in the past couple of months, dolls have started going missing or are stationary. A couple of the spinning ceiling fixtures are also broken again. Every week, I notice a new issue cropping up. And none of the issues are being fixed. Again, these also aren't remotely complex figures.

- On Big Thunder, every single figure in the flooded town scene is inoperable, everything is static. The bats in the cave also had no movement. Quite a bit of the the night time lighting is also broken. And of course, they never bothered to implement the new explosion effects added to the versions at California and Paris. The track is also in desperate need of a replacement.

- Don't even make me laugh about the condition of Space Mountain...

- The Progress City model has never looked worse.

- Both Zurg figures were static and the eye/mouth lights were malfunctioning, as well as the final Buzz figure. Even a number of the moving flat props were also static. No attempt has been made to clean and paint over the mold and water damage this ride has had for over a decade now. This may well be the nastiest ride at any Disney park currently.

Splash Mountain's horrible condition is not unique. There are a number of attractions on property that aren't in any danger of being closed down and are still being run to failure by park management. The only attraction i've noticed any IMPROVEMENT to over the past few months is Spaceship Earth. There's smoke again on some of the torches that have been inoperable for some time prior (though not in the Rome burning scene). And the steam engine has far more movement than it has had in years (not everything though, and the steam is still missing).

I read this and we rode LwtL Wednesday…the lights in the aquarium room were a mess…some were out and the lenses at the very least need to be cleaned. The prairie dogs were working, but the buffaloes were static.
On iasw, this has been a bone of contention with me for quite some time. The leprechauns haven’t worked in 3 years. The whole section is inoperable. The lights on the roller coaster has series of lights out and again have been for quite some time. There was one ceiling set of AA’s that weren’t working and the Israeli boy was also out. The same mold/dirt was on the “bridge” as you pass under to the load/unload area.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

That is an absurd comparison. You're talking about a $5.00 cup of coffee (still too much but that's for another discussion) vs. a multi-million attraction. In both situations, the coffee shop and the ride remain open until daily closure. An apples-apples comparison would be that the coffee shop theme is dated, maybe with peeling paint, and they plan to renovate next month. They're not going to bother sprucing up the current theme of the coffee shop if they're going to close for a short period in order to renovate it next month.

Seriously. Give it a rest. They're not going to waste money sprucing up the current theme just to tear it out a month later.

The audacity to completely misstate my point once again, make your own absurd comparison, and tell me to give it a rest when you're the one ressurecting an argument that's been dead for days . . . okay, bud

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Going back to iasw, I forgot to add these pix…the bow of our boat was filthy…caked on dirt that only came loose with my finger…a spray bottle of Awesome with some paper towels and it’s over and done with…bad show!!

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Really cool card we asked for and got at the exit of the ride…never saw these, but a great SM momento…

 

[RSoxNo1]

While I agree the ride should be properly maintained until the retheme, I don’t see the sense in closing it prematurely. I’d sooner ride it in its current state than not at all.

That shouldn't be the choice though. They're not standing behind the product. As I've said, if OLC was operating their Splash Mountain like this or if Universal was operating any of their Marvel attractions like this they would be in breach of contract.

The attraction is serving a purpose and drawing attendance for 2 more months, buy some hydraulic fluid and a few lightbulbs and fix it. Just because there's an excuse, doesn't make it a good excuse.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Let's minimize a 50-foot drop to unsuspecting 6-year-olds!

The thing is, if you travel the parks with the kids, they can see the drop. The drop and not Tiana will be the decision they make about whether or not they want to ride. It's why kids gravitate towards outdoor attractions that they see, there's no mystery.

 

[LittleBuford]

That shouldn't be the choice though.

I agree, but I’m talking about the situation as it actually is, not how it ought to be.

 

[DocAlan02]

Splash Mountain was supposed to be named after Brer Rabbit. It could very well have been named "Brer Rabbit's Adventures" or something like that. Instead, Michael Eisner had some screwy thought to tie it to promoting the movie Splash with Tom Hanks, so it got called "Splash Mountain". The promotional reason faded away but the name still stuck because that is what happens after the large drop. You could still refer to the new ride as "Splash Mountain" (like calling HS "Disney-MGM") even with the new theme. That name has nothing to do with Brer Rabbit, except that is what most remember it for the current theme.

I always assumed the name was meant as a water analog to Space Mountain.

 

[JohnD]

I always assumed the name was meant as a water analog to Space Mountain.

It certainly can be. But the actual history is Michael Eisner wanted to promote the movie Splash. Whatever.