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

[BrerFoxesBayouAdventure]

What cracks me up are the folks so out of tune with reality. The folks that posted "in mourning" or can't believe this is the last ride. Blah blah blah. They do realize the same ride will be back in 2 years right? Same exact layout, just new and updated theming. Which let's be honest. Splash has been in bulldoze mode for about 15 years. Half of it didn't work so much of the time and it was totally acceptable to the TDO.
Has anyone seen a video from yesterday to see the condition of the mountain?
The only way to truly fix it is to get it back to the bare bones and start again.

It's not going to be the same ride, how many times do we need to go over this? Is Frozen Ever After the same as Maelstrom? Is Pooh the same as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride? Is Journey into Imagination with Figment the same as the original incarnation? Is Runaway Railway the same as The Great Movie Ride?

 

[monothingie]

Man, discussions about the end of a singing robot bunny can go off on the wildest tangents….

This discussion is supposed to be about the merits of the new ride and it's comparison to previous incarnation which for 30 years was one of the premier E-Tickets at WDW and delighted and entertained guests of all cultures, sexes, races, ages, etc.

This continual demeaning of its significance is almost as bad as what Disney themselves did to simply pretend the attraction never existed. Last night you had such a diverse group of guests celebrating the closing of a wonderful attraction. Your perpetual ridiculing of its significance in the history Disney Parks and how it potentially impacted guests is down right obnoxious.

 

[wdwmagic]

I wonder how many people showed up to MK today not realizing yesterday was the final day

Quite a few from what I have heard.

 

[Midwest Elitist]

What cracks me up are the folks so out of tune with reality. The folks that posted "in mourning" or can't believe this is the last ride. Blah blah blah. They do realize the same ride will be back in 2 years right? Same exact layout, just new and updated theming. Which let's be honest. Splash has been in bulldoze mode for about 15 years. Half of it didn't work so much of the time and it was totally acceptable to the TDO.
Has anyone seen a video from yesterday to see the condition of the mountain?
The only way to truly fix it is to get it back to the bare bones and start again.

I'm so tired with countering this Twitter claim, so I am going to full on appeal to insanity.
If they took all the theming out of Haunted Mansion, and called it "Wonderful Warehouse", is it the same ride?

 

[monothingie]

Quite a few from what I have heard.

Of course because Disney wanted it to go away quietly and without any fanfare.

They gave more attention to MSEP for the half dozen times it went glowing away "forever".

 

[brb1006]

Man, remember with she killed traditional animation at Disney?

Actually that goes to Winnie The Pooh.

 

[SNS]

I wonder how many people showed up to MK today not realizing yesterday was the final day

What was up with them saying the last day is the 23rd? That was misleading since when most people here the last day is something they don't interpret it as "it won't be open starting that day". Instead they would interpret it as "it will be open that day but not after that day ends".

 

[wdwmagic]

What was up with them saying the last day is the 23rd? That was misleading since when most people here the last day is something they don't interpret it as "it won't be open starting that day". Instead they would interpret it as "it will be open that day but not after that day ends".

This was the exact wording on the official site. A little vague perhaps.

Splash Mountain will undergo a transformation starting January 23, 2023—and will reopen in 2024 as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

 

[BrerFoxesBayouAdventure]

Actually that goes to Winnie The Pooh.

Neither one of them are guilty, it's the companies fault for putting them up against Avatar and Harry Potter.

 

[SNS]

Actually that goes to Winnie The Pooh.

No, the decision was already made by then. Remember these things take time to make. 2011 Winnie the Pooh as a traditionally animated was set in stone then but the 2013 movie (they were alternating between traditional and CGI) was changed from the intended traditionally animated to CGI (yeah Frozen was not going to be CGI).

I wish it had been. That likely would have drastically changed the course of history and proved that traditional animation wasn't "outdated".

 

[Ghost93]

I'm cautiously optimistic that Bob Iger will give the Splash Mountain retheme into Tiana's Bayou Adventure the budget it deserves. If they replaced the initial version with something that felt crappy and low-budget, there would be a backlash. And Iger — who does not want to seem racist at all — isn't going to want to look like he's giving Tiana a cheap ride.

 

[brb1006]

Quite a few from what I have heard.

This Spring and Summer is going to be very interesting during the hot Florida sun. Hope the Casey Jr. Splash "N" Soak Station will give guests their quick fix.

 

[GhostHost1000]

What cracks me up are the folks so out of tune with reality. The folks that posted "in mourning" or can't believe this is the last ride. Blah blah blah. They do realize the same ride will be back in 2 years right? Same exact layout, just new and updated theming. Which let's be honest. Splash has been in bulldoze mode for about 15 years. Half of it didn't work so much of the time and it was totally acceptable to the TDO.
Has anyone seen a video from yesterday to see the condition of the mountain?
The only way to truly fix it is to get it back to the bare bones and start again.

nostalgia

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I wonder how many people showed up to MK today not realizing yesterday was the final day

The overwhelming majority…

 

[Rich T]

This discussion is supposed to be about the merits of the new ride and it's comparison to previous incarnation which for 30 years was one of the premier E-Tickets at WDW and delighted and entertained guests of all cultures, sexes, races, ages, etc.

This continual demeaning of its significance is almost as bad as what Disney themselves did to simply pretend the attraction never existed. Last night you had such a diverse group of guests celebrating the closing of a wonderful attraction. Your perpetual ridiculing of its significance in the history Disney Parks ad how it potentially impacted guests is down right obnoxious.

Perspective is a good thing. We’re talking about theme parks, and theme parks are entertainment. The new version of Splash will hopefully be wonderful and bring joy to new generations. I’m sorry you found my comments obnoxious, but I try to be realistic, and I try to do so without using insults, pigeon-holing or accusations.

No one likes seeing their favorite ride close. And new ideas deserve a chance.

 

[SNS]

What cracks me up are the folks so out of tune with reality. The folks that posted "in mourning" or can't believe this is the last ride. Blah blah blah. They do realize the same ride will be back in 2 years right? Same exact layout, just new and updated theming. Which let's be honest. Splash has been in bulldoze mode for about 15 years. Half of it didn't work so much of the time and it was totally acceptable to the TDO.
Has anyone seen a video from yesterday to see the condition of the mountain?
The only way to truly fix it is to get it back to the bare bones and start again.

This isn't like some roller coaster where a new theme means a new paint job. For many people the sets, characters, and music are just as important, if not more important then the drops.

 

[Rich T]

It's not going to be the same ride, how many times do we need to go over this? Is Frozen Ever After the same as Maelstrom? Is Pooh the same as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride? Is Journey into Imagination with Figment the same as the original incarnation? Is Runaway Railway the same as The Great Movie Ride?

This is a unique situation in that the signature element, the drop, remains the same. That’s a huge part of the experience. Yes, everything else, non-flume-related, will be different.

 

[BrerFoxesBayouAdventure]

This is a unique situation in that the signature element, the drop, remains the same. That’s a huge part of the experience. Yes, everything else, non-flume-related, will be different.

the drops will be very much there, but everything else will be torn out and replaced

 

[Midwest Elitist]

This is a unique situation in that the signature element, the drop, remains the same. That’s a huge part of the experience. Yes, everything else, non-flume-related, will be different.

The problem is that the flume and story work in tandem. The building was BUILT with the sole purpose of telling Br'er Rabbits story, and it excelled at that. Like, actual genius, holy crap: dropping into the briar patch can never be topped as the actual big drop.

Maybe they'll do it right, but I have a feeling the drop is going to be something stupid like
"OMG! We found the secret ingredient! It's over the bayou!" (I almost threw up writing that and I barely slept [not due to Splash. Man, these brackets must be confusing to you, dear reader]). Because remember, Disney has not had an actual threat for what, since Princess and the Frog?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Which let's be honest. Splash has been in bulldoze mode for about 15 years. Half of it didn't work so much of the time and it was totally acceptable to the TDO.
Has anyone seen a video from yesterday to see the condition of the mountain?
The only way to truly fix it is to get it back to the bare bones and start again.

This is an absurd argument. The attraction was in FAR worse condition in 2012 and the years leading up to that than it was currently. It was closed for refurbishment in 2013 for just two and a half months, and they managed to restore it pretty much back to opening day condition. Honestly, the only thing they even missed was neglecting to replant some of the dead organic plants before and around the first drop (an easy fix had someone noticed or cared). They kept it in very good shape for years after. They simply gave up eventually because that's the reality of the poor state in which WDW is managed.

If you want to see a Disney park that is properly maintained, you won't really find it in the US. Even Disneyland has fallen back on old bad Pressler/Harriss habits recently. Tokyo is the best managed Disney resort. A non-Disney Japanese corporation operates that park, and it shows. Their version of Splash Mountain looks like it opened yesterday, they have never allowed it to deteriorate like the American versions.

Unless the entire ride is nothing but flat wall-to-wall video screens (and it will be an abject failure and embarrassment if it is), Tiana is going to require a comparable level of maintenance as Splash. If Disney takes the same approach they did with Splash, Tiana will rapidly deteriorate over the course of just a year or two and eventually fall into the same exact state of disrepair. These types of rides require constant third shift maintenance, and also more thorough weeks or months long closures every year or two.