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

[Trauma]

Look I’m willing to debate this but can’t we already start to conclude Tiana wasn’t a good fit?

A Tiana ride is a great idea, just not on then Splash ride system.

We already have evidence of this from the snippets of the convoluted story elements released so far.

They are not building the ride for Tiana and her story.

They are shoehorning Tiana into the ride.

 

[Drdcm]

The bayou rafting portion of the movie seems like a pretty reasonable use of a log flume to me. The convoluted storyline is a much different issue.

 

[_caleb]

Look I’m willing to debate this but can’t we already start to conclude Tiana wasn’t a good fit?

A Tiana ride is a great idea, just not on then Splash ride system.

We already have evidence of this from the snippets of the convoluted story elements released so far.

They are not building the ride for Tiana and her story.

They are shoehorning Tiana into the ride.

Sorry, but I can't agree. I think Tiana can be a great fit for Splash, and I think WDI is creative enough to make it not feel "shoehorned." I don't think the story will be convoluted at all; people here have blown the salt mine/co-op backstory out of proportion.

 

[Drdcm]

Sorry, but I can't agree. I think Tiana can be a great fit for Splash, and I think WDI is creative enough to make it not feel "shoehorned." I don't think the story will be convoluted at all; people here have blown the salt mine/co-op backstory out of proportion.

I agree, what may seem convoluted now may very well pan out. The vagueness of what they’ve announced could easily become a cohesive plot and setting.

 

[Andrew C]

Like putting the Matterhorn bobsleds into Autopia.

 

[CJR]

Sorry, but I can't agree. I think Tiana can be a great fit for Splash, and I think WDI is creative enough to make it not feel "shoehorned." I don't think the story will be convoluted at all; people here have blown the salt mine/co-op backstory out of proportion.

It's a agree to disagree thing. I think Tiana is a very loved character and the potential for story is there, even in a shoehorned Splash. However, my opinion is that I think the ride system itself is wrong for Tiana.

If you're wanting to make a statement about inclusiveness, I think it really should have been a Pirates-type ride, that includes people below 40 inches. With Splash, families with small children will have to broken up and ride separately, which is a large portion of guests when you think about it.

With a new ride system, it could have been designed to allow families to ride together, with some thrills still tucked in there. An inclusive ride, inclusive for the whole family. It's not just the message the ride has, but the message the ride system conveys.

Personally, I think it's a huge missed opportunity, plus a park like DHS could have really benefited from a New Orleans Square type area.

 

[Brer Oswald]

It's a agree to disagree thing. I think Tiana is a very loved character and the potential for story is there, even in a shoehorned Splash. However, my opinion is that I think the ride system itself is wrong for Tiana.

If you're wanting to make a statement about inclusiveness, I think it really should have been a Pirates-type ride, that includes people below 40 inches. With Splash, families with small children will have to broken up and ride separately, which is a large portion of guests when you think about it.

With a new ride system, it could have been designed to allow families to ride together, with some thrills still tucked in there. An inclusive ride, inclusive for the whole family. It's not just the message the ride has, but the message the ride system conveys.

Personally, I think it's a huge missed opportunity, plus a park like DHS could have really benefited from a New Orleans Square type area.

A pirates type ride really was what I envisioned for this IP. Maybe a small drop, but nothing like Splash’s big plunge

 

[_caleb]

It's a agree to disagree thing. I think Tiana is a very loved character and the potential for story is there, even in a shoehorned Splash. However, my opinion is that I think the ride system itself is wrong for Tiana.

If you're wanting to make a statement about inclusiveness, I think it really should have been a Pirates-type ride, that includes people below 40 inches. With Splash, families with small children will have to broken up and ride separately, which is a large portion of guests when you think about it.

With a new ride system, it could have been designed to allow families to ride together, with some thrills still tucked in there. An inclusive ride, inclusive for the whole family. It's not just the message the ride has, but the message the ride system conveys.

Personally, I think it's a huge missed opportunity, plus a park like DHS could have really benefited from a New Orleans Square type area.

Sure. We could all armchair Imagineer what we think would be a perfect use of every IP.
But they decided to do this. I think it can be great.

 

[LittleBuford]

Sorry, but I can't agree. I think Tiana can be a great fit for Splash, and I think WDI is creative enough to make it not feel "shoehorned." I don't think the story will be convoluted at all; people here have blown the salt mine/co-op backstory out of proportion.

I don't necessarily agree with the bolded (just look at the theming of the barriers they've put up around the ride), but I think you're right about the rest. Whatever one may think of it, Frozen Ever After doesn't feel shoehorned; one could easily believe the ride system was designed for it from scratch. The same can be true for Tiana's Bayou Adventure if they do it well.

 

[CJR]

Sure. We could all armchair Imagineer what we think would be a perfect use of every IP.
But they decided to do this. I think it can be great.

The experience can absolutely be great for those who get to enjoy it, don't disagree with that. Unfortunately though, it won't be great for everyone, because not everyone will get to enjoy it together.

[EDIT] And I do get this can be argued about any ride with a height requirement. The thing is, they don't all include and IP like this. I'd say SDMT is probably the closest, but I'm not sure how popular Snow White really is with kids these days.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Sure. We could all armchair Imagineer what we think would be a perfect use of every IP.
But they decided to do this. I think it can be great.

It absolutely could be great. It’s possible to make a great ride out of almost anything.

The point is, if their main goal of this retheme is to make an inclusive attraction, particularly one inclusive to little girls of colour, they have already shot themselves in the foot by making it a log flume. That 50ft drop, and the height requirement that comes with it, is a barrier of entry.

Of course, if they continue to make “inclusive” attractions without height requirements, this will become a moot point. But at the rate we’ve come to expect them to build attractions, we’re at least 6-7 years from that point.

 

[JohnD]

Sure. We could all armchair Imagineer what we think would be a perfect use of every IP.
But they decided to do this. I think it can be great.

I agree. It can be great. The question is, will it? Especially with the salt mine/dome theme. Here's hoping. If they're going to close a ride as beloved as Splash Mountain, the replacement better be as good. (I won't say "or better" because that's subjective and opens up a whole different can of worms).

 

[Midwest Elitist]

I don't necessarily agree with the bolded (just look at the theming of the barriers they've put up around the ride), but I think you're right about the rest. Whatever one may think of it, Frozen Ever After doesn't feel shoehorned; one could easily believe the ride system was designed for it from scratch. The same can be true for Tiana's Bayou Adventure if they do it well.

Here's my personal criteria:
If they take out the hero's journey aspect: they fail
If they do more tell than show: they fail
If they remove any sense of danger from the end of LP / the Drop: they. FAIL.

Screens are another issue entirely, but if they avoid those three issues, then they have a good ride. Not guaranteed Splash level mind you, but a good ride.

 

[_caleb]

I don't necessarily agree with the bolded (just look at the theming of the barriers they've put up around the ride), but I think you're right about the rest. Whatever one may think of it, Frozen Ever After doesn't feel shoehorned; one could easily believe the ride system was designed for it from scratch. The same can be true for Tiana's Bayou Adventure if they do it well.

Fair enough!

I think the walls having the "Southern Dome Salt Company" logo/mark are exactly the sort of purpose of a backstory. I expect some part of the queue to be painted white (like salt) and to have mining machinery of some kind. We'll have to wait to see how central all that is to the ride's storyline. Much mention beyond this sort of setting-the-scene might indeed make it more convoluted.

But I'm with you hoping they can make the theme fit the ride system really well.

 

[Drdcm]

It's a agree to disagree thing. I think Tiana is a very loved character and the potential for story is there, even in a shoehorned Splash. However, my opinion is that I think the ride system itself is wrong for Tiana.

If you're wanting to make a statement about inclusiveness, I think it really should have been a Pirates-type ride, that includes people below 40 inches. With Splash, families with small children will have to broken up and ride separately, which is a large portion of guests when you think about it.

With a new ride system, it could have been designed to allow families to ride together, with some thrills still tucked in there. An inclusive ride, inclusive for the whole family. It's not just the message the ride has, but the message the ride system conveys.

Personally, I think it's a huge missed opportunity, plus a park like DHS could have really benefited from a New Orleans Square type area.

You make a good point about the height requirement on a princess ride. It will limit little kids being able to enjoy. As someone without kids (right now), I hadn’t considered that.

 

[_caleb]

Here's my personal criteria:
If they take out the hero's journey aspect: they fail
If they do more tell than show: they fail
If they remove any sense of danger from the end of LP / the Drop: they. FAIL.

Screens are another issue entirely, but if they avoid those three issues, then they have a good ride. Not guaranteed Splash level mind you, but a good ride.

Did you ever ask a kid–after their first or second ride on Splash–what the story of the ride was? I'm sure it was clear to you, but I'm not sure these elements were super strong to begin with.

 

[Jrb1979]

Did you ever ask a kid–after their first or second ride on Splash–what the story of the ride was? I'm sure it was clear to you, but I'm not sure these elements were super strong to begin with.

News flash. Majority of Disney guests care little about the story or how good the ride is. All they care about is the IP.

 

[Drdcm]

News flash. Majority of Disney guests care little about the story or how good the ride is. All they care about is the IP.

Which is sort of bizarre if you think about it. Is this assumption by Disney based in reality or more a product of the changes the parks made over the years? Up until SDMT, many of the most popular rides weren’t based off IP or were “reverse IP” in which the ride was the original.

Edit: this is not really an argument, I have no data to support this, just a superficial observation I’ve noticed over the years.

 

[Midwest Elitist]

News flash. Majority of Disney guests care little about the story or how good the ride is. All they care about is the IP.

I don't think this is true. You couldn't slap any old IP onto The Haunted Mansion.

IMO, Disney's reputation isn't that they have the biggest, baddest thrill rides around, but they have immersive themes which makes not as intense rides super fun.

 

[Jrb1979]

I don't think this is true. You couldn't slap any old IP onto The Haunted Mansion.

IMO, Disney's reputation isn't that they have the biggest, baddest thrill rides around, but they have immersive themes which makes not as intense rides super fun.

That wasn't my point. My point was that most guests don't care about backstory of a ride and most don't pay attention to the details on the ride. As long as the ride is fun and has IP they know thats all the matters.