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

[Incomudro]

It’s not going to “fail”. They’re going to end up with a super-popular log flume ride just as before, no matter what.

No one’s going to say, “No singing bunny? No bear butts? I’m never going to ride this excellent log flume ever, ever again!”

Ten years from now, there will be a new generation that’s grown up with and grown to love the new version of Splash.

The only way they could make this fail would be to put trim brakes all the way down the big drop.

The ride redone as Tiana's and still drawing massive crowds - as it will because yes, it's a log flume - can still be a failure in terms of execution, quality, music, how memorable it is, and on and on.
Many popular things are terrible.
McDonald's is terrible.
I hope Tiana's is both popular and very well done.

 

[WorldExplorer]

I thought this was a joke.

Yikes.

They really are leaning in to the salt dome conceit, completely oblivious to its use of slave labor, in the first ride devoted to an African American princess.

And remember; this is what they're going with when they have someone whose entire job is supposedly making sure the ride (and other stuff) isn't offensive.

 

[montyz81]

A sad day to be sure. Let's close a ride that gathers over 95% favorability with guests so the select few who find a movie that no one has seen for 30 or 40 years, offensive can feel better.. Especially since there is not one offensive part of the ride itself. Disney should be ashamed for closing this ride. I bet the new ride will be as successful as Harmonious. I am so disappointed in Disney!

 

[JohnD]

I hope Tiana's is both popular and very well done.

That's all we can hope for as Splash Mountain is now history.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I support the reasoning behind the change, but everything seems to be pointing to a replay of Imagination. Disastrous makeover of a classic attraction. A garbage ride opens. Popular outcry. Clueless execs panic. Hasty, lackluster changes. A very slightly less garbage attraction exists for decades.

 

[JohnD]

A sad day to be sure. Let's close a ride that gathers over 95% favorability with guests so the select few who find a movie that no one has seen for 30 or 40 years, offensive. Especially since there is not one offensive part of the ride itself. Disney should be ashamed for closing this ride. I bet the new ride will be as successful as Harmonious. I am so disappointed in Disney!

I don't want to make that bet. I'm sad to see Splash Mountain go but I do want the Tiana ride to be successful. Certainly, we want there to be lots of AAs, catchy music, and be fun. History being on our side, I can understand your thinking, however. It may be more of a NRJ ride with screens and few AAs. I hope not.

 

[Incomudro]

Smith is responsible for "guiding global relevance assessments to identify issues and address concerns; advises on content to make sure Disney's stories, characters, products, and experiences are culturally accurate, authentic, inclusive and devoid of stereotypes; diversifies external partnerships and collaborations, and ensures thoughtful representation and engagement throughout the creative development process," according to her corporate bio.


So she knows how to design a good ride I hope ?

Those aren't the things that made the Disney parks great? LOL

 

[matt9112]

Absolutely. I remember being a kid and accidentally getting my hair wet. I’d have to sit through at least an hour or two of pain as my mom would comb through the tangles and kinks and scold me for not being more careful about not getting my hair wet.

A shower cap would have been good to wear, but Ms. Smith would have gotten all sorts of mean and nasty comments for being pictured with one on Splash Mountain. She couldn’t win in this situation, as we can see.

I’m inclined to believe you should be able to ride an attraction your reimagining without worrying about your hair but who am I?

 

[ToTBellHop]

I support the reasoning behind the change, but everything seems to be pointing to a replay of Imagination. Disastrous makeover of a classic attraction. A garbage ride opens. Popular outcry. Clueless execs panic. Hasty, lackluster changes. A very slightly less garbage attraction exists for decades.

Let’s hope they have a great vision here and are just keeping it secret. I wouldn’t mind being surprised by a project for once.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I’m inclined to believe you should be able to ride an attraction you’re reimagining without worrying about your hair but who am I?

You are a person with bad hair, it seems.

 

[Fox&Hound]

Oh, Splash.....I kinda hope they lean into the cute critters of the bayou and give us some adorable, sophisticated animal AAs. Excited for Tiana and company but I hope they don't ignore the fun secondary characters that made the original what it was- the cast of colorful supporting characters. The art work with the animal band would suggest they get this.

 

[matt9112]

You are a person with bad hair, it seems.

I mean I care a lot less about it than most people sure? If hair is some kind of status Symbol to you than there’s some odd priorities at play. But yes if my job was to ride rides that I am working on I would have no issue getting my hair messed up.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I mean I care a lot less about it than most people sure? If hair is some kind of status Symbol to you then there’s some odd priorities at play. But yes if my job was to ride rides that I am working on I would have no issue getting my hair messed up.

I think you can like designing rides but not like going on thrill rides. Benefit of the doubt here.

 

[Coaster Lover]

What child hits 40 inches at 2? That would be an extreme percentile. For boys or girls, even more extreme, and I have tall kids.

0.01% of all children (regardless of gender) are 40" by 24 months (on their 2nd birthday). 2.76% of all boys and 4.56% of girls are 40" by 35 months (still technically 2, just before turning 3). The majority of kids will hit 40" somewhere between 3.5 yrs and 4 years old.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Let’s hope they have a great vision here and are just keeping it secret. I wouldn’t mind being surprised by a project for once.

Keeping the vision “secret” would in and of itself be ample evidence that Disney has no idea how important this makeover is to fans or how visible and discussed the project will be. So no, it’s pretty safe to say there is no “secret” vision. Remember, these are the same people who did the Epcot makeover, a complete and utter disaster revealing incompetence at every level of the process.

 

[splah]

The fact that they insist on the Salt Mine so much so that that is the only thing on the construction walls is beyond explanation. It is as though they are saying "we'll show you. we know better than you what you want". If this ride is about Tiana and her adventures put magnolias and bayou and and "grocery lists" of ingredients for mardi gras. make it drip sugar like new orleans.

instead we're left with souless industrial food processor (crates?)

I'll quote myself from October after D23.

imagineering of late has been so focused on hyper realism that they continue to fail to shoehorn reality into fantasy. We don't need a reason why a "mountain" exists in new orleans. just own the fact that it does. as guests we're able to look beyond reality and acknowledge the fact that they needed a structure to build a ride on. just calling it the mississippi with some fun twists, turns, and turbulence would have been enough.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I’m aware of the history and their convoluted explanation. it’s very incongruent that a project that has as one of its driving goals to eradicate the use of a problematic part of Disney’s cultural history would use as a basis the locale and industry that relied on slave labor.

A little bit of work beyond Googling “highest elevation point in Louisana” would have made this clear.

It’s a part of a new strategy WDI is using. Include something problematic in a new attraction so that years down the line, when the IP doesn’t sell as much merchandise, they can justify replacing it.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I support the reasoning behind the change, but everything seems to be pointing to a replay of Imagination. Disastrous makeover of a classic attraction. A garbage ride opens. Popular outcry. Clueless execs panic. Hasty, lackluster changes. A very slightly less garbage attraction exists for decades.

I doubt this will turn out remotely as bad as Imagination's overhaul. That took an exceptionally detailed ride and cut the track down by a substantial chunk and hollowed out all of the scenes so that all that was left was essentially an empty exposed warehouse. It took one of the best rides they ever built to one of the absolute worst (in fact, it's MY personal pick for the worst Disney ride ever, and that includes both V2 and V3 variants).

Tiana doesn't seem like it's aiming to be as empty and lifeless as Imagination V2 and V3. It can still fail in a lot of other ways, but even I will say it'll probably turn out far better than Imagination did.

 

[Patcheslee]

0.01% of all children (regardless of gender) are 40" by 24 months (on their 2nd birthday). 2.76% of all boys and 4.56% of girls are 40" by 35 months (still technically 2, just before turning 3). The majority of kids will hit 40" somewhere between 3.5 yrs and 4 years old.

Mine was almost 5 poor kid, she would have gone on anything much sooner if height restrictions would have been met. 14 and just now 5ft tall.

 

[TehPuddingMan]

My daughter and I made a special trip last Friday to ride it one more time. While I'm sad to see it go, I'm excited about the Tiana ride. However, reading this thread and learning that the PatF music won't be used has me a little concerned.