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

[Tom Morrow]

Just reading that thing, you can imagine the levels of focus grouping that every element of that backstory went through to try and please everyone.

-She's a capitalist...but she gives back to her community!
-She's a strong, independent woman...but she also lets her employees co-own and help run the business!
-People might complain that Louisiana doesn't have mountains...let's invent an overly-elaborate salt mine backstory!
-People, understandably, didn't like how Tiana was a frog for most of the movie...let's keep a rigid sequel timeline so we can't bring back Facilier or Ray!
-People, understandably, want the first black princess to be a good role model...let's give her an additional 1,200 businesses to run since just the one from the movie, which she fought to open in the middle of the Jim Crow-era, might not be feminist enough.

Guys...just send us through the environments from the film but keep Tiana human this time. This didn't need to be hard. You didn't feel the need to give an overly-elaborate backstory to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Frozen Ever After.

I'm reminded of The Simpsons' "Poochie" episode, where they try so hard to please everyone and check a bunch of boxes that they come up with something undeniably lame.

 

[GhostHost1000]

I’m still going to give imagineering the benefit of the doubt. This must be PR driven and not imagineering given the topics they’ve chosen to focus on. PR isn’t motivated by our experience, it’s the company’s image that is their priority.

Their PR has been odd for a while now. They have been reactionary and sometimes actively hostile towards fans and some news websites. They’ve been unable to navigate any controversy without alienating large swaths of fans and creating enemies. It’s just one misstep after another.

I think the (poor) decision to replace Splash was PR driven, but the attraction story and components are likely imagineering. I cannot give them a pass on that.

I have a bad feeling the forced things happening with this attraction are going to cause this replacement of splash to fail both with fans online and it may not even be as popular to guests in the park as splash was

 

[Tha Realest]

I'm reminded of The Simpsons' "Poochie" episode, where they try so hard to please everyone and check a bunch of boxes that they come up with something undeniably lame.

Again, some of our greatest works of art manage to balance multiple meta commentaries and do so within a compelling narrative. It can be done. It has been done with diverse casts. It just feels like this was workshopped to death to include those things you list, AND tie it in to a try to be released D+ series, AND had to hew to an existing and difficult to reengineer ride system.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I’m still going to give imagineering the benefit of the doubt. This must be PR driven and not imagineering given the topics they’ve chosen to focus on.

A one minute YouTube video of an Imagineer showing off work on one of the AAs for the ride would have been far more interesting and done a better job getting people excited for the attraction.

When promoting a ride, people want to hear about the actual ride, not a fictitious brand of hot sauce.

 

[Tha Realest]

I think the (poor) decision to replace Splash was PR driven, but the attraction story and components are likely imagineering. I cannot give them a pass on that.

I have a bad feeling the forced things happening with this attraction are going to cause this replacement of splash to fail both with fans online and it may not even be as popular to guests in the park as splash was

Yep. PR’s job is to highlight and magnify what Imagineers create, not the other way around.

Again, the decision to drop this news late on a Friday was a choice. Whether that choice was driven by basic marketing incompetence or embarrassment is anyone’s guess.

 

[Drdcm]

Yep. PR’s job is to highlight and magnify what Imagineers create, not the other way around.

Again, the decision to drop this news late on a Friday was a choice. Whether that choice was driven by basic marketing incompetence or embarrassment is anyone’s guess.

That’s my point though. I get the sense that PR is making the demands and dictating the message, and imagineering have to figure out how to make it work within PR demands. Essentially, this is a mess because they’re doing the opposite of what they should be doing make a good ride.

 

[GhostHost1000]

Yep. PR’s job is to highlight and magnify what Imagineers create, not the other way around.

Again, the decision to drop this news late on a Friday was a choice. Whether that choice was driven by basic marketing incompetence or embarrassment is anyone’s guess.

They more stuff they add to the construction walls the more confusion there has been, so they release this story to uh “explain” it all which now just leads us to more questions about what the heck are they really doing

 

[Tha Realest]

That’s my point though. I get the sense that PR is making the demands and dictating the message, and imagineering have to figure out how to make it work within PR demands. Essentially, this is a mess because they’re doing the opposite of what they should be doing make a good ride.

i think this is about as far as we can go to discuss these matters, but I am in complete agreement with you. The ride experience seems to be an afterthought.

 

[donaldtoo]

Disney has shared new details on the storyline for Tiana's Bayou Adventure -

At a young age, Tiana developed a deep passion for cooking, and began to dream of one day owning her own business. Her father, James, taught her that good food brings folks together. One of the most exciting parts of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is that we’re going to see where Tiana’s life has taken her following the success of Tiana’s Palace, a restaurant she had dreamed of owning and worked so hard to make come true.

Walt Disney Imagineering is creating an original, next chapter story for Tiana. Within the attraction queue, guests will discover that she continues to grow her business with Tiana’s Foods – an employee-owned cooperative. Combining her talents with those of the local community, Tiana has transformed an aging salt mine and built a beloved brand.

The endeavor began when Tiana purchased the salt mine and the area surrounding the large salt dome it operated from. With the help of her mother Eudora, Naveen, Louis and fellow owners of the cooperative, Tiana revived the old salt mine and the surrounding land, growing a wide array of vegetables, herbs and spices for her recipes.

This multi-faceted enterprise has turned the aging salt mine into a space that has come alive. Complete with a boutique farm and both a working and teaching kitchen, Tiana’s Foods is where Tiana and her colleagues create all sorts of new products that they are bringing to the world, including a line of original hot sauces.

Tiana wants to give a big thanks to her family and friends and the entire community for all the support they’ve given her by throwing an amazing party during Mardi Gras season. When it turns out there’s been a bit of a mix–up with the party preparations, Tiana invites us to meet her at Tiana’s Foods to help with the missing ingredient for the party.

When we arrive, we may see that Tiana spruced up the company’s facilities with vibrant art from local artists. Food for the party is being prepared and beignets are being loaded into crates for the celebration. All kinds of preparations are underway for the journey into the bayou with Tiana, along with new and familiar friends from the animated film.

Picking up where that story left off, Tiana continues bringing people together with Tiana’s Foods, another treasured meeting place to spend time together and celebrate a diverse community. Tiana is also working with cooperative members to teach gardening and cooking to children of all ages, and inspiring other women to run successful businesses as the brand grows nationwide.

Continue following along with the Disney Parks Blog for updates relating to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, as it makes its way to Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort in 2024.

Disney Reveals New Storyline for Tiana's Bayou Adventure

Walt Disney Imagineering shares next chapter in Tiana's story, as part of Tiana's Bayou Adventure attraction experience coming to Disneyland Park and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort.

disneyparks.disney.go.com

The word contrived comes to mind.

 

[GhostHost1000]

The word contrived comes to mind.

and convoluted with a side of hot sauce

 

[EagleScout610]

I'm reminded of The Simpsons' "Poochie" episode, where they try so hard to please everyone and check a bunch of boxes that they come up with something undeniably lame.

"I must go now. My Bayou needs me"

 

[donaldtoo]

and convoluted

Too funny, as that’s the word I was actually gonna’ go with first, and then changed my mind…although, I was actually gonna’ post both, but, decided to keep it to one word…!!!!!
Either way, the whole storyline is a mess, IMO anyway.

 

[Incomudro]

Taking bets on whether the “missing ingredient” turns out to be “soul” and/or “love”

"YOU were the missing ingredient all along!"

 

[donaldtoo]

I'm reminded of The Simpsons' "Poochie" episode, where they try so hard to please everyone and check a bunch of boxes that they come up with something undeniably lame.

Yep, nothin’ but a shoehorned joke.

 

[GhostHost1000]

"YOU were the missing ingredient all along!"

I’m starting to think the missing ingredient now adays is good Disney management choices

 

[Incomudro]

I’m still going to give imagineering the benefit of the doubt. This must be PR driven and not imagineering given the topics they’ve chosen to focus on. PR isn’t motivated by our experience, it’s the company’s image that is their priority.

Their PR has been odd for a while now. They have been reactionary and sometimes actively hostile towards fans and some news websites. They’ve been unable to navigate any controversy without alienating large swaths of fans and creating enemies. It’s just one misstep after another.

If this makeover succeeds, it's going to succeed in spite of the story - not because of it.
Hopefully the visuals will be attractive enough.

 

[Comped]

So the food co-op is a treasured meeting place for the community? Also hot sauce will be in the gift shop right? Seems odd to mention she's famous for the hot sauce.

Or a popcorn bucket shaped like a hot sauce bottle...

Two things strike me about what they have announced. I feel it's ultimately counter-productive to hit people over the head like this by specifying the corporate structure of her company, that she's empowering women, etc. I don't know why they can't just let her story be empowering for women, for example, rather that explicitly stating it.

The other thing that strikes me is that I get the impression they're working against the ride system in the same way they twisted themselves in knots to explain a mountain in Louisiana. I know we've been over this, but I think they have to downplay the thrill element of the ride to better accommodate the IP and its target audience. That would explain why everything sounds very low-stakes, unlike the way in which Splash sought to build tension as you went up the lift-hill.

While I absolutely agree - I feel like this will be queue dressing at best. Unless it's going to be a really terrible attraction. Some commentators have noted that the strange lack of stakes might be the case of Disney trying to replicate the low stakes of RSR at DCA. I disagree...

• How many employee owned cooperatives were there in 1927 and did they identify themselves as such
• Would anyone in 1927 described any brand as beloved
• Can vegetables herbs and spices even grow in the soil surrounding a salt dome
• A teaching kitchen, how modern of Tiana
• Can’t wait to see what the local artisans have made for us. Fine art gallery + salt mine = success
• I’d like a fresh beignet not one squirreled away in a crate
• I love hanging out at my favorite local industrial site
• What company was holding cooking classes in the 1930s
• I finally understand the water tower, it’s to make the salt dome look smaller

They grounded this thing in so much “realism” but then we’re about to encounter talking alligators and musical animals. Did tiana grow us some special herbs?

• Absolutely. Standard advertising tactic.
• Probably not as many as they'd like, especially with salt permeating everything.
• Not exactly anachronistic though.
• Don't forget retail location and restaurant!
• Who stores them in crates anyway? They're supposed to be fresh! She surely would know that!
• Local industrial site/art gallery/retail location/restaurant/community gathering place.
• You'd be surprised.
• God the scale will suck...

View attachment 696420
God every time I see this art it weirds me out.Honestly they all look like Tiana in a horrifying way, less like "Tiana's family" and more "Tiana's horrible cloning accident"

If I were a betting man, I'd say Disney has a few new face characters for M&Gs. Maybe...

God this photo is extremely telling. Off-model and poorly drawn characters are in focus in the foreground, while the ACTUAL ATTRACTION is a featureless blurry blob of grays.

On purpose, it seems...

Hot sauce in a popcorn bucket

Or as a popcorn bucket.

 

[Scuttle]

I'm reminded of The Simpsons' "Poochie" episode, where they try so hard to please everyone and check a bunch of boxes that they come up with something undeniably lame.

Add the fall of WDI to the list of Simpsons accurately predicting the future.

 

[MLeota18]

I know they promoted the ride concept originally with clips of imagineers visiting New Orleans to learn about the culture for inspiration. This sounds like they went out in teams to different areas and were told to incorporate every aspect into a ride concept. "Okay, so let's combine the art gallery with the information we got from the hot sauce tour and man, I'm just glad we found a mountain type structure in Louisiana. Salt is important for cooking and Tiana is a cook, so BAM, let's make it happen people. Oh wait, Mardi Gras. We have to include something about Mardi Gras too because who doesn't like Mardi Gras. PARTY!"

 

[Fox&Hound]

Maybe this will end up like Flight of Passage. An awesome ride with way too convoluted of a backstory. Every time I ride it I am like “shhhhh” during the pre-show. Just let me ride the banshee!

But test track 2.0 does not inspire faith. Nor does Soarin 2.0 or even Guardians. TT 2.0 is souless and nowhere near as fun as the crash test dummies. Soarin 2.0 is all CGI and even Guardians IMHO is fun but a narrative mess. The ride is so fast it is difficult to know what is going on.

If the ride is horrible maybe backlash would be enough for a Dr Facillier halloween overlay that eventually is permanent?!? Although come to think of it I would kind of love if all of this is a PR stunt and their plan all around is to have this safe, boring tour go wrong with Dr. F!