Purely Speculative> Disney marketing put their foot in their mouth by stating the attraction would take place after the events of the movie. I feel like the entire marketing blurb about the overhaul was doomed by this one statement. I suspect OLC would have been more receptive to the PatF overlay had the attraction storyline taken place either as a new subplot during the events of the movie or possibly a prequel story sans any humans and voodoo undertones. In doing so, it would have remained truer to the original attraction and had larger international appeal with a greater focus on the AA critters. OLC doesn't care about Mardi Gras. OLC doesn't care about Tiana.