Tiana’s Bayou Adventure SPOILER Thread

[Figments Friend]

Tony Baxter must be rolling in his bed.

More like crying buckets of tears….



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[Figments Friend]

Tony Baxter was a creative advisor on this attraction and I doubt he had any real input. Imagineering probably showed him all their ideas and designs and he felt he couldn’t say anything negative so he just would smile and say “oh yea that’s good”.

I personally seriously doubt this.
Tony has always been, and continues to be very outspoken.
He has called out contemporary WDI several times for less then stellar efforts or outright screw ups when they miss the mark.

His name was originally connected to this ‘Bayou’ project as an advisor, but that role came and went after the PR publicity served its purpose to calm concerned fans in the early stages of development.
As far as I am aware, he moved on and was not engaged in this project in any in-depth means.
It is easy to see why.

It is very frustrating being in a posiion where you can offer very sound and experienced advice on something and yet that advice is not necessarily acted upon.
We all lose in the end.

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[Figments Friend]

Tony is notoriously quiet and I honestly expect it to stay that way. He's hard to get ahold of on purpose.

Not when you get the opportunity to talk privately….
He has a lot to say, about a great many things.


He really needs to make time for that proposed book of his…
The stories he can tell…marvelous and insightful.

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[MK-fan]

More like crying buckets of tears….



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I would think so, the Disney company has already neutered two of his most iconic attractions

 

[SilentWindODoom]

So I've read from someone who was there the night they filmed it that they set up cameras in three different logs. I've also been reading that the ride has been shutting down frequently and there is already a YouTube video out there of an evac.

Pair these together and I'm thinking most of the jump cuts were due to either log backups or breakdowns. You'll notice the video starts at dusk but is completely dark at the end. The footage is probably multiple ride-throughs from multiple cameras trying to get the best full ride-through they could. However, there is footage from other YouTubers who made it through the ride in one take, so tough to say for sure.

Disney clearly didn't want to spend money obtaining cameras like the ones you see from YouTubers that can capture really good low light. Those are the ones I look forward to.

That would explain why the official one included Tiana and Louis saying the same line. There's a cut between them and they must be two different trips. Another relief.

A few new things that have come to mind with more watching and thinking:

Boy, did I leave some bad mistakes in that long post. Oh well. It took hours of watching and writing and I wasn't going to proofread after finally finishing.

Almost everyone seems to be cutting at the top of Slippin' Falls, so it wasn't until the seventh ride-through I watched (a night-time version by the 360 guy) that I realized Mama Odie has two lines there. Unfortunately, the logjam is so bad here that you still seem to hear her repeat herself.

This same ride-through also revealed an open escape route bathed in yellow lights. I hoped it was just a door left open during an evac, but further investigation showed it is an opening that apparently has always existed. Hopefully it's just something nobody ever notices because they're staring into the oncoming interior and I only saw it because I had the perspective turned to see something earlier? Weird. Looking right at it looks like some terrible show.

I saw someone else walk through the barn and it didn't play the Tiana clip, but instead music. I didn't realize that this was a part of the radio program, apparently. Perhaps actually standing out in queue will result in more story being described in little interstitial moments.

One thing that really does bother me about the finale... they put the otter on a shutter atop the railing. There HAD to be a way to fit him without inventing a shelf for him that has absolutely no reason to be there otherwise.

But my biggest question about the finale... now that the boat in Disneyland is no more... what is the biggest animatronic in existence? Or has that already been beaten more recently?

 

[Vclguy90]

Conspiracy Theory: They left Dr. Facilier off the ride knowing the majority of negative reviews would complain about the lack of his presence thereby allowing them to add him in the 11th hour with no fear of twitter mob coming for them as they can point to all the YouTube comments. The people have spoken and Dr. Facilier is really not all that problematic. This theory would also explain why the final lift hill is so lackluster.

 

[choco choco]

More of a general observation..

It kinda bothers me, especially with how great these modern AA’s look, that their movements look silly and overly exaggerated. When you break it down, all they’re doing is aggressively flaring their arms as they talk. Reminds me of those inflatable tube balloons.

It’s not a problem exclusive to just Tiana’s, it’s there in Fantasy Springs too and a lot of other modern AA’s.

Would much rather have them look like they’re walking along with us, or engaging in some type of unique way.

Actually, the problem is that the characters aren't actually doing anything, they are talking to us. As a number of other commenters have stated, the early Imagineers designed gags. The characters were going about their normal lives and happen to be caught up in a comical act or doing something funny, and the audience comes around and observe them in that moment. It isn't necessary for the characters to acknowledge the riders.

To have the AA's sit around and deliver exposition to us is boring. BOOO-RING. And because they aren't doing anthing, that's why they have to flail around just to show some movement while nobody listens to the dialogue.

They're basically doing a version of the pre-show spiel - and those things in and of itself are boring. It was boring 30 years ago, when Disney would design these endless screen-based pre-shows where we would have to watch someone bloviate for ten minutes about the premise of the attraction and how to move into the ride vehicle and put on a seat belt. And then, somewhere along the line, they made that pre-show spiel the attraction itself, where the AA's in the ride greet us and gasbag about what's happening, and then you turn a corner and they salute us and gasbag about what just happened, and in the middle nothing actually happened. It's like Disney thinks just the presence of AA's saying catchphrases and expressing gratitude will gaslight us into thinking we actually experienced something in the attraction when we didn't.

 

[Dreamfinder975]

So I think it’s important for me to tell my thoughts on this and Splash as Splash left an indelible mark on me and I’m sorry if my thought or opinions bother anyone.

So before I specifically talk about the ride I think it’s worth mentioning that the video that was shared by Disney Parks did a pretty bad job of showing the transitions of everything and how it all flows together and rather focuses on the highlights of the ride, in my opinion. So since I do not have a full scope of how the ride flows together, please take my opinions with a grain of salt as I most likely need to ride the ride to get the full effect of everything.

First off, I have to say I feel like the story is a bit of a mess and a bit too complicated. Like if it takes me going to this Forum to try to discern what the rides point/story is, that’s not good. So I think the biggest issue is the spice (cue the dune voice)… I honestly don’t understand whether we have it, or if we are looking for it half the time, and if we are looking for it (which is why I thought we were shrinking in the “laughing place” room) Then why does Mama Odie refer to us having it on the lift hill? Conversely, If we’ve had it all along then why are we shrinking in the “laughing place” room. An short aside, if it is truly that we do have the spice, I have to say that that is kinda lame because when I heard that we were looking for this spice back when we had little to no details about the ride except that I was like, “the spice better not be you, or friendship, or magic, or something like that because it’s so predictable. “ The other thing is the band. Honestly I don’t mind finding them, that’s fine, but it get resolved so fast, and we’re back to the spice conundrum that like I get having the band for the festival but having both stories on top of each other just seems kinda nutty. I mean splash was able to have both Brer Rabbit go off on adventure while Brer Bear and Fox buffoon things up trying to look for him and you didn’t miss the point there. Like it just doesn’t make any sense to me, but it could just be me and maybe the queue or riding it will solve what I don’t understand.

Also I have to say the songs don’t seem to transition well, with the exception of Going Down the Bayou and Blue Sky’s. I didn’t like hearing the same 3-4 lyrics of Almost There within the same loop like 5-6 times and it just would’ve been better if they did an instrumental version of it. But I do have to say I did enjoy the finale song, it reminds me of Jump Up, Superstar, the theme from Super Mario Odyssey.

Honestly overall, I just think it would’ve been better if they did a retelling of The Princess and the Frog. Like specifically the launch hill at the end would’ve been perfect for Dr. Falicifer and maybe have some of the Voo-Doo heads from the movie be projected on the walls as you’re going up and he could be singing “Are you ready”, it would basically capture the same theme and feeling that Splash did on the final lift. Now on the lift, watching it, it just seems to feel ehh, but again I need to ride to get the full story/impact. The songs may also transition a bit better if it was done like this. I do also want to say the new AA’s added are quite impressive and are beautiful. I do wish the critters had more movement and maybe talked some, I know that’s weird but they just seem kinda lifeless just rocking back and forth or moving side to side. I would also be interested to comparatively see how many AA’s are in Tiana vs. Splash and a break down of how many in each section and also the budget difference between the two, because it just seems like there was so much more in Splash than in Tiana but I could be wrong. I did wish they would’ve kept some props or elements from splash like the frog animatronics or the possum, or like even have the how to cook rabbit cookbook somewhere and maybe edit it to be like how to cook for forty rabbits or something like that idk. It just would’ve been nice to have some memento from Splash but I get it.

Overall, it’s definitely better than I expected although from my thoughts you may think otherwise,I really do respect it for what it is. I will miss Splash but look forward to see how this ride looks in person and am hopeful it will be a better experience than what I first saw from it.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Overall, it’s definitely better than I expected although from my thoughts you may think otherwise,I really do respect it for what it is.

How bad were you expecting it to be, that this is an improvement from your expectations?

 

[notcurlybrace]

watched the ride-through. looks pretty good visually, the sets are all quite nice and the animatronics are superb. i don't think those two are really in doubt. they got Louis right, which is good because he's one of my favorite disney guys.
the story isn't half-baked though, it's kinda like they didn't even think about cooking it. i don't think that part's in doubt either. it just has nothing to it.
i really don't know why they were so laser-focused on making it like, a "sequel" to the original movie instead of making it more like a mid-2000s video game spinoff. y'know what i mean?
the lack of Facilier is just painful. he's also one of my favorite disney guys. I know he's 'dead' but they easily could've BS'd it and said "somehow, Facilier returned" and his presence would have given the ride SOME kind of story. maybe HE turns you small for whatever reason, then right before the drop, you and him are taken up by his friends on the other side, then you're dropped to safety and yayyyy big final scene everyone's okay yayy it's a party. the current "we're getting the band together" (which in fairness could be the basis to a retheme to that one episode of Phineas and Ferb) doesn't make sense whatsoever (and i'm really, really not that picky when it comes to stuff like this). feels like an afterthought.

i think it's good (i was neutral on splash mountain anyways, if they blew it to smithereens it wouldn't affect me either way) but either it needed another year in development or it desperately needs story tweaks soon.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

the lack of Facilier is just painful. he's also one of my favorite disney guys. I know he's 'dead' but they easily could've BS'd it and said "somehow, Facilier returned" and his presence would have given the ride SOME kind of story. maybe HE turns you small for whatever reason, then right before the drop, you and him are taken up by his friends on the other side, then you're dropped to safety and yayyyy big final scene everyone's okay yayy it's a party.

After seeing the finished product, I doubt they even excluded him for the reasons of him being dead. Ray is dead too, but they used his vocals in one of the songs. I don't think they even cared about the logistics, they just didn't want to include Facilier. Either because they're worried he's problematic, or because they just didn't want anything in the ride to come across as frightening, or both.

You're right that it was a mistake not to include him. This isn't the first recent example of a villain being absent in a princess ride either. Beauty and the Beast in Tokyo is missing Gaston save for a brief shadow projection on a background wall. Their new Tangled ride is missing Gothel entirely. And those rides are even adaptations of the movie plots.

As I stated in the other thread, this didn't need to be a retelling of the film to justify his inclusion. Facilier is one of the few Disney villains who IS uniquely qualified to be able to make a reappearance from beyond the grave. The nature of his powers are connected to the afterlife, much like Hades. Zombies are a rather famous part of voodoo occult. As such, they could get away with just outright resurrecting him and it would be fine.

But alternatively, I presented the suggestion that they leave him dead and instead we get lured into the Other Side via the drop to meet him. Theme one of those drop entrances to look like his tomb, with the stone relief of his head atop it. Could even be a neat animatronic statue that can smile evilly as people pass through, ala the talking skull in Pirates. Once you're down there, an animatronic figures of Facilier is present (with his skeletal body paint illuminated by black lights) and some of his demonic voodoo dolls and masks dancing around singing Are You Ready. This area would be served well with a bunch of shadow effects and mist, and colorful but contrasty dark lighting. At the last second, Ray's spirit helps us (another logical way to include a character who has died), who illuminates our way up the lift fighting off the shadow demons off until Mama Odie greets us at the very top and pulls us back into the living world again via the drop.

 

[Gusey]

Since the animatronic count keeps coming up, I've spotted there are 48 moving figures throughout the ride:
Tiana (5)
Louis (4)
Critter Band Members (32)
Mama Odie (2)
Juju (1)
Eudora (1)
Charlotte (1)
Ralphie (1)
Naveen (1)

 

[huwar18]

Just curious - I don’t think I can post a poll - how many of you will eschew spoilers (ride through videos, descriptions) until you experience it in person for yourself?

I watched it a couple times already. If we were going to the parks this summer, I would have refrained from watching.

 

[huwar18]

I am so torn on this ride. I love originals and usually want Disney to stay away from book report rides. However, I really think they missed the mark. I really would have liked to see Dr. Facilier and the voodoo dolls in this ride.

 

[huwar18]

I love the animatronics and sets of Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Unsure about the story so far, it looks like it's constant celebration and lacking the wider range of emotions from the previous Splash Mountain. And while Iike what I've heard so far of the new finale song, I'll admit it doesn't compare to Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, which is one of the most famous songs of all time.

I'm still looking forward to the ride.

I really liked the animatronics. I am happy Disney moved away from the Frozen Animatronics.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I heard the ride was breaking down a lot? Is that just fake news?

I presumed in the 16 months or so it was closed, in addition to the re skin, they also refurbished the ride system?

 

[trainplane3]

Not when you get the opportunity to talk privately….
He has a lot to say, about a great many things.


He really needs to make time for that proposed book of his…
The stories he can tell…marvelous and insightful.

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Haha should've said he's hard to get ahold of for public comments. I'd love to sit and listen to anything and everything he feels like talking about.

I heard the ride was breaking down a lot? Is that just fake news?

I presumed in the 16 months or so it was closed, in addition to the re skin, they also refurbished the ride system?

Yes.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Haha should've said he's hard to get ahold of for public comments. I'd love to sit and listen to anything and everything he feels like talking about.

Yes.

Good to know. Nothing worse that something that is basically new in the parks breaking or not working.

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

Just watched the uncut 360 video, this is worse than I thought.

So much of the ride gone and replaced with darkness.

Hopefully some complaints make it through and changes are eventually made.

 

[WorldExplorer]

Good to know. Nothing worse that something that is basically new in the parks breaking or not working.

It has definitely been breaking down and evacuating repeatedly during previews.