Tiana's Bayou Adventure: Disneyland Watch & Discussion

[TP2000]

What was up with all those New Orleans research trips and using local artists for concept art? I am not seeing the end result.

I'm not either. Previously, you could see the results of that type of in-depth site research in projects like Animal Kingdom, Cars Land, World Showcase pavilions, etc.

But here in this ride and its queue? I don't see it at all. It looks really basic and broad, especially in the ride itself. All of this design work to make it look "1920's New Orleans" could have been done with a Google search and the resources of the lavishly funded WDI Research Library in Glendale.

Or even better, just spend the afternoon wandering around New Orleans Square at Disneyland.

The "multitude of research trips" that WDI executives took to New Orleans (again, a city conveniently with a Ritz-Carlton and very good restaurants) on the company credit card now appear to be a total scam.

WDI should be ashamed of themselves for inflating the budget like that, not proud of themselves. Sadly, they are proud.

 

[Phroobar]

I have a feeling modern Disney doesn't like Dr. Facilier. He's a great evil character. He should have been in the ride. But that would make it too scary for the three year olds that aren't tall enough to ride anyway.

 

[CaptinEO]

I'm not either. Previously, you could see the results of that type of in-depth site research in projects like Animal Kingdom, Cars Land, World Showcase pavilions, etc.

But here in this ride and its queue? I don't see it at all. It looks really basic and broad, especially in the ride itself. All of this design work to make it look "1920's New Orleans" could have been done with a Google search and the resources of the lavishly funded WDI Research Library in Glendale.

Or even better, just spend the afternoon wandering around New Orleans Square at Disneyland.

The "multitude of research trips" that WDI executives took to New Orleans (again, a city conveniently with a Ritz-Carlton and very good restaurants) on the company credit card now appear to be a total scam.

WDI should be ashamed of themselves for inflating the budget like that, not proud of themselves. Sadly, they are proud.

Things like this are so sad. You make a good point. Tiffins restaurant in animal kingdom shows amazing concept art for the park. This includes even concrete and wiring fixtures from the various counties they visited.

I feel this ride isn't as big a disappointment to me because WDI has been making terrible products for a long time now in recent years (with a few wins scattered in), especially stateside.

I know it's not the same as it's a private company, but the usage of funds for these vacations reminds me of political misuse of tax payer money.

There's a great documentary called Walt and El Grepo which shows Walt personally traveling to South America with his animators to learn about local cultures and traditions. Something sorely lacking in today's company runners.

 

[CaptinEO]

I'm sure there's a badly done newspaper clipping in the queue somewhere about that. Because when you think "Jazz Age New Orleans" you naturally think Filipinos and the Philippines. The Imagineers over a year ago said publicly there was also supposed to be call outs to the Chinese and Mexican communities allegedly living in NOLA in 1927.

Here's that data again that I found in a 2 minute Google search from the 1930 US Census Bureau on the racial makeup of the entire state of Louisiana...

Whites = 1.4 Million
Blacks = 700,000
American Indian = 1,536
Chinese = 422 (Four hundred and twenty two people living in Louisiana in 1930 were of Chinese descent)
Japanese = 52 (Fifty two people living in Louisiana in 1930 were of Japanese descent)
Other = 545 (perhaps those are where the Filipino's and Mexicans came from for the ride?)

The people currently running WDI are not good at building rides right now.

Good statistics that really lay this out. It seems disingenuous to Philipino culture to pretend to shoehorn them into this ride with like you said maybe a news paper clipping? So WDI can check some more boxes.

 

[CaptinEO]

He was connected to the project as a advisor only for a short time, and then stepped away.

He has great experience and can offer some excellent advice, but I get the impression every now and then that the new kids and upper management don’t want to listen.

We all lose in this case.

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Sad situation. He has a real understanding of themed entertainment. He has proven many times he knows how to make great, memorable, repeatable experiences.

 

[TP2000]

Good statistics that really lay this out. It seems disingenuous to Philipino culture to pretend to shoehorn them into this ride with like you said maybe a news paper clipping? So WDI can check some more boxes.

Why even stop with New Orleans circa 1927? Why not add Filipinos to Frozen Ever After too?

Put some Greeks in the France pavilion at World Showcase. Add Peruvian weavers to the UK pavilion. Plop some New England lobstermen into a new vignette in Cars Land. Move in a family of Laplanders and their reindeer herd to the Jungle Cruise.

Statistically, it's not totally impossible, and technically it could happen. So just do it to make HR happy.

 

[Too Many Hats]

Remember when WDI pretended they'd been working on this attraction prior to the June 2020 announcement?

 

[TP2000]

I think if I hear a Disney themepark representative talk about "telling stories" again I'm going to be sick. Why are rides (and even giftshops) always about "telling stories" with them? There's so many other mediums that are better suited for stories. Leave the themeparks alone please.

Ever hear someone tell you about a must do themepark ride and say "you have to go there, the story is so great!". I know I never have.

That Parks Blog post from '21 about the Christmas Shop and Miss Toro really brings home what's wrong with Tiana's story.

They spent so much time inserting their own personal stories into inane backstory and queue clippings, even if it had nothing to do with the actual time and place they were creating, that they forgot to create a good story for the actual ride.

"Send up another round of Sazeracs from room service! We forgot to write a story for the actual ride!"

 

[CaptinEO]

That Parks Blog post from '21 about the Christmas Shop and Miss Toro really brings home what's wrong with Tiana's story.

They spent so much time inserting their own personal stories into inane backstory and queue clippings, even if it had nothing to do with the actual time and place they were creating, that they forgot to create a good story for the actual ride.

It's very true. It's even offensive how they have the misinformation with the year of Israel being completely incomprehensible to this tale someone invented.

What's next a wacky and zany story for the main street magic shop about a magician who loved smart phones and invented Genie + and mobile order back in 1905?

I will say at least the terrible backstories didn't bleed fully into the end results for these things, but with Tiana we actually are in need of some kind of plot.

 

[Jiggsawpuzzle35]

My inside sources have informed me that the imagineers were actually sent to New Orleans to do research on their redesign of the Jazz Kitchen at Downtown Disney rather than the redevelopment of Splash to Tiana. Don’t quote me on this though.

 

[davis_unoxx]

 

[Figments Friend]

View attachment 789352

Iger - “Repect my authority…!!”

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[SuddenStorm]

Do we know if Kim Irvine was connected to this in any meaningful way? She's sort of been involved in the PR for most Disneyland changes the last 15 years- but I don't think there's anything connecting her to this.

Perhaps that's on purpose, as she doesn't want this tarnishing her already spotty legacy.

 

[SuddenStorm]

View attachment 789352

It's funny, with Tiana's Bayou Adventure they literally did put a chick in it and make it lame (Kennedy Cartman's quote in the episode).

(Disclaimer- I don't think this ride is lame because they added Tiana. I think it's lame because the execution was horrific and an embarrassment to the legacy of WDI)

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Anybody talked about the alleged 3 hours of uptime in the last 5 days of attempted operation in Florida? Did I read that right? I guess Brayden over on twitter shared this

 

[PiratesMansion]

I think if I hear a Disney themepark representative talk about "telling stories" again I'm going to be sick. Why are rides (and even giftshops) always about "telling stories" with them? There's so many other mediums that are better suited for stories. Leave the themeparks alone please.

Ever hear someone tell you about a must do themepark ride and say "you have to go there, the story is so great!". I know I never have.

It's even more laughable that for all their storytelling talk they end up making some of the worst stories possible.

To be fair, this isn't particularly new to Disney and goes all the way back to the beginnings of the Eisner era. The Re-Imagineering blog had an entry on the myth of story that was written in 2006:
https://imagineerebirth.blogspot.com/2006/11/myth-of-story.html

But if that was truly the hill they wanted to die on, you'd think they'd be able to come up with some story besides "we're looking for character/thing," which was already annoying in the days of redone POTC and the Nemo subs.

 

[SuddenStorm]

But if that was truly the hill they wanted to die on, you'd think they'd be able to come up with some story besides "we're looking for character/thing," which was already annoying in the days of redone POTC and the Nemo subs.

To play devil's advocate- a Finding Nemo ride is perhaps the best ride to have the plot be 'we're looking for a character'.

 

[mickEblu]

Do we know if Kim Irvine was connected to this in any meaningful way? She's sort of been involved in the PR for most Disneyland changes the last 15 years- but I don't think there's anything connecting her to this.

Perhaps that's on purpose, as she doesn't want this tarnishing her already spotty legacy.

That’s a great question. Now that you mention it I’ve never once associated her with this project in any way. That may be just the way she wants it haha. I can’t even recall her saying anything about it.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

I know how you feel.
It IS frustrating.
The bad decisions, misdirections, and other issues at hand.

But don’t let it ruin your day.
Just put on some certain beloved log flume Attraction music on a loop via YouTube and breath deep.
Works for me.
Just did this the other day.
It helps….



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Oh yeah, it's just downright frustrating. People pop on here and go all "y'all are miserable people and negative... not true Disney fans". No. We're fans, and we're sad seeing what is happening to something we love.

Anyways, concerning a YouTube loop, I've had a recent earworm for a cover of Scenes from an Italian Restaurant (featuring Weird Al sitting in the corner of the video). The upbeat middle of the song really grooves and hits me right.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Oh yeah, it's just downright frustrating. People pop on here and go all "y'all are miserable people and negative... not true Disney fans". No. We're fans, and we're sad seeing what is happening to something we love.