Tiana's Bayou Adventure: Disneyland Watch & Discussion

[mickEblu]

Something has been bugging me about the plotline, as thin and as frictionless as it is, for this ride. It just feels very badly edited. And noticeably disjointed at the end.

And then I realized the finale' scene and its all new song makes no sense to the "adventure" we've just been on. The song is all about us being the "special spice" that Tiana has been looking for all along. Huh? No where in the ride was the word "spice" used, or even alluded to. Tiana was looking for musicians, and she found them all easily and without conflict or drama. They'll even play for free. The concept of a "special spice" being integral to this plot only shows up suddenly in the lyrics of the celebration song in the finale', and thus the finale' is totally disjointed from the rest of the ride's plot.

Listening the to the dialogue spoken by Tiana, Louis and Mama Odie on the ride (the only three speaking roles), and reading the almost aggressive placement of banners overhead along the ride path, we get the following info;

Banner: Tonight Only! - A CELEBRATION OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF NEW ORLEANS - At The Proud Home of Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen - Everyone Welcome!
Tiana: Hey, there y'all are! Louis is up ahead. Let's join him and find a band for our celebration!
Banner: TIANA'S FOODS - Employee Owned
Louis: Yoo hoo, calling all musicians! Man, it's hard to find a band in the bayou!
Louis: Look at this y'all, this zydeco band, they sure can play! Hallelujah!
Tiana: They can play, no doubt! We'll ask them to join the band for sure.
Louis: Yeah, this rah-rah band is a triumph!
Tiana: I'm askin' all of them to play at the party, but we've got to keep searching high and low.
Louis: How low can I go?
Mama Odie: Time to think big, and to get tiny!
Louis: Wow, this joint is hoppin'!
Tiana: These tiny musicians you've found really bring the heat!
Mama Odie: Let's get you big again, cause the bigger you are the bigger the splash you'll make at the party!
Mama Odie: Now let's get you to the party! You'll be there in no time!
Banner: WELCOME - To All Who Come To This Happy Place (TP2000 Note: get it? 1955? do you get it?)

Tiana Singing The Finale' Song: It's a joyful celebration, you don't need an invitation. It's joyful, now everyone can see, you're very special spice makes us complete! There's hidden treasure, here in the bayou. Keep yourself open, life can float right by you. It may surprise you, what you can find, down beneath the surface with an open mind. It's a joyful celebration, you don't need an invitation. It's joyful, now everyone can see, your very special spice makes us complete! Sometime it's hard to believe, that the very thing we were looking for was right here all along! Let's not waste any more time, doubting what's inside, everyone can sing this song! [REPEAT]

Huh? You were looking for a special spice all this time? You never mentioned that. And I'm the special spice you were looking for? You already met me 10 minutes ago on the first lift hill, you didn't notice it then? You only said we were looking for musicians to play at your party, there was no talk of recipes or spices or any other missing ingredient. You just needed a band made up of animals to play jazz for your party. Remember?

Something big and rather last-minute must have happened to this ride's plot during the past four years of development. The plot, through spoken dialogue and blatant banners, makes no sense with the big new finale' song and it's message. And I didn't need to take multiple immersion trips to New Orleans to figure that out.

They got 99 plots but a hit ain’t one.

 

[Ne'er-Do-Well Cad]

That issue of this being camp also crossed my mind a few times, especially early on when I was still trying to like it.

But I'm afraid this isn't camp. It won't even accidentally age into being high camp a decade or two from now, like things like The Love Boat or Irwin Allen's disaster movies did.

Even harder to pull off is purposeful camp in the moment, which requires you to respect the audience and think of them as smart people who can get it. Like Valley Of The Dolls, or maybe more currently The Bachelor.

This ride thinks we are all a bunch of idiots and is aimed at people who are still two or three inches below the height requirement, and that's not campy in any way. That's just dumb.

I agree completely. It’s not camp, and it won’t age into camp; it’s too polished and soulless and, you know, intended for preschoolers.

That said, it’s not hard to imagine the asinine repetitive script encouraging a certain type of guest to ironically sing the praises of the critter musicians alongside Tiana and Louis. And wave to giant scary CGI Tiana in the Laughing Place.

But ultimately it’s just not bad enough to be funny and truly enjoy ironically. It’s just a sterile, HR-approved, unbelievably expensive monument to mediocrity and risk aversion.

 

[Ne'er-Do-Well Cad]

Not sure if this specific aspect has been pointed out, but even further proof this was 100% designed for Disneyland is in the laughing place. Ours already had oversized mushrooms and a much more vibrant color scheme overall

I had the same thought. WDI is incapable of original ideas and seeks to spare every expense, so they’ve left Disneyland’s Laughing Place as is, gutted MK’s, and manufactured some big leaves (wow!!) for both.

I’m holding out hope that the execution here will be greater than WDW’s.

It’ll be better because the ride will be shorter in duration, as will our suffering.

 

[Ne'er-Do-Well Cad]

Tiana Singing The Finale' Song: It's a joyful celebration, you don't need an invitation. It's joyful, now everyone can see, you're very special spice makes us complete! There's hidden treasure, here in the bayou. Keep yourself open, life can float right by you. It may surprise you, what you can find, down beneath the surface with an open mind. It's a joyful celebration, you don't need an invitation. It's joyful, now everyone can see, your very special spice makes us complete! Sometime it's hard to believe, that the very thing we were looking for was right here all along! Let's not waste any more time, doubting what's inside, everyone can sing this song! [REPEAT]

Just realized they rhymed “bayou” with “by you.”

 

[mickEblu]

I had the same thought. WDI is incapable of original ideas and seeks to spare every expense, so they’ve left Disneyland’s Laughing Place as is, gutted MK’s, and manufactured some big leaves (wow!!) for both.



It’ll be better because the ride will be shorter in duration, as will our suffering.

So do you think they left some of the America Sings AAs in the DL version? It they didn’t, they might be running to storage to dust them off after all those negative YouTube comments.

 

[Homemade Imagineering]

@SplashMountainArchives any word on some of the America Sings figures potentially being reused at ours? I know you mentioned a few would be, but now that MK has opened and none were reused it makes me wonder

 

[Figments Friend]

Something has been bugging me about the plotline, as thin and as frictionless as it is, for this ride. It just feels very badly edited. And noticeably disjointed at the end.

And then I realized the finale' scene and its all new song makes no sense to the "adventure" we've just been on. The song is all about us being the "special spice" that Tiana has been looking for all along. Huh? No where in the ride was the word "spice" used, or even alluded to. Tiana was looking for musicians, and she found them all easily and without conflict or drama. They'll even play for free. The concept of a "special spice" being integral to this plot only shows up suddenly in the lyrics of the celebration song in the finale', and thus the finale' is totally disjointed from the rest of the ride's plot.

Listening the to the dialogue spoken by Tiana, Louis and Mama Odie on the ride (the only three speaking roles), and reading the almost aggressive placement of banners overhead along the ride path, we get the following info;

Banner: Tonight Only! - A CELEBRATION OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF NEW ORLEANS - At The Proud Home of Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen - Everyone Welcome!
Tiana: Hey, there y'all are! Louis is up ahead. Let's join him and find a band for our celebration!
Banner: TIANA'S FOODS - Employee Owned
Louis: Yoo hoo, calling all musicians! Man, it's hard to find a band in the bayou!
Louis: Look at this y'all, this zydeco band, they sure can play! Hallelujah!
Tiana: They can play, no doubt! We'll ask them to join the band for sure.
Louis: Yeah, this rah-rah band is a triumph!
Tiana: I'm askin' all of them to play at the party, but we've got to keep searching high and low.
Louis: How low can I go?
Mama Odie: Time to think big, and to get tiny!
Louis: Wow, this joint is hoppin'!
Tiana: These tiny musicians you've found really bring the heat!
Mama Odie: Let's get you big again, cause the bigger you are the bigger the splash you'll make at the party!
Mama Odie: Now let's get you to the party! You'll be there in no time!
Banner: WELCOME - To All Who Come To This Happy Place (TP2000 Note: get it? 1955? do you get it?)

Tiana Singing The Finale' Song: It's a joyful celebration, you don't need an invitation. It's joyful, now everyone can see, you're very special spice makes us complete! There's hidden treasure, here in the bayou. Keep yourself open, life can float right by you. It may surprise you, what you can find, down beneath the surface with an open mind. It's a joyful celebration, you don't need an invitation. It's joyful, now everyone can see, your very special spice makes us complete! Sometime it's hard to believe, that the very thing we were looking for was right here all along! Let's not waste any more time, doubting what's inside, everyone can sing this song! [REPEAT]

Huh? You were looking for a special spice all this time? You never mentioned that. And I'm the special spice you were looking for? You already met me 10 minutes ago on the first lift hill, you didn't notice it then? You only said we were looking for musicians to play at your party, there was no talk of recipes or spices or any other missing ingredient. You just needed a band made up of animals to play jazz for your party. Remember?

Something big and rather last-minute must have happened to this ride's plot during the past four years of development. The plot, through spoken dialogue and blatant banners, makes no sense with the big new finale' song and it's message. And I didn't need to take multiple immersion trips to New Orleans to figure that out.

Gawd, this redo is a freaking nightmare ….just reading the inept dialog is maddening.

-

 

[TP2000]

Upon finally seeing this end product... I highly suggest a deep look back into the road that brought us here. It is utterly hilarious and just full of downright nonsense and contrivances that are utterly baffling seeing what we ended up with.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure: Inside the Disney Princess’ Bold New Look - D23

Today, Walt Disney Imagineering made a splash at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture™ presented by Coca-Cola® when it announced the reimagining

d23.com

The paragraphs about researching the hairdo that Tiana would wear in the ride was hysterical, now that we can see that all the human females in the ride have the same hairdo; a typical 1920's Flapper waved bob. Tiana is no different.

--As we shared earlier, Imagineers made frequent research trips to Louisiana, visiting the French Market and the bayou and consulting academics, chefs, musicians, and more—all to capture the heart and soul of New Orleans, where Tiana’s story is set.

In doing her research, Powell not only looked at the popular styles of the day, but also the tools used to create them. “Back then, it was the hot comb; it wasn’t a relaxer,” she says of the hair-straightening tool. “But there’s a difference in the texture of the hair when you use a hot comb versus a relaxer. So, for Tiana being in the bayou, we actually pressed her hair in Marcel waves. It’s perfect for her.”--

Okay, I'll just trust you on that. But then why do all the other Flapper girls in the ride, white or black, have the same hairdo? After your immersion trip to New Orleans for hairdo research, did you just say "heck with it, give 'em all the same wig, please."

Whether or not they are animatronics, or cartoons on screens, all of the ladies in this ride have the same waved bob hairdo, like most women under 50 would have had in 1927. Did they really need to take an immersion trip to decide to do typical 1920's hairdos for this ride? Only the Imagineer's hairdresser knows for sure!

 

[TP2000]

Gawd, this redo is a freaking nightmare ….just reading the inept dialog is maddening.

-

Isn't it? The script is like a TV show for pre-schoolers. Where everyone is very special, and everything is happy and wonderful and it's all made even happier because everyone is so very special.

Oh, look at the time, it's already past 6:30! Thank God, because I need a drink after all this...

 

[davis_unoxx]

How much Disney is throwing around the word authentic, reminds me of my days as a CM where my manager said we were supposed to act like we are welcoming guests into our Napa valley winery…

I was just thinking, how about we work on Becky and Steve not talking about what bars they going to after work in front of the first visit family?

Really seems like Disney is going away from genuine experiences. In favor of throwing random words in hope that they get the approval of Buzzfeed (RIP)

 

[Figments Friend]

I just spent some time looking over the comment section on YouTube for Disney’s official POV ride through video.
All I can say is I really hope someone in upper management at WDI is reading those…or getting sent screen shots.

We are not alone in thinking this was a major misfire.
Wow…

Why am I suddenly reminded of the time they gutted the Original ‘Journey Into Imagination’ Attraction at EPCOT Center…?
Major flashback to that horrid time…

-

 

[davis_unoxx]

I just spent some time looking over the comment section on YouTube for Disney’s official POV ride through video.
All I can say is I really hope someone in upper management at WDI is reading those…or getting sent screen shots.

We are not alone in thinking this was a major misfire.
Wow…

Why am I suddenly reminded of the time they gutted the Original ‘Journey Into Imagination’ Attraction at EPCOT Center…?
Major flashback to that horrid time…

-

Seems like they’re doubling down with their posts today about the merchandise.

Saying how the merch is inspired by culture of New Orleans and that community.

For a company that cares so much about “moral issues.” They seem to leave out the people who are making these items….

Disney Merch overall nowadays is plastic junk, if people really eat it up that they believe Disney merch is culture, than that’s a sad state of affairs

 

[TP2000]

I just spent some time looking over the comment section on YouTube for Disney’s official POV ride through video.
All I can say is I really hope someone in upper management at WDI is reading those…or getting sent screen shots.

We are not alone in thinking this was a major misfire.
Wow…

Why am I suddenly reminded of the time they gutted the Original ‘Journey Into Imagination’ Attraction at EPCOT Center…?
Major flashback to that horrid time…

-

Agreed.

I wasn't savvy enough to have one of the first civilian Internet connections in 1991, but I had one by late '96 after a younger gentleman in my life at that time (ahem) got me hooked on that new concept of computers all linked together.

Since 1996 when we all started talking to each other and comparing notes, this reaction to this ride seems to have only a few comparable analogies. It's going to take a bit more time, and the opening of the Disneyland version, to see where in the historical rankings Tiana's Bayou Adventure falls, but so far it seems to be falling in there somewhere amongst the following Internet Age failures, in no particular order;

Light Magic
Rocket Rods
Journey Into YOUR Imagination
Harmonious
KiteTails
Superstar Limo
Golden Dreams

At best, this is going to be like Golden Dreams, and it stumbles along for a decade or so before it closes for a merciful replacement. At worst, this is going to be like Light Magic or Superstar Limo, and it closes six months from now for "hiatus" and "creative enhancements" to never be heard from again.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Agreed.

I wasn't savvy enough to have one of the first civilian Internet connections in 1991, but I had one by late '96 after a younger gentleman in my life at that time (ahem) got me hooked on that new concept of computers all linked together.

Since 1996 when we all started talking to each other and comparing notes, this reaction to this ride seems to have only a few comparable analogies. It's going to take a bit more time, and the opening of the Disneyland version, to see where in the historical rankings Tiana's Bayou Adventure falls, but so far it seems to be falling in there somewhere amongst the following Internet Age failures, in no particular order;

Light Magic
Rocket Rods
Journey Into Imagination
Harmonious
KiteTails
Superstar Limo
Golden Dreams

At best, this is going to be like Golden Dreams, and it stumbles along for a decade or so before it closes for a merciful replacement. At worst, this is going to be like Light Magic or Superstar Limo, and it closes six months from now for "hiatus" and "creative enhancements" to never be heard from again.

But what's sad is how unnecessary this was. Disney could have left splash open and we'd all be happy, it'd be business as usual.

 

[TP2000]

I just saw this on YouTube (isn't their algorithm spooky?). It's quick and basic, but you get the idea.

I think after this type of scary tension-filled drop sequence featuring Dr. Facilier, they could have had an additional show scene built in that 45 seconds of floating flume where nothing happens from the drop U turn to the entrance to the finale' room, and that's where the conquering of Dr. Facilier and his evil could have happened before everyone celebrated something real and worthwhile in the finale'.

 

[Jiggsawpuzzle35]

Agreed.

I wasn't savvy enough to have one of the first civilian Internet connections in 1991, but I had one by late '96 after a younger gentleman in my life at that time (ahem) got me hooked on that new concept of computers all linked together.

Since 1996 when we all started talking to each other and comparing notes, this reaction to this ride seems to have only a few comparable analogies. It's going to take a bit more time, and the opening of the Disneyland version, to see where in the historical rankings Tiana's Bayou Adventure falls, but so far it seems to be falling in there somewhere amongst the following Internet Age failures, in no particular order;

Light Magic
Rocket Rods
Journey Into Imagination
Harmonious
KiteTails
Superstar Limo
Golden Dreams

At best, this is going to be like Golden Dreams, and it stumbles along for a decade or so before it closes for a merciful replacement. At worst, this is going to be like Light Magic or Superstar Limo, and it closes six months from now for "hiatus" and "creative enhancements" to never be heard from again.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I like Superstar Limo and Journey into Imagination.

 

[Parteecia]

I don’t know about everyone else, but I like Superstar Limo and Journey into Imagination.

Does Superstar Limo qualify as camp? A friend and I loved it in the "so bad it's good" way.

 

[Jiggsawpuzzle35]

Does Superstar Limo qualify as camp? A friend and I loved it in the "so bad it's good" way.

I would agree with that. It was very cheesy but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s also a little nostalgic for me as I worked at Disneyland from 2001-2003. Their biggest mistake during my tenure there was closing Country Bear Jamboree and turning it into the C version of Winnie the Pooh.

 

[Figments Friend]

Agreed.

I wasn't savvy enough to have one of the first civilian Internet connections in 1991, but I had one by late '96 after a younger gentleman in my life at that time (ahem) got me hooked on that new concept of computers all linked together.

Since 1996 when we all started talking to each other and comparing notes, this reaction to this ride seems to have only a few comparable analogies. It's going to take a bit more time, and the opening of the Disneyland version, to see where in the historical rankings Tiana's Bayou Adventure falls, but so far it seems to be falling in there somewhere amongst the following Internet Age failures, in no particular order;

Light Magic
Rocket Rods
Journey Into Imagination
Harmonious
KiteTails
Superstar Limo
Golden Dreams

At best, this is going to be like Golden Dreams, and it stumbles along for a decade or so before it closes for a merciful replacement. At worst, this is going to be like Light Magic or Superstar Limo, and it closes six months from now for "hiatus" and "creative enhancements" to never be heard from again.

TP, be sure to list it as ‘Journey Into YOUR Imagination’ as that is the second version that was the worse Attraction ever made.

‘Journey Into Imagination’ is the Original Masterpiece that should have never been removed.
We can’t be confusing the two…they are SO total and complete opposites in every conceivable way imaginable!



A quick refresh for all :

Journey Into Imagination - Original Masterpiece.

Journey Into YOUR Imagination - second version and absolute atrocity.

Journey Into Imagination with Figment - third version and current non-imaginative space filler.


-

 

[mickEblu]

A lot of the issues with this ride are fixable. Did Bruce Vaughn have anything to do with this project? I’d imagine there’s all kinds of internal politics at play but did it have his blessing? If not, would an old white dude like him, Baxter or Rohde ever be considered to come in and make some changes or would the optics on that be bad? Who wants to be the old white guy saying the ride needs to be fixed or playing hero when the TBA team has spent three years talking about how authentic everything is going to be from the weathervane to the hot comb Tiana’s AA hair is going to get. It would have to be handled very delicately.