Tiana's Bayou Adventure: Disneyland Watch & Discussion

[Ne'er-Do-Well Cad]

I still don't buy the 'most people will enjoy it just fine' angle as if the general public can't tell what's good or not. It's been used as an excuse for this for years, and I don't buy it. There's a reason why Pirates and Mansion are universally beloved, even to those who don't visit theme parks often.

If the attraction isn't good it absolutely will not last the long term.

I hear you. Not trying to excuse Disney’s laziness; I hold them to a much higher standard than appealing to the lowest common denominator.

But I honestly think most guests, even SoCal families who visit once or twice a year, will say to themselves, “Hmmm I’m not sure that was as good as Splash Mountain,” shrug, and move on with their lives. Some people will barely notice the flume has a different theme. Ultimately wait times for Tiana will be identical to Splash’s.

But will this attraction still exist in 2054? Probably not. Will people be devastated when it’s re-re-themed? Probably not. Will it achieve the widespread cultural stature of a Pirates, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain? No.

 

[mickEblu]

Now that I think of it- they removed a giant moving prop covered in fully articulated animatronics designed by Marc Davis and Blaine Gibson for a standard set with a couple real animatronics and a bunch of barely moving figures and screens. And that's ignoring the removal of an Academy Award winning song that was beloved by generations for a generic pop song.

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We just look over that fact as it's much better than most of the other garbage scenes. Although I think it would be better without that off model Tiana. Seriously, you bring that AA ( or any of the explorer Tianas) to any girls room 6 and under and ask who it is and the vast majority would have no idea.

 

[Ne'er-Do-Well Cad]

But maybe I’m wrong, hence my initial post. Maybe the casual SoCal Disneyland fans will be more vociferously critical of the attraction, in a way the tourists who visit Orlando haven’t been. Maybe this backlash will inspire some “edits” by WDI at some point. I’m curious to see what happens.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

Although I think it would be better without that off model Tiana. Seriously, you bring that AA ( or any of the explorer Tianas) to any girls room 6 and under and ask who it is and the vast majority would have no idea.

Unless they’ve been streaming reruns of “The Cosby Show” or have a Dinosaur pre-show fever dream.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

But maybe I’m wrong, hence my initial post. Maybe the casual SoCal Disneyland fans will be more vociferously critical of the attraction, in a way the tourists who visit Orlando haven’t been. Maybe this backlash will inspire some “edits” by WDI at some point. I’m curious to see what happens.

We still have pirates participating in an antique road show hoping they get the grandfather clock while chickens are being auctioned.

No edits are coming.

 

[SuddenStorm]

But maybe I’m wrong, hence my initial post. Maybe the casual SoCal Disneyland fans will be more vociferously critical of the attraction, in a way the tourists who visit Orlando haven’t been. Maybe this backlash will inspire some “edits” by WDI at some point. I’m curious to see what happens.

I guess my thought it is, even Disneyland isn't immune to the 'Lesser/disappointing attraction gets lesser wait times'. Falcon often has a shorter line than you'd expect of a new ride based on the most iconic Sci Fi ship ever. Though I do think having Lightning Lane does drive some demand to it, as people will book it if it's available sooner.

I'd expect strong initial wait times- probably for the first year or two- before normalizing. Even if people ride it once a trip, will people want to ride it daily, or multiple times a day?

Would me, a grown dude, ever be caught dead riding this single rider with friends to skip a long line? Heck no! I'm going to ride this once during CM previews then never again. And I'm only doing that because a good friend invited me.

 

[SuddenStorm]

We still have pirates participating in an antique road show hoping they get the grandfather clock while chickens are being auctioned.

No edits are coming.

Perhaps it'll be along the lines of- there's an unexpected and extremely expensive maintenance issue with the structure due to it's age in a few decades. And because of lower guest scores and the fact it isn't as beloved as other attractions, it gets the bulldozer and not fixed.

 

[mickEblu]

Please just remember that the same people that spoke of using a hot comb on AA Tianas hair so that she looked authentic and the same people that went on for days about authentic weathervanes/ drum sets also made the decision to replace the vultures with Mama Odie on a screen. Not only a great use of resources but really just shows how sharp WDI is. Anyone with a pulse should have known the scene change would be controversial/ anti climatic due to removing the drama/ suspense from the lift hill but then you replace two iconic physical figures and put up a screen? Mama Odie is just floating above us on a screen? Did any of the imagineers on this project have any common sense or any sort of gauge on the psychological element when it comes to the rider? Specifically generations of fans that have been riding this attraction for years. It seems that they have no idea what the fans actually want. Or maybe just some of their movies they want to teach us what we should want and like.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

Perhaps it'll be along the lines of- there's an unexpected and extremely expensive maintenance issue with the structure due to its age in a few decades. And because of lower guest scores and the fact it isn't as beloved as other attractions, it gets the bulldozer and not fixed.

AKA “mercy killing”.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

I guess my thought it is, even Disneyland isn't immune to the 'Lesser/disappointing attraction gets lesser wait times'. Falcon often has a shorter line than you'd expect of a new ride based on the most iconic Sci Fi ship ever. Though I do think having Lightning Lane does drive some demand to it, as people will book it if it's available sooner.

I feel like Smuggler’s Run actually does fairly decent wait-time wise for a park of DL’s caliber, the wait is usually not much lower than Rise (and every so often surpasses it).

As for DL Tiana: we’ll see. I agree that if quality is an issue that the SoCal community will be harsher, but it cuts both ways. The DL community was not huge on Splash like the WDW community was for MK’s version, certainly a lot less Splash culture warriors. The wait times always died off summer, and I’d guess we’ll see similar for Tiana.

 

[Misted Compass]

Falcon often has a shorter line than you'd expect of a new ride based on the most iconic Sci Fi ship ever.

Its location certainly doesn't help as it's sort of at a dead end that you can't "come across" randomly. Meanwhile the walking path to/from Critter Country puts you right at Rise's entrance.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

One insider even lashed out at me AFTER the POV was released and has been pretty much MIA since

Oh yeah, whatever happened to that guy?

 

[mickEblu]

Oh yeah, whatever happened to that guy?

 

[JSouth25]

I’m curious how the general Disneyland-visiting public will feel about TBA. SoCal people have a lot of affection towards Disneyland and might be slightly more ambivalent about this change than Orlando’s tourist crowds, so I wouldn’t be shocked to hear some grumblings out here about the lift hill and the lack of drama (in other words, “That was boring”). Most people will enjoy it just fine, of course.

On one hand, the redo feels like a downgrade and I think once I ride it I’ll feel like they could’ve done a lot better. On the other, Splash has been closed for almost a year and a half now, and it’ll be nice to have the log flume back, along with life in that section of the park again.

 

[CaptinEO]

Please just remember that the same people that spoke of using a hot comb on AA Tianas hair so that she looked authentic and the same people that went on for days about authentic weathervanes/ drum sets also made the decision to replace the vultures with Mama Odie on a screen. Not only a great use of resources but really just shows how sharp WDI is. Anyone with a pulse should have none the scene change would be controversial/ anti climatic due to removing the drama/ suspense from the lift hill but then you replace two iconic physical figures and put up a screen? Mama Odie is just floating above us on a screen? Did any of the imagineers on this project have any common sense or any sort of gauge on the psychological element when it comes to the rider? Specifically generations of fans that have been riding this attraction for years. It seems that they have no idea what the fans actually want. Or maybe just some of their movies they want to teach us what we should want and like.

It's sad none of the behind the scenes stuff for this ride showed the imagineers talking or being concerned about the guest experience.

Disneyland attractions are supposed to be fun, atmospheric, and charming. Instead we have the ride creatives talking about all their research trips and auhtenticity.

All that is fine being supplementary to a ride design, but it seemed to be the focus for Tiana.

I guess they made an authentically researched log ride but I don't know where all the research went into now that we have a final product. The queue line theming?

Splash Mountain, the theming, animatronics, set pieces, and music are iconic. This team had a massive budget and 4 years to retheme this ride and the end result looks like a 6 month low budget retheme.

My guess is it is seasoned employees who don't really care and are collecting a paycheck, what we have is so lackluster given the timeline and budget. They probably had some fun research trips and did a rush job with the design at the end akin to a kid doing homework last minute.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Apparently they let a lot of Cast Members ride today as part of ride testing. My buddy rode it and said it's completely identical to the Florida version. He said they entered from the exit though and the entrance and queue apparently isn't done yet.

He described it as less exciting than Splash Mountain

Shocked I tell you! Shocked!

 

[DCBaker]

Disneyland has shared Tiana's Bayou Adventure preview information for Magic Key holders in the Disneyland app:

Details for a complimentary poster:

 

[Disney Analyst]

Disneyland has shared Tiana's Bayou Adventure preview information for Magic Key holders in the Disneyland app:

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Details for a complimentary poster:

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Did not think they’d be so soon.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Did not think they’d be so soon.

Apparently the interior was mostly finished by the time the Florida version opened.

 

[mickEblu]

Apparently the interior was mostly finished by the time the Florida version opened.

Wow and they still didn’t make any changes after the awful reception to MK’s POV?