Tiana's Bayou Adventure: Disneyland Watch & Discussion

[mickEblu]

I just watched a FB video. I swear I’m trying to find any redeeming qualities of this attraction but my God that awful story/ juvenile dialogue make it impossible. Not a fan of the execution on the voice acting for Tiana either. Matches the Preschool show nature of the story. To be fair though, maybe there’s not much she could really do to save those lines.

I like what they did with the outdoor bayou section where the old briar patch was. Liking the placemaking- trees, greenery, flowers and lily pads(?) they added there. The interior queue looks good. When you add to where theming was bare you have a greater chance of success. Unlike the opposite where you take away like they did in the HDYD scenes. I like seeing photos of 2D Tiana and fam. They need to either get rid of that awful CGI Tiana in the Laughin Place or replace with it with a 2D version.

Why isn’t the water running on the big drop?

 

[Jedi14]

I just watched a FB video. I swear I’m trying to find any redeeming qualities of this attraction but my God that awful story/ juvenile dialogue make it impossible. Not a fan of the execution on the voice acting for Tiana either. Matches the Preschool show nature of the story. To be fair though, maybe there’s not much she could really do to save those lines.

The interior queue looks good. When you add to where theming was bare you have a greater chance of success. Unlike the opposite where you take away like they did in the HDYD scenes. I like seeing photos of 2D Tiana and fam. They need to either get rid of that awful CGI Tiana in the Laughin Place or replace with it with a 2D version.

I still don’t get how a simple story equals juvenile/preschool, when Spalsh also had a simple story. Is it the nostalgia?

 

[mickEblu]

I still don’t get how a simple story equals juvenile/preschool, when Spalsh also had a simple story. Is it the nostalgia?

No, it’s the awful story, dialogue and delivery.

 

[Jedi14]

No, it’s the awful story, dialogue and delivery.

How is the story “awful” again?

 

[Brer Oswald]

I still don’t get how a simple story equals juvenile/preschool, when Spalsh also had a simple story. Is it the nostalgia?

It's 100% the dialogue and the lack of fear/danger. Splash's storyline was simple (as in easy to follow without prior knowledge) but stuff still happened. The rabbit played tricks on the bigger animals, got himself into trouble, and was at risk of dying.

Compare this to TBA which plays out like a rejected episode of Dora. "Can you find the critters? Point to where the critters are". It's complete tonal whiplash to the track layout that was designed to be thrilling and energetic. The lift hill was designed to make you feel tense about the upcoming drop.

 

[mickEblu]

How is the story “awful” again?

It’s non sensical, has nothing to with the source material and is not exciting. There was a million better routes they could have taken. The dialogue to go with it is even worse.

Care to tell me why it’s great? Or care to put a few paragraphs together on everything you love about TBA and what makes it a good replacement of Splash Mountain?

 

[mickEblu]

It's 100% the dialogue and the lack of fear/danger. Splash's storyline was simple (as in easy to follow without prior knowledge) but stuff still happened. The rabbit played tricks on the bigger animals, got himself into trouble, and was at risk of dying.

Compare this to TBA which plays out like a rejected episode of Dora. "Can you find the critters? Point to where the critters are". It's complete tonal whiplash to the track layout that was designed to be thrilling and energetic. The lift hill was designed to make you feel tense about the upcoming drop.

Yup too much “hand holding” and the fact that they’re always taking to us just like a pre school show doesn’t help.

 

[Brer Oswald]

It’s not non sensical, has nothing to with the source material and is not exciting. There was a million better routes they could have taken. The dialogue to go with it is even worse.

Care to tell me why it’s great? Or care to put a few paragraphs together on everything you love about TBA and what makes it a good replacement of Splash Mountain?

I really don’t get what people see in this. There’s glimmers of a decent C Ticket ride in here, but it has no business being a 10 minute E ticket thrill ride. No justifications for the drops. Nothing really happens to any of the characters. Soundtrack feels cobbled together. Really inefficient use of space. All of the environments you visit feel “samey”.

Compare this to Splash where you were truly going on an adventure. Even the “dead spaces” (aka no animatronics) had loads of details that either serviced the story or enhanced the world building, making you feel truly immersed in this “unending” cave system that served as a community for critters. TBA instead fills out its dead spaces with filler, like plastic pumpkins, flowers, grass, lily-pads, jungle weed, etc. None of those custom props that WDI used to make for their attractions.

 

[Touchdown]

All they needed to do was have the Shadow Man return and attempt revenge on Tiana. Imagine seeing Tiana’s and Naveen’s family turned into frogs and about to be thrown off the salt dome while Naveen and Tiana enlist help from the Bayou to save their families.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

It’s genuinely baffling that they didn’t keep the Geese scene considering they replaced them with absolutely nothing on both coasts. They could’ve redressed them and brought Jess Harnell back to record vocals for a new rendition of “Going Down the Bayou”. There’s your Splash reference and it has nothing to do with SotS! Would’ve solved one of the ride’s major issues and made everyone happy.

“Geese aren’t common in the bayou”? Well neither are black bears, but that didn’t stop them!

Crazy how the old Splash scenes looked more like a bayou than the new scenes that are dressed like a dark jungle.

I'm also really surprised they spent the money to build a new tunnel to make it darker in the bayou in DL. If they were going to spend extra money here, why wouldn't they try to fix other issues?

 

[ChesireCat11]

 

[Misted Compass]

Can someone please remind me why I should care about the Coco ride or Avatar boat ride when they replaced an iconic attraction like Splash Mountain with this junk?

Because there's a chance they haven't fired the Adventureland Treehouse team yet

 

[Brer Oswald]

I'm also really surprised they spent the money to build a new tunnel to make it darker in the bayou in DL. If they were going to spend extra money here, why wouldn't they try to fix other issues?

Right? So glad they built the tunnel to preserve the darkness in the first scene that…has nothing going on now. What were they thinking???

 

[chadwpalm]

Thought that just crossed my mind: is this ride worth waking up at 6:45 am on a Sunday for a VQ?

For a local I guess that's a valid question. I'll be in a hotel, probably getting ready for the day at that time anyway.

My bigger concern is if I really want to get soaked in the third week of November. Historically it doesn't get above the high 60's during that time. I'm not going to be staying walking distance on this trip, so I need a game plan for dry clothes. E take a backpack with dry clothes and keep them in a locker or just keep them in my car. Also need to either bring a second pair of shoes or figure out a way to cover them up.

 

[dennis-in-ct]

I think its way better than the MK version. Seems like it was designed for DL and put in MK....seems ike a lot of things are designed in CA and put in FL...like the communicore plaza stage with no shade...

Agreed. the DL version seems better paced and less "empty" than the WDW version. I feel like WDW needs for scenes due to the side-by-side seating and turning radius which give WDW a bigger show building.

 

[mickEblu]

As far as the finale, I wonder how those screens with the CGI characters work in person and if they blend in. They seem like they have the potential to be off putting.

Also why do we need a sign outside the finale telling us we’re going to Tiana and Naveens home?

 

[EagleScout610]

I actually like it. Better than the attraction sign by a mile

 

[Brer Oswald]

As far as the finale, I wonder how those screens with the CGI characters work in person and if they blend in. They seem like they have the potential to be off putting.

Also why do we need a sign outside the finale telling us we’re going to Tiana and Naveens home?

Based on my experience in Florida, they're off putting if you really look at them....but you barely notice them anyways.

 

[el_super]

I really don’t get what people see in this. There’s glimmers of a decent C Ticket ride in here, but it has no business being a 10 minute E ticket thrill ride. No justifications for the drops. Nothing really happens to any of the characters. Soundtrack feels cobbled together. Really inefficient use of space. All of the environments you visit feel “samey”.

Do you feel the same way about small world?

 

[Rich T]

Riiiight. But Splash Mountain, with a ride system copied from Knotts, animatronics stolen from America Sings and an IP based on a 40 year old movie was a masterpiece. Sure.

Splash had a story that really succeeded at meshing the drops and the narrative into something that really worked. You started out with hints and warnings that you might be heading for trouble, and it steadily built throughout the ride until you reached the villain’s lair and “escaped” via a big drop over a cliff. The celebration at the end felt earned.

Tiana’s ride, despite being based on a very fun and thrilling film, is, for me, very flat, one-note (Happy happy happy!) and perplexingly timid about… just about everything. They treat the big drop almost like it’s not there, and this is not the first time Disney has recently taken a great animated film and removed every bit of peril and excitement from the source material.

I love the look and sound of the finale, but what are we celebrating? We’re special? We’re special because we completed the preschool-level task of recognizing what animals look like?

They could make Tiana say at the start, “Hey, everyone! Can you spot things that start with the letter ‘E’?” and I honestly think it wouldn’t make any difference.

Just my take. I’m glad people are having fun—it’s still an excellent water flume—but they could have done so, so, soooooo much more with the PatF characters than this.