It’s less about story in a literal sense and more about “the journey” you go on through the ride. Splash followed “Freytag’s Pyramid”, the classic narrative template most of us probably learned in high school. Each section of the ride can roughly be attributed to each “step” of the pyramid. Each section also featured a change in atmosphere/mood that reflected the ride path. You have the
exposition of the introduction to the story outside, and the world inside with the geese. You have the inciting incident: Brer Rabbit leaves home to find the Laughing Place. You have the
rising action: the hysterics of the Laughing Place, the destination you were looking for, but trouble looms around the corner. You have the
climax where Brer Rabbit gets caught by Brer Fox, complete with a spooky atmosphere. You have the
falling action: the literal fall into the briar patch with Brer Rabbit. Finally the
resolution, the celebration in Zipadeelanding with Brer Rabbit, while the villains get what was coming to them. This created a great payoff and incredibly satisfying experience; whether or not you picked up on the actual story via the dialogue/song lyrics, you still felt what the Imagineers intended based on the atmosphere changes. Your ride experience directly reflected Brer Rabbit’s journey.
Compare this to Tiana that feels like it’s stuck in the exposition stage for almost the entire ride, and then just arrives at the resolution for the finale. No atmospheric change. Nothing to reflect the track layout.
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