Tiana's Bayou Adventure: Disneyland Watch & Discussion

[TP2000]

I’m not reading reviews or watching POVs until Tiana opens in Anaheim. But given that Splash was an absolutely spectacular attraction, I can only assume the upgrade will be out of this world and universally beloved.

Can’t wait for late 2024!

I had to remember these were WDW videos we're all talking about, so I went over a bit ago and scanned through the WDW thread on this topic, and... OOF! (thank you @DrAlice)

The reviews and general sentiment over on the WDW side with all the East Coasters and Midwesterners weighing in is brutal. They aren't happy. We seem fairly balanced and measured here in comparison, probably because there's still a hope the Disneyland version will somehow be better paced and crafted than theirs.

I get it though, in a park like Magic Kingdom that is woefully short of rides in general and E Tickets in particular, one of their signature E Tickets just got turned into Tiana's Bayou Adventure. And they're mad.

Magic Kingdom Park = 8 E Tickets, including Tiana's Bayou Adventure
Disneyland Park = 13 E Tickets, including Tiana's Bayou Adventure (and that's considering MMRR as a D Ticket)

 

[TP2000]

So, I'm trying to think how this would work on Disneyland's much faster and frenetic version of this ride system. The logs zip and zoom through nearly every indoor scene at Disneyland. There's no time or pacing in Anaheim to trigger specific lines and dialogue like the WDW version of Tiana does.

This might be why they made the plot so simple and thin; the whole concept was designed for the Disneyland ride system, then slowed down noticeably for the WDW ride system. Am I right in thinking this might be better if the logs are going faster? Or will it make it worse? I think it should improve it, right? Especially if they can just use a dozen of the leftover America Sings animatronics to flesh out and fill in some of the empty spaces.

That doesn't excuse the plot though. The on-ride story and plot for this ride is still paper thin, rather pointless, and devoid of any real drama or suspense or intrigue. But maybe if you zip along faster past the vapid plot and its cringey dialogue, it won't matter as much?

Just trying to stay positive here, because I really did like the original movie and its music so much.

 

[Consumer]

I haven’t watched the video yet, and I probably won’t until next week, but it sounds pretty bad. In the meantime, I’ve been down in the Smoky Mountains, where I got to see bears, elk, deer, turkeys, and plenty of other wild life - a real Critter Country, complete with a water wheel!

 

[PiratesMansion]

So good to hear from you, my friend! I hope 2024 has been good to you so far!

It has been! I really feel like I've gotten into a good groove at work, I got to visit Kansas City for the first time (the hype for their BBQ is real), and I am now certified to teach HS School English Language Arts (as opposed to just *ESL English*, as was the case previously).

Tell me about it. I’m not on Twitter, but Instagram started making me feel depressed around September or October of last month. Since I was pretty active on there, I wrote that I was disappearing and I didn’t know when I was returning in my story and deleted the app. It was great not endlessly scrolling through posts that I truly didn’t care about anyway. Looking at posts that didn’t make me feel good about myself or reading things that were tragic. I had to get out of there for some time. My mental health improved, too. I’m happy to hear you also took a break and that it was helpful! Social media is spiritually exhausting, let alone mentally and emotionally.

I just think we weren't made to have constant negativity and information and misinformation at our fingertips 24/7. And so at a certain point, the only appropriate way to keep negativity from turning into more negativity is to intentionally shut it out.

I absolutely must travel at least once a year, even if it’s to another state. I’m happy I can afford at least one trip a year! Do you have any traveling plans this year?

Yep! I'm going on a big road trip out to Seattle (totally new city for me) and back, hitting a bunch of things on the way. Some new-to-me national parks (Crater Lake, Theodore Roosevelt), some theme parks, getting back to Portland for the first time since my grandparents left there about a decade ago, checking out the Reno/Carson City/Tahoe area, and so on. Very much looking forward to it! I definitely would like to get to some other countries soon, I just feel nervous about travelling internationally solo (perhaps irrationally) in a way that I wouldn't bat an eye about in the US. But I can't just sit at home for too long, otherwise I get restless! I've started going onto Google Maps, looking up random cities, and starring interesting places to visit; I now have a huge map of places in the US full of places that could be interesting places to stop, so no matter where I go, I'll have a list of potentially interesting places to go ready at my fingertips.

 

[ryno1982]

So, I'm trying to think how this would work on Disneyland's much faster and frenetic version of this ride system. The logs zip and zoom through nearly every indoor scene at Disneyland. There's no time or pacing in Anaheim to trigger specific lines and dialogue like the WDW version of Tiana does.

This might be why they made the plot so simple and thin; the whole concept was designed for the Disneyland ride system, then slowed down noticeably for the WDW ride system. Am I right in thinking this might be better if the logs are going faster? Or will it make it worse? I think it should improve it, right? Especially if they can just use a dozen of the leftover America Sings animatronics to flesh out and fill in some of the empty spaces.

That doesn't excuse the plot though. The on-ride story and plot for this ride is still paper thin, rather pointless, and devoid of any real drama or suspense or intrigue. But maybe if you zip along faster past the vapid plot and its cringey dialogue, it won't matter as much?

Just trying to stay positive here, because I really did like the original movie and its music so much.

I've thought about this too and I think you're right.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

I find it concerning that Disney is still featuring voice work from the Mama Odie voice actress after her horrific podcast outburst a couple months ago.

 

[davis_unoxx]

I find it concerning that Disney is still featuring voice work from the Mama Odie voice actress after her horrific podcast outburst a couple months ago.

What happened?

 

[davis_unoxx]

More positivity to report, because I'm trying to overlook the weak parts of this WDW version...

Disney's Comunications team and their Parks Blog vehicle seem to have backed away from the creepy DEI thing they were doing for this ride back in 2022. Instead of making a point of how dumb President Wilson was (and his actions and deeds show he was truly a bigot), they are going for a more universal and uplifting tribute to ALL veterans and ALL patriotic Americans by noting Princess Tiana's father served in World War I, and that real life veteran's and their families love visiting Disneyland and WDW.

Good to see them revisit and fix their clunky and cringey messaging from 2022 on this ride! This new tone and messaging from last week is far more inclusive and far more positive than the stuff they started with on their ride messaging a few years ago.

Tiana's Dad Military Service Story Debuts in New Attraction Queue

Get a sneak peek at photos from the Tiana's Bayou Adventure queue that build on the backstory of Tiana's Dad, a decorated World War I veteran.

disneyparks.disney.go.com

They really had a post attacking a President? lol

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

What happened?

Topic is not really for the forum here, but she let lose with a curse laden hate filled racist tirade on a podcast a couple months ago-

'Black-ish' Star Jennifer Lewis Says Donald Trump 'Is Hitler,' Says He 'Will Put Black People In Camps' - uInterview

Latest entertainment news, photos, interviews & cheap concert tickets

uinterview.com

 

[TP2000]

I haven’t watched the video yet, and I probably won’t until next week, but it sounds pretty bad. In the meantime, I’ve been down in the Smoky Mountains, where I got to see bears, elk, deer, turkeys, and plenty of other wild life - a real Critter Country, complete with a water wheel!
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Gorgeous! What a great time of year to be there too, late spring/early summer. Although anyone west of Denver would probably scratch their head at that topography being called "Mountains", it's still lovely.

Which reminds me, is Tiana's Bayou Adventure still a "mountain"? Is there still a thought that the big drop takes place down a mountain, even though mountain is no longer in the title?

They used to tout the "Disneyland Mountain Range". Did it just lose one officially with Tiana's Bayou Adventure?

 

[TP2000]

I find it concerning that Disney is still featuring voice work from the Mama Odie voice actress after her horrific podcast outburst a couple months ago.

Oh, geez! That's the same lady? Yikes.

The poor dear, she needs someone to pour her a glass of wine and just listen to her for a bit, I would think. That might help.

 

[TP2000]

They really had a post attacking a President? lol

They didn't call Woodrow Wilson out by name, but he was the President during WWI and he truly was a weirdo bigot.

But it was just unnecessary backstory that does nothing to advance the paper-thin plot of getting to a Welcome Party to hear the band play a welcoming song. It came off as pandering and needlessly divisive, especially for a theme park log ride.

They backed away from that, and now play up the All-American patriotism angle overall, which is exactly how things should be presented at Disneyland.

Just like there's no need to install a Polio ward on Main Street USA to remind everyone how scary and miserable life could be before Dr. Salk, there's no need to make a point of the armed forces being strictly segregated in World War I in the queue for a log ride. Keep it light, keep it upbeat! Have some fun! You're going to a Welcome Party, after all!

 

[Too Many Hats]

The reviews and general sentiment over on the WDW side with all the East Coasters and Midwesterners weighing in is brutal. They aren't happy. We seem fairly balanced and measured here in comparison, probably because there's still a hope the Disneyland version will somehow be better paced and crafted than theirs.

I get it though, in a park like Magic Kingdom that is woefully short of rides in general and E Tickets in particular, one of their signature E Tickets just got turned into Tiana's Bayou Adventure. And they're mad.

Agreed. MK is a wonderful park but it has always lacked attractions relative to Disneyland and is stuck with several inferior versions of E-tickets. Nonetheless, for decades MK has been home to the superior version of Splash, a headliner attraction so impressive and so emblematic of all things Disney that IMO it alone was worth the price of admission to MK, even for anyone who knows Disneyland like the back of their hand.

If Tiana is as mediocre as the POV suggests, that era is over. They’ve lost Country Bear Jamboree as well. Now it seems WDI seems intent on screwing up MK’s Rivers of America. I’d be mad too.

 

[SuddenStorm]

So, I'm trying to think how this would work on Disneyland's much faster and frenetic version of this ride system. The logs zip and zoom through nearly every indoor scene at Disneyland. There's no time or pacing in Anaheim to trigger specific lines and dialogue like the WDW version of Tiana does.

This might be why they made the plot so simple and thin; the whole concept was designed for the Disneyland ride system, then slowed down noticeably for the WDW ride system. Am I right in thinking this might be better if the logs are going faster? Or will it make it worse? I think it should improve it, right? Especially if they can just use a dozen of the leftover America Sings animatronics to flesh out and fill in some of the empty spaces.

That doesn't excuse the plot though. The on-ride story and plot for this ride is still paper thin, rather pointless, and devoid of any real drama or suspense or intrigue. But maybe if you zip along faster past the vapid plot and its cringey dialogue, it won't matter as much?

Just trying to stay positive here, because I really did like the original movie and its music so much.

I'm guessing they enclosed that outdoor portion of the queue to get more indoor time for Tiana to tell us the story.

Something that won't work is how the logs trigger the dialogue for these animatronics. It's obvious and not at all natural- especially expecting riders to listen to the animatronics which doesn't happen.

Splash's dialogue was all sung through, and said the same things different ways so riders would always catch a glimpse but it felt natural, and it was at least fun and sounded good even if you didn't pay attention to the lyrics.

 

[chadwpalm]

Here's a pretty good 360 POV that isn't edited down like the official Disney POV was. You can see where there's long stretches of not much but darkness going on in the show building.

It will be interesting to see how they translate this to the Disneyland version, which has a ride system that doesn't allow them to pace and space the show scenes like they can at WDW. I imagine it will just be Tiana and Louis saying their two or three lines over and over again without waiting for a trigger from an approaching log, like most animatronic boat rides of the 20th century did.

One change I do like is the exterior of the mountain (is it still a mountain?). The Tiana version has a lot more foliage and eye candy to look at as you start your adventure float to the welcome party. Splash Mountain had a more cartoonish feel, while Tiana is more realistic looking (but still cartoonish). I do like the Tiana exteriors better, for the most part.

The WDW cycle time for Splash Mountain was listed at 11:45, but in reality with stops and brakes, it's closer to 13 minutes. The Disneyland cycle time for Splash Mountain was listed at 9:18 without stops and brakes. And as we know, the Disneyland logs move a LOT faster than the WDW logs do. Welcome!

Just watched this in my VR goggles which is about as close to riding it as you can get without riding it.

One observation was that in the part where you are tiny tiny tiny tiny and there's the poor CGI big-faced Tiana and Louis screen, most regular footage is focusing on that, but on the other side is a couple more frogs playing instruments other than the trumpet-flower one. One is playing a piano and another playing bongos.

 

[chadwpalm]

Something that won't work is how the logs trigger the dialogue for these animatronics. It's obvious and not at all natural- especially expecting riders to listen to the animatronics which doesn't happen.

Particularly in the scene where she's sitting there next to Louis and his head in the log. If there's nobody in front of you (like in the official Disney video) she's just sitting there doing nothing until you get close. In the 360 video you are close enough to the log in front of you to realize that she actually says different things to different logs.....whatever that's worth.

 

[TP2000]

Forbes has an article up about this now, and it's not flattering.

It will probably be an interesting Monday morning in WDI tomorrow...

Disney Spoils Its Own Ride And Pays The Price

Disney's theme park design division is famous for its secrecy. So when it posted a full video of its newest attraction a month before it launched it seemed to be the dawn of a whole new world. It may not last for long.

www.forbes.com

 

[Model3 McQueen]

I've been fairly overly negative on the way things have been going for Disney Parks. And perhaps contrary to popular belief on here, I really don't like being this way. I just have a strong love for Disney parks and with that comes certain expectations.

That all being said, I watched the full video. I'll reserve final judgment for when I experience it first hand, but the first impression is not impressive at all.

I mean it's pretty. I love PatF as a film, I think the music is solid, the story is wonderful. But the ride itself looks dull, uninspired, some copy-paste here and there. Only 1 original song? And it's certainly not on the level of zippadeedoodah. Where's the sense of danger? As much as I dislike IP familiarity (because I think it's a way for imagineering to be lazy and assume you know the story), it was a tremendous misstep not to include Dr. Facilier and his shadow minions.

We lost Splash Mountain for this. I don't think the new attraction does Tiana and her story any justice at all.


@TP2000 , you summed it up incredibly well.

Holeee Swamp Gas... I was being sociable this weekend and missed this bizarre POV video release? Funny how of all the current events that came up with friends over the weekend, Tiana's Bayou Adventure wasn't one of them. Here's my Deep Thoughts on that POV video, using the classic "The Good, Bad & Ugly", with an extra topic called "What Are They Smoking In Glendale?"

Spoilers throughout, not that anyone cares any more.

The Good:

• The key Animatronics look great! New tech is impressive, and it shows with the Tiana and Louis leading characters.
• Lighting design and stagecraft seems dark but fun. I honestly don't mind the screen tech, but they probably should have stopped at 3 of them for main dialogue instead of pushing it to the five or six they seemed to use.
• The finale' scene looks/works the best. It's not quite as memorable or unique as the riverboat, but of the scenes in this new ride it is clearly the best looking one. A solid B+ for the finale'.

The Bad:

• What the hell is the deal with all their "Welcome" signs and banners in this ride? There's at least a half dozen of them. We get it, you'd glad we are here, but it's getting creepy after the 3rd welcome banner.
• Long stretches of... darkness and nothing. And that POV was edited heavily by Disney to cut out those segments. There's almost 3 minutes of ride cycle time edited out of that 9 minute POV video. The cycle time for WDW's Splash mountain was 11 minutes and 45 seconds. Imagine 2 extra minutes of floating through darkness in the main show building when you watch that POV.
• Why is Tiana wearing ugly jodhpurs again? Where's her Princess dress? Did she get demoted out of the aristocracy?

The Ugly:

• Oh my Gawd, this ride seems so boring. The whole thing is about assembling animal musicians for a random party, where we are welcome, and all the animals are naturally talented and willing and able to perform without any hassle? That's it? That's the plot?!? There's no drama, no suspense, no bad guy, no danger. Why did they get rid of Dr. Facilier?!? That makes no sense. This is like the plotline to a very cheap kiddy dark ride at a 1970's Six Flags park. Your loveable animal friends are going to play a song for you... please exit to your left.
• The signage. It's all so vapid and pointless. Why did this even have to be an Employee-Owned Food Cooperative? None of that matters in the ride or its very simple and boring plot. Much of the signage looks flat and cheap, especially the signs that hang over and above the flume in the first part of the ride. Like they got them done at Office Depot on their big color printer.
• The queue is dumb. It suffers from the same cheap signage that the ride itself has, but the design and implementation of that in the queue is truly awful. Some of WDI's worst work. A stunningly bad queue.

What Are They Smoking In Glendale?

• I was an early defender of this ride, and held out hope throughout. I loved the music from the movie, and the 2009 Mark Twain riverboat show they did for Princess Tiana was one of the best pieces of Disneyland entertainment in the last 30 years IMHO. So how could they do this to that promising IP???
• WDI should be banned from using the word "Adventure" in a ride's title ever again. They clearly have no idea what that word means. This is not an Adventure, it's a pointless and drama-less float to a Welcome Party where you are welcome and everyone is happy and safe and cared for by the Cooperative at all times. Welcome!
• The whole ride seems like it was passed through an HR filter before it got approved. Example #26: I love the melody and music of the Special Spice song in the fun finale', but then I listened to it on its own and the lyrics are cringey and juvenile. Much like the ride itself, that new song is an anodyne and meaningless jumble of positivity statements. It's like reading the slogans from those awful inspirational posters workplaces put up in the break room, set to music. Instead of calling it Special Spice, they should have just cut out the middleman and called it Diversity Is Our Strength.
• This ride is mostly dreadful. WDI spent a fortune on it. WDI assembled a team of alleged superstars to create it. And it ended up being stunningly boring and dumb and all rather pointless. With horrible storytelling, to boot. But you can bet right now they are all high fiving each other and slobbering all over themselves to tell everyone what an "Amazing!" job they all did and how "Truly gifted and talented!" they are.

 

[TP2000]

What would be the reason they can't mention or use Dr. Facilier in this ride? Is it because he was a classic villain, and he wasn't white so that was unacceptable to have a person of color be cast as a villain? That's the only thing I can think of.

This WDW version of the ride has a lot of problems, aside from its paper-thin plot of going to a party that is easy to get to, where there are no barriers or obstacles to overcome along the way, and where you are invited and welcomed instantly.

But that's just it; one of the most glaring problems for the WDW version is that there is no tension, no drama, no danger whatsoever. It's all Happy Happy Welcome! all the time, and every character (human or animal) throughout the ride is very talented and very kind and very welcoming and very happy. Everyone in this ride is well dressed, well fed, well cared for, respected and valued for their unique selves, and deeply loved.

But my Gawd does that get boring after the first few minutes. But there's still 8 minutes left of it. Exit to your left.

This ride really needed a villain and spooky danger to crop up just before the Dip Drop in the dark.

Instead you just find even more naturally talented musical animals who are glad to help and will play Tiana's Welcome Party! gig for free. But something tell me even after booking a free band, the Cooperative insists on a No Host bar.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Forbes has an article up about this now, and it's not flattering.

It will probably be an interesting Monday morning in WDI tomorrow...

Disney Spoils Its Own Ride And Pays The Price

Disney's theme park design division is famous for its secrecy. So when it posted a full video of its newest attraction a month before it launched it seemed to be the dawn of a whole new world. It may not last for long.

www.forbes.com

This article is shockingly well written and highlights a number of issues with the ride.