Tiana's Bayou Adventure: Disneyland Watch & Discussion

[TP2000]

Here's a question, based on what we've seen of the WDW version that Disney debuted on YouTube last week...

Has anyone heard of anyone actually stating they think this change to the attraction is good?

Are there any Tiana's Bayou Adventure fans out there? I have skimmed the WDW version of this thread a few times, and I can't find anyone over there who likes this ride. Much less loves it. Aside from creepy Disney Bloggers shilling for Likes and invites to the next media event, has anyone come out of the closet as an unabashed fan of this new ride?

Does anyone think that the WDW version is an actual improvement over WDW's old Splash Mountain?

 

[mickEblu]

I guess my concern is that the staging of every scene in the How Do You Do section is merely Tiana and/or Louis just standing/sitting there, facing riders directly and telling them the “plot.” How do we fix this? A better script would help, but it’d still be telling instead of showing.

Yeah that’s the 1/4 (or maybe 1/3) of the issues that aren’t just cheap fixes. I don’t think static figures will really help much. But the re-recorded dialogue would help here.

 

[TP2000]

I watched a few more POVS for the first time in almost a week. I actually had only seen Disneys and the one WDW Magic posted here.

Here are my takeaways after seeing about five or 6 different POVs now. Some more than once.

The “Gonna Take You there” (old How Do You Do scenes) just keep getting worse for me. All the bunched up AAs and then just areas of nothing but trees and projections...

Exactly. I was immediately suspicious of the official POV video released by Disney last week because the run time on the video was only 9 minutes and 16 seconds long.

But the cycle time of the WDW version of Splash Mountain was always about 12 minutes long.

"Why is there almost 3 minutes of the ride missing in Disney's official POV?", I asked myself in a not at all nerdy way.

The official Disney POV video has almost 3 minutes of cycle time missing because they edited out all the long sections of Tiana's flume where you just float past darkened and static set pieces. Silent and frozen stretches of bayou, in the dark.

 

[mickEblu]

Exactly. I was immediately suspicious of the official POV video released by Disney last week because the run time on the video was only 9 minutes and 16 seconds long.

But the cycle time of the WDW version of Splash Mountain was always about 12 minutes long.

"Why is there almost 3 minutes of the ride missing in Disney's official POV?", I asked myself in a not at all nerdy way.

The official Disney POV video has almost 3 minutes of cycle time missing because they edited out all the long sections of Tiana's flume where you just float past darkened and static set pieces. Silent and frozen stretches of bayou, in the dark.

Yeah those first few scenes are just really bad. The cringiest of cringy dialogue, mostly rocking figures and just stretches of nothingness. Then the AAs aren’t even on a loop. You see Tiana from far away just sitting there and she doesn’t do or say anything until you get right up to her.

But all in all the scenes on the ride range from terrible to passable. Not one scene is better than what was there before.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Then the AAs aren’t even on a loop. You see Tiana from far away just sitting there and she doesn’t do or say anything until you get right up to her.

It's painful too. Disney tried to edit some of it out of their own Ride Thru, but watching others it's awkward waiting for Tiana to reset between logs.

But all in all the scenes on the ride range from terrible to passable. Not one scene is better than what was there before.

And they're replacing Marc Davis character designs with this. What a joke.

 

[mickEblu]

It's painful too. Disney tried to edit some of it out of their own Ride Thru, but watching others it's awkward waiting for Tiana to reset between logs.


And they're replacing Marc Davis character designs with this. What a joke.

View attachment 789968

Yeah good point. The character designs on these critters have mostly gotten a pass from even the most negative reviewers. Probably because there are so many other problems but these designs are such a downgrade. I mentioned it a couple months ago. Comparing the Swamp Boys to Louis. Let alone these critters.

 

[Rich T]

…The finale I think I’m just the most indifferent about. Don’t hate it. Don’t love it. If it was an original attraction and I didn’t know what was there before it would be fine. But it’s not.

The finale doesn’t work at all for me, because it’s unearned. There’s been no story. We didn’t face any challenge. It’s a celebration of nothing.

 

[Rich T]

Ah, yes. People on vacation definitely want to think about break rooms and offices.

Men in Black at UOR does this right.

 

[DrAlice]

The finale doesn’t work at all for me, because it’s unearned. There’s been no story. We didn’t face any challenge. It’s a celebration of nothing.

What?!?!?! It's a celebration of YOU!!!!

 

[Rich T]

I guess my concern is that the staging of every scene in the How Do You Do section is merely Tiana and/or Louis just standing/sitting there, facing riders directly and telling them the “plot.” How do we fix this? A better script would help, but it’d still be telling instead of showing.

How do we fix this? Have Louis projectile-vomit ice water all over the riders, while Tiana just keeps talking as if it’s not happening.

 

[Rich T]

Y’know that brief parody of Splash Mountain that appeared in Phineas and Ferb where an annoyed Perry rode a log past a line of sickeningly-happy animals singing “You’re gonna get a mission !”?

That’s what TBA feels like. It’s almost a parody of a Disney ride.

 

[Ice Gator]

It's painful too. Disney tried to edit some of it out of their own Ride Thru, but watching others it's awkward waiting for Tiana to reset between logs.


And they're replacing Marc Davis character designs with this. What a joke.

View attachment 789968

Hey now, these move back AND forth! You really have to respect the attention to detail the Imagineers put into this attraction. It fully immerses guests in an exciting and musical experience of New Orleans. Did I mention they even went on a tour to the REAL New Orleans to research historical and cultural aspects of the region to integrate into this attraction? The WDI team on this project really outdid themselves and surely aren't just a clueless group of "woke" millennials thinking they've outdone themselves by creating something comparable to a Six Flags dark ride, generating an original song with AI, and falling short on about 90% of their promises originally proposed.

But listen up, y'all! Don't you dare critique it online otherwise "you must hate fun!" or "you're part of the problem!" Even if you genuinely didn't enjoy your experience, that's not ok. It's not on-trend to dislike the ride, and could be offensive to some if you do. Best to zip-a-dee-doo-dah your lips, bend over like the rest of the vloggers who were herded like cattle into the previews, splurge on some generic merch and subpar gumbo, and pretend like everything is a-ok!

Sorry. Had to blow off some steam.

 

[Ice Gator]

What?!?!?! It's a celebration of YOU!!!!

How imagineers expect us to react when we find out that WE are the special spice:

 

[Rich T]

Here's a question, based on what we've seen of the WDW version that Disney debuted on YouTube last wDoes anyone think that the WDW version is an actual improvement over WDW's old Splash Mountain?

The frustrating part is knowing this retheme had the potential to be fantastic. My mind is truly blown at how they could (IMO) mess this up in nearly every way possible, while creating a “story” that’s the biggest pile of uninvolving, convoluted NOTHING I’ve ever witnessed.

That Snidely Whiplash storyline at IOA’s Ripsaw Falls is starting to look pretty great now…

 

[J4546]

How imagineers expect us to react when we find out that WE are the special spice:

thats prob how they expect kids to react......but i doubt they are too mindful of 40+ year olds opinions.

 

[DrAlice]

thats prob how they expect kids to react......but i doubt they are too mindful of 40+ year olds opinions.

Then they don't know kids. Kids are more sophisticated than many give them credit for. (Especially kids old enough to meet the height requirement for TBA.)

 

[Rich T]

thats prob how they expect kids to react......but i doubt they are too mindful of 40+ year olds opinions.

I remember a time when Imagineers aimed their projects at all ages.

For TBA, they, astonishingly, seem to have created a preschool-level storyline aimed at children too young to be allowed on the ride in the first place.

 

[eddie104]

Then they don't know kids. Kids are more sophisticated than many give them credit for. (Especially kids old enough to meet the height requirement for TBA.)

Attention spans are horrible though.

With access to technology they get easily bored if not constantly stimulated.

 

[mickEblu]

Another miss is just playing "Dig a Little Deeper" from the dip drop all the way to the top of the final lift hill. It's too long. To make things worse, they have the Up Tempo Afro Cuban Jazz version during the old LP scenes and then something closer to the original version when you get to the lift hill. If they were going for celebration the music had to continue getting faster, louder and bigger the closer you get to the final drop but instead they did it it backwards.

Another option (since Facilier wasn't one) would have been to play a different song like "When We're Human" during the LP scenes and then Dig a Little Deeper for the lift hill. Just something to signal a difference in tone and that something big is about to happen. Man, you could just write a book about everything they did wrong. I thought for sure they were going to play "When We're Human" when I "found out" that we were going to be shrinking down.

 

[TheRealSkull]

Attention spans are horrible though.

With access to technology they get easily bored if not constantly stimulated.

It's true though. On a Disney World bus, I saw a family where their toddler was screaming until he was given his iPad. Saw them in the park later, with the kid still holding the iPad, eyes glued. Really sad.