Tiana's Bayou Adventure: Disneyland Watch & Discussion

[TP2000]

Do you think they have the guts to alter this ride at any point in the next 5 or years or are we stuck with this thing? I feel like because of the socio political component they might not want touch this thing for a while and by the time they do they’ll have bigger fish to fry with DCA and DL Forward stuff. We might be stuck with this thing for a while. It’s a shame because I feel like there are some pretty easy improvements that would go a long way. I’m still holding out hope for my dark horse - they put Dr Facilier in the ride under the guise of being a Halloween addition.

I‘d bet two churros we‘re stuck with it.

They simply don’t care any more. That’s obvious to me from all their work over the past 5 years on both coasts, and all the stuff they’ve announced for the next five years on both coasts.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Well, aside from figure movement there were little things that were adding up and breaking my heart that felt like they lent to a "bad show" towards the end of Splash's life. The lighting, as you said, was certainly one of them. For me, one of the things I'll never forget was one of dancing birds in the Laughin' Place being missing and instead there was just this brightly lit area with a maintenance ladder lying against the wall. In general, I guess, it just sort of felt like they stopped caring over the years and little stuff like that started to add up and become more noticeable over time.

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They should hold themselves to the standards that Tokyo does when it comes to show, whether it's Splash or Tiana.

Not denying that those things sucked, but it was still better than TBA. Like yeah, it’s unfortunate that there were 5 missing animatronics, but that’s a drop in the bucket for Splash. 5 missing figures on Tiana though? That would be something.

 

[Brer Oswald]

The real test will be if kids like the new ride.

Kids like anything. That’s not “the real test”. Now granted, I actually think this ride has more of a chance to traumatize kids with the tonal whiplash between the theming and the thrill aspect, but that’s besides the point.

 

[mickEblu]

Kids like anything. That’s not “the real test”. Now granted, I actually think this ride has more of a chance to traumatize kids with the tonal whiplash between the theming and the thrill aspect, but that’s besides the point.

Do you get the sense that the team that worked on TBA were just trying to be contrarian in some ways? Like stick it to the man, old fashioned fans and the Old Disney imagineer line of thinking. Or maybe even like some sort of weird fall back to cover up for the lack of talent. Make “Bold” or unconventional choices and kind of hide behind that. If so, they fell flat on their face.

 

[DavidDL]

Not denying that those things sucked, but it was still better than TBA. Like yeah, it’s unfortunate that there were 5 missing animatronics, but that’s a drop in the bucket for Splash. 5 missing figures on Tiana though? That would be something.

Hey, to each their own. This whole situation, for me, is sort of reminding me of how I felt when they changed Jurassic Park to Jurassic World over at Universal. I think Jurassic Park, provided everything looked good and worked, was the better of the two rides. I don't think Jurassic World is a bad attraction, per se, I'd just prefer a working Jurassic Park over it. But after years of them not taking care of it (Jeep not falling, figures not fluidly moving, etc.), I sort of just got excited to see some life in there again when they did Jurassic World.

Which is sort of twisted, when you think about it. It feels like a "solution" to a problem they created themselves (I know that's not the whole reason they replaced Splash, but still). I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little excited to see some new life breathed into this attraction, but after seeing the final result, I do wish they'd of just upgraded/taken better care of the thing that was there before, at the end of the day.

This whole situation is a bit softened for me because (even though I spent 5 years of my life working the attraction), I don't really have the same affinity for Splash that I do something like Mansion or Tower of Terror. So I do get it. I felt the pain of losing Tower and having that be replaced with something lesser. I think everyone has a personal list of straws that will break their back in regards to the parks, Splash just happens to not be one of mine. But if something like this ever happened to Mansion, I'd never return to the parks again, just like how I swore off California Adventure. So I can at least empathize with the disappointment y'all are feeling, even if I don't fully have the same viewpoint.

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

As a retheme of Splash, I honestly think that TBA, specifically Disneyland's version, is very, very good. The pacing is done pretty well and there's something new at every corner. The Bayou and finale scenes are especially visually stunning.

 

[coffeefan]

Kids like anything. That’s not “the real test”. Now granted, I actually think this ride has more of a chance to traumatize kids with the tonal whiplash between the theming and the thrill aspect, but that’s besides the point.

They can see the fall before getting on the ride, there's no surprise whiplash. The ride is fine just more geared towards kids.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Do you get the sense that the team that worked on TBA were just trying to be contrarian in some ways? Like stick it to the man, old fashioned fans and the Old Disney imagineer line of thinking. Or maybe even like some sort of weird fall back to cover up for the lack of talent. Make “Bold” or unconventional choices and kind of hide behind that. If so, they fell flat on their face.

Oh absolutely. No doubt in my mind. Probably to stick it to fans like us too!

 

[Brer Oswald]

They can see the fall before getting on the ride, there's no surprise whiplash. The ride is fine just more geared towards kids.

Then they should have changed the ride system. You can't change the target audience and keep the ride path exactly the same.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Hey, to each their own. This whole situation, for me, is sort of reminding me of how I felt when they changed Jurassic Park to Jurassic World over at Universal. I think Jurassic Park, provided everything looked good and worked, was the better of the two rides. I don't think Jurassic World is a bad attraction, per se, I'd just prefer a working Jurassic Park over it. But after years of them not taking care of it (Jeep not falling, figures not fluidly moving, etc.), I sort of just got excited to see some life in there again when they did Jurassic World.

Which is sort of twisted, when you think about it. It feels like a "solution" to a problem they created themselves (I know that's not the whole reason they replaced Splash, but still). I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little excited to see some new life breathed into this attraction, but after seeing the final result, I do wish they'd of just upgraded/taken better care of the thing that was there before, at the end of the day.

This whole situation is a bit softened for me because (even though I spent 5 years of my life working the attraction), I don't really have the same affinity for Splash that I do something like Mansion or Tower of Terror. So I do get it. I felt the pain of losing Tower and having that be replaced with something lesser. I think everyone has a personal list of straws that will break their back in regards to the parks, Splash just happens to not be one of mine. But if something like this ever happened to Mansion, I'd never return to the parks again, just like how I swore off California Adventure. So I can at least empathize with the disappointment y'all are feeling, even if I don't fully have the same viewpoint.

Totally respect everything you said here.

 

[Too Many Hats]

I liked the extra voice over. It helped to fill the space between the Louis audio and Mama Odie.

It's a nitpick for sure. There's a few different lines, and some are better than others. I just think it's unnecessary. And kind of weird, since Tiana effectively interrupts herself singing Almost There.

 

[el_super]

Which is sort of twisted, when you think about it. It feels like a "solution" to a problem they created themselves (I know that's not the whole reason they replaced Splash, but still).

If the maintenance issues really were related to the changes in OSHA restrictions, it wasn't really a problem they created at all. If they were going to have to spend millions to make the ride safer for techs to access show pieces and lighting, it wasn't ever going to make sense to sinks that much money on a ride that couldn't look the same anyway.

 

[Dr.Cheeto]

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Looking at it like this brings to light how theatrical the stage lighting was for Splash vs Tiana. Splash's lighting changed to reflect the story, getting mostly red to build anticipation up to the drop. The Laughin' Place had a different lighting scheme to the rest of the ride as well, which gave the feeling of entering into new zones.

Tiana's lighting stays pretty consistent on the other hand, mostly blues and purples throughout the entire attraction. I guess the lighting would have changed to reflect Tiana's story, however the entire storyline seems to be pretty one-note.

 

[el_super]

Kids like anything. That’s not “the real test”.

So what is the real test? We seem to agree the new ride will be around for a good 10 to 20 years, so... ?

 

[Too Many Hats]

I think it’s pretty obvious what happened. They panicked in the middle of a politically heated moment and so pushed something for virtue signaling reasons as opposed to actually designing something that would fit.

Considering the sociopolitical significance to the company of replacing Splash Mountain, the project got affected by the usual “design by committee” process in all the worst possible ways to meet quotas and so it ended up just being soulless slop that pleases nobody.

Undeniably true, but it still doesn't satisfactorily explain to me how this thing ended up so amateurish and sloppy. Most of WDI's recent attractions feel designed by committee, and none are filled with as many rookie mistakes as Tiana.

There's no reason Tiana shouldn't fit as an overlay to Splash & NOS/Critter Country. Should have been a layup.

 

[Too Many Hats]

Must be a matter of preference. To me, especially on a fast moving ride like Splash I'd rather take an army of limited AAs vs 14 advance ones. It really added to the set to me.

Yep. Splash felt like an entire world of charming and silly anthropomorphic characters -- and as riders floating through the "mountain," we were just scratching the surface of this world.

By the final scenes of TBA, it's kind of like... enough already with Mama Odie and Louis and Tiana. Princess and the Frog created a world that felt like it had depth; why is that universe so superficially represented here?

 

[Too Many Hats]

It's because it's also the same organization that did Incredicoaster, Mission Breakout, Web Slingerz, Journey Into Your Imagination, and Cars Route 66 Road Trip (this may be the single worst Disney attraction).

Yeah. TBA makes me realize I've been giving WDI a pass for years. They've done some exceptional projects recently, like (IMO) Rise of the Resistance. And they've done very poor attractions, like Incredicoaster and Web Slingers. But those poor attractions just haven't really mattered to me, so I've looked the other way (aside from some snarky complaining online).

Can't look the other way when they massacre one of the greatest attractions of all time...

 

[mickEblu]

Oh absolutely. No doubt in my mind. Probably to stick it to fans like us too!

Absolutely nuts if true. To try NOT to give fans what they want. The narcissism. Same approach they’ve been taking with their movies and TV shows. Shareholders must be thrilled.

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

The adjectives people use to describe Disney construction is so funny. They're either trying to get on a media list or super fans who think everything is AMAZING and INCREDIBLE.

Not singling this one user out, just talking about Disneyland twitter in general where people will see a wall be constructed by a multi billion dollar company and act like they are seeing Michelangelo paint the sistine chapel.

I understand you weren't trying to single them out, but considering how this post is formatted this is very hurtful.

@TheCoasterNerd that you? I'm sorry that people in this community treat each other this way.

 

[PiratesMansion]

While I'm still avoiding ride-specific spoilers, it does sound like they didn't adjust the splash/wetness levels at all for the DL version when they redid it into TBA.

I'm sure that's a win for some, but not for me.

Granted, there's probably only so much they can do with the different logs and flume configuration vs. MK and Tokyo, but still. I really hated how wet the DL Splash was compared to the others and am bummed that my biggest issue with the OG ride seems to be unchanged.