Tiana's Bayou Adventure: Disneyland Watch & Discussion

[Too Many Hats]

At least on Magic Kingdom's you get a good look into the finale

What’s the opposite of “plussing” an attraction?

But seriously, maybe some of the doors/windows are still closed?

 

[mickEblu]

What’s the opposite of “plussing” an attraction?

But seriously, maybe some of the doors/windows are still closed?

Destroying? Haha

 

[SuddenStorm]

I'm about to head out for the evening, but I just looked at the weather for OC on my phone. It's much cooler than average today, and by 8pm tonight the temp in Anaheim is forecast to be 49 degrees. Brrr!

I'll be interested to see what the wait times are like for this ride through the weekend, after sundown.

Who opens a log ride in November?!?

They're also doing a ticket deal for Disney+ subscribers over Christmas... their 'busiest' time of year.

I'd bet their attendance forecasts are not great so Disney is hoping the new attraction will bring visitors.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Walt Disney Imagineering has shared a new video of Imagineers riding Tiana's Bayou Adventure, sharing behind-the-scenes details along the way:

This whole video is baffling. I get that it's a puff piece, but seriously?

At about 2 minutes the imagineer spends like 20 seconds talking about how they partnered with a company to make a tail move on a figure...

At 2:30 he talks about a neat trick they used for the fireflies. It's called the 'projector'. Wooo!

At least we get to see the fan favorite Larry the Armadillo at the end. His important backstory was critical to the success of the story of the attraction. https://disneyparksblog.com/wdw/keep-an-eye-patch-out-for-lari-in-tianas-bayou-adventure/

What has happened to this company?

 

[JSouth25]

Big time. Here's the original view:

Gotta say, this bothers me quite a bit. The Railroad’s become one of my favorite rides in recent years, and I always loved being able to see into Splash before re-emerging into Critter Country. What was the point of making it so hard to see into the ride now? The finale’s the best part of the ride and now you’re gonna make it hard to view from the train? What an awful decision.

 

[mickEblu]

Gotta say, this bothers me quite a bit. The Railroad’s become one of my favorite rides in recent years, and I always loved being able to see into Splash before re-emerging into Critter Country. What was the point of making it so hard to see into the ride now? The finale’s the best part of the ride and now you’re gonna make it hard to view from the train? What an awful decision.

Another win for the top notch TBA team. Wow. I’d love to know some of the internal politics. Be a fly on the wall over at WDI and hear what people on the inside really think about this project and this team.

 

[chadwpalm]

What’s the opposite of “plussing” an attraction?

But seriously, maybe some of the doors/windows are still closed?

It looks like maybe one of the roll-up doors might still be closed, but whether they open it or not is hard to say. It also looks like they put up decals or more trees that block than before.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

At least we get to see the fan favorite Larry the Armadillo at the end.

Something seemed different about Lari in this video though...can't put my finger on it...

...oh yeah, HE MOVES! Unlike in the actual attraction!

 

[MK-fan]

Anyone know if the Winnie the Pooh poster by the front entrance says Critter Country still or does it say Bayou Country?

 

[Rich T]

Universal Orlando: Epic Universe in May! Fight evil wizards! Fly with dragons! Flee from Dracula! We’ve got a coaster that’ll turn you into a werewolf!

Disney: Help Tiana find animal musicians… for her party… for all her food co-op friends… because… magical wish special wonder happy? Dream a dreamy dream?

 

[DrAlice]

Pretty good side by side video from Fresh Baked. Some of the analysis drove me nuts but I think it’s worth a watch. Agree with a good portion of his takes in regards to the exterior and queue but he really loses me during the HDYD scenes. Agree with him on Laughin Place through the lifthill and then he loses me again on the finale.

After watching this video I was surprised to see that after the initial Brer Bear/ Brer Fox scene (where the first critter band is now) the figure count for both of the HDYD scenes are comparable. It’s really that first drop in with the geese and the frog sleeping on gator where you have the biggest loss. I’m just talking quantity here. Staging issues and inferior quality of the newer figures aside.

As far as the the exterior I had kind of ended up with the opinion that exterior is Ok and it is especially compared to the inside of the attraction but man seeing the side by side of Splash and TBA it’s not close. If you re not looking at the mountain straight on now the view is pretty awful with those fake trees blocking the drop and the loss of the dead tree stump/ weenie is huge.

Anyway he comes to the conclusion that TBA is the better ride. For some reason he thinks there’s more to look at in TBA but he must be counting the twinkling lights and fireflies. The whole video just really focuses on visuals and not any of the other elements that contribute to the ride experience. But again, I was surprised that the figure count after that first Brer Bear/ Brer Fox scene is pretty comparable. Of course that doesn’t tell paint the whole picture becasue the quality and staging of those figures are pretty bad along with the awful story and dialogue. Overall this video cemented for me what the biggest downgrade on this ride is and that is the music and sound design.

For me losing the Zip finale is on the same level as losing the battle ship scene in POTC or the ballroom scene in HM. Losing the HDYD scenes is also a tough loss as that was quintessential Disneyland to me.

I just finished watching this. I agree with a lot of your takes, especially on the exterior. I didn't mind the yellow barn until I saw it alongside the old rustic version. I wish that the color scheme used on the photo building was what they did on the entire thing. Also, I wish they'd used the old Splash fencing throughout the queue. Oh well. These are minor. The loss of "weenie" of the mountain is the far bigger crime.

I'll also defend David's take a bit. After watching this, I will agree that Tiana's is beautifully done and many of the new visuals are equal or better. Having said that, the story is such a HUGE downgrade from the original.

In short: The ride is fun. The visuals are pretty. The story sucks. I think David just isn't giving as many "points" for the story in his overall "grading scheme" as we are. It's been said before, but I'll say it again: if Disney tweaked the old Laughing Place section to a conflict with Dr. Facilier, this ride would be better on par with Splash. At least, that's my hot take.

David, if you are reading these boards: Thank you for this video!

 

[DrAlice]

Universal Orlando: Epic Universe in May! Fight evil wizards! Fly with dragons! Flee from Dracula! We’ve got a coaster that’ll turn you into a werewolf!

Disney: Help Tiana find animal musicians… for her party… for all her food co-op friends… because… magical wish special wonder happy? Dream a dreamy dream?

Magical Wish Special Wonder Happy needs to go on a tee shirt, STAT!

 

[Homemade Imagineering]

if Disney tweaked the old Laughing Place section to a conflict with Dr. Facilier, this ride would be better on par with Splash. At least, that's my hot take.

Agreed. Having been on it twice, the retooled HDYD scenes are actually really nice visually imo. Dialogue aside I really enjoy going thru those scenes the same way I did on SM. Going down the dip drop bums me out now. Once that first half of the ride is over it falls apart fast until the finale. Call this attraction whatever you want, but I’d like to think 90% of this is salvageable. The Laughin Place is a blank canvas, it’s practically begging to be redone

 

[mickEblu]

I just finished watching this. I agree with a lot of your takes, especially on the exterior. I didn't mind the yellow barn until I saw it alongside the old rustic version. I wish that the color scheme used on the photo building was what they did on the entire thing. Also, I wish they'd used the old Splash fencing throughout the queue. Oh well. These are minor. The loss of "weenie" of the mountain is the far bigger crime.

I'll also defend David's take a bit. After watching this, I will agree that Tiana's is beautifully done and many of the new visuals are equal or better. Having said that, the story is such a HUGE downgrade from the original.

In short: The ride is fun. The visuals are pretty. The story sucks. I think David just isn't giving as many "points" for the story in his overall "grading scheme" as we are. It's been said before, but I'll say it again: if Disney tweaked the old Laughing Place section to a conflict with Dr. Facilier, this ride would be better on par with Splash. At least, that's my hot take.

David, if you are reading these boards: Thank you for this video!

I don’t think it would make it on par with Splash becasue it falls short in multiple areas where Splash excelled at but it would make the ride a lot better.

Yeah I have to disagree about the visuals being better. It’s mostly a dark Forest with spotlights on figures that shouldn’t be center stage and fireflies in the background. What about the rest of the ride? You think the new finale is more aesthetically pleasing than the old one? I think it’s cluttered and not nearly as well staged. Never mind the beautiful colors and foliage hanging from the ceiling. How about the new Frog scenes vs the old LP scenes?

Yeah not loving that green fence in front of the entrance to TBA. Not even really liking the white washed wooden fence either.

 

[Too Many Hats]

Something seemed different about Lari in this video though...can't put my finger on it...

...oh yeah, HE MOVES! Unlike in the actual attraction!

Just the sight of Lari makes me irrationally angry. It’s like he embodies the smugness of the Imagineering team that gave us this ride.

 

[Too Many Hats]

Does anyone here think the current Burrow’s Lament/lift hill sections shouldn’t be (hypothetically) updated to incorporate a sense of peril? Seems like almost everyone is saying the same thing.

That said I’m aware this is a theme park message board comprised of people who grew up with Splash Mountain. I wish I could poll the general public.

 

[Jedi14]

Does anyone here think the current Burrow’s Lament/lift hill sections shouldn’t be (hypothetically) updated to incorporate a sense of peril? Seems like almost everyone is saying the same thing.

That said I’m aware this is a theme park message board comprised of people who grew up with Splash Mountain. I wish I could poll the general public.

For me personally, it doesn’t bother me. When it was Splash, the “tension” of the lift hill for me, was from the hill itself rather than the plot. The could add to the hill, but it probably wouldn’t change my thoughts on the ride that much.

 

[Ice Gator]

At least we get to see the fan favorite Larry the Armadillo at the end. His important backstory was critical to the success of the story of the attraction.

I still can’t get over how they’re still patting themselves on the back over Lari.

It’s a fiberglass statue. At this point it feels like they’re trolling us all- like it’s gotta be irony-right?!?

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Disney: Help Tiana find animal musicians… for her party… for all her food co-op friends… because… magical wish special wonder happy? Dream a dreamy dream?

We rode this the other day during AP previews and I completely forgot about the Co-op backstory, had it not been for a few queue signs I’d have forgotten about the salt mine backstory also… which IMHO is a good thing, it simply felt like a “trip through the bayou”, which I think is what most people really wanted if they had to change it.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the ride, I still slightly prefer Splash but at least it wasn’t the confusing word salad ride the backstory made it sound like it was going to be.

 

[TP2000]

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the ride, I still slightly prefer Splash but at least it wasn’t the confusing word salad ride the backstory made it sound like it was going to be.

This project, and all the information Disney released on it for the past 4 years, has me now convinced that WDI and Burbank (and likely TDA too) have way too many white collar cubicle dwellers working for them.

They spent God knows how much on all those folks, sent them to New Orleans repeatedly for wasteful "Immersion Trips" that could have all been done with Google searches and a library card (in addition to the paid librarians and researchers WDI has on staff already), and spent untold endless words about inane and pandering "backstory" that do nothing to help the ride be better.

It's time for WDI to clean house and slim down. Keep the best and brightest artists and designers and engineers, and fire all the HR committees and anyone who has the word "Communications" in their title. They are beclowning themselves at this point.