Tiana's Bayou Adventure: Disneyland Watch & Discussion

[CaptinEO]

I feel like people think of me like “oh boo hoo, she’s upset over a theme park ride, she needs to get over it.” It’s deeper than that. This whole situation has actually negatively affected my mental health and coming here wrecks my self-esteem because I know people don’t respect me or take me seriously, but I continue to engage anyway.

I hear you on that. The removal deeply saddens me. For every person like us who are engaging online our love of splash, there are tons who are refusing to talk out of fear. I absolutely respect you.

Never would I have imagined the company would tarnish Walt Disney and Tony Baxter's character to make a quick cash in.

Disney has historically destroyed classic attractions, mainly in the late 90s and early 2000s, and now the cycle is happening again. Epcot, DL Tommorowland, and Magic Kingdom still haven't recovered from the destruction of this time period Keep on making your voice heard.

I see it as not only a ride being removed but the death of what the park used to be. We go from charming cartoons to things like Galaxy's Edge and Spider Man's office park.

 

[Roger_the_pianist]

Wow. Y'all really went off

 

[el_super]

I hear you on that. The removal deeply saddens me. For every person like us who are engaging online our love of splash, there are tons who are refusing to talk out of fear. I absolutely respect you.

This thread has been more focused on trying to prove that social change isn't needed, or specifically how the ride isn't racist, than they have been on actually sharing any kind of love of Splash Mountain. Rather than talking about the ride, I keep seeing arguments about the woke mob, how cheap Chapek is, and that guy from twitter whose name I already forgot. People will be called out for that.

You want to talk about Splash Mountain then talk about Splash Mountain.

 

[Roger_the_pianist]

I don't think this was intended to be a Splash Mountain love thread.

Ideally we would be monitoring the progress of the revamp, but Disney takes forever to do anything. Jungle Cruise was obviously a priority since the movie was on the way and the attraction would get more attention, and the problems were more overt there.

I had no idea Splash had a cult following. I use the word cult not so lightly in this context.

 

[Kate F]

I don't think this was intended to be a Splash Mountain love thread.

Ideally we would be monitoring the progress of the revamp, but Disney takes forever to do anything. Jungle Cruise was obviously a priority since the movie was on the way and the attraction would get more attention, and the problems were more overt there.

I had no idea Splash had a cult following. I use the word cult not so lightly in this context.

Why wouldn’t one of the most popular rides at the resort have a strong following? Why does that surprise you? That’s like me saying I didn’t know Pirates was so popular.

 

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

I had no idea Splash had a cult following. I use the word cult not so lightly in this context.

While it may not be in the Pirates/HM echelon of “untouchable” status among the fandom is anyone really that surprised there’s some resistance to this though? While I’m not advocating to keep it as is, surely there was expected to be some pushback.

While not to dismiss the source material, it is a popular E-ticket built by a legacy imagineer that (rightly or wrongly) is tied to a popularized soundtrack that Disney themselves was marketing in the mainstream for the last 3 decades. Based purely on the history it’s just an uncomfortable/sloppy and arguably unconvincing 180 for Disney to try to pull their most loyal fans along for.

Especially given WDI hasn’t exactly been coming up with aces in the hole lately on some of their CapEx projects, I can see why there’s some concern for what the final project may portend.

 

[Inspired Figment]

I had no idea Splash had a cult following.

Really?? One of the ‘most popular’
theme park attractions for decades wouldn’t have a cult-like following much like rides like Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, etc. had/still have?
It’s one thing to not like the original theming and be in favor of a retheme, it’s another to be in total denial of the past ride’s popularity & legacy.

 

[Kate F]

This thread has been more focused on trying to prove that social change isn't needed, or specifically how the ride isn't racist, than they have been on actually sharing any kind of love of Splash Mountain. Rather than talking about the ride, I keep seeing arguments about the woke mob, how cheap Chapek is, and that guy from twitter whose name I already forgot. People will be called out for that.

You want to talk about Splash Mountain then talk about Splash Mountain.

View attachment 577570

I tried to make a Splash appreciation thread and there were still people who wanted to bring the retheme biz into it.

 

[Kate F]

I kinda wonder how people expected fans of the ride to react if they think our response has been irrational. It’s an E-ticket Disney attraction that has been around for three decades and is a fan favorite. If it were announced that Haunted Mansion Holidays was permanent, I would expect Haunted Mansion fans to be just as angry as we have been. After all, it is an old ride, and people are familiar with the NBC characters. And its merch sells like hotcakes too.

I’m joking of course, but I really don’t know what people expected from fans of Splash. Obviously it wasn’t gonna go down without a hitch.

 

[SplashGhost]

I think the classic Eisner era attractions like Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, and Indiana Jones Adventure are worthy to stand aside the likes of Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean and they should be considered untouchable. Just because something doesn't have a direct tie to Walt doesn't mean that it shouldn't be able to reach the status of "untouchable classic." In the late 80s and early 90s, Disney was still frequently making attractions worthy of standing alongside Pirates and Mansion. Now we get crap like Incredicoater and Web Slingers. Yes, I know Rise exists, but that is an anomaly that somehow immerged during the current era of WDI, whereas the norm is much closer to Incredicoaster.

 

[Roger_the_pianist]

Sorry to go off topic in this Splash Mountain lovefest thread.

 

[Inspired Figment]

I will not click the "show ignored content" button... I will not hit the "show ignored content" button...

You think either of those things are going to stop Disney? I'd be shocked if they never considered turning the Matterhorn into a Frozen ride when they were going crazy over Frozen from 2014 until 2017.

Yeah, unfortunately nowadays, ‘nothing’ is sacred to Disney anymore. Whatever move will make the most profit on a short term quarterly shareholder earnings report and/or whatever will boost Iger/Chapek’s narrow minded view of what Disney is (basically strictly their reign with the things they’ve specifically greenlit, for the most part), that’s what they’ll do.

History & legacy be damned.

 

[Roger_the_pianist]

What is a goal for Splash Mountain fans? The retheme be canceled? More merchandise and presence for the Br'er characters? Tiana never seen on that side of the park again?

 

[Kate F]

What is a goal for Splash Mountain fans? The retheme be canceled? More merchandise and presence for the Br'er characters? Tiana never seen on that side of the park again?

Yes. Yes. Not necessarily.

But that’s not all there is to it.

 

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

I will not click the "show ignored content" button... I will not hit the "show ignored content" button...

You think either of those things are going to stop Disney? I'd be shocked if they never considered turning the Matterhorn into a Frozen ride when they were going crazy over Frozen from 2014 until 2017.

I’d be shocked if they hadn’t considered it, too. I just hope they’d consider the ramifications since it is “Walt era”. I can also see a lot of angry parents of small children given the height requirement and ride’s roughness for a layover.

(And ouch … didn’t realize my opinions were that salty on these parts lol)

 

[Roger_the_pianist]

Well that's not going to happen.

 

[Kate F]

Well that's not going to happen.

We also want our ride to not go down on a sour note if it has to go down. We don’t want it to have a bad legacy.

 

[Roger_the_pianist]

It already has a questionable legacy, that's why it's being reworked

 

[Inspired Figment]

What is a goal for Splash Mountain fans? The retheme be canceled? More merchandise and presence for the Br'er characters? Tiana never seen on that side of the park again?

The 1st two yes with a refurb that’s more tasteful in regards to retaining the core thematic integrity of the attraction while updating & adding new spfx, better AAs, better lighting, and improved audio system & remastered audio.
For Disney to make an effort in making a ‘new’ Br’er Rabbit animated series that simply uses what worked so great in Splash (less the problematic elements from Song of the South, mainly the ‘tar baby/tar trap’ being used as the “sticky situation” analogy.. (it was replaced with a honey trap in Splash Mountain) & the live action portions of Song of the South. ) and have the focus be instead on preserving the classic African American folktales & characters.

If they need to address the Song of the South controversy, then simply release the film with an advisory, a documentary about the stories of Br’er Rabbit & his true african American roots, then explaining its history with Disney in the creation of Song of the South, talk about where they messed up but don’t gloss over the parts they got right & it’s significance to Disney history, then explain how they truly fixed things with Splash Mountain & the newer adaptations of the Br’er Rabbit stories onward. It’s that simple.

And the third being that Tiana/Princess & the Frog gets its own well produced attraction & restaurant seperate from Splash Mountain. That’s it! Sounds fair enough, doesn’t it?

 

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

We also want our ride to not go down on a sour note if it has to go down. We don’t want it to have a bad legacy.

I have said before I find Disney’s recent PR statements from their corporate communications team under the Chapek era to be baffling if not counterintuitive. Whether it’s slamming their own properties/rides as “problematic” or referring to their talent as “callous and spiteful” regarding contract disputes.

All of it just seem inexperienced, hyperbolic, divisive and really only serves to tarnish the legacy brand. Some of the statements on Splash Mountain - especially in light of the fact it is on an apparent slower track than we were led to believe a year post-announcement - aren’t in particularly good taste.

There was a better way to roll out the press on this to be sure.