News Tiana's Bayou Adventure - latest details and construction progress

[Figments Friend]

That's neat to bad WDW didn't do that for their splash crew

It is the Disneyland difference.



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[Drdcm]

17 new characters is consistent with what I was told in October last year. Specifically, I was told "over 15 new characters". Some of which are supposed to appear in the D+ series.

And to elaborate, no this doesn't mean there are only 17 animatronics (nor 22). I'm not even sure if 17 is the true extent of new ones when counting all of the animal characters. It's probably including the "focal point" critters who are playing instruments, but my guess is that there are also going to be additional "incidental" animals that will appear (like regular frogs, birds and turtles who have been seen in the art without instruments). The returning PATF characters will add a decent chunk to the roster as well. Tiana, Naveen, Eudora, Charlotte, Big Daddy La Bouff (I think), Mama Odie, Louis, Ralphie and the King and Queen I believe have all been said to be appearing.

And keep in mind that quite a few of the characters will get multiple figures. Brer Bear had 5 figures in WDW's Splash, Brer Fox had 6, and Brer Rabbit had 7. JUST Tiana, Naveen and Louis will probably have at minimum 4+ figures each. Tiana and Louis have already been seen twice in two different pieces of art showing two different scenes, and it's safe to say they'll be in the finale scene as well and likely others. Some of the other characters will no doubt have multiple figures too. I've also seen that new Otter character in two different pieces of art located in different show scenes.

The information shared with me last year thus far has turned out to be true. The one claim i'm still waiting to see pan out is whether they're going to reuse/reskin any of the older America Sings figures.

Thank you for your detailed response. I am more reassured knowing that what you’ve been told seems to be coming true. I think it will be a great ride. FWIW, I have an extremely dry sense of humor and half of what I say on here is along those lines, I should make that more clear. I feel better with this announcement because they seem to be paying a lot of attention to the music, which was my favorite part of splash.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Does bring up the question will the Tiana and Naveen look as good as these newer AA's they are rolling out lately..

I'm sure by Destination D they may show more details...

I certainly hope so!

 

[Incomudro]

So the co-op is not just a backstory…

A story within a story, within a story, within a story...

 

[Incomudro]

Every possible storyline from every ethnic people that lived in the New Orleans river delta will be included...lol... Messy is right... and still there is no Facilier...no villain... Just lots of people that were not part of the plot or storyline of the source material...I don't get it...How much more can they cram into this attraction? A little worried about new animation for screens....

It sounds like it's headed to be very much like every recent film that goes the same route.
Every box needs to be checked.
Art done by committee and for focus groups.
They had an excellent source material with the film itself.
I do believe the ride will look good, and we're getting the animatronics.
But sheesh! This company has completely lost track of how to make things fun.

 

[James Alucobond]

It sounds like it's headed to be very much like every recent film that goes the same route.
Every box needs to be checked.
Art done by committee and for focus groups.
They had an excellent source material with the film itself.
I do believe the ride will look good, and we're getting the animatronics.
But sheesh! This company has completely lost track of how to make things fun.

I kind of disagree with the last statement. This sounds like they know how to make it fun (great music, detailed scenes, lots of animatronics), but they’ve completely lost the plot on how to market attractions. Like, they’re weirdly tight-lipped on the most basic of things (i.e. the stuff any normal person would care about), yet they spill the beans on all the easter eggs, which are completely superfluous and also now kind of spoiled because those are the sorts of things that are supposed to be fun to either discover on your own or as a community.

 

[Bocabear]

I kind of disagree with the last statement. This sounds like they know how to make it fun (great music, detailed scenes, lots of animatronics), but they’ve completely lost the plot on how to market attractions. Like, they’re weirdly tight-lipped on the most basic of things (i.e. the stuff any normal person would care about), yet they spill the beans on all the easter eggs, which are completely superfluous and also now kind of spoiled because those are the sorts of things that are supposed to be fun to either discover on your own or as a community.

I kind of agree with the previous poster...design by committee and focus groups, checking every box and make sure there is no villain is messing with the whole fairy tale formula... What is any adventure without some adversity? From what they are talking about it feels to me like they have completely lost their way...Yes it will be a good attraction, but will the characters be memorable? because from what they are currently talking about, I don't get it... Who is Ralphie and who cares? Just as I would not really care about one of Ariel's sisters or a cousin to Snow White...It feels off track...
And what we know of the attraction that has most people scratching their heads is directly from their marketing department...so I will agree that marketing also doesn't know what to do with all of this. Next I expect a big press release about the flooring on the exit ramp exactly matching the floor on an un-named, not-part-of-the-movie, shipping warehouse somewhere in New Orleans... Look, I get being authentic, and I love great details, but a lot of this feels like subterfuge because they really don't have anything to talk about...and none of it seems to relate to the source material for the attraction...unless you are really stretching beyond the scope of what we know about the characters...

 

[James Alucobond]

I kind of agree with the previous poster...design by committee and focus groups, checking every box and make sure there is no villain is messing with the whole fairy tale formula... What is any adventure without some adversity? From what they are talking about it feels to me like they have completely lost their way...Yes it will be a good attraction, but will the characters be memorable? because from what they are currently talking about, I don't get it... Who is Ralphie and who cares? Just as I would not really care about one of Ariel's sisters or a cousin to Snow White...It feels off track...
And what we know of the attraction that has most people scratching their heads is directly from their marketing department...so I will agree that marketing also doesn't know what to do with all of this. Next I expect a big press release about the flooring on the exit ramp exactly matching the floor on an un-named, not-part-of-the-movie, shipping warehouse somewhere in New Orleans... Look, I get being authentic, and I love great details, but a lot of this feels like subterfuge because they really don't have anything to talk about...and none of it seems to relate to the source material for the attraction...unless you are really stretching beyond the scope of what we know about the characters...

You're inventing criteria just so that this attraction doesn't meet them. There are many incredibly popular rides at WDW that feature no adversity whatsoever, including in the fantasy category. Frozen Ever After has none at all, and Seven Dwarves Mine Train only utilizes the Evil Queen for a half second cameo as a peeping hag.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Frozen Ever After has none at all, and Seven Dwarves Mine Train only utilizes the Evil Queen for a half second cameo as a peeping hag.

Are either of those even close to the level of an imagineering masterpiece such as Splash Mountain.

The ones that stand out are the 2 Avatar attractions, Soarin, and Small World.

 

[Incomudro]

You're inventing criteria just so that this attraction doesn't meet them. There are many incredibly popular rides at WDW that feature no adversity whatsoever, including in the fantasy category. Frozen Ever After has none at all, and Seven Dwarves Mine Train only utilizes the Evil Queen for a half second cameo as a peeping hag.

Those aren't the greatest examples.
Frozen didn't have a villain anything approaching Facilier.
Not only that, but the ride is not considered to be one of Disney's best.
As for Mine Train, well - it's a rollercoaster. There aren't a heckuva' lot of opportunities for animatronics etc., along the course of the ride.
PatF is perfectly laid out for such an application and build up.
And the Dr. was right there in the film.
A huge element in what made that film what it was.

 

[TDLFan]

I asked this before, but can't remember, what was the reason they decided to not retell the story of the film? It just seems like this is way more complicated than it needed to be, especially when they're bleeding money.

 

[James Alucobond]

Are either of those even close to the level of an imagineering masterpiece such as Splash Mountain.

The ones that stand out are the 2 Avatar attractions, Soarin, and Small World.

The poster I quoted specifically mentioned fantasy rides, so I was staying in that lane. But yes, there are many great attractions that don't meet that criterion.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The poster I quoted specifically mentioned fantasy rides, so I was staying in that lane. But yes, there are many great attractions that don't meet that criterion.

Oh yes, and I agree. But that’s my point, all of the good fantasy style rides have adversity.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Yes, along with Pecos Bill. New Orleans would work reasonably well next to Pirates of the Caribbean (heck, PotC is in New Orleans in DL).

We will see if they do it. Facade changes would need to begin pretty soon.

Spending lots of money to add no capacity? Yeah…that sounds about right.

 

[James Alucobond]

Oh yes, and I agree. But that’s my point, all of the good fantasy style rides have adversity.

On the contrary, it's rarely central or even that important at all. Peter Pan's Flight is all about the thrill and adventure of hovering thanks to pixie dust, and Hook only shows up briefly at the end; he could just as easily not be there at all since the ride hardly glances the surface of any sort of narrative. Pooh has you roll by some heffalump and woozle cutouts that one would struggle to define as menacing in any capacity. Ariel's Undersea Adventure has an impressive Ursula animatronic in her lair, but the actual climactic battle is a barely there projection on the wall. Snow White's Scary Adventures is one of the few Fantasyland rides ever in WDW that I can think of where the conflict between the hero and villain was centered at all.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

On the contrary, it's rarely central or even that important at all. Peter Pan's Flight is all about the thrill and adventure of hovering thanks to pixie dust, and Hook only shows up briefly at the end; he could just as easily not be there at all since the ride hardly glances the surface of any sort of narrative. Pooh has you roll by some heffalump and woozle cutouts that one would struggle to define as menacing in any capacity. Ariel's Undersea Adventure has an impressive Ursula animatronic in her lair, but the actual climactic battle is a barely there projection on the wall. Snow White's Scary Adventures is one of the few Fantasyland rides ever in WDW that I can think of where the conflict between the hero and villain was centered at all.

But the villain is always present. It’s part of the story. That’s the point. To leave out the villain is just crazy! It’s like building a 1 billion dollar Star Wars land without Darth Vader…. Oh wait.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

On the contrary, it's rarely central or even that important at all. Peter Pan's Flight is all about the thrill and adventure of hovering thanks to pixie dust, and Hook only shows up briefly at the end; he could just as easily not be there at all since the ride hardly glances the surface of any sort of narrative. Pooh has you roll by some heffalump and woozle cutouts that one would struggle to define as menacing in any capacity. Ariel's Undersea Adventure has an impressive Ursula animatronic in her lair, but the actual climactic battle is a barely there projection on the wall. Snow White's Scary Adventures is one of the few Fantasyland rides ever in WDW that I can think of where the conflict between the hero and villain was centered at all.

Trains specified GOOD fantasy dark rides. Little Mermaid isn't good, and the crappy cutout of Ursula shoved into a corner is one of the more serious issues (though far from the only one). Hook shows up about halfway and still functions fine as a threat. The Heffalumps and Woozles are still something of a more twisted scene within a story that was always very lighthearted and lacking in conflict to begin with. While i'm not a fan of the rides, even the Ratatouille and Mickey rides have some "intense" sections.

I don't necessarily hard require a fantasy dark ride to have adversity. But this Tiana ride needed it. Both because of the extremely iconic villain (who I feel confident in stating is widely regarded as the best part of the movie) as well as the type of ride it's being retrofitted into. The final lift and big drop were designed around them being intense and scary. And before it was revealed what would be put there, almost everyone here were desperately hoping it would have Friends on the Other Side.

 

[James Alucobond]

But the villain is always present. It’s part of the story. That’s the point. To leave out the villain is just crazy! It’s like building a 1 billion dollar Star Wars land without Darth Vader…. Oh wait.

The story of this ride apparently runs parallel to the upcoming television series, which I suppose they're hoping will be somewhat successful. It's a sequel ride, not a book report ride. People can be annoyed that this didn't go the route of being a book report if they feel that would have fit better, but I don't think the assertion that the ride must include some arbitrary amount of "adversity" or recycle the original villain in order to be successful has much merit given precedent.

EDIT: Sorry, response above got added while I was typing. Didn't meant to ignore it, but sameish thought. It's cool if you think Friends on the Other Side would have fit well; I was just responding to the notion that fantasy rides have some sort of adversity quota. Also, what people define as "good" is pretty arbitrary, so I tried to mention popularity rather than quality whenever possible since that's probably more measurable.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

m

but most importantly, does this now mean that Tiana's Palace will also be serving a good Chicken Adobo as well as Dim Sum and GUmbo?

We left DL and walked through Downtown Disney solely to get Gumbo and Jambalaya the other day… only to discover Jazz Kitchen express is Beignets Express now and they only serves Beignets.

Major disappointment.

I really hope Tianas offers a quality Gumbo.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

17 new characters is consistent with what I was told in October last year. Specifically, I was told "over 15 new characters". Some of which are supposed to appear in the D+ series.

And to elaborate, no this doesn't mean there are only 17 animatronics (nor 22). I'm not even sure if 17 is the true extent of new ones when counting all of the animal characters. It's probably including the "focal point" critters who are playing instruments, but my guess is that there are also going to be additional "incidental" animals that will appear (like regular frogs, birds and turtles who have been seen in the art without instruments). The returning PATF characters will add a decent chunk to the roster as well. Tiana, Naveen, Eudora, Charlotte, Big Daddy La Bouff (I think), Mama Odie, Louis, Ralphie and the King and Queen I believe have all been said to be appearing.

And keep in mind that quite a few of the characters will get multiple figures. Brer Bear had 5 figures in WDW's Splash, Brer Fox had 6, and Brer Rabbit had 7. JUST Tiana, Naveen and Louis will probably have at minimum 4+ figures each. Tiana and Louis have already been seen twice in two different pieces of art showing two different scenes, and it's safe to say they'll be in the finale scene as well and likely others. Some of the other characters will no doubt have multiple figures too. I've also seen that new Otter character in two different pieces of art located in different show scenes.

The information shared with me last year thus far has turned out to be true. The one claim i'm still waiting to see pan out is whether they're going to reuse/reskin any of the older America Sings figures.

The America Sing AA's are out at Disneyland and has more in different places within the mountain whereas the one's in MK were newer versions of them..The MK versions are more fluid in movement compared to DL's..Here's a video that shows the location of the majority of the original AA's from the show.


Although, I do hope they keep the FSU weasel...