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

[imagineer97]

Are we sure the guitar-playing Alligator is the real one? Because it looks like this guy likes to create replicas of Animatronics on his YouTube page. I'd like to believe these are real, but he also has a video titled "bye, bye, Disney." Didn't actually watch any of his stuff.

EDIT: Also, would WDI just be okay with him posting all of this? It would seem to be the opposite of their typical habits with this re-do.

 

[BrerFoxesBayouAdventure]

I dunno but this is the single piece of news regarding the retheme that's genuinely excited me. If they wanted to win the fans back, THIS is what they should've presented back in February.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

He looks like he’s been touched up with the kind of black light paint used on Peter Pan. I hadn’t thought of that on this ride but it would be consistent with some of the concept art that uses bold, almost psychedelic color themes.

That type of lighting can be exceptionally beautiful in the hands of talented artists, so I wouldn't be opposed to it. There were a couple of corners of Splash that were lit like that too (like the Laughing Place). Though it should also be noted that it can be problematic in environments susceptible to mold. The show building for WDW's Buzz Lightyear was leaking really bad a number of years ago, and they've still yet to repaint the attraction to this day. Mold glows under black lights. And with such a wet ride like this...

The fox in question.

Given that the post has the hashtag for Tiana, it's a good assumption he'll make it over. Like I said, I was told the America Sings figures would be kept.

Are we sure the guitar-playing Alligator is the real one? Because it looks like this guy likes to create replicas of Animatronics on his YouTube page. I'd like to believe these are real, but he also has a video titled "bye, bye, Disney." Didn't actually watch any of his stuff.

EDIT: Also, would WDI just be okay with him posting all of this? It would seem to be the opposite of their typical habits with this re-do.

He worked for Disney, but left in February according to that video. The post with the mardi gras Swamp Boy was made on January 1st. He seems to have been an animatronics set dresser, and I suspect he still has sources within the project and/or direct access to the project. He may still actually still be a part of it until it's completed, not sure. But again, that figure has been missing from WDW for at least a year prior to its closure. He also didn't add a Disneyland hashtag to the post like the other America Sings figures. I'd be willing to assume that's the legit WDW figure, and it's being outfitted for TBA.

 

[Brer Panther]

It'd be nice if at least some of the America Sings animatronics were kept around, but are we sure this guy is an actual Disney imagineer? I figured the Swamp Boy and Fox were replicas...

 

[Smiley/OCD]

It'd be nice if at least some of the America Sings animatronics were kept around, but are we sure this guy is an actual Disney imagineer? I figured the Swamp Boy and Fox were replicas...

Wait until you see his new YouTube video of him touching up Buzzy…

 

[MisterPenguin]

He looks like he’s been touched up with the kind of black light paint used on Peter Pan. I hadn’t thought of that on this ride but it would be consistent with some of the concept art that uses bold, almost psychedelic color themes.

So, we at least know there will be mushrooms in the jambalaya!

 

[Homemade Imagineering]

What about that permit filed for the removal of hydraulics? I would assume most of the AS figures utilize a mix of both hydraulic and pneumatic actuators, but a mass removal of infrastructure for the operation of hydraulic systems implies they’re either retrofitting the mechs of the AS figures with electrically driven systems, or possibly in reference to the removal of certain sections of hydraulic systems infrastructure.

 

[EagleScout610]

Checking out another recent image, I found another very interesting one here-



This is clearly the third guitar-playing Swamp Boy, but with a new leaf pattern printed on his guitar and a purple mardi gras hat. In fact, since this post was from January 1st, I suspect this may in fact be the figure from the WDW version of Splash. Reason being that he has been missing for over a year before it closed, whereas Disneyland's figure has been present the entire time as far as i'm aware.

That's not the real Swamp Boy. It may be a mock up to see how a new costume would look on the animatronic, but that's not the real one

 

[zipadee999]

This is a post from May 30th of what appears to be this guy working on the real swamp boy. I’m gonna guess that this is the WDW version since Swamp Boy #3 had been missing for a year prior to the Florida closure.

If I had to guess, the black-light version is a dummy that’s used for set dressing and costume design. This is so they can easily move him around and try new things because the actual animatronic is so heavy.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

This is a post from May 30th of what appears to be this guy working on the real swamp boy. I’m gonna guess that this is the WDW version since Swamp Boy #3 had been missing for a year prior to the Florida closure.

If I had to guess, the black-light version is a dummy that’s used for set dressing and costume design. This is so they can easily move him around and try new things because the actual animatronic is so heavy.

Might have been the new skin on a dummy frame yeah. Either way, evidence they're being reused for Tiana.

 

[EagleScout610]

This is a post from May 30th of what appears to be this guy working on the real swamp boy. I’m gonna guess that this is the WDW version since Swamp Boy #3 had been missing for a year prior to the Florida closure.

If I had to guess, the black-light version is a dummy that’s used for set dressing and costume design. This is so they can easily move him around and try new things because the actual animatronic is so heavy.

Pretty sure that's the Hitchhiking Croc

 

[MagicHappens1971]

This is a post from May 30th of what appears to be this guy working on the real swamp boy. I’m gonna guess that this is the WDW version since Swamp Boy #3 had been missing for a year prior to the Florida closure.

Interesting that they’d take one figure out early to start work on it.

 

[zipadee999]

View attachment 722431
Pretty sure that's the Hitchhiking Croc

Now that you put the two pictures side by side, I think you might be right. You can kind of tell by the posture of both gators. This just worries me for WDW because we have three AS animatronics being worked on for DL that were never present in WDW and I doubt that they’d duplicate them at this point

 

[PizzaPlanet]

Strange that they couldn’t wait until the ride closed before taking that gator. Reminds me of how they took some of the America Sings geese out before it closed to put them in the Star Tours queue.

 

[harrisonm]

New photo from Twitter, more grass removed on left and a tent where the water tower is supposed to go

 

[Brer Oswald]

Might have been the new skin on a dummy frame yeah. Either way, evidence they're being reused for Tiana.

It looks like a static recreation of the Gator rather than a redressed version of the old one. There are no joints in the jaw area. We also know that this talented individual likes to recreate classic Disney figures based on his social media posts. In short, this is nothing more than a recreation for personal enjoyment rather than a reused animatronic from the previous attraction.

The only type of “evidence” we have is the one Gator in WDW disappearing a year prior to close, and that is circumstantial at best.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Checking out another recent image, I found another very interesting one here-



This is clearly the third guitar-playing Swamp Boy, but with a new leaf pattern printed on his guitar and a purple mardi gras hat. In fact, since this post was from January 1st, I suspect this may in fact be the figure from the WDW version of Splash. Reason being that he has been missing for over a year before it closed, whereas Disneyland's figure has been present the entire time as far as i'm aware.

Don't get too excited, most of that creator's works are Replicas.

Check out the lower half of the figure - compare to any photo of the actual Swamp Boys and you can see both the legs and the lower half of the torso are too small. That's not a Disney prop, it's his replica.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

It looks like a static recreation of the Gator rather than a redressed version of the old one. There are no joints in the jaw area. We also know that this talented individual likes to recreate classic Disney figures based on his social media posts. In short, this is nothing more than a recreation for personal enjoyment rather than a reused animatronic from the previous attraction.

The only type of “evidence” we have is the one Gator in WDW disappearing a year prior to close, and that is circumstantial at best.

Don't get too excited, most of that creator's works are Replicas.

Check out the lower half of the figure - compare to any photo of the actual Swamp Boys and you can see both the legs and the lower half of the torso are too small. That's not a Disney prop, it's his replica.

I'm aware of this person's personal work. But he was also a real imagineer up until February, he worked as a dresser for Disney's animatronics. And he has already confirmed outright that at least one figure (the stork from Disneyland) is being reused for Tiana. Though he has since edited it, possibly because he wasn't supposed to give it away. Also indicating that the others he posted will be as well. If he was just replicating the Swamp Boys for personal use, he would use the classic hat design and not a festive Mardi Gras style one.

I was also told well before any of these posts were made that they would in fact be reusing the America Sings figures. Something that makes sense given the anthropomorphic animal designs seen in several pieces of artwork. I already trusted my source, and am now quite confident that this is the case. The only questions are how many of them will be reused (I was told all of the America Sings ones, but we'll see if that rings true). And how they will approach WDW's given that version never got copies of all the Disneyland characters (we got additional and better designed SOTS characters instead).

Take it from a fellow cynic, there is such a thing as being too skeptical of things. Whatever concerns I may still have about this attraction, the animatronics (whether quality, quantity etc) are no longer one of them.

 

[EagleScout610]

New photos from the site we don't say; seems like queue rerouting has begun:

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I'm aware of this person's personal work. But he was also a real imagineer up until February, he worked as a dresser for Disney's animatronics. And he has already confirmed outright that at least one figure (the stork from Disneyland) is being reused for Tiana. Heavily indicating that the others he posted will be as well. If he was just replicating the Swamp Boys for personal use, he would use the classic hat design and not a Mardi Gras one.

I was also told well before any of these posts were made that they would in fact be reusing the America Sings figures. Something that makes sense given the artwork. I already trusted my source, and am now quite confident that this is the case. The only questions are how many of them will be reused (I was told all of the America Sings ones, but we'll see if that rings true). And how they will approach WDW's given that version never got copies of all the Disneyland's characters.

Take it from a fellow cynic, there is such a thing as being too skeptical of things. Whatever concerns I may still have about this attraction, the animatronics (whether quality, quantity etc) are no longer one of them.

Listen, I get all that - but I'm telling you, that particular Swamp Boy in that photo is neither from nor going into the ride.

Compare - the legs on his figure:

And the legs on the Swamp Boys in Splash Mountain. Sculpturally they are completely dissimilar:

Also, that's not a "Mardi Gras Hat", it's a felt replica of Clopin's Hat. Perhaps he made it for something else and stuck it on his Swamp Boy for pictures:

It's a well made replica, but it's a replica. With come creative liberties.

Also, notice he edited the caption on that Stork photo to remove the allusion to him "entering the Bayou". I'm not saying figures won't be reused, just that we're reading a little too much into this guy's Instagram photos when some more discernment is necessary to be fully accurate. He has worked for Disney but he's also a fan who's excited for the new ride, and some of his enthusiasm is being confused for gospel.