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

[MerlinTheGoat]

I would have agreed if I did not ride the Frozen attraction at EPCOT...
It just looks like half of the setting is missing when you get to the top of the lift hill... Maybe it was planned with a lack of characters or the buget got cut, but it looks incomplete...I guess this could happen here too... lots of places designed for characters that will later get cut down to a few...
I am hoping for the best though.

Frozen was always a cheapo retheme, you could even tell this from the concept art. They built what was promised, but what was promised sucked. Even the scenery is poor, a lot of flat empty corridors with minimal detail. In that regard, it's a downgrade even from Maelstrom, which itself didn't even have many AA's but it had some high quality scenery to compensate. Having more figures (and non face projected ones) would improve things, but it wouldn't be enough to save Frozen.

Tiana is already looking far better of an attraction than Frozen and has a much higher budget. Not only should the scenery be of much higher quality, but it's already looking like it will be a more populous attraction than Frozen. At least based on what has been teased in press reports as well as the couple of pieces of art they've released. They're not just using film characters either, they're creating a ton of brand new characters specifically for the ride and D+ series. I see exceedingly little evidence that this ride is going to be as cheaply and poorly done as Frozen.

If the finale has only 6 figures, it will make no sense. There's also several key characters that are slated to be in the ride that you would figure should be in that scene but are missing from the renders. Even ignoring the copious amount of other empty spaces that other figures should occupy. The artwork of the very first scene alone shows 11 characters. The prior artwork of Tiana and Naveen in the boat (which Splash Archive claims will be located in the old Laughing Place) had at least the same amount based on the foreground figures alongside the other instrument playing silhouetted animals. I can't imagine that the finale would have the fewest amount of AA's of any major scene in the ride...

 

[rd805]

Frozen was always a cheapo retheme, you could even tell this from the concept art. They built what was promised, but what was promised sucked. Even the scenery is poor, a lot of flat empty corridors with minimal detail. In that regard, it's a downgrade even from Maelstrom, which itself didn't even have many AA's but it had some high quality scenery to compensate. Having more figures (and non face projected ones) would improve things, but it wouldn't be enough to save Frozen.

Tiana is already looking far better of an attraction than Frozen and has a much higher budget. Not only should the scenery be of much higher quality, but it's already looking like it will be a more populous attraction than Frozen. At least based on what has been teased in press reports as well as the couple of pieces of art they've released. They're not just using film characters either, they're creating a ton of brand new characters specifically for the ride and D+ series. I see exceedingly little evidence that this ride is going to be as cheaply and poorly done as Frozen.

Calling Frozen a downgrade from Maelstrom is the biggest hyperbole and hottake. You can argue all day about the fit in Epcot, but the attraction itself is a renowned upgrade from the former.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Calling Frozen a downgrade from Maelstrom is the biggest hyperbole and hottake. You can argue all day about the fit in Epcot, but the attraction itself is a renowned upgrade from the former.

It's not hyperbole or a hot take in the slightest, I legitimately consider Maelstrom to be a superior ride by a significant margin and Frozen a major downgrade. I don't even think you'd have a hard time finding people who agree either. I know others on this forum who share my opinion. I've spoken on this matter and given my reasoning multiple times. The quality of Frozen's scenery alone is trash. Lots of blank black and/or blurry walls. The face projections are also awful.

I'm glad Hong Kong is getting updated AA's without projection crap (though it's still otherwise a clone of Epcot's and will retain its other problems). Maelstrom's only real flaw was its brevity, something that Frozen also did nothing whatsoever to fix. Even if it had been placed in a more appropriate location such as Fantasyland, it still would have been a poor ride IMO. Tokyo is getting a unique version of Frozen that isn't a clone of the Epcot variant (too bad about Hong Kong and Paris), hopefully it turns out much better as a result...

Give me this literally any day over Frozen Ever After-

 

[mickEblu]

The Zip finale on Splash was so Grand and well executed and just so happened to perfectly work with the theme of PatF. Seems like they re intent on changing it so people aren’t “constantly reminded of Splash.” If they re going that route they better put the money and resources so it doesn’t pale in comparison to the same scene Splash Mountain. People would rather have a similar setting (that again, works perfectly with the new theme) than something half @$$ed that looks totally different. I can’t understand what the point of recreating a Tiana’s Palace in the last room is when the “real” restaurant is right outside.

They didn’t have to do a thing to that last scene but take the name off the River boat and put in the new AAs.

 

[Honeycomb]

The Zip finale on Splash was so Grand and well executed and just so happened to perfectly work with the theme of PatF. Seems like they re intent on changing it so people aren’t “constantly reminded of Splash.” If they re going that route they better put the money and resources so it doesn’t pale in comparison to Splash Mountain. People would rather have a similar setting (that again works perfectly with the new theme) than something half @$$ed that looks totally different. It can’t understand what the point of recreating a Tiana’s Palace in the last room when the “real” restaurant is right outside.

They didn’t have to do a thing to that last scene but take the name off the River boat and put in the new AAs.

Doo Dah Landing was my favorite area in all of Disneyland.

 

[UNCgolf]

Calling Frozen a downgrade from Maelstrom is the biggest hyperbole and hottake. You can argue all day about the fit in Epcot, but the attraction itself is a renowned upgrade from the former.

A renowned upgrade? Really?

This is the first time I've ever heard anyone say anything like that. I personally think Maelstrom was a better attraction (it wasn't great, but FEA is near the bottom of WDW attractions) -- but even people who think FEA is better don't generally think it's any kind of masterpiece. Renowned is a strange word to use.

 

[rd805]

A renowned upgrade? Really?

This is the first time I've ever heard anyone say anything like that. I personally think Maelstrom was a better attraction (it wasn't great, but FEA is near the bottom of WDW attractions) -- but even people who think FEA is better don't generally think it's any kind of masterpiece. Renowned is a strange word to use.

We (the WDW Disney Enthusiasts) often have a different viewpoint from the every day targeted Disney guest. The Frozen ride is immensely popular. Maelstrom had a place in all of our heart's, but the wait times were average walk on VS. Frozen which is consistently 60 minutes.

Again, the historian and avid fan (most of this board) may have different views, but the echo chamber we converse in shouldn't be the end all/be all on how successful this ride is for the park.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

These are very interesting. And believe it or not, they've actually partially alleviated some of my concerns about there only being 6 AA's. They do indeed look legitimate, and I can imagine it's fairly accurate to the sets they construct. But it's also clear that the renders can't be used to assume how many AA's there are going to be.

One of these renders is just the empty set without any of the figures inserted yet. Another render shows the lefthand building (formerly occupied by the Swamp Boys) with Eudora and Charlotte. But two of the other renders are of the main building (where the riverboat's wheel used to be) showing two different sets of figures each occupying the same platform. One variant has Tiana and Louis, the other variant has Naveen and Ralphie. So they were still testing different AA's and placements when these renders were made.

I also have a feeling that this isn't accurate to the quantity of figures either. The buildings are very similar to the old Riverboat in the sense that they have a lot of empty spaces and platforms on the stairs, sides and upper level where it looks like other AA's could/should be placed. So until further notice, I suggest taking the "only 6 AA's" claim with a grain of salt. We'll see, but it makes me strongly suspect there will be more figures in the final version. Either critters or also additional human characters as well. Just a hunch, but you have my reasoning now.

Am I missing something here? What renderings are we talking about?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Popularity and long lines does not determine whether an attraction is good. Maelstrom generally being walk-on is also completely untrue. It was rare that the line didn't stretch out to 30+ minutes even even in its waning years. Keep in mind that Frozen's wait times are heavily inflated due to Fastpass+ (now Genie), a service that was only briefly available for Maelstrom very late in its life.

Am I missing something here? What renderings are we talking about?

Someone posted some CGI images of Tiana's new finale that Splash Archive said he had. The post seems to have been deleted however. I assume they were shared in private and then posted without permission.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

Someone posted some CGI images of Tiana's new finale that Splash Archive said he had. The post seems to have been deleted however. I assume they were shared in private and then posted without permission.

Ah. I kind of suspected when I noticed that your post had been edited by a mod, but figured I'd ask. Wish I'd been here sooner!

 

[UNCgolf]

We (the WDW Disney Enthusiasts) often have a different viewpoint from the every day targeted Disney guest. The Frozen ride is immensely popular. Maelstrom had a place in all of our heart's, but the wait times were average walk on VS. Frozen which is consistently 60 minutes.

Again, the historian and avid fan (most of this board) may have different views, but the echo chamber we converse in shouldn't be the end all/be all on how successful this ride is for the park.

That's a different argument, though -- being more successful for park operations doesn't automatically mean it's a higher quality attraction. It's more popular because it's Frozen and Frozen is a massive draw. It's an example of why Disney wants to infuse IP into everything; the IP itself can act as a draw even when the attraction is mediocre.

That said, the 60 minute wait for Frozen isn't that big of a deal because it has a very low capacity. A 15-20 minute wait for Spaceship Earth, e.g., is basically equivalent to a 60+ minute wait for Frozen in terms of how many people are actually waiting to ride.

 

[Bocabear]

a 60 minute wait is a 60 minute wait....and it is a big deal.... Unless you have unlimited vacation time and love to stand in lines...Most guests do not.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I only take exception with the "Frozen didn't fix Maelstrom's brevity" critique.

While it isn't THAT much longer, it does have added show space that Maelstrom did not have.



Frozen is roughly 1 extra minute from start to finish based on reviewing a few videos ... or a 5 minute ride vs a 4 minute ride.

Now critique of the art direction / set design / AA's is another thing, but I don't personally think Frozen is a short attraction, the ride time is decent for an attraction of this scale.

But it perhaps can still feel brief, which may be a result of Disney shoehorning the ride into a layout/ride type that doesn't particularly work for the story.

But it's a more complete experience than Maelstrom was.

 

[WaluigiTime]

I am so bitter over every other version of Frozen Ever After not having those awful projected faces.

 

[UNCgolf]

a 60 minute wait is a 60 minute wait....and it is a big deal.... Unless you have unlimited vacation time and love to stand in lines...Most guests do not.

No it's not, when you're talking about capacity and park operations as I was.

Again, though, it's because it's Frozen. It's not because Frozen Ever After is a well designed attraction. If it was the exact same ride with generic figures that weren't related to Frozen it would be a walk-on.

 

[J4546]

I am so bitter over every other version of Frozen Ever After not having those awful projected faces.

i could see them updating epcots and alot more around the parks with these new animatronics they are making.

 

[Brer Panther]

They're not just using film characters either

Neither did Frozen Ever After, to be fair... it has the little snow booger guys from Frozen Fever.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Neither did Frozen Ever After, to be fair... it has the little snow booger guys from Frozen Fever.

You know full well those things aren't remotely comparable to what they're doing with Tiana's new characters.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

i could see them updating epcots and alot more around the parks with these new animatronics they are making.

They certainly should do that. It's the sort of thing Disney would have done in the past and I'm sure Disneyland would still do, but at WDW such things are still far more up in the air. In an ideal world, they would be making new figures for Epcot at the same time they are making them for Paris and HK.

The most pleasant surprise in that regarding I can remember was bringing the Three Caballeros AAs over from Tokyo at the Mexico Pavilion. The difference in that case, though, is they did't have to pay to build them from scratch.

 

[Brer Panther]

You know full well those things aren't remotely comparable to what they're doing with Tiana's new characters.

Yeah, I know, just thought I'd mention it.