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

[LittleBuford]

It’s still all kind of funny to me. You have this princess fairytale IP and this cutesy green flowery mountain where you go 50 feet down a thrilling drop. I’ll just state the obvious and say a purpose built PatF ride would never end up this way.

The Princess and the Frog had just as many scary moments and thrills as the animated sequences of Song of the South.

 

[LittleBuford]

We just can’t have a Black villain?

Hopefully, they recast Kang the Conqueror with a white man if that’s the case.

Please don’t buy into and parrot this nonsense.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

The previous version of the ride was literally about a cartoon bunny.

The thrill elements of this attraction have always stood in some contrast with the show elements.

Kinda think that is part of what makes it work - sort of unassuming and fun theme, but then has these thrilling elements

And for the new version unless they fully enclose the big drop or something there is now way people won't understand there is a thrill element/it won't be thrilling

 

[mickEblu]

The Princess and the Frog had just as many scary moments and thrills as the animated sequences of Song of the South.

And what does that have to do with anything?

 

[LittleBuford]

And what does that have to do with anything?

It was in direct response to your claim that the IP doesn’t lend itself to a thrill ride.

 

[Tha Realest]

I don't even mind complaining/defending the ride.

It's the conspiratorial nonsense and the bad faith summaries of what "they" (Disney, WDI, DEI Team, minorities, immigrants, political opponents, etc.) think, want, and are trying to accomplish that seep into every discussion.

It's great that we don't all see eye to eye on everything. We can disagree agreeably!

But when every thread devolves into one of those awkward, off-the-rails conversations with your grumpy uncle and super political sister-in-law, it makes you wonder if it's worth the trouble to participate at all.

The author of many of the Disney blog posts and the woman featured in the recent video clip for this attraction is Carmen Smith. She says she is the lead creative executive on Tiana. Her title is Senior Vice President and Executive Creative Development Product/Content and Inclusive Strategies for Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products.

Here are some of her interviews in which she describes her focus on this attraction, and the need to change the one that preceded it.

Disney Executive And Imagineer Carmen Smith Says Diversity And Inclusion Keeps Disney Relevant

Carmen Smith is the Senior Vice President and Executive Creative Development Product/Content and Inclusive Strategies for Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products, Games, and Publishing.

www.forbes.com

The Alchemy of Inclusion with Disney’s Carmen Smith

Carmen Smith shares how Disney promotes diversity and inclusion by embracing creativity, understanding vulnerability, and providing an immersive experience.

cokecmosummit.com

Hope this clears things up!

 

[mickEblu]

It was in direct response to your claim that the IP doesn’t lend itself to a thrill ride.

Sorry did I miss the Princess crown and flowers outside of Splash Mountain?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

The Princess and the Frog had just as many scary moments and thrills as the animated sequences of Song of the South.

It did indeed, but unfortunately they won't be present in the ride. I actually do think there was a way to make a Tiana ride into a thrilling one story wise. And I believe it was a mistake not to. But the point is that they didn't do that for whatever reason. The big drop seems like it lacks any purpose in the concept they went with. Which is a concern Tony Baxter brought up in that recent interview.

The previous version of the ride was literally about a cartoon bunny.

The thrill elements of this attraction have always stood in some contrast with the show elements.

The previous version of the ride had a very intimidating final lift sequence in terms of tone. The briar patch itself also made the drop even more intimidating. And on some level, even the silliness of Brer Fox following Brer Rabbit throughout the ride attempting to capture and eat him is both funny but also morbid. It serves as a buildup to that final lift and drop sequence. The ride was not all sunshine and roses, a tension existed in the back of your mind even during the scenes that were literal sunshine and roses.

 

[LittleBuford]

Sorry did I miss the Princess crown and flowers outside of Splash Mountain?

If your issue is with how they’ve interpreted the IP rather than with the IP itself, you could have made that clear. I was simply responding to your post as you wrote it.

 

[TheCoasterNerd]

Nope those pipes are jarring

All those pipes.......

I'm sure you can imagine what it will look like once those are gone right??

 

[mickEblu]

If your issue is with how they’ve interpreted the IP rather than with the IP itself, you could have made that clear. I was simply responding to your post as you wrote it.

It was clear. You just decided to like pretend half of my post didn’t exist so your response would make sense.

 

[LittleBuford]

It did indeed, but unfortunately they won't be present in the ride. I actually do think there was a way to make a Tiana ride into a thrilling one story wise. And I believe it was a mistake not to. But the point is that they didn't do that for whatever reason. The big drop seems like it lacks any purpose in the concept they went with. Which is a concern Tony Baxter brought up in that recent interview.

Which is a different point from the one I was responding to.

I too would have welcomed a thrill element tied to Facilier, but I’m willing to see what they’re going to give us before judging it one way or the other.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

The previous version of the ride had a very intimidating final lift sequence in terms of tone. The briar patch itself also made the drop even more intimidating. And on some level, even the silliness of Brer Fox following Brer Rabbit throughout the ride attempting to capture and eat him is both funny but also morbid. It serves as a buildup to that final lift and drop sequence. The ride was not all sunshine and roses, a tension existed in the back of your mind even during the scenes that were literal sunshine and roses.

So what you're saying is that sunshine and roses don't automatically preclude the riders feeling tense in anticipation of the thrilling 50 foot drop they know is coming?

Sounds like that could just as easily apply to Tiana's Bayou Adventure, which was my point.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Eh…if we ended up on The Other Side and Dr. Facilier were coming after us, it would work.

They aren’t going that route because reasons.

I would have turned that entrance into the double drop a mausoleum entrance into The Other Side but they didn’t ask me.

That's almost exactly what I suggested some pages back heh. And your visualization of the "Other Side" entrance with the drop is also very similar to what I imagined. Maybe have the stone relief of Facilier's face overhead at the entrance of the drop (almost like the talking skull from DL's Pirates, they could even do some sort of creepy effect of the face smiling evilly as we pass under it and into the Other Side).

Great minds think alike, and apparently aren't working on this ride!

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

So what you're saying is that sunshine and roses don't automatically preclude the riders feeling tense in anticipation of the thrilling 50 foot drop they know is coming?

Sounds like that could just as easily apply to Tiana's Bayou Adventure, which was my point.

What i'm saying is that even prior to the final lift, there was a constant looming threat of the fox wanting to kill and eat the main character throughout. He wasn't very good at it, so it was a sort of cartoony dynamic. But still, even in spite of all the bright and colorful happy characters singing and playing instruments along the way, that was an ever present possible threat. And the threat builds tension up over the course of the ride. After the second drop, the scenery becomes darker and we see the fox sneaking up behind the distracted rabbit with a trap. And the next scene, we see his trap succeeded and the tone shifts to being serious and outright scary as we ascend the lift. And in Disneyland's case, they have some differences such as the Burrow's Lament and all of the scared rabbit family members.

In Tiana's Bayou Adventure, from what I understand there is supposedly not going to be any tension or buildup to the drop, except for the natural fear some people have of such drops. Everything is all going to be sunshine and roses without a looming threat. Even the lift is supposedly going to be happy and bright. If this assessment ends up being correct (and i've seen nothing to indicate otherwise), the drop doesn't even serve any purpose to the progression of events. Such a plot would be better suited with a non-thrilling ride.

Which I think was partially the point in saying that if TBA had been a unique custom built ride, it wouldn't have had a big drop in the first place. And so it also wouldn't have been as much of a problem.

Though regardless, not including Facilier or the Other Side (the best aspect of the film) is a mistake regardless of whether it's a thrill ride or not. But as they specifically chose to retheme a ride with a big drop like this, he and the tension he brought was particularly needed to make it work. I think a lot of people imagined the final lift with the "Are You Ready" music when the ride was first announced.

 

[LittleBuford]

What i'm saying is that even prior to the final lift, there was a constant looming threat of the fox wanting to kill and eat the main character throughout. He wasn't very good at it, so it was a sort of cartoony dynamic. But still, even in spite of all the bright and colorful happy characters singing and playing instruments along the way, that was an ever present possible threat. And the threat builds tension up over the course of the ride. After the second drop, the scenery becomes darker and we see the fox sneaking up behind the distracted rabbit with a trap. And the next scene, we see his trap succeeded and the tone shifts to being serious and outright scary as we ascend the lift. And in Disneyland's case, they have some differences such as the Burrow's Lament and all of the scared rabbit family members.

In Tiana's Bayou Adventure, from what I understand there is supposedly not going to be any tension or buildup to the drop, except for the natural fear some people have of such drops. Everything is all going to be sunshine and roses without a looming threat. Even the lift is supposedly going to be happy and bright. If this assessment ends up being correct (and i've seen nothing to indicate otherwise), the drop doesn't even serve any purpose to the progression of events. Such a plot would be better suited with a non-thrilling ride.

Which I think was partially the point in saying that if TBA had been a unique custom built ride, it wouldn't have had a big drop in the first place. And so it also wouldn't have been as much of a problem.

Though regardless, not including Facilier or the Other Side (the best aspect of the film) is a mistake regardless of whether it's a thrill ride or not. But as they specifically chose to retheme a ride with a big drop like this, he and the tension he brought was particularly needed to make it work. I think a lot of people imagined the final lift with the "Are You Ready" music when the ride was first announced.

It seems to me they're trying to give the thrill a sort of euphoric framing (fuelled by Mama Odie's magic) rather than a scary one. I'm not sure it's going to work, but I don't think one necessarily needs tension or a sense of foreboding to make the drop work.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Though regardless, not including Facilier or the Other Side (the best aspect of the film) is a mistake regardless of whether it's a thrill ride or not. But as they specifically chose to retheme a ride with a big drop like this, he and the tension he brought was particularly needed to make it work. I think a lot of people imagined the final lift with the "Are You Ready" music when the ride was first announced.

This would have made it at least tolerable for me. What they're doing is just so illogical...

It seems to me they're trying to give the thrill a sort of euphoric framing (fuelled by Mama Odie's magic) rather than a scary one.

...this is exactly what I'm talking about. I could see them doing this for one of the earlier drops, but this is a really BIG drop. The euphoria comes from having gone through the stressful lift hill.

How did this get approved? Oh wait, I know...

 

[LittleBuford]

...this is exactly what I'm talking about. I could see them doing this for one of the earlier drops, but this is a really BIG drop. The euphoria comes from having gone through the stressful lift hill.

How did this get approved? Oh wait, I know...

I guess I'm thinking of it as similar to skydiving or jumping off a big cliff into the sea as you yell with excitement—a happy thrill rather than a scary one (though tinged with a bit of fear and adrenaline nonetheless because of the drop itself). Again, I'm not saying they'll necessarily get it right, but I think it has at least the potential to work.

 

[mickEblu]

This would have made it at least tolerable for me. What they're doing is just so illogical...

...this is exactly what I'm talking about. I could see them doing this for one of the earlier drops, but this is a really BIG drop. The euphoria comes from having gone through the stressful lift hill.

How did this get approved? Oh wait, I know...

It’s annoying right? It’s like game is on the line, they’re down by 1 but pass up a wide open slam dunk to go shoot a three.

 

[Fox&Hound]

I wonder what they will go with for the drop story wise? We are climbing a hill to see Mama Odie? Leaving the Bayou? They have to incorporate the drop somehow. Right? Right?

Still praying they add in Dr Facilier next Halloween and decide to keep him after positive guest feedback.