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

[TrainsOfDisney]

(ps - I’d wager that most of y’all probably didn’t know that the PPF vane even existed)

If you’re keeping score - I did know the Peter Pan vane existed - I love tik-tok croc! But I didn’t know about the bat on the vane in haunted mansion.

The other weather vane I recall is the Mary Poppins one on jolly holiday cafe - winds in the east and all!

 

[JD80]

Some of the weirdest marketing I’ve ever seen for any ride. Nobody cares. Yay we have artists from New Orleans painting murals that look out of place and authentic weathervanes and drum set replicas lol. But not the best song or the bad guy from the movie. What a joke.

I care and I enjoy watching little snippets of the work being done. If you don't like it go somewhere else.

 

[mickEblu]

I care and I enjoy watching little snippets of the work being done. If you don't like it go somewhere else.

There’s always one…

 

[_caleb]

It's an absurd argument that only artists or imagineers have the authority to decide what looks correct and that no other opinions are valid.

How is it absurd? I’ve not said ONLY artists or imagineers have authority to judge, just that nobody is in a better position than they.

Eventually, we’ll be able to experience it as a whole and judge whether we like it or not, and how well we think it “fits” in the broader area of the parks.

Making definitive statements about the consistency or quality of the work at this point is like tasting dinner before all the ingredients have been added (when you don’t even know what dish is being made and aren’t familiar with the cuisine), declaring it to be disgusting and the chef to be incompetent.

The pieces of "concept art" she drew for the attraction mostly look quite awkward and messy.

I imagine you wouldn’t say such a thing if you were judging the work of an indigenous artist in a remote part of the world; and rightly so, because “awkward” is relative, and it’d be rude to call another culture’s art “messy.” But somehow here, we all suppose our standards for art are universal.

 

[JD80]

I feel like we have to get real clear about the facts here - Charita Carter was an accountant for Imagineering . . . in 1997. Since 2007 she has been working in the creative branches of WDI, moving from being a Show Producer to a Senior Creative Producer to Executive Creative Producer to now Executive Creative Producer-VP. Carmen Smith started with Disney at ABC in 2000 and has spent 14 years in her current role as Senior Vice President Creative Development Content-Products & Inclusive Strategies. These people have been around for years creating work you've enjoyed, but only now that their names are visibly and publicly attached to a project that people dislike for . . . reasons . . . they're abruptly being treated as if they couldn't possibly have earned their positions.

To incorrectly call these people figureheads, assume they have no talent, clearly attempt to dismiss them as "an accountant & a diversity editor", neither of which are wholly accurate descriptors, and disregard their many years of productive creative work in which they both worked their way up the ladder within this company is pointedly ugly given the context.

You don't have to like this these people, the ride, or even their work on it, but this kind of misguided devaluing of these women, their positions, and their achievements speaks to exactly the kind of gross and charged negative behavior people are hurling at this project. I would encourage you to speak more mindfully on this subject in the future.

Well said. Thank you for writing that.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Can you elaborate on the productive creative work that each one has been responsible for? I'm not challenging you, just asking for further explanation.

Carters team added projection mapping to snow whites scary adventures (prior to the enchanted wish rehab), she worked on legend of jack sparrow at Hollywood studios, and worked directly with Kevin Rafferty on Runaway Railway.

 

[JD80]

There’s always one…

Yes me and the thousands of people who enjoyed watching that tiktok. Keep talking.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Producers and project leads typically aren’t creatives, they handle the money, the scheduling, the logistics, the big picture planning… that’s better left to someone with an accounting background than an art major.

That doesn’t mean they don’t have artistic input but it’s likely at the approval level rather than the pen to paper level.

ETA: the highlight being on the management team, rather than the art team, is a little different but makes sense in the context of highlighting the inclusiveness and authenticity of the ride.

 

[mickEblu]

Keep talking.

Will Do

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Producers and project leads typically aren’t creatives, they handle the money, the scheduling, the logistics, the big picture planning… that’s better left to someone with an accounting background than an art major.

I think you have it backwards - producers and project leads are typically creatives. Tony Baxter, Joe Rohde, Scott Trowbridge, Kevin Rafferrty, etc.

Edit to add - I don’t think of Carter as an accountant though. Yes that was her background, but she has worked in blue sky studio and as a creative on attractions for several years now.

 

[MisterPenguin]

The current rumour for MK is April-May. Who knows if that will happen, but the exterior is looking close at least.

Whence the April-May rumor?

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Some of the weirdest marketing I’ve ever seen for any ride. Nobody cares. Yay we have artists from New Orleans painting murals that look out of place and authentic weathervanes and drum set replicas lol. But not the best song or the bad guy from the movie. What a joke.

No, this weathervane is important! How else will we remember to look back at our bird tails as we're riding this?

 

[JD80]

The last 6 pages have just proved that almost no one knows what they are talking about. Or basically, it's still the internet.

 

[JD80]

Whence the April-May rumor?

I've always guessed Memorial Day, but I've also always said I'm making a complete guess.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

The last 6 pages have just proved that almost no one knows what they are talking about. Or basically, it's still the internet.

I hope you're including the videos of the weathervane in that blanket statement. Because I think those back up your statement as well.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I think you have it backwards - producers and project leads are typically creatives. Tony Baxter, Joe Rohde, Scott Trowbridge, Kevin Rafferrty, etc.

Edit to add - I don’t think of Carter as an accountant though. Yes that was her background, but she has worked in blue sky studio and as a creative on attractions for several years now.

They weren’t producers though, Rohde was the executive designer, Baxter was the VP
of creative development… they were in charge of the projects from an artistic standpoint but the accountants dealt with the bureacracy behind the scenes.

Both are equally important, the artistic management team is very different from the project management team though.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I feel like we have to get real clear about the facts here - Charita Carter was an accountant for Imagineering . . . in 1997. Since 2007 she has been working in the creative branches of WDI, moving from being a Show Producer to a Senior Creative Producer to Executive Creative Producer to now Executive Creative Producer-VP. Carmen Smith started with Disney at ABC in 2000 and has spent 14 years in her current role as Senior Vice President Creative Development Content-Products & Inclusive Strategies. These people have been around for years creating work you've enjoyed, but only now that their names are visibly and publicly attached to a project that people dislike for . . . reasons . . . they're abruptly being treated as if they couldn't possibly have earned their positions.

To incorrectly call these people figureheads, assume they have no talent, clearly attempt to dismiss them as "an accountant & a diversity editor", neither of which are wholly accurate descriptors, and disregard their many years of productive creative work in which they both worked their way up the ladder within this company is pointedly ugly given the context.

You don't have to like this these people, the ride, or even their work on it, but this kind of misguided devaluing of these women, their positions, and their achievements speaks to exactly the kind of gross and charged negative behavior people are hurling at this project. I would encourage you to speak more mindfully on this subject in the future.

They were not creatives and still aren't to this day. That isn't an opinion I came to myself, nor something I took from a bunch of lunatic agenda driven anti woke morons who don't actually know anything. It's an opinion shared by actual talented creatives in the industry who know what they're talking about. It's also what I was explicitly told by the same source who initially provided a ton of accurate details on the ride. They also had a very positive opinion on TBA and are excited about it last I checked in. But they made it very clear that if it's any good, it will be in spite of Charita Carter and Carmen Smith, not because of them.

 

[Tha Realest]

They were not creatives and still aren't to this day. That isn't an opinion I came to myself, nor something I took from a bunch of lunatic agenda driven anti woke morons who don't actually know anything. It's an opinion shared by actual talented creatives in the industry who know what they're talking about. It's also what I was explicitly told by the same source who initially provided a ton of accurate details on the ride. They also had a very positive opinion on TBA and are excited about it last I checked in. But they made it very clear that if it's any good, it will be in spite of Charita Carter and Carmen Smith, not because of them.

Are they Baxter/Rodhe creatives, or are they Iger creatives?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Whence the April-May rumor?

It was Splash Archive in a post from a few pages back who claimed the ride is scheduled to open April-May. Assuming no alleged "revisions" delay it that is. Which I also take to mean that Archive believes Iger did indeed visit and demanded changes, something I'm still skeptical about.

I have said before that WDI wanted it open "5-6 months earlier" than they originally planned. That original plan being the admittedly vague "late 2024". I assumed that was supposed to mean November-December. Which would maybe put the most aggressive revised target around July maybe. This again assumes a lot. They're going pretty fast, so I guess it's possible. But it would surprise me if it's open by April-May. I'd not have betted on anything sooner than July-August at the earliest...

 

[_caleb]

They were not creatives and still aren't to this day. That isn't an opinion I came to myself, nor something I took from a bunch of lunatic agenda driven anti woke morons who don't actually know anything. It's an opinion shared by actual talented creatives in the industry who know what they're talking about. It's also what I was explicitly told by the same source who initially provided a ton of accurate details on the ride. They also had a very positive opinion on TBA and are excited about it last I checked in. But they made it very clear that if it's any good, it will be in spite of Charita Carter and Carmen Smith, not because of them.

I imagine Carter, Smith, Favorite, and Mahdi are used to being dismissed as “not real creatives.”