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

[Sectorkeeper71]

This could be a first interesting case study for what turbocharging the parks actually means. Opening a ride is one thing, but I wouldn’t say it falls into that category of turbocharging.

Instead, shutdown Pecos Bill’s and change it into a Tiana’s QS of some sort. Add some additional area theming to create WDW’s version of a New Orleans Street. Bring back Tiana on the Riverboat and add a Margi Gras style cavalcade next year. That is how you turbocharge something like this. Turn it into something more than “just retheming”Splash Mountain. Make it an event for Margi Gras every year.

I’d be fine with them doing this, especially if any expansion beyond thunder mountain was a frontier land reboot of sorts. Plus Im not a fan of peco’s bills so changing that out would be a plus for me

 

[FettFan]

This is the first time I’ve seen him described in these terms. I view him very much as a classic out-and-out baddie.

Yeah, a "sympathetic villain" doesn't try to sell the souls of an entire city to demonic masks to appease his pagan gods.

 

[Disney Analyst]

 

[Brer Oswald]

For what it's worth, Splash Archive is still saying the animatronic population of the ride will be quite sparse in a new tweet. This contradicts what I've heard, but we'll see.

He’s been sharing info with me for about a year and it’s all come to pass.

 

[DisneyRoy]

So while this definitively confirms that they moved the opening date up from the prior late 2024 period significantly, the May rumors were either wrong or the ride suffered a delay. To be fair, that always sounded way too aspirational to me. They're still keeping the opening date vague, possibly to provide themselves some wiggle room. That's a three month opening window anywhere between June 20 through September 22.

Like I said before, I heard there was a potential management decision being considered that would reallocate resources to get the ride open sooner at DL. But it would likewise cause construction progress to potentially slow down at WDW. Hopefully that didn't end up happening though, and it opens comfortable before the tail end of summer.

I think the AA looks really good. It's high quality and very on-model to me anyway. Considering that she's a 2D illustration converted to a 3D environment, which comes with its own set of challenges (especially being a human and not an animal so the standards are higher), I think they did a really good job. She looks tremendously closer to her original film counterpart than the 3D model they used in Wreck it Ralph 2 for comparison.

Wicked Witch was an A100, which are now quite old. Not sure about Kylo, probably, but he's arguably not as much trouble to get right regardless since he wears a mask and has no facial movement. I actually think Kylo looks a bit small and weird, at least the second figure that gets "crushed" by debris. Hondo is an A1000 as well though and looks great.

Except the Disney seasons don't necessarily align with the actual seasons. Disney summer is typically Memorial Day to Labor Day. I think that is your 3 month window they are aiming for.

 

[UNCgolf]

I was about to say, “even the biggest cynic would approve of that AA” but then you arrived and proved me wrong.

I don't think the face looks quite as close to the movie version as the Belle AA does in Tokyo, so I'd agree it's a slight "downgrade" in comparison -- but it's still an excellent AA.

 

[Mikomike12]

Mama Odie also in the far left of the video, her snake ontop of her head!

 

[EagleScout610]

Mama Odie also in the far left of the video

Nice eye!

 

[ddisneyd]

I can’t imagine they will want to run any MNSSHP in August without this ride, which is why I think it’s going to be finished before that.

When is the next likely time/moment for an actual date announcement?

 

[celluloid]

Mama Odie also in the far left of the video, her snake ontop of her head!

I don't think that is Odie. That is Eudora, Tiana's mother.

Who will be in the beginning/queue or finale.

Oh snake head. I see now.

Animatronic snake head could have a cool potential for a gag. Hope they utilize it.

 

[Mark Dunne]

Would rather see them upgrade the Frozen AA's before that..

Yeah I think they will eventually, I hear the new ones are all electronic movements, and look incredible, so yes they should defo look after a franchise that has provided so much love to the fans .

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

He’s been sharing info with me for about a year and it’s all come to pass.

It sounds like the May opening claim didn't end up happening at least, which was something I was given reason to suspect was incorrect especially recently (it sounds like Drew also heard something similar to contradict a May opening, and others here also suspected it was too aspirational).

I posted the tweet because I don't believe he's lying about having a source and there's always the possibility of him being correct. The renders he posted clearly seem to be real Disney creations. My issue of contention is that I strongly suspect that his renders are very old and represent a still very incomplete portrayal of the quantity of figures. And I believe his claims (or possibly whoever gave him the renders) are based specifically on the number that these renders appear to contain. He initially stated that the finale would only have 6 AA's, which is the amount shown in the renders. He later amended this number to 9 when I pointed out three other confirmed characters who weren't yet present in his renders. And as I pointed out, there is a ton of empty spaces that seem specifically designed to house a lot of other characters. Spaces that also weren't present in the movie's variant of the Tiana's Palace facade.

My own source stated confidently that claims of the AA population being low are false. I asked specifically about this and pointed out Archive's claims and renders. My concerns with the finale were again singled out and the scene was specifically described to me as having "easily as many as Splash's did". The source claims that they have personally seen final full scene mock-ups of the entire ride, not just claims that came up in conversation with imagineers. This source has also gotten a ton of other things correct about this ride and others, including some of the Epic Universe details even before Alicia Stella.

At the moment, i'm erring on Splash Archive's claims regarding the quantity being incorrect/outdated. If it turns out i'm wrong though, i'll admit that and apologize. It's going to be a massive failure if they don't properly fill out the scenes, regardless of how high quality the new figures are. I am sick to death of seeing rides gutted of their densely populated scenes and replacing them with far emptier rooms. There will be hell to pay if Disney does this with Tiana and you'll not see me defend the ride, I can assure you of that.

 

[wdwmagic]

If you're referring to the first day of summer, that's June 20. But whatever. It's as good a date as any.

Disney's unofficial start of the summer season is Memorial Day weekend. They have ran many summer campaigns in the past starting that weekend. Not sayings it happening then, but Memorial Day weekend is very much "Summer" for WDW.

 

[monothingie]

View attachment 768110

I’d pay extra for this version of TBA.

 

[MaxDrake79]

Who knows if at this point by July 18 when I arrive at the parks I will find it open. Perhaps... Hopefully... I'll stay until the 26th because on the 27th I'll move to Universal... What do you say?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Disney's unofficial start of the summer season is Memorial Day weekend. They have ran many summer campaigns in the past starting that weekend. Not sayings it happening then, but Memorial Day weekend is very much "Summer" for WDW.

I suspect it won't be open in May, that always sounded way too aspirational to me even without taking into account any potential delays. If they were at all confident it would be ready by then, i'd think they would have gone ahead and given a more specific day or at least month. Though that is based on my own assertions, not inside information.

I was never given an exact opening date, but I did know that they pushed the opening date up significantly from its original "late 2024" opening window (my source told me this a long while ago before I saw anyone else post it). But given that Disney didn't share a definitive day or even month in this announcement, it makes me suspect that they're giving themselves ample wiggle room in the possible event of a delay. Which could still happen if resources are allocated away from WDW to try and expedite DL's construction.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Summer…you don’t say?

That AA looks really impressive. Maybe they’ll update the Frozen AAs during a future refurbishment.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Your location may have failed but they still have plenty open across the country.

The last time I went to the one near me (admittedly, it's been years) it was in pretty rough condition, though.

The 2 that I know in NJ along with one in central PA closed…it’s a shame because I liked their decor and business model and their food was decent.

ETA: As of 2021, their corporate website listed 41 locations, but at least 2 on there are closed.

 

[MisterPenguin]

What does “summer” mean in a Disney calendar?

The entertainment industry uses Memorial Day (last Monday of May) to Labor Day (first Monday of September) as the "Summer Season."

Mostly because that's when they can get college students to work Summer jobs.

Which means it follows the school schedule of when most students are off on their Summer break.

But it can also mean the solar calendar following the Summer Solstice of June, July, and August, and ends the Fall Equinox of late Sep.

Or, it can mean just when it's seasonally hot, which for FL is Apr to Oct.

 

[MisterPenguin]

So while this definitively confirms that they moved the opening date up from the prior late 2024 period significantly, the May rumors were either wrong or the ride suffered a delay.

Could it be that late May starts previews for CM, DVC, APers, etc..., and then opens to the public in Jun or Jul?