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

[MerlinTheGoat]

The actual number of animatronics doesn’t really matter when comparing to splash numbers since so many “animatronics” were limited motion Opossums, a beehive with a spinning bees etc. I think 42 animatronics will fill the scenes just fine. Disneyland’s flume moves too fast anyway that even if Splash had more animatronics, you could never really take them all in.

The numbers I gave weren't including the limited motion ones. If you count those, there would be over 100 for DL (which is what Disney did in marketing). My 55 and 75 numbers have a minimum standard of at least Tiki Bird standards or above.

It matters quite a lot to me. If Tiana can't match those numbers, it'll be a letdown for me. As I have said from the start. But as I also said, I am skeptical there are only 42.

 

[FigmentFan82]

I'm skeptical that Tiana will only have 42 animatronics based on prior claims, so I'm not going to jump to conclusions about that number yet. The finale in particular is supposed to be similarly crowded to Splash's.

Just speculation here but it could be that there will be 42 legit AA with solid amounts of motion and then many more minor movements figures sprinkled throughout. Like a possums dangling from the trees. They really don't need to move much/at all to add to the fullness of a scene

 

[HonorableMention]

I was hoping to be purely positive after the video, since the figures look really good so far (not all will be as state of the art as Louis and the main humans though, as the beaver demonstrates). But I sure hope there's more than 42... Again, WDW's Splash had 55+ and DL had 75+.

Not sure that number is accurate anyway though, since she might be the AA who will appear at the top of the final lift.

At least this confirmed there will indeed be a number of additional critters in the finale scene that those leaked renders didn't account for. I'm assuming all of those ones from the critter bands will be there. Glad they used Tiana's princess dress there too.

Do we think there’s any possibility that it’s 42 new animatronics with some reused ones making the count closer to the original?

Or maybe it’s a red herring and just a fun Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference

 

[Earlie the Pearlie]

We’ve reached that point.

When this was first announced, I, given Disney’s recent track record, worried it would be worse than Splash Mountain, one of my childhood favorites.

Then, after seeing teasers and construction updates, I realized that this might be just as good as Splash, maybe even a bit better.

But now- after seeing all of these animatronics- all of these advanced, new, animatronics- I’ve changed my mind again.

This is going to be one of the best dark rides on earth. Better than Splash ever was. Calling it now.
Disney needed to knock this out of the park, and by god I think they did it.

So excited to ride this in August*

*After LESS THAN two years of construction!!!

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Do we think there’s any possibility that it’s 42 new animatronics with some reused ones making the count closer to the original?

Or maybe it’s a red herring and just a fun Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference

Could be some reused ones, not sure though. I'd imagine new endoskeletons if any were reused since the old ones are hydraulic. As opposed to electric.

Still, I'd like to see at least the Swamp Boys return. I'm no longer sure if Splash Archive's claims are legit (his claims on the finale character number being only 9 are now disproven), but he was saying a stork and a raccoon were being reused at DL (WDW also had the raccoon but not the stork).

 

[EagleScout610]

Looks like Mama Odie replaced Br'er Rabbit and Barnaby as the last things we see

 

[JustInTime]

We’ve reached that point.

When this was first announced, I, given Disney’s recent track record, worried it would be worse than Splash Mountain, one of my childhood favorites.

Then, after seeing teasers and construction updates, I realized that this might be just as good as Splash, maybe even a bit better.

But now- after seeing all of these animatronics- all of these advanced, new, animatronics- I’ve changed my mind again.

This is going to be one of the best dark rides on earth. Better than Splash ever was. Calling it now.
Disney needed to knock this out of the park, and by god I think they did it.

So excited to ride this in August*

*After LESS THAN two years of construction!!!

Yes!!!! I came to this same conclusion today.

 

[HonorableMention]

Looks like Mama Odie replaced Br'er Rabbit and Barnaby as the last things we see

Great catch! I’m assuming Avi is Mama Odie?

Based on that list/the video and the other confirmed critters I’m counting 28 new animatronics. Then I’m wondering if there are repeats of any of the new critter band, plus some potential reused animatronics.

That might add up to 42 in total, but I suppose we won’t know until it opens.

 

[SplashJacket]

I don't recall seeing an additional mural on the right side anywhere. Looks a lot better with the symmetry, imho.

 

[retr0gate]

I was rewatching an old POV of WDW Splash Mountain and I honestly forgot just how many long stretches of nothing there was in that ride (animatronic wise). If the 42 number turns out to be true, I'm confident that the ride will feel FAR from empty even if it doesn't technically exceed the # of animatronics splash had. The Laughing Place alone already sounds like it's going to be pretty densely populated, a huge step up from what was there before (at least in WDW).

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

These looks amazing. Better than anything Splash had, tbh. The only response Splash Truthers can come up with is to laugh react.

Splash... Truthers?

I'm not sure what that means, but I don't personally think the Louis they showed off looks that great. The motion is absolutely stunning, but I'm not sold on the appearance. It seems odd to use fabric for the skin of a reptile instead of textured skin. It just looks like what it is and doesn't really sell the illusion of scaly skin at all. I particularly dislike it around his neck. He also just looks a little off model in the belly and eyes, but not in a major way that bothers me. It's hard to translate animated characters to physical figures.

The others look fantastic, though. Mama Odie in particular.

 

[aladdin2007]

While all the video and all the above certainly are impressive and interesting,,,Im still concerned just how fleshed out and depth/rich the show scenes are going to be. They sure haven't showed much of anything in that regard other than a couple scene pieces of concept art with a character. Could be bad, could be good. Hopefully they did not altar the show spaces to a point of blocking off certain sides etc so they could do less and be one sided or smaller, hence FEA 2.0.
is it just me or is that beaver massive????? actually they all appear ginormous.

 

[Mikomike12]

Splash... Truthers?

I'm not sure what that means, but I don't personally think the Louis they showed off looks that great. The motion is absolutely stunning, but I'm not sold on the appearance. It seems odd to use fabric for the skin of a reptile instead of textured skin. It just looks like what it is and doesn't really sell the illusion of scaly skin at all. I particularly dislike it around his neck.

The others look fantastic, though.

Louis isn’t scaley in the movie he’s smooth

 

[aladdin2007]

I was rewatching an old POV of WDW Splash Mountain and I honestly forgot just how many long stretches of nothing there was in that ride (animatronic wise). If the 42 number turns out to be true, I'm confident that the ride will feel FAR from empty even if it doesn't technically exceed the # of animatronics splash had. The Laughing Place alone already sounds like it's going to be pretty densely populated, a huge step up from what was there before (at least in WDW).

Im not sure we know yet that is true? it is after all where the screen content was rumored to be going. Thats the exact kind of thing I am wondering about too.

 

[DisneyDodo]

Great catch! I’m assuming Avi is Mama Odie?

Based on that list/the video and the other confirmed critters I’m counting 28 new animatronics. Then I’m wondering if there are repeats of any of the new critter band, plus some potential reused animatronics.

That might add up to 42 in total, but I suppose we won’t know until it opens.

That list is definitely not exhaustive. For example, it’s already been confirmed that we will see Naveen in the bayou.

 

[HonorableMention]

That list is definitely not exhaustive. For example, it’s already been confirmed that we will see Naveen in the bayou.

I was including Naveen in that list!

It sounds like we have at least 5 Tianas, 4 Louis figures (I think the tail in the log counts as one), 2 Mama Odies, Naveen, 3 relatives/friends of Tiana, and 13 critters including Juju.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

Louis isn’t scaley in the movie he’s smooth

Semantics. He certainly wasn't fuzzy, which the animatronic is.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Honestly, all the salt mine stuff was strange, but holding off on the bigger reveals until closer to the ride's opening is not seeming like such a bad strategy right now in terms of building hype. Hopefully this latest reveal at least reassures people Disney realized they couldn't cheap out on a replacement for Splash. Would also love if it helped Disney to rediscover the value of attractions richly populated by AAs!

I also think it was smart to tie this reveal to increased attention to Imagineering as central to Disney's theme park business. Again, it would be nice to think that this attention along with initiatives such as bringing Rhode back to train current Imagineers represents some realisation Imagineering needs a bit of a reboot after the upheaval of recent years.

 

[retr0gate]

Im not sure we know yet that is true? it is after all where the screen content was rumored to be going. Thats the exact kind of thing I am wondering about too.

We definitely don't know for sure, I'm only speculating based on the critters they revealed earlier this week - Assuming they'll be appearing in that long stretch where the laughing place music played before the second drop, if not the laughing place itself which was pretty sparsely populated aside from some turtles, weasels and the br'ers themselves.

 

[TheOrangeBird01]

It's been YEARS since I've been on these forums, but I wanted to come back today to share in the excitement with everyone. These animatronics looks GORGEOUS, absolutely breathtaking and I cannot wait to see everything implemented within the attraction.

I watched ride throughs today of both WDW and DL Splash Mountains and it got me even more hyped for Tiana. I'm in the camp that it was time for an update and it really looks like they are going to deliver.