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

[bwr827]

This is not to say the new ride is necessarily equal to or better than Splash, but I think it is instructive to put these little glimpses of the ride we've seen so far side-by-side with similar glimpses of Splash. If the overlay was in the other direction and we were seeing Splash in this fashion, I really wonder how many people would be thinking it was an upgrade over Tiana.

Guaranteed it would be the same dynamic in reverse; people struggle with change.

“Oh yikes, this new Zippy-what’s-it song is an ear worm nightmare.”

“How could they take away such a lush bayou environment from this land?”

“We used to ride Tiana’s and know that we were the secret spice… now I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

 

[Incomudro]

I mean, it's just a different form of storytelling / theatre.

How that lands for each person is very subjective.

Is it really subjective though?
The old way had guests smiling and thinking about the actions (even in static sets) as they passed by them.
You could tell that the people who created them knew how to tell a story frame by frame - or even within a single frame.
Like the way comics work.
The new imagineers have superior tech at their disposal, but seem to lack the creativity.
It's kind of like how a more technical musician or group of them doesn't necessarily make better music.
If the riffs, hooks, groove, and lyrics aren't there.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Is it really subjective though?
The old way had guests smiling and thinking about the actions (even in static sets) as they passed by them.
You could tell that the people who created them knew how to tell a story frame by frame - or even within a single frame.
Like the way comics work.
The new imagineers have superior tech at their disposal, but seem to lack the creativity.
It's kind of like how a more technical musician or group of them doesn't necessarily make better music.
If the riffs, hooks, groove, and lyrics aren't there.

Yes, all art and storytelling is subjective.

A type of narrative structure you love could be a structure I loathe.

There are no rules, and there is no absolute.

Once I actually experience this attraction from start to finish is the only time I can determine, for myself, whether the play they’ve created works for me, narratively.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I mean, it's just a different form of storytelling / theatre.

How that lands for each person is very subjective.

That's kind of where I am on this. I do get the point that the animatronics seem to be positioned toward the riders as if addressing them, and it sounds like the tact they have taken with the new ride is the notion that the riders are 'part of the adventure' rather than following a story in a more passive sense as on the old ride. So, the ride is probably different in that respect. I still don't think we've really seen enough to say that does not work as an engaging attraction as effectively as the old one did or that it is necessarily a downgrade rather than just a different approach.

Is it really subjective though?
The old way had guests smiling and thinking about the actions (even in static sets) as they passed by them.
You could tell that the people who created them knew how to tell a story frame by frame - or even within a single frame.
Like the way comics work.
The new imagineers have superior tech at their disposal, but seem to lack the creativity.
It's kind of like how a more technical musician or group of them doesn't necessarily make better music.
If the riffs, hooks, groove, and lyrics aren't there.

I think the short answer is that, even if we've now seen more of the ride, we still haven't seen much or heard from anyone who has been on it so we don't really know how well it works. There are lots of different types of attractions that take different approaches to storytelling at the parks and those that aren't like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, or Splash aren't inherently worse because they take a different approach. Indeed, Splash wasn't necessarily better than Haunted Mansion because it told a narrative story in a linear fashion.

 

[Incomudro]

Yes, all art and storytelling is subjective.

A type of narrative structure you love could be a structure I loathe.

There are no rules, and there is no absolute.

Once I actually experience this attraction from start to finish is the only time I can determine, for myself, whether the play they’ve created works for me, narratively.

But if you're a bad storyteller, you're a bad storyteller.
That's objective.

 

[Prince-1]

But if you're a bad storyteller, you're a bad storyteller.
That's objective.

Actually that’s still subjective.

 

[Disney Analyst]

That's kind of where I am on this. I do get the point that the animatronics seem to be positioned toward the riders as if addressing them, and it sounds like the tact they have taken with the new ride is the notion that the riders are 'part of the adventure' rather than following a story in a more passive sense as on the old ride. So, the ride is probably different in that respect. I still don't think we've really seen enough to say that does not work as an engaging attraction as effectively as the old one did or that it is necessarily a downgrade rather than just a different approach.


I think the short answer is that, even if we've now seen more of the ride, we still haven't seen much or heard from anyone who has been on it so we don't really know how well it works. There are lots of different types of attractions that take different approaches to storytelling at the parks and those that aren't like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, or Splash aren't inherently worse because they take a different approach. Indeed, at least it provides some variety.

That's also a point I wanted to make.

Variety is the spice of life. Having attractions with different storytelling mediums is what makes a unique and varied experience.

I can certainly understand if some do not like this structure, and or feel Disney is doing too many similar rides with the same structure these days. But how it works for THIS ride is yet to be seen.

The parks still provide tremendous variety.

 

[bwr827]

That's kind of where I am on this. I do get the point that the animatronics seem to be positioned toward the riders as if addressing them, and it sounds like the tact they have taken with the new ride is the notion that the riders are 'part of the adventure' rather than following a story in a more passive sense as on the old ride.

I was thinking the same - and it’s really exciting to imagine being immersed as part of the story, vs watching some cute scenes. To me that’s next level.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Actually that’s still subjective.

Yes indeed.

 

[bwr827]

But if you're a bad storyteller, you're a bad storyteller.
That's objective.

Bolded the subjective part.

 

[Gusey]

Really, AA’s? Or are you counting the characters on screens? I’ll have to take another look.

All Animatronics, you can see the members of the different bands Located around the house front. The 4 frogs are hard to make out but they are there

 

[Professortango1]

Yes, all art and storytelling is subjective.

A type of narrative structure you love could be a structure I loathe.

There are no rules, and there is no absolute.

Once I actually experience this attraction from start to finish is the only time I can determine, for myself, whether the play they’ve created works for me, narratively.

I mean, all art does have rules. The rules can be broken for artistic reasons, but the rules of that artform still exist.

People can like things which are lazy or poor execution. I know I love many guilty pleasure movies that aren't well crafted. The movies are objectively bad and break important rules of filmmaking. But I can still enjoy them.

I do agree that this feels like if they had taken Pirates and only kept the hero characters, had them singing to the boats in spotlights, and had the rest of the set be dark with some light set dressing. Just Depp saying "Ahoy mateys, good to see you again. Look at these poor blokes stuck in a jail cell."

Another downside I'm seeing is the scale. Splash isn't as massive as Pirates or HM in terms of scenes, but focusing on smaller characters allowed the sets to seem larger and more immersive. These figures are beautiful, but so much larger than they often feel like they are crowding scenes and making the environment seem more cramped.

 

[larryz]

Everyone who shows up is the special spice, as per PJ Morton's song.

Feel the need to remind people that this is "figurative" in nature.

Anyone caught adding their own "special spice" to the cuisine in this area is subject to arrest, banning and federal charges of adulterating food!

 

[ChewbaccaYourMum]

I noticed that while looking at the new scenes. While the animatronics are more ‘impressive,’ I’d still take any old scene over any new one. The old scenes are true ‘vignettes,’ where things are happening and can be observed. You feel like a story is unfolding around you. From what we have seen here, most of these scenes in Bayou Adventure look like a group of animatronics just standing around and gesturing at the riders. From what we have seen, it does not look like there’s anything ‘going on.’ Old imagineering mastered the cocktail party design, where the guests are passing through a rich and dynamic world. Modern imagineering seems set on dropping several A-1000s along the ride path to wave at riders and calling it a day. Yes, they’re using more impressive technology, but to me, the scenes as a whole are less impressive.

We still don't know what the dialogue will be in these scenes yet so I'm not going to completely agree here and jump to any conclusion that I prefer any version over the other yet, but what this post is saying (and some other posters are saying as well) I do agree with not being the biggest fan of the, seemingly, new Disney way of always having characters directly addressing us riders.

The part on the lift hill where Tiana is directly addressing us and I suppose welcoming us looks awesome and I have no problem with that. Reminds me of the awesome Brer Frog being there talking to us.

But it looks like every scene shown also is this as well. The characters just staring at us and talking to us. I'm not going to jump to any conclusions and let this bring me down because, again, we have no idea what the dialogue will be. It could end up being very well-written and funny and makes sense and therefore cause me to look past the "characters always addressing the guests" thing, but it does make me feel a bit bad. This is the thing I don't like about Frozen. It's so boring to me. They're just constantly talking to us and telling us what to look forward to instead of us just seeing them doing literally anything other than standing and talking to us. The part where Olaf is skating around is the best part of that entire ride.

There's SO MUCH more to see in this ride that hasn't been showed yet and I honestly love a lot of everything I'm seeing. I hope the other like 4-6 minutes of ride time has scenes where we're looking in on the fun and not being directly talked to.

 

[larryz]

I really like the new song! I still hate Gonna Take You There though.

Are you ever gonna give it up? Are you ever gonna let us down?

 

[dothebrdwalk]

Honestly, when I think "Tiana", I imagine her in the yellow waitress dress most of all.

Interesting, because I think of the light blue gown from all the promotional material and the costume party in the movie! Thus proving the point, TIANA OWNS MORE THAN ONE OUTFIT.

 

[Casper Gutman]

OK, if we’ve gotten to the point where we’re pretending the storytelling in Pirates is equivalent to Frozen Ever After or it’s ilk, the desire to defend Disney has pushed us so far into relativism that discussion becomes meaningless.

Six Flags is better then Disney… if you like Six Flags better. Yes, enjoyment is subjective, and as long as what you enjoy doesn’t harm someone else, every persons personal enjoyment is valid. Quality is subjective to a certain extent, but the claim that it is absolutely subjective, which always gets trotted out in these discussions, doesn’t hold water under scrutiny. Convincing, well-reasoned considerations of quality and opinions about quality are absolutely possible. If someone feels Barb Wire is superior to Casablanca, we can acknowledge their opinion, but no reasonably informed person would take that opinion as a meaningful evaluation of the films’ relative quality.

It should also be acknowledged that the primary goal of the recent generation of dark rides of which TBA is a part is not primarily “storytelling” but to function as synergistic advertisements for multimedia franchises. We know that this is the mandate - it’s not a secret - and the attractions should be evaluated with that in mind.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

OK, if we’ve gotten to the point where we’re pretending the storytelling in Pirates is equivalent to Frozen Ever After or it’s ilk, the desire to defend Disney has pushed us so far into relativism that discussion becomes meaningless.

Has anyone said that, though? I think it's more people saying they're not going to declare this a dud compared to Splash based on a few clips and the ride apparently having a different narrative approach before seeing more.

 

[JD80]

OK, if we’ve gotten to the point where we’re pretending the storytelling in Pirates is equivalent to Frozen Ever After or it’s ilk, the desire to defend Disney has pushed us so far into relativism that discussion becomes meaningless.

Six Flags is better then Disney… if you like Six Flags better. Yes, enjoyment is subjective, and as long as what you enjoy doesn’t harm someone else, every persons personal enjoyment is valid. Quality is subjective to a certain extent, but the claim that it is absolutely subjective, which always gets trotted out in these discussions, doesn’t hold water under scrutiny. Convincing, well-reasoned considerations of quality and opinions about quality are absolutely possible. If someone feels Barb Wire is superior to Casablanca, we can acknowledge their opinion, but no reasonably informed person would take that opinion as a meaningful evaluation of the films’ relative quality.

It should also be acknowledged that the primary goal of the recent generation of dark rides of which TBA is a part is not primarily “storytelling” but to function as synergistic advertisements for multimedia franchises. We know that this is the mandate - it’s not a secret - and the attractions should be evaluated with that in mind.

I personally think your opinions about the ride's storytelling are downright odd because we have actually... seen the story yet.

 

[DCBaker]

This may be the YouTube link for Special Spice (Music from "Tiana's Bayou Adventure") that should populate when it is released.

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Special Spice (Music from "Tiana's Bayou Adventure") · Anika Noni Rose Special Spice ℗ 2024 Walt Disney Records Released on: 2024-05-31 Producer, Associated Performer, Recording Arranger: PJ Morton Producer: Brandon N. Caddell Studio Personnel, Recording Engineer, Mixer: Reginald Nicholas Jr. Studio Personnel, Mixer: Gregory Morgan Studio Personnel, Asst. Recording Engineer: Trevor "Afro" Jackson Studio Personnel, Mastering Engineer: Daniel Rowland Composer Lyricist: PJ Morton Auto-generated by YouTube.