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

[LittleBuford]

The original design had the stump replaced with Mama Odie’s treehouse.

I much preferred the original design. I still can't say that the current version looks bland, however. It's whimsical and colourful.

 

[FettFan]

It's whimsical and colourful.

So are these little babies:

But they’re still bland as hell.

 

[FettFan]

It is going to be a bit more work possibly when they get to the base of that tree. I have a pic of Imagineering installing it.

Ooh. Care to share????

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Not according to the model, which just features a bland hilltop.

I can't help but wonder where these types of complaints were when Disney built this on the other side of the park:

 

[Epcot82Guy]

That picture actually defines the likely intent. Splash's original design calls attention to the peak of the mountain and uses visual cues (i.e. the stump and its taper) to draw the eye up and give more illusion of height. 7DMT is geared toward kids, so the design is more horizontal, minimizing the drops and height. I can't know for sure, but that is likely the intent with Tiana Mountain, too. That doesn't mean it isn't themed. But, it is being minimized. The design seems clear the attention is NOT on the drop, at least not in the way it was for Splash Mountain. The Water Tower and its crown are likely also used to distract the eye from the drop as well (vs. the cartoon peril of a tall mountain into an oversized briar patch).

Regardless of my thoughts on their overwrought stories, these are artists and designers. So, design principles are definitely coming into play with intention.

 

[LittleBuford]

I’m not convinced by the claim repeatedly made here that they’re trying to disguise or minimise the drop. The hill still looks pretty high to me in the model and concept art below:

 

[Tha Realest]

I can't help but wonder where these types of complaints were when Disney built this on the other side of the park:

View attachment 709209

Yes, but 7DMT didn’t replace an iconic attraction with an existing shape that’s been..reshaped.

 

[MisterPenguin]

That stump added the illusion of height.

People complain there are no mountains in LA.

So, the architecture is changed to make it look less mountainous.

So... why would anyone *want* there to an illusion of height?

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I’m not convinced by the claim repeatedly made here that they’re trying to disguise or minimise the drop. The hill still looks pretty high to me in the model and concept art below:

I actually think that picture highlights it perfectly. While this is obviously stylized, the eye is drawn directly to the water tower. Compare that to the same picture on the original Splash, and your eye is drawn to the apex of the hill. There's only so much you can do with the physical hill, of course. So, it's going to look like a 50 foot drop. But, in this design, it's clear they are trying to at least share focus elsewhere if not divert focus elsewhere. In Walt's speak, the Weenie here is attempting to be the water tower (though I might say it's multiple competing weenies, personally). The original design made the hill the clear singular weenie.

 

[LittleBuford]

I actually think that picture highlights it perfectly. While this is obviously stylized, the eye is drawn directly to the water tower. Compare that to the same picture on the original Splash, and your eye is drawn to the apex of the hill. There's only so much you can do with the physical hill, of course. So, it's going to look like a 50 foot drop. But, in this design, it's clear they are trying to at least share focus elsewhere if not divert focus elsewhere. In Walt's speak, the Weenie here is attempting to be the water tower (though I might say it's multiple competing weenies, personally). The original design made the hill the clear singular weenie.

My eye is drawn to the water gushing from the drop, but I realise it’s subjective. I guess we’ll all have a better sense of what impression it will give once they actually complete the overhaul.

 

[LittleBuford]

People complain there are no mountains in LA.

So, the architecture is changed to make it look less mountainous.

So... why would anyone *want* there to an illusion of height?

I would have preferred Mama Odie’s treehouse. I’m not looking for topographical accuracy at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

My eye is drawn to the water gushing from the drop, but I realise it’s subjective. I guess we’ll all have a better sense of what impression it will give once they actually complete the overhaul.

Yes. And, one are where I think we will likely agree is this in reality. I think the drop will be far more prominent in real life. I still stand by my opinion on their intent. But, I think your view will more likely be the reality after it is built.

 

[LittleBuford]

Yes. And, one are where I think we will likely agree is this in reality. I think the drop will be far more prominent in real life. I still stand by my opinion on their intent. But, I think your view will more likely be the reality after it is built.

To be clear, I agree they’re trying to make it look less like a mountain—they’ve told us it’s a salt dome, after all—but I disagree with the idea that they’re trying to make it look less thrilling and more suitable for little kids.

 

[FettFan]

People complain there are no mountains in LA.

So, the architecture is changed to make it look less mountainous.

So... why would anyone *want* there to an illusion of height?

After all the talk about Weenies?

 

[FettFan]

To be clear, I agree they’re trying to make it look less like a mountain—they’ve told us it’s a salt dome, after all—but I disagree with the idea that they’re trying to make it look less thrilling and more suitable for little kids.

The real kicker is that the salt dome they took inspiration from is 1500 feet below a slight incline.

Because of the 2-mile diameter, one could walk right over it without knowing what it was.

 

[Disstevefan1]

It doesn't matter.

The only real task was to erase Splash Mountain and they are achieving that.

 

[LittleBuford]

The real kicker is that the salt dome they took inspiration from is 1500 feet below a slight incline.

Because of the 2-mile diameter, one could walk right over it without knowing what it was.

You don’t have to convince me of the absurdity of their attempts at justifying the elevation. It’s something they shouldn’t have given a second thought.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I actually think that picture highlights it perfectly. While this is obviously stylized, the eye is drawn directly to the water tower. Compare that to the same picture on the original Splash, and your eye is drawn to the apex of the hill. There's only so much you can do with the physical hill, of course. So, it's going to look like a 50 foot drop. But, in this design, it's clear they are trying to at least share focus elsewhere if not divert focus elsewhere. In Walt's speak, the Weenie here is attempting to be the water tower (though I might say it's multiple competing weenies, personally). The original design made the hill the clear singular weenie.

This really isn't stylized - it's from the digital scale model of the new attraction. There may be minor differences between this and the finished product, but something like this should be taken much more as gospel than the average piece of concept art.

 

[DavidDL]

The idea of trying to use the size of real life Louisiana salt domes or the state's actual geography in an attempt to somehow discredit the upcoming attraction seems silly to me. If you're going to be using that logic on an attraction in the Magic Kingdom, then you also need to apply the same to Splash and be upset that real life animals don't sing, talk or dance.

That isn't to say it's impossible to upset ones suspension of disbelief when designing an attraction but I can't imagine what Disney has designed thus far for Tiana's will remove that many Guests from the moment. Maybe there will be a handful of folks who ride and say, "That was fun and all but you know what? Salt domes and Louisiana aren't like that" to their families and friends afterwards but I'd wager that's a "loss" Disney is willing to take here.

 

[LittleBuford]

The idea of trying to use the size of real life Louisiana salt domes or the state's actual geography in an attempt to somehow discredit the upcoming attraction seems silly to me. If you're going to be using that logic on an attraction in the Magic Kingdom, then you also need to apply the same to Splash and be upset that real life animals don't sing, talk or dance.

To be fair, the Imagineers opened the door to this sort of criticism by trying to justify the attraction's height in the first place. It should never have been an issue. As you say, who needs realism in the Magic Kingdom?