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

[Incomudro]

I know this is wading into controversial territory, but...

I agree that this could have worked a lot better if they had of basically listened to Tony Baxter's description of how the plot of the original Splash worked to build up and relieve tension and then designed a PatF story with the same story beats. One of the reasons I think they did not do this is because they wanted this to be a much lighter attraction specifically to appeal to PatF's younger fans.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but I really feel that the big drop was more an obstacle or challenge for the designers of this ride rather than a feature because there is no way you would design a PatF-themed attraction from scratch that had such a big thrill element with the potential to scare younger children.

Disney needs to get over the idea that giving kids a thrill/scare is a bad thing.
So do parents of kids.
The whole basis of their animated classics revolved around overcoming such a thing.
It's the journey, reward, growth of conquering such a thing that worked so well.
And conquering a "scary" ride does that too.
I remember the feeling very well with my son's at Expedition Everest for instance when they were perhaps 8 years old: "Whoa, are we up for this?" I still have the picture on my bedroom wall.
And going down Summit Plummet.
We (my son's are twins) didn't do it the first year, but the next year we did it!
I remember how they came up to my wife and cheered "We did Summit Plummet!" So thrilled!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I’ve got a feeling this will hit different when experiencing in person.

None of the criticisms had anything to do with the video.

1. There’s no story/suspense in the ride
2. They don’t have enough AAs/characters in the scenes
3. It doesn’t make any sense.
4. It’s a bad use of PATF

But have fun believing all that “experiency” stuff they pump relentlessly…it’s not like you were cancelling the next trip or anything

 

[Surferboy567]

I think I understand why DL enclosed their Slippin Falls now. That transition from daytime into the dark bayou is a little weird and there’s some odd light bleed going in.

That was a minor issue with Splash too but it didn’t matter as much since the show scenes were in the daytime too.

Ah, that makes sense

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Disney needs to get over the idea that giving kids a thrill/scare is a bad thing.
So do parents of kids.
The whole basis of their animated classics revolved around overcoming such a thing.
It's the journey, reward, growth of conquering such a thing that worked so well.
And conquering a "scary" ride does that too.
I remember the feeling very well with my son's at Expedition Everest for instance when they were perhaps 8 years old: "Whoa, are we up for this?" I still have the picture on my bedroom wall.
And going down Summit Plummet.
We (my son's are twins) didn't do it the first year, but the next year we did it!
I remember how the came up to my wife and cheered "We did Summit Plummet!" So thrilled!

Summit plummet is a bad example…the park is never open so NOBODY has to worry about that anymore

 

[Starship824]

Nah…this has been going on for quite sometime

Everytime something doesn’t go well…it’s either silence or shade thrown at the audience

Far too many high profile examples.

Ok, name one in the last five years in the parks specifically, yes I know there a few examples on the studio side, but where is this "blaming the fans" because I haven't seen it recently.

 

[shambolicdefending]

I’ve got a feeling this will hit different when experiencing in person.

I suspect it may actually be worse in person. Most people will ride it in daytime when the cool exterior effects aren't visible. And in person you won't be able to screen cut through the empty parts.

 

[dreamfinding]

That lighting package is what should be around Pandora more

The lighting package that guests never see because the park closes at 7 PM?

 

[shambolicdefending]

Disney needs to get over the idea that giving kids a thrill/scare is a bad thing.
So do parents of kids.
The whole basis of their animated classics revolved around overcoming such a thing.
It's the journey, reward, growth of conquering such a thing that worked so well.
And conquering a "scary" ride does that too.
I remember the feeling very well with my son's at Expedition Everest for instance when they were perhaps 8 years old: "Whoa, are we up for this?" I still have the picture on my bedroom wall.
And going down Summit Plummet.
We (my son's are twins) didn't do it the first year, but the next year we did it!
I remember how they came up to my wife and cheered "We did Summit Plummet!" So thrilled!

The emotional complexity of the original is a big reason this ride became so iconic, IMO. Having my dad drag me through the queue and force me to ride it (as only a wise, caring dad can) is a low-key formative memory of my childhood. I will never forget the feeling of triumph I had when I survived the big drop the first time.

I got to recapture that moment every time I rode it later in life, including with my own kids who were anxious and scared the first time.

I'm afraid the TBA sanitization has ruined the riders' ability to create that same level of emotional experience.

 

[docnabox]

I decided to sit through watching the ride through video one more time to make sure I was not being overly harsh in my initial assessments and criticisms. Sadly, I was not. To use a New Orleans themed metaphor, this attraction has all the charm and appeal of a baked beignet rolled in artificial sweetener. There is no flavor, the consistency is all wrong and after you are done with it, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

 

[Incomudro]

The more I think of the plot for the attraction, the more confused I get. Looking in a bayou for musicians doesn't make sense to me as a story for a Princess and the Frog ride. I thought Louis was a unique circumstance, so wouldn't it be easier to find a human band? Maybe I missed the backstory and Tiana planned the party too late, so all the human musicians were booked at other Mardi Gras parties already.

I also started to think of what it'd be like if this is what they used as a plot for something like the Little Mermaid. For most of the ride the only characters are Ariel, Sebastian and random sea creatures. Let's find some ocean animals to play in Sebastian's concert. There is no Ursula anywhere. Maybe you see King Triton using some magic to make you smaller for some ridiculous reason and you pick up some musical shrimp, then voila, you are ready to get big again for the concert and finally get to see the rest of the characters in the finale. I find the idea lame.

I don't understand why they didn't use the plot of the movie. If they were doing a classic ride from scratch for Tiana, it wouldn't be nearly 10 minutes. It'd probably be closer to 3 or 4. The frog thing wouldn't be that big of a problem because they could still include at least 3 human animatronics of Tiana in different dresses: an "Almost There" scene, Charlotte's party where she meets Naveen, and a big finale in her classic green princess dress. They could also have a Dr. Facilier scene and a scene where Tiana and Naveen are frogs falling in love in the bayou. It's all from the movie and would've made a wonderful dark ride for families. We don't have enough of those.

I still think that this was the wrong property for Splash's bones, it shows with how contrived the story is, but they can't undo that decision. They should be thinking of a plan B now though to improve what was delivered.

I said this once a while back: I imagine that a good portion of the fans (young and old) of Tiana and PatF are going to be puzzled by this ride.
Imagine say a little girl who wants to go on "The Tiana ride?"
Imagine what she expects, because she knows and loves the movie?
Now look at her ride experience: Tiana in a safari get up, no Dr. Facilier, Naveen at the very end.
Essentially none of the beats that she knows from the film are hit.

 

[monothingie]

Ok, name one in the last five years in the parks specifically, yes I know there a few examples on the studio side, but where is this "blaming the fans" because I haven't seen it recently.

I don’t think Disney Parks has failed on this level in recent memory. The context for the ride replacement is based on spicy issues. I don’t think it’s a leap to believe that in order to quiet the negative noise, some type of clap back against the poor reaction will occur since they have no problem doing the same with their other properties.

 

[dreamfinding]

I said this once a while back: I imagine that a good portion of the fans (young and old) of Tiana and PatF are going to be puzzled by this ride.
Imagine say a little girl who wants to go on "The Tiana ride?"
Imagine what she expects, because she knows and loves the movie?
Now look at her ride experience: Tiana in a safari get up, no Dr. Facilier, Naveen at the very end.
Essentially none of the beats that she knows from the film are hit.

When Naveen is present, he’s shoved in a corner (behind Tiana).

 

[Brer Oswald]

They were never ever EVER going to retell the plot of the movie. Tiana is a frog for 80% of the film and that has been a constant complaint launched at the company. It would not look good for the “optics” of this change. We got an extremely “safe” overhaul because that’s what Disney wanted.

 

[Incomudro]

When Naveen is present, he’s shoved in a corner (behind Tiana).

Yes, I see him relegated to the corner.

 

[dreamfinding]

Yes, I see him relegated to the corner.

My question: is he an A1000? If so, that was a giant waste of money.

 

[dreamfinding]

The emotional complexity of the original is a big reason this ride became so iconic, IMO. Having my dad drag me through the queue and force me to ride it (as only a wise, caring dad can) is a low-key formative memory of my childhood. I will never forget the feeling of triumph I had when I survived the big drop the first time.

I got to recapture that moment every time I rode it later in life, including with my own kids who were anxious and scared the first time.

I'm afraid the TBA sanitization has ruined the riders' ability to create that same level of emotional experience.

Emotional investment and eventual payoff.

 

[Trauma]

When Naveen is present, he’s shoved in a corner (behind Tiana).

Where he belongs!

(This is modern Disney after all )

 

[BrerFoxesBayouAdventure]

It’s a real shame we had to go for the safe story since no one could possibly be offended by the story we got.

I'm offended by how terrible it is tbh.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Ok, name one in the last five years in the parks specifically, yes I know there a few examples on the studio side, but where is this "blaming the fans" because I haven't seen it recently.

Last year they tried to blame the heat and Covid travel for a significant decline in attendance in Florida…when the reality is they outpriced their market and turned off people with micro charges for rides.

They continue to try to spin that customers love genie…when in reality there’s zero evidence and it goes against common sense to even breathe it.

 

[shambolicdefending]

Ok, name one in the last five years in the parks specifically, yes I know there a few examples on the studio side, but where is this "blaming the fans" because I haven't seen it recently.

I'm probably more thinking of the studio side, and expecting we may see a similar corporate reaction to this since the whole project is underpinned by simmering social issues.