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

[DavidDL]

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?

Fair enough. I had a similar issue with Star Tours 2.0 when the Imagineers claimed it was "Episode 3.5" then proceeded to drop a bunch of scenarios into it that couldn't have possibly happened during that time frame. If they'd of said nothing or tried to not claim any sort of "canon", I wouldn't have given what happens a second thought and it would've just been the "Star Wars ride" to me.

I wasn't aware the Imagineers had tried to "explain away" the attractions height, previously. You're right, it shouldn't have been an issue. Because it should have never been brought up in the first place given the park the attraction lives in.

Still, I think there'd be a handful of grumpy folks out there trying to discredit whatever they build by saying stuff like, "Bayous don't have waterfalls like that", etc. To those folks who would have taken issue regardless, my comments about also taking issue with talking, singing and dancing animals still stand.

 

[LittleBuford]

Still, I think there'd be a handful of grumpy folks out there trying to discredit whatever they build by saying stuff like, "Bayous don't have waterfalls like that", etc. To those folks who would have taken issue regardless, my comments about also taking issue with talking, singing and dancing animals still stand.

Oh, absolutely. Indeed, the salt-dome workaround was mockingly brought up in this forum before the Imagineers announced it as their "solution". I couldn't believe it!

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Sponsored by
View attachment 709180

Paint the water tower…

 

[Tha Realest]

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.

Then why has Disney spent so much time and effort showcasing how this attraction and experience is authentic to the real places in Louisiana, such as the Avery mines? Those are actual places and things they’re basing this on. We didn’t choose them, they did. Are we supposed to ignore that?

 

[Kirby86]

Fair enough. I had a similar issue with Star Tours 2.0 when the Imagineers claimed it was "Episode 3.5" then proceeded to drop a bunch of scenarios into it that couldn't have possibly happened during that time frame. If they'd of said nothing or tried to not claim any sort of "canon", I wouldn't have given what happens a second thought and it would've just been the "Star Wars ride" to me.

I wasn't aware the Imagineers had tried to "explain away" the attractions height, previously. You're right, it shouldn't have been an issue. Because it should have never been brought up in the first place given the park the attraction lives in.

Still, I think there'd be a handful of grumpy folks out there trying to discredit whatever they build by saying stuff like, "Bayous don't have waterfalls like that", etc. To those folks who would have taken issue regardless, my comments about also taking issue with talking, singing and dancing animals still stand.

Yeah one of the Imagineers I think it was Carter herself mentioned in one of the field trip videos where they visited Avery Island because salt domes have elevation in the Louisiana. They were the ones who brought up the "there's no mountains" argument. I think most of us were thinking they would just call it Tiana's Splash Mountain or something similar before that.

This team building the ride seems to really like the word authenticity. So they felt that the mountain had to go. It was a solution to a problem that didn't exist.
As for authenticity it's a flume ride in the Magic Kingdom. One of the concept art shows a rabbit playing a license plate as a washboard.

 

[FettFan]

Paint the water tower…

In John Deere green
On a hot summer night

 

[MisterPenguin]

After all the talk about Weenies?

How many weenies does a park need? The talk I've heard is of a park's weenie, in the singular. Isn't the castle MK's weenie?

 

[JoeCamel]

How many weenies does a park need? The talk I've heard is of a park's weenie, in the singular. Isn't the castle MK's weenie?

Each land needs a weenie

 

[Tha Realest]

Each land needs a weenie

BTMRR is now the sole Frontierland weenie

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ]

One thing this overhaul has going for is it's lighting package.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure as with Tron will likely have lopsided wait times with longer queue duration in the evening and night due to it's lighting package. Inversely and prior to the Splash Mountain's closure, wait times at night were generally at their lowest. One could ride Splash several times before park closing without issue. This overhaul will no doubt "correct that" for better or worse. Early days these will be good candidates for rope drop. Once the initial buzz dies down, I suspect shortest wait times will be midday unless Disney works it's Genie magic to even it out. All said though, seems like riding this and Tron during the day will be a somewhat diminished experience.

Looks like it will be incredible at night.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

One thing this overhaul has going for is it's lighting package.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure as with Tron will likely have lopsided wait times with longer queue duration in the evening and night due to it's lighting package. Inversely and prior to the Splash Mountain's closure, wait times at night were generally at their lowest. One could ride Splash several times before park closing without issue. This overhaul will no doubt "correct that" for better or worse. Early days these will be good candidates for rope drop. Once the initial buzz dies down, I suspect shortest wait times will be midday unless Disney works it's Genie magic to even it out. All said though, seems like riding this and Tron during the day will be a somewhat diminished experience.

Looks like it will be incredible at night.

VQ is and will combat those lopsided wait times you mentioned

 

[FettFan]

How many weenies does a park need? The talk I've heard is of a park's weenie, in the singular. Isn't the castle MK's weenie?

Ideally, every land has a weenie to draw the visitor deeper into it.

Magic Kingdom has the castle itself for the hub and Fantasyland, also Splash for Frontierland and Space for Tomorrowland.

At Epcot, every pavilion has its Weenie, from the Mexican pyramid to the Château Laurier in Canada. Same goes for Future World from Spaceship Earth to the Mission Space planets to the Imagination pyramids.

Hollywood studios has the Chinese theater and the Tower of Terror. (And loosely the Millennium Falcon, although I wouldnt really consider it a weenie except to hardcore nerds, because it feels like a blooming scavenger hunt to find. And even when you do, it’s surrounded by the standby line for MFSR so getting a decent pic in front of it without a bunch of queuers is it’s own challenge.)

(That’s right. I said it. Galaxy’s Edge is a crappy layout that was so up its own arsterisk about “immersion” that it ignored actual concerns over foot traffic. I’ll die on this hill. Disney screwed it up, but that’s par for the course with Star Wars these days)

And at Animal Kingdom, the weenies are the Tree of Life, Everest, and the Floating Mountains.

 

[Brer Oswald]

One thing this overhaul has going for is it's lighting package.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure as with Tron will likely have lopsided wait times with longer queue duration in the evening and night due to it's lighting package. Inversely and prior to the Splash Mountain's closure, wait times at night were generally at their lowest. One could ride Splash several times before park closing without issue. This overhaul will no doubt "correct that" for better or worse. Early days these will be good candidates for rope drop. Once the initial buzz dies down, I suspect shortest wait times will be midday unless Disney works it's Genie magic to even it out. All said though, seems like riding this and Tron during the day will be a somewhat diminished experience.

Looks like it will be incredible at night.

Shortest wait times midday? For a “get wet” flume ride? In central Florida?

That can’t be right.

 

[Brer Oswald]

How many weenies does a park need? The talk I've heard is of a park's weenie, in the singular. Isn't the castle MK's weenie?

“Land weenies” have been a thing by design since 1955. The Moonliner for Tomorrowland. The steamboat in Frontierland. The Pirate Ship in Fantasyland.

 

[FettFan]

Shortest wait times midday? For a “get wet” flume ride? In central Florida?

That can’t be right.

Yeah. TBA will be a hit because of that alone, just like Kali River.

KRR is easily one of the lowest quality raft rides in any theme park across the US, but it’s consistently 30+ minute standby because it’s a cool water ride with a shady queue in Central Florida’s near-tropical climate.

Most were likely to hear from the average (non-purist) guest is “well that wasn’t as good as Splash; let’s get a Dole whip”.

 

[LittleBuford]

Unless the claim is that Frontierland didn't have a weenie before the opening of Splash Mountain in 1992, I think the land will look just fine (to say nothing of the fact that the mountain itself isn't going anywhere, even if it is losing its tree).

 

[Midwest Elitist]

One thing this overhaul has going for is it's lighting package.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure as with Tron will likely have lopsided wait times with longer queue duration in the evening and night due to it's lighting package. Inversely and prior to the Splash Mountain's closure, wait times at night were generally at their lowest. One could ride Splash several times before park closing without issue. This overhaul will no doubt "correct that" for better or worse. Early days these will be good candidates for rope drop. Once the initial buzz dies down, I suspect shortest wait times will be midday unless Disney works it's Genie magic to even it out. All said though, seems like riding this and Tron during the day will be a somewhat diminished experience.

Looks like it will be incredible at night.

You can ride most rides at night without any wait time. It was like 20 minute waits for all the E tickets (except Peter Pan lolololol) when I last went, and that was the weekend before Christmas. The lighting of Splash at night was "less is more". You didn't need things to be lit up like a rave, it would have ruined the backwoods aesthetic.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Yeah. TBA will be a hit because of that alone, just like Kali River.

KRR is easily one of the lowest quality raft rides in any theme park across the US, but it’s consistently 30+ minute standby because it’s a cool water ride with a shady queue in Central Florida’s near-tropical climate.

Most were likely to hear from the average (non-purist) guest is “well that wasn’t as good as Splash; let’s get a Dole whip”.

I think I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; whether or not the retheme is an upgrade or a downgrade, it will attract the same amount of people simply because it’s the water ride of the park.

 

[Drdcm]

You can ride most rides at night without any wait time. It was like 20 minute waits for all the E tickets (except Peter Pan lolololol) when I last went, and that was the weekend before Christmas. The lighting of Splash at night was "less is more". You didn't need things to be lit up like a rave, it would have ruined the backwoods aesthetic.

I’ve noticed that phenomenon. Part of why I get bummed when they close the parks so ridiculously early. I used to love nighttime splash with the lanterns and lighting.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

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.

I would agree that we don't know for certain what is going on in this regard, but my honest interpretation of everything we have seen is an effort to minimise the thrill element.

For a start, they have said quite a lot about the story and backstory but nothing (that I can remember) about how the drop fits into all of this. Indeed, nothing that they have mentioned so far would suggest a thrill ride if you didn't know it was going into the existing Splash Mountain. Considering the drop was the main feature around which the entire story of the original attraction was based, I feel it's reasonable to assume for this version they are at the very least trying to de-emphasize that thrill element.

Lopping off the main element that was designed to make the drop look taller and placing another tall structure next to it reinforces the impression they are also trying to downplay the drop visually.