Definitely not the same thing. My point was that I'm sure they enjoyed the thrills and the benefit of being cooled down. I planned a trip specifically to see Splash one last time before it closed, I did enjoy the attraction. But at it's core, I didn't really connect with the characters or the story. Yes the music was fun, but that was about it, outside of the thrill and cool down.
If they had included Facilier in the manner that I suggested a while back (as a spirit who we meet after stumbling upon his grave and falling into the Other Side), it would doubled as a convenient way to include Ray as well, since he would also be a spirit. Ray helping to save and guide us up the final lift out of danger. Big missed opportunity not to include an impressive fiber optic curtain effect for him there too. Could have hit two birds with one stone, but instead they missed both birds.
At the time this retheme was first announced, I do not believe that THIS version of the story was what people agreed to. I believe that there was an approval for a generalized PATF retheme with maybe a couple of different story pitch ideas. But this current version of the ride was not what everyone signed up for when they greenlit it. The old concept art of Mama Odie's boat and tree atop the mountain is good evidence that this was not the plan back then. Also the fact that Tony Baxter was willing to consult on the project early on and endorse it, but departed after they settled on something that he didn't like.
I suspect whoever edited the music just didn't care.
I mean, yes, it was built, it clearly was approved. This is a major corportation with many layers of oversight. Are people thinking there was some sort of conceptual bait and switch here? That would not be a realistic assessment of how these things work.
In terms of WDI's current average spending on attractions? No, it isn't really.
Exactly Splash was “cheap” compared to other projects they’ve worked on.
Well, it depends on who did the baiting and switching and who was on the receiving end, but it might not be out of the realm of possibility that someone was kept out of the loop. Carter and Smith probably knew the most. There have been claims that Bob Iger had some negative things to say about the retheme following an assessment of the nearly finished product, implying that he may not have been keeping up with the details over the past couple years. I initially disbelieved this rumor and was told it was false. But it's clear that not everything I heard ended up being accurate, whereas the people who reported this Iger story were right about a number of things. If true, perhaps Iger was actually the one who was kept out of the loop about some of this project's development. I dunno.
That's not quite correct - for a redesign of an existing attraction, the budget for Tiana's was more than healthy. Looking at rides like Rise, a scratch-build, and Cosmic Rewind, a new attraction partially making use of an existing facility but largely new construction, is not a fair point of reference. Not to mention that those are two of the most bloated-budget attractions ever to exist (And just to say, my understanding is that Rise was closer to $350 Mil than $450. I have no idea where the money went for Cosmic Rewind or how it cost so much more than Rise, whose money was much more visibly spent).
I don't think we know the actual figure no. Frankly, $200 million may be pushing it in terms of what the actual cost was, but it's gonna be hard to say unless Disney ever reports official figures in a press release or in an earnings call.
Disney never confirms official amounts. I did not make up the number, it was posted on here but I don’t recall by whom. $150M seems like a good ballpark though. It would not include both coasts, but I’m sure there is some savings due to shared R&D costs. May bring the total cost per attraction down to a lower number but it’s definetly in the $125M-$200M range for each.
Did you ignore the other poster mentioning a lot of budget most likely being spent getting the “bones” of this attraction up to par before even installing interior scenes.