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

[MrPromey]

How is he a problem, and Mama Odie isn't?

A less cynical take might be that it was part of the effort to de-emphasize the thrill element of this attraction.

Which makes sense given they want this to be a "princess" ride.

Keep in mind, this is the company that replaced Snow White's Scary Adventure with the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. (removed a scary princess ride and replaced it with a non-thrills coaster centered around the dwarfs)

And Remember, this used to be called Splash MOUNTAIN.

They've done a lot to reduce the apparent height of this "salt mound" and the final drop, along with it, from the outside. Removal of that tree stump, the change in the vegetation, the addition of both that water tower and the tiara atop it, all help to completely reverse the effects of perspective the facade was originally built around.

Inside, there is a story of absolutely no consequence. Now when you get near the end, instead of creepy looking vultures getting ready for your death as you start up that lift hill, it's a joyous moment with ole' Mamma kind of betraying the drop you're about to go down for reason's that seem to have more to do with an inconvenient ride-system theme retrofit and less to do with the story they came up with.

It seems like they've tried really hard to pretend this isn't a thrill ride - like they were fighting against the show building and ride layout they were given to work with for the kind of attraction they wanted to make.

Dr. Facilier was arguably the best part of that movie. As a character, he was far more nuanced and interesting than either of the leads. It was his "other side" animation they first showed to promote this movie before they even had a full trailer for it.

His absence couldn't have been a mistake or oversight. While other's observations and thoughts may or may not have merit, my take is, they were trying to make this as young kid-friendly as they possibly could to widen the appeal, especially among the spend-heavy princess brand segment.

If only they could have removed those pesky drops and that silly height requirement while they were at it.

 

[Midwest Elitist]

Ok, I'll say something positive: while I believe the lyrics were written by AI with the prompt:
"A happy song about a party, consisting of Tiana from Princess and the Frog. Also the audience is a spice.", I think the background instrumentals are pretty good, but have nowhere near the amount of layers that Zip had. Why aren't they playing the same song after the drop? That was a genius design decision in the original ride, but here they shoved what, 6 songs into a ride that transitioned between 3 pretty flawlessly? The dynamic buildup after the drop, to the end of the ride is gone.

 

[jaxonp]

Disney, get it together.

 

[Ayla]

Ok, I'll say something positive: while I believe the lyrics were written by AI with the prompt:
"A happy song about a party, consisting of Tiana from Princess and the Frog. Also the audience is a spice.", I think the background instrumentals are pretty good, but have nowhere near the amount of layers that Zip had. Why aren't they playing the same song after the drop? That was a genius design decision in the original ride, but here they shoved what, 6 songs into a ride that transitioned between 3 pretty flawlessly? The dynamic buildup after the drop, to the end of the ride is gone.

Utterly insulting to PJ Morton.

 

[Florida Man]

Just checked the Disney video again. The comments are getting even worse if that’s somehow possible.

They need to pull the video, this is going to start to be a massive PR hit.

I notice some bots there also ( you can tell because the comments are all similar followed by a string of emojis ) but they can’t keep up with the outpouring of anger and negativity.

Best thing Disney can do now is pull everything and pretend all is well.

I think the best thing Disney can do is own up to its mistakes and apologize to its fans. I think Dominos did a Campaign like that one time. Like “oops we messed up. We hear you, and we will make this right”

 

[Turtlekrawl]

I intended to avoid POV videos, but couldn’t help myself after seeing all the comments.

Wish I had a unique take, but alas, I very much agree with most of the negative comments.

I didn’t think this would be better than Splash. Genuinely thought it would be close.

It’s not.

This would be a perfectly nice addition to the park, but is a stunning downgrade from one of the best theme park attractions of all time. That is the crux of the issue here, and why this remake has rightfully received more scrutiny than any other in history.

The exterior portion looks like a cruise through a Michael’s or Hobby Lobby.

The plot is dumb, and yet still manages to confuse. The drops are so poorly integrated into the story.

The dialogue is on par with Star Wars prequels.

The music choices and execution are ok at times, but largely disappointing. The epic score of Splash on the final lift hill does not have a suitable replacement here.

The visuals are nice. Certainly not spectacular.

Lacking in emotion.
Lacking in drama.
Lacking in comedy.
Very safe and generic.
Clearly afraid to scare or offend anyone.

Because of the stakes, I believe this is the low point for WED/WDI in my 42 years of visiting.

 

[eddie104]

Please drop the sarcasm and try and give a serious response. I’m attempting to have a genuine conversation and legitimately get your thoughts.

I’m not talking about just the line being long. I’m talking about guests riding it and liking it and that being reflected in the guest experience data that was earlier getting used in favor of Splash. I’m talking about it developing its own fans who it means a lot to. I’m talking about ALL the metrics of success that we use to determine if something hits or doesn’t.

If Tiana’s proves to be successful in those ways, then what? What’s going to be the argument then? What are those saying its a colossal failure before it’s even open going to move to if it shows that it isn’t?

What I’m getting at is sometimes you just gotta divorce personal opinion from the reality of the situation rather than insisting that your opinion is going to be the winner and then getting frustrated when it isn’t. Sure you may never like the ride (though I would hope you’re going to do your due diligence and try it in person rather than basing this all on photographs and a crappy POV video), but are you even going to be willing if the time comes to just finally say “its not for me, but I’m glad people are enjoying it.”

Why are you the only reasonable poster left on this thread?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I didn’t think this would be better than Splash. Genuinely thought it would be close.

It’s not.

And I think this is why it was so ill advised to try this.

You take one of your major park innings eaters down and don’t deliver.

They can’t afford that. This isn’t the universe of energy for gods sakes.

It’s a prestige blackeye. Even if it’s “meh” and has a line.

…and I’m gonna ignore that prequel comment…to spare everyone from me blowing a gasket

 

[zakattack99]

Sorry if this has been asked or answered but do we know why they did not include Naveen? I saw concept art where he was included but apprently he was cut somewhere along the line. Just seems like a weird thing to leave out. I mean besides you know all the other issues this ride has now lol.

 

[The Mom]

OK, I've issued enough general warnings about going OT, being snarky, drifting into politics/social issues, being rude, and so on. So a bunch of you are going to take a short vacation from posting.

Please do not bother sending me PMs.

 

[Florida Man]

Can't use Facilier.Deemed too problematic

As someone who has never seem PatF, can someone explain to me why everyone says he is problematic?

 

[LittleBuford]

Sorry if this has been asked or answered but do we know why they did not include Naveen? I saw concept art where he was included but apprently he was cut somewhere along the line. Just seems like a weird thing to leave out. I mean besides you know all the other issues this ride has now lol.

He’s included in the finale, no? My guess is they deemed it too expensive to create a second Naveen animatronic for earlier in the ride.

 

[Ghost93]

Sorry if this has been asked or answered but do we know why they did not include Naveen? I saw concept art where he was included but apprently he was cut somewhere along the line. Just seems like a weird thing to leave out. I mean besides you know all the other issues this ride has now lol.

I think the lack of Naveen was the most surprising element to me since he was the co-lead of the movie.

One of the YouTube reviews I saw of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, that had a mixed-leaning positive review of the ride, noted that most Disney rides tend to recreate the iconography of their films — even if the rides are technically set after the film like in Frozen Ever After. He noted one thing that might disappoint Princess and the Frog fans is how TIana's Bayou Adventure feels very disconnected from what people remember about the movie. Naveen is hardly in it. There's no epic "transformation" scene where Tiana and Naveen kiss and revert to human form. Tiana doesn't wear her iconic blue or green dresses and is seen sporting an Indiana Jones/Lara Croft/Jungle Cruise-type adventure outfit with a new haircut. Dr. Facillier and the shadow demons are completely gone. Ray is gone and any overt references to Evangeline. Overall it just feels very very loosely connected to the Princess and the Frog.

I've gone through the stages of grief already in terms of realizing the new ride isn't what I wanted it to be. I hope Disney makes improvements to it later down the line (more animatronics, more Naveen, some thrill elements, etc.) but if the ride remains as is it's a perfectly decent attraction. It just doesn't compare at all to what came before, despite the Princess and the Frog IP having the potential to create a ride that was better than Splash.

Maybe if the Tiana movie/series that's in the works ever comes out and is more tied to the iconography of the ride, the creative decisions made in Tiana's Bayou Adventure might make more sense and be less baffling in retrospect.

 

[Trauma]

As someone who has never seem PatF, can someone explain to me why everyone says he is problematic?

No.

Let’s move on for our own good

 

[Trauma]

I think the lack of Naveen was the most surprising element to me since he was the co-lead of the movie.

One of the YouTube reviews I saw of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, that had a mixed-leaning positive review of the ride, noted that most Disney rides tend to recreate the iconography of their films — even if the rides are technically set after the film like in Frozen Ever After. He noted one thing that might disappoint Princess and the Frog fans is how TIana's Bayou Adventure feels very disconnected from what people remember about the movie. Naveen is hardly in it. There's no epic "transformation" scene where Tiana and Naveen kiss and revert to human form. Tiana doesn't wear her iconic blue or green dresses and is seen sporting an Indiana Jones/Lara Croft/Jungle Cruise-type adventure outfit with a new haircut. Dr. Facillier and the shadow demons are completely gone. Ray is gone and any overt references to Evangeline. Overall it just feels very very loosely connected to the Princess and the Frog.

I've gone through the stages of grief already in terms of realizing the new ride isn't what I wanted it to be. I hope Disney makes improvements to it later down the line (more animatronics, more Naveen, some thrill elements, etc.) but if the ride remains as is it's a perfectly decent attraction. It just doesn't compare at all to what came before, despite the Princess and the Frog IP having the potential to create a ride that was better than Splash.

Maybe if the Tiana movie/series that's in the works ever comes out and is more tied to the iconography of the ride, the creative decisions made in Tiana's Bayou Adventure might make more sense and be less baffling in retrospect.

Yeah but is the tv show going to be as widely recognized as the movie?

That seems far fetched to me.

 

[ChesireCat11]

Sorry if this has been asked or answered but do we know why they did not include Naveen? I saw concept art where he was included but apprently he was cut somewhere along the line. Just seems like a weird thing to leave out. I mean besides you know all the other issues this ride has now lol.

From the videos I saw you can here him in the queue talking to Louis and Tiana.

He also says the Spanish version of the safety stuff, you can hear him in this video

 

[aladdin2007]

He’s included in the finale, no? My guess is they deemed it too expensive to create a second Naveen animatronic for earlier in the ride.

too easy to miss, cast off to the side for some strange reason.

 

[Trauma]

So how about that YouTube video ?

 

[Trauma]

From the videos I saw you can here him in the queue talking to Louis and Tiana.

He also says the Spanish version of the safety stuff, you can hear him in this video

Not to rehash sign gate since it’s the least of the rides problems, but every time I see a sign for this ride it just seems so bad.

I’m not fluent in the design language that others have used to explain it, but I can’t tell ya it all looks wrong to me.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

exactly, seems like they purposely under lit the whole inside to hide the fact of empty spaces and then brightly lit the clumps of AA's with saturated unnatural lighting. The lighting along with the sound selection also seems to be at odds. If you were going to create a nighttime mood by making it mostly dark to hide the lack of critters at least add to the soundtrack more audio that allows us to hear what the bayou at night sounds like. I have experienced bayous and the amount of life in one is amazing whether they are visible or not. They failed to create a mood for the environment instead they blast the music and kill it.

I am hoping that it is just terrible videos that are making it look and feel this way and that in person it will be much better.

The beignet cart will be replaced with an official Disney flashlight kiosk so you can find your way when you get evacuated…it’s like they took the darkness from Dinosaur and moved if to TBA…now it can’t run for 96 hours without going down? I guess Bob hired ex-Pep Boys mechanics to do the reopening repairs…