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

[Disney Glimpses]

In regard to the age of animatronics, my earlier point was that we have much more advanced technology nowadays, and I'd like to see money invested in newer, more complex state-of-the-art attractions. I know it's expensive, but I believe it would be worth the investment. It may not happen since Disney likes to be cheap, but I would prefer them to spend a fortune to ensure that Tiana's Bayou Adventure is a modern classic instead of doing the bare minimum.

Yes, we would all love three dozen brand new state of the art AAs

 

[Ghost93]

Yes, we would all love three dozen brand new state of the art AAs

I could settle for two dozen.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I could settle for two dozen.

And that right there is why Disney is able to gaslight their customers into accepting a cheaper and inferior product.

Remember that the alternative plan to this was much like Frozen. That being a crappy low budget video screen ride with empty hollowed out sets and blank corridors, and a few new AA's (sadly ruined by the facial projection).

Thankfully, again i've heard that there will be both a decent amount of new state of the art animatronics (again still hoping non-projected) as well as seemingly retaining the America Sings figures. It should be noted that the AS figures are capable of some excellent range of motion when in proper working order (see Tokyo's version, or old videos of AS and Splash when it was in good condition). That "ancient" technology still looks quite impressive today and beats the pants of of video screens, no contest. There's a reason why Splash and other ancient AA-rich experiences are still as popular as ever and remain at the top of many people's favorite experiences.

For the record, I brought up the mismatching character proportions multiple times in the other thread. But at the same time, it's still infinitely better than scrapping them all and leaving behind an empty lifeless husk of a ride (which again was the original plan).

 

[MagicHappens1971]

And that right there is why Disney is able to gaslight their customers into accepting a cheaper and inferior product.

Remember that the alternative plan to this was much like Frozen. A crappy low budget video screen ride with empty hollowed out sets and blank corridors, and 15 new AA's (sadly ruined by the facial projection).

Thankfully, again i've heard that there will be both a decent amount of new state of the art animatronics as well as seemingly retaining the America Sings figures. And the AS figures are still capable of some excellent range of motion when in proper working order (see Tokyo's version, or older videos of the figures before they went into disrepair).

For the record, I brought up the mismatching character proportions multiple times in the other thread. But at the same time, it's still infinitely better than scrapping them all and leaving behind an empty lifeless husk of a ride (which again was the original plan).

I would imagine they are going to repair and reskin the America Sings animatronics, maybe Br’er Bear into Louis. And then new brand new Tiana & Mama Odie (maybe) animatronics. I don’t believe Naveen will make an appearance ?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

And that right there is why Disney is able to gaslight their customers into accepting a cheaper and inferior product.

Remember that the alternative plan to this was much like Frozen. That being a crappy low budget video screen ride with empty hollowed out sets and blank corridors, and a few new AA's (sadly ruined by the facial projection).

Thankfully, again i've heard that there will be both a decent amount of new state of the art animatronics (again still hoping non-projected) as well as seemingly retaining the America Sings figures. It should be noted that the AS figures are capable of some excellent range of motion when in proper working order (see Tokyo's version, or old videos of AS and Splash when it was in good condition). That "ancient" technology still looks quite impressive today and beats the pants of of video screens, no contest. There's a reason why Splash and other ancient AA-rich experiences are still as popular as ever and remain at the top of many people's favorite experiences.

For the record, I brought up the mismatching character proportions multiple times in the other thread. But at the same time, it's still infinitely better than scrapping them all and leaving behind an empty lifeless husk of a ride (which again was the original plan).

I don't know how anyone can ride Under the Sea and then say that facial projection AAs are the wrong choice for human animated characters.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I would imagine they are going to repair and reskin the America Sings animatronics, maybe Br’er Bear into Louis. And then new brand new Tiana & Mama Odie (maybe) animatronics. I don’t believe Naveen will make an appearance ?

I initially thought they might do a reskin of Brer Bear into Louis, but I believe he's actually now one of the entirely new ones. At least one of his figures is anyway. I don't know if any of the main Brer trio will be reskinned. We'll see.

I expect Mama Odie will be present too since the final lift hill before the big drop seems to be themed to her home. I'm certain Naveen will be in it as well. He's in some of the official art for the ride (and while not the newest piece, this art is presumably connected more closely to the current concept of the ride than the original "lost trumpet" variant).

 

[MagicHappens1971]

I initially thought they might do a reskin of Brer Bear into Louis, but I believe he's actually now one of the entirely new ones. At least one of his figures is anyway. I don't know if any of the main Brer trio will be reskinned. We'll see.

I expect Mama Odie will be present too since the final lift hill before the big drop seems to be themed to her home. I'm certain Naveen will be in it as well. He's in some of the official art for the ride (and while not the newest piece, this art is presumably connected more closely to the current concept of the ride than the original "lost trumpet" variant).

Ok, I couldn't remember if Naveen was appearing.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I don't know how anyone can ride Under the Sea and then say that facial projection AAs are the wrong choice for human animated characters.

The artists are 100% at fault for the animatronics in Little Mermaid looking like crap, not the choice to use facial robotics. They're also far from the only thing wrong with the ride. The scenery is also rather poor quality and the projections also kind of suck (even by the standards of other rides' projection effects).

The animatronics used in Tokyo's Beauty and the Beast and Frozen rides are excellent. They have superior technology, but it's also clear that the artists did a tremendously better job designing the face skin than whoever was responsible for Little Mermaid's. Hopefully someday Little Mermaid gets an update to bring it up to par with those figures (doubtful, and again there's far more wrong with the ride that also needs addressing).



Also, despite Hong Kong seemingly receiving something closer to a cloned variant of Epcot's Frozen ride (not a clone of Tokyo's), I believe that version is also getting the non-projected AA of Elsa at least. Not sure about Paris.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The artists are 100% at fault for the animatronics in Little Mermaid looking like crap, not the choice to use facial robotics. They're also far from the only thing wrong with the ride. The scenery is also rather poor quality and the projections also kind of suck (even by the standards of other rides' projection effects).

The animatronics used in Tokyo's Beauty and the Beast and Frozen rides are excellent. They have superior technology, but it's also clear that the artists did a tremendously better job designing the face skin than whoever was responsible for Little Mermaid's. Hopefully someday Little Mermaid gets an update to bring it up to par with those figures (doubtful, and again there's far more wrong with the ride that also needs addressing).



Also, despite Hong Kong seemingly receiving something closer to a cloned variant of Epcot's Frozen ride (not a clone of Tokyo's), I believe that version is also getting the non-projected AA of Elsa at least. Not sure about Paris.

That Elsa is certainly much better than Ariel, but something about it is still uncanny valley to me. I think it's the eyelids. They're too big, and therefore too heavy, and therefore too slow. The blinking gives a vague sense that this woman is under the influence of a powerful narcotic.

I'll need to study the Shaman of Songs a bit more closely to figure out why it doesn't give me this sense.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

If they got rid of the America Sings style AAs and replaced them I bet we’d end up with animated figures along the lines of TLM ride with little to no animation.

 

[fgmnt]

The artists are 100% at fault for the animatronics in Little Mermaid looking like crap, not the choice to use facial robotics. They're also far from the only thing wrong with the ride. The scenery is also rather poor quality and the projections also kind of suck (even by the standards of other rides' projection effects).

The animatronics used in Tokyo's Beauty and the Beast and Frozen rides are excellent. They have superior technology, but it's also clear that the artists did a tremendously better job designing the face skin than whoever was responsible for Little Mermaid's. Hopefully someday Little Mermaid gets an update to bring it up to par with those figures (doubtful, and again there's far more wrong with the ride that also needs addressing).



Also, despite Hong Kong seemingly receiving something closer to a cloned variant of Epcot's Frozen ride (not a clone of Tokyo's), I believe that version is also getting the non-projected AA of Elsa at least. Not sure about Paris.

Biggest concern for the new attraction that you can draw from The Little Mermaid is how the whole narrative progression of the ride makes it fundamentally forgettable. This has been my biggest concern with this undertaking; WDI in 2023 does not know how to entertain people on an attraction with an original story, so they book-report it.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Biggest concern for the new attraction that you can draw from The Little Mermaid is how the whole narrative progression of the ride makes it fundamentally forgettable. This has been my biggest concern with this undertaking; WDI in 2023 does not know how to entertain people on an attraction with an original story, so they book-report it.

Beauty and the Beast is a lot better of a book report ride than Little Mermaid at least. Though it stumbles noticeable when it reaches the "conflict", which is shoved off to the side and treated as a brief transitional segment when you round the corner into the next scene. The absence of Gaston and the angry mob being relegated to a hastily cobbled together shadow projection outside a window is an uncomfortable blemish on what would otherwise be a solid book report ride. But another problem is that even the little remaining talent that was still working on the recent Tokyo projects are now apparently gone from the company (hopefully enough of those Fantasy Springs rides were finalized before they left).

However, there are two caveats here that don't apply to Tiana. One being that it's not a book report ride, it's using a new plot that was specifically designed for the attraction. And it seems to be even farther separated from the events of the movie than Frozen's ride was (which was also after the movie, but it still semi recreated some of the film's major scenes). The other is that (as said in the other topic), I was told that both Tony Baxter (and Bob Weis) IS actually "substantially involved" in helping to guide the team working on this. Not just a PR mouthpiece as many people including myself assumed was the case when Disney trotted him out to give his "blessing" to the project.

 

[Brer Panther]

I'm expecting Tiana, Naveen, Louis, and Mama Odie to get fancy good-looking animatronics, but the "background" critters will be more plastic-looking figures that barely move (a la the sea creatures in the "Under the Sea" sequence of the Little Mermaid ride) as opposed to reused Splash Mountain animatronics, like @EricsBiscuit said.

If nothing else, if they're really going to turn the lift hill into Mama Odie's house, I think it's pretty safe to say the vultures aren't going to be reused. They'd be pretty out of place in Mama Odie's house.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

I'm expecting Tiana, Naveen, Louis, and Mama Odie to get fancy good-looking animatronics, but the "background" critters will be more plastic-looking figures that barely move (a la the sea creatures in the "Under the Sea" sequence of the Little Mermaid ride) as opposed to reused Splash Mountain animatronics, like @EricsBiscuit said.

If nothing else, if they're really going to turn the lift hill into Mama Odie's house, I think it's pretty safe to say the vultures aren't going to be reused. They'd be pretty out of place in Mama Odie's house.

There’s no reason as to why they wouldn’t just reskin the Splash animatronics

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I'm expecting Tiana, Naveen, Louis, and Mama Odie to get fancy good-looking animatronics, but the "background" critters will be more plastic-looking figures that barely move (a la the sea creatures in the "Under the Sea" sequence of the Little Mermaid ride) as opposed to reused Splash Mountain animatronics, like @EricsBiscuit said.

If nothing else, if they're really going to turn the lift hill into Mama Odie's house, I think it's pretty safe to say the vultures aren't going to be reused. They'd be pretty out of place in Mama Odie's house.

Outside of apparent reskins of a lot of Splash's existing figures, I think the new critter figures are going to be fairly high quality and expressive. Not the primitive single axis props seen in Little Mermaid.

There was a diagram shown at D23 for one of the new animals (an otter) that points towards a significant range of motion for it. It shows different positions for both arms, at least one of the legs, the back and the neck. Not to mention multiple different expressions on the eyes, eyebrows and the mouth. This character isn't an outlier either from what I understand.

 

[_caleb]

Outside of apparent reskins of a lot of Splash's existing figures, I think the new critter figures are going to be fairly high quality and expressive. Not the primitive single axis props seen in Little Mermaid.

There was a diagram shown at D23 for one of the new animals (an otter) that points towards a significant range of motion for it. It shows different positions for both arms, at least one of the legs, the back and the neck. Not to mention multiple different expressions on the eyes, eyebrows and the mouth. This character isn't an outlier either from what I understand.

Are there any existing America Sings/Splash Mountain AAs that might be used to accomplish this Otter character as depicted?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Are there any existing America Sings/Splash Mountain AAs that might be used to accomplish this Otter character as depicted?

Not sure, but it doesn't seem like it. This looks like it's probably a new figure. Even some of the motions suggested in that diagram seem to be different than any of Splash's AA's (particularly the eyebrows). The other animals seen in the concept art may also be new AA's too. The only instrument playing animals of this size in Splash are a raccoon (harmonica) and porcupine (drums). And i'm not sure how easily they could be refitted to work with different instruments. There is a raccoon seen in the newest artwork, but it's playing an accordion instead of a harmonica.

There's an opossum playing a bass violin (made out of a gourd), but it's significantly larger and almost certainly has a larger range of motion than any of the opossums in Splash. I don't even include Splash's opossums when counting the ride's "true" AA's because their movement is so limited.

There's a rabbit playing what I assume is a "washboard" (using what looks like a license plate as a substitute). One could conceivably reskin one of the rabbits from Splash if they choose to reuse any of those (there were rabbit characters in America Sings predating any of the Brers). But I still wouldn't assume it's reused.

More and more i'm also starting to believe a version of the "inspirational art" featuring a band of frogs will probably appear in the ride as well. Though I believe these are probably new figures too, despite AS/Splash having existing frogs. They're fabricating some new frogs for the ride, and none of these look like they they would work as reskins (most of Splash's are squatting on platforms and don't sit upright or have movable arms like these seem to).

There are a couple of other instrument playing animals in Splash such as a turkey and some alligators. They could probably reuse those easily enough somewhere with little to no change (aside for perhaps some new costumes). They're obviously too large for any of these new critters from the art though.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I personally think the vast majority of the American Sings animatronics — which are rather anthropomorphic — don't fit the aesthetic and world of the Princess and the Frog. Maybe they can reuse the frog (not Brer Frog, the small one) and the raccoon. But the geese and gators and fox-like creatures need to go.

I also don't get this weird obsession with the NEED to keep the American sings animatronics. I was born in the 90s and have no nostalgia for America Sings show. We have plenty of archival footage of the show and the animatronics on YouTube. We don't need to shoehorn them into a Princess and the Frog attraction where they don't belong.

You just said it…you were born in the 90’s, that’s why you don’t want to se the old AA’s reused. Here’s hoping you’re wrong that they won’t be reused and I’m wrong that there will be just a few AA’s in total in Tiana. Unfortunately, I think we’re both going to be wrong but for totally different reasons.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Ok, I couldn't remember if Naveen was appearing.

Yes, you'll float past him in his post-PatF job managing Tiana's salt mine, crunching numbers in his office and singing with all the critters gathered around him about how to stay afloat.

 

[EagleScout610]

There was a diagram shown at D23 for one of the new animals (an otter) that points towards a significant range of motion for it.

Actually I hear his nickname is Two Million Otter and the backup plan for when he breaks is just to leave him slumped behind some bushes