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

RenDeVieux

Member
To be fair, the visuals may be reminiscent of Mardi Gras in the 20s, when the story takes place. I don’t know that the purple, green and gold color scheme and other common symbols were around at that time.

I agree that the Mardi Gras theme doesn’t seem particularly emphasized though, more like an afterthought.
Purple, green and gold stand for Justice, faith and power.

There really IS a king of Carnival. (That would be Rex)
Historically, it’s never the same person twice…so Big Daddy would have only had that one shot. (every parade usually has a royal court and there are some deep rooted socio political issues if you..forgive me..dig deep enough. How Zulu fought for integration decades before the civil rights movement got me some strange looks when I used to conduct walking history tours in the French Quarter)
To enjoy Mardi Gras season, (January 6th til whenever Ash Wednesday falls) some folks have to compartmentalize.

Since most people don’t understand that aspect of Mardi Gras, Disney simplified it.
 

RenDeVieux

Member
Would you say you’re throwing a Mardi Gras party or a Mardi Gras Season party?

what bugs me is that if this is supposed to be a Mardi Gras party, Mardi Gras is never mentioned out loud but then all the marketing says it’s happening during Mardi Gras. And none of the visuals are particularly Mardi Gras related.

And I know this is trivial lol.

That extra word “season” doesn’t roll off the tongue and smacks me in the face with clunkiness
So the season itself is called Carnival Season.
Happy Carnival is the correct greeting until Mardi Gras week. (I start saying Happy Mardi Gras that last Thursday when the Muses parade rolls)
Mardi Gras party is suitable for this..I’m assuming it’s supposed to be the actual Tuesday as the ride goes
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member

Disney’s Splash Mountain Set to Reopen With Princess Tiana Theme​


Brooks Barnes, Todd Anderson


Black Disney Princess Ride Replaces Splash Mountain and Its Racist History​

The ride was closed last year because of its connection to a racist film. Disney overhauled it to focus on Tiana, Disney’s first Black princess, drawing praise and backlash.

Riders in a log flume raise their arms as they come down an incline.

Disney’s new ride, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, will open to the public at Walt Disney World on June 28.

In the summer of 2020, as a reckoning on racial justice swept the country, Disney said it would rip out Splash Mountain, a wildly popular flume ride with a racist back story.

Some people cheered, saying the move was long overdue: After 31 years at Disneyland in California and 28 at Walt Disney World in Florida, the attraction — with its animal minstrels from “Song of the South,” the radioactive 1946 movie — had to go.

But Disney also faced blowback. Last year, when Splash Mountain finally closed, someone started a makeshift memorial near its entrance — the kind that pops up at scenes of horrific crimes. Distraught fans spirited away jars of the water. More than 100,000 fans signed a petition calling on Disney to reverse its “absurd” decision.

Now, Disney is rolling out Splash Mountain’s replacement, which is based on “The Princess and the Frog,” the 2009 animated musical that introduced Disney’s first Black princess. The lighthearted new ride, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, will open to the public on June 28 at Disney World, with a similar version expected to arrive at Disneyland by the end of the year.


A wide view of a set designed to look like a bayou, with a water tower in the background.

The ride is the first marquee attraction in Disney theme park history to be based on a Black character.


One group of log flume riders entering a tunnel with another group beside them going down an incline.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure uses the same ride tracks as Splash Mountain.

It’s a historic moment for Disney: After 69 years in the theme park business, the company will have a marquee attraction based on a Black character. Disney has spent at least $150 million on the bicoastal project, analysts estimate. (A Disney spokesman declined to comment on the cost.)

“For young Black children, it is, of course, a wonderful and amazing way to show representation,” Anika Noni Rose, who voices Tiana in the film and recorded new lines for the ride, said when the project was announced. “For children who don’t look like Tiana, it is a way to open their eyes.”

Disney has remade rides before, often to howls from devotees, but this particular overhaul is especially delicate. In recent years, Disney has found itself enmeshed in nationwide debates over diversity and inclusion initiatives, with prominent Republican politicians and conservative media pundits pointing to Disney as an example of corporate political correctness run amok.

The pressure has started to die down, in part because Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is no longer running for president and attacking “Woke Disney” at campaign stops. Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, has also repeatedly said he has moved Disney away from “agenda-driven” content.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure could drag Disney back onto the cultural battlefield. Or it could provide more evidence that the debate has moved on.

“Our parks are treasured, and our fans care deeply about how they evolve and change — just as we do,” Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s theme park chairman, said in an interview. “One thing fans always tell me is ‘If you change it, promise to make it even better.’ And I think we’ve delivered on that promise with Tiana.”


Spectators watch an animatronic show with a large alligator and a princess on a stage.

In the ride, Tiana and her trumpet-playing alligator pal, Louis, are looking to form a band.
Image
An animatronic statue of Tiana standing on a stage surrounded by trees and grass.

Out of Disney’s entire character roster, Tiana ranks No. 2 in popularity among Black women.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure uses the same ride tracks as Splash Mountain, and riders still travel in vehicles made to look like hollowed-out logs. But everything else has been redesigned. Instead of a suspenseful story involving Br’er Rabbit’s getting tossed into a briar patch, the new attraction focuses on a Mardi Gras party: Tiana and her pal Louis, a trumpet-playing alligator, are searching for critters to form a band.

Halfway through, the jolly Mama Odie, a voodoo queen in “The Princess and the Frog” and now a “bayou fairy godmother,” casts a spell, supposedly shrinking riders to the size of fireflies.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure also has a pointed new catchphrase: “Everybody’s welcome.”

As he rode Tiana’s Bayou Adventure with a reporter during a test-opening phase, Ted Robledo, the attraction’s executive creative director, pointed out numerous inclusive touches — decorative items in Spanish and French, reflecting the multicultural history of New Orleans; a diversity of music (jazz, zydeco, blues) playing on the sound system.

“That’s a nod to the Indigenous people in the region,” Mr. Robledo said, referring to a Choctaw stickball racket in a diorama near the ride’s entrance.


Ted Robledo, in a green polo shirt, stands in front of the leafy green outside of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.


“It had kind of run its course,” Ted Robledo, the executive creative director of the new ride, said of Splash Mountain.


Riders under a sign reading “Tiana’s Foods.”

The ride’s catchphrase is “Everybody’s welcome.”

“We’re always looking at ways to cast a wider net,” Mr. Robledo said. “With the old property, for a variety of reasons, it wasn’t that relevant anymore. It had kind of run its course.”

“The Princess and the Frog,” about a working-class woman who becomes royalty, was a box office disappointment. Tiana, however, has become crucial to Disney. In consumer polls conducted by the company, she ranks No. 2 in popularity — out of Disney’s entire character roster — among Black women. (Characters from “The Lion King” are No. 1.)

Disney has high hopes for merchandise tied to the new attraction, which expands the movie’s story. (There are two gift shops near its exit.) An animated Tiana series is coming to Disney+ and will continue part of the story set up by the ride.


A set that looks like a dining room with an old-fashioned typewriter on the counter in the background.

Jazz, zydeco and blues music plays on the sound system during the ride.


A jar of red chili peppers and a jar of green jalapeño peppers on a counter in front of a window.

There are numerous touches, including culinary, that nod to the characters’ New Orleans roots.

“Tiana is a modern princess who resonates with everyone,” Mr. D’Amaro said. “She wasn’t born into royalty, but her story of perseverance and pride is timeless. This enduring quality is crucial for our parks’ attractions, as they need to entertain across generations.”

Mr. D’Amaro likened complaints about Splash Mountain’s removal to a prior situation at the Disneyland Resort. In 2017, Disney closed the popular Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a hotel with malfunctioning elevators, and remade it around Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Fans booed — until they had a chance to ride the replacement.

“It was a controversial decision at the time, but by introducing a modern story with different emotions, we created an entirely new experience,” Mr. D’Amaro said, noting that visitor ratings of the remade Tower of Terror soared.


A wide view of Disney’s Magic Kingdom park as seen from the top of a roller coaster.

Of Tiana, one Disney executive said, “Her story of perseverance and pride is timeless.”



Water splashes riders at the bottom of a log flume.

One devoted fan of Splash Mountain said the new ride was “just as great.”

This month, Disney posted a nine-minute video tour of the new Tiana attraction on the internet. As of Monday, it had been viewed 625,000 times, with 10,000 people giving it a thumbs up and 38,000 a thumbs down. The ride “seems to lack dramatical tension and stakes,” Jim Shull, a retired Disney parks designer, wrote on X, based on the video. A smattering of Splash Mountain die-hards nicknamed the new ride Tiana’s Bayou Blunder.

The reaction has been much more positive from those who have ridden the attraction, which is in a soft-opening period.

“I loved it,” Victoria Wade, a social media influencer from Baltimore, said on X on Thursday. “I love how this whole attraction adds more to the continuation of Tiana’s story.” She called the ride’s 48 animatronic figures “absolutely incredible.”

Drew Smith, 21, a self-described Disney “super fan” from Windermere, Fla., talked his way onto the ride during a testing phase. “Splash Mountain was my absolute favorite attraction since I was a little kid, and I’m extremely happy to say that the new ride is just as great,” he said in an interview. “Don’t believe the haters!”
 

DisneyHead123

Well-Known Member
Since the 1890s..yep. Technically, they started as the colors of the Rex parade and then just trickled into being the colors for the season
Looking back at TBA, it seems to me that it probably incorporates these colors to the degree that they were incorporated in the 20s though? (Please correct me if I’m wrong on that, again, hard to tell from black and white photos.) They are subtly there, but those were the days when having a brand new fabric for a dress or shirt made would have been very expensive (unlike today where you can run to Dollar Tree for decorations in any season.)
 

RenDeVieux

Member
Looking back at TBA, it seems to me that it probably incorporates these colors to the degree that they were incorporated in the 20s though? (Please correct me if I’m wrong on that, again, hard to tell from black and white photos.) They are subtly there, but those were the days when having a brand new fabric for a dress or shirt made would have been very expensive (unlike today where you can run to Dollar Tree for decorations in any season.)
I think you probably see it in the outdoor lighting more than the interior. And you’re correct… the colors would have been used with specific purpose. Mostly for the royal court costumes
 

monothingie

Nakatomi Plaza Christmas Eve 1988. Never Forget.
Premium Member
“Our parks are treasured, and our fans care deeply about how they evolve and change — just as we do,” Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s theme park chairman, said in an interview. “One thing fans always tell me is ‘If you change it, promise to make it even better.’ And I think we’ve delivered on that promise with Tiana.”
Spider Man Lol GIF
 

splah

Well-Known Member
So the season itself is called Carnival Season.
Happy Carnival is the correct greeting until Mardi Gras week. (I start saying Happy Mardi Gras that last Thursday when the Muses parade rolls)
Mardi Gras party is suitable for this..I’m assuming it’s supposed to be the actual Tuesday as the ride goes
Thanks sounds like you could have been a better advisor. Point is “season” is just clunky for no good reason, like the banner on the mill.
 

aladdin2007

Well-Known Member
“Our parks are treasured, and our fans care deeply about how they evolve and change — just as we do,” Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s theme park chairman, said in an interview. “One thing fans always tell me is ‘If you change it, promise to make it even better.’ And I think we’ve delivered on that promise with Tiana.”

yeah okay, he is totally clueless.
 

Kirby86

Well-Known Member
“Our parks are treasured, and our fans care deeply about how they evolve and change — just as we do,” Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s theme park chairman, said in an interview. “One thing fans always tell me is ‘If you change it, promise to make it even better.’ And I think we’ve delivered on that promise with Tiana.”

yeah okay, he is totally clueless.
I mean what do we expect him to say? He's chairman of the parks and he's in advertising mode, he's not going to say "yeah this was a swing and miss guys but we'll hit a homrun next time."
 

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
“Our parks are treasured, and our fans care deeply about how they evolve and change — just as we do,” Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s theme park chairman, said in an interview. “One thing fans always tell me is ‘If you change it, promise to make it even better.’ And I think we’ve delivered on that promise with Tiana.”

yeah okay, he is totally clueless.
1718195378842.png


"They did not in fact deliver on that promise with Tiana."
- Disembodied Narrator
 

Ice Gator

Well-Known Member
Because it's putting up screens in an area which could have had AAs. It was a lazy use of space. Does anyone care about the number of fireflies?
No.
It’s not impressive in the slightest and I don’t get why others are pretending it is. As you said, so much more space could have been used for more AAs.
That’s like counting the number of stars on Space Mountain and bragging about it because surely THAT is what will blow people’s socks off about the attraction.
 

Tha Realest

Well-Known Member
“Our parks are treasured, and our fans care deeply about how they evolve and change — just as we do,” Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s theme park chairman, said in an interview. “One thing fans always tell me is ‘If you change it, promise to make it even better.’ And I think we’ve delivered on that promise with Tiana.”

yeah okay, he is totally clueless.
And you think this guy is going to deliver big at D23 and the years to come.

Here comes Lucy with the football…
 

Tha Realest

Well-Known Member
I wonder if the "reporter" who wrote the article has ever set foot in WDW with the tired unwashed masses or has ever themselves watched SOTS?

But hey it's framed nicely so that even if you don't like it on the merits (because of it being a mediocre attraction at best) and still prefer the previous attraction, then you're the “R” word.
Again, it’s wildly coincidental that virtually all of the media have adopted this framing, and they have ready-made quotes from Disney leadership reinforcing it.
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
I don't think it is the number of AAs that makes this feel not as great as it's predecessor but the staging and story telling itself. The plotline is not great, the finale seems somehow much less impressive than the original despite it having more advanced animatronics... And...honestly, they need to go back to the source material... Taking a character a a few years down the road is not necessarily the best idea for characters that are already well established... Like a meet and greet with Cinderella and her children.....Or Belle's Public Library and book shop attraction...
 

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
I don't think it is the number of AAs that makes this feel not as great as it's predecessor but the staging and story telling itself. The plotline is not great, the finale seems somehow much less impressive than the original despite it having more advanced animatronics... And...honestly, they need to go back to the source material... Taking a character a a few years down the road is not necessarily the best idea for characters that are already well established... Like a meet and greet with Cinderella and her children.....Or Belle's Public Library and book shop attraction...
It's definitely an "All of the above" situation regarding what went wrong. AA's are a substantial part of it though.

The tiny number of AA's to me is just one of those situations where it's impossible to seriously argue a contrarian position on. With story changes or scene dressing, there's always the inevitable and obnoxious attempt to claim "it's subjective and therefore you can't say i'm wrong" line to attempt to defend it. Even though most of that is also able to be debunked without much effort. The severely reduced amount of AA's however are an objective downgrade. It's the easiest thing to critique because it's something everyone can see and comprehend as an obvious and clear downgrade, and there's absolutely no sane or rational defense of it. It's a case of objective fact where subjectivity does not apply.
 

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