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

[Chomama]

So the disabled get a sub-par, incomplete experience?

No less than anyone is wing lightning lane? We used regular queue and had no clue what the story was. I will say the regular queue was visually interesting. Much better than splash queue but

 

[Brer Oswald]

See, I enjoy rides that start the storytelling in the queue. I know line-skipping can threaten that (I’ve only seen the queue for FoP once!), so that affects what they can and maybe should do.

I also think there’s a fine line between a themed queue that merely “sets the stage” for the story (Splash, Everest, etc.) and one that introduces key elements that help make the ride make sense (Indy, FoP, etc.).

I don't think it's a bad strategy at all. Splash did it as well. But Splash also set up the story and introduced the characters on the ride. It was impossible to miss unless you chose to ignore it.

With Tiana, it's not so much the story that will confuse. It's the characters that aren't formally introduced. For us Disney fanatics, we know it all going in. For some general folks, especially kids, I see how they might be confused.

I suspect most know of Louis and Princess Tiana, but many will question the outfit change. The new critters are not introduced/referred to by name at all on the ride, not that it's necessarily an issue. I think Mama Odie is the biggest one though. If you haven't watched the movie, you probably don't know who she is or who she's affiliated with. I saw a POV from ResortTV1 and their kid pointed at Odie saying "Who's that? Is she the bad guy?". And quite frankly, I am not surprised at how someone would come to that conclusion with zero context given. She randomly shrinks you halfway through the ride, then tosses you over the scary waterfall whilst cackling at you.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Some of this video was featured in the broken animatronics vid but it still is a good one to look at:



- This POV showcased the nature sounds during that long stretch to Tiana on the stump well. I really like what they did with that audio, the clearer POVs I hear the more I like the music direction of this attraction, minus disembodied Tiana and Ray voices.

- There’s a long log jam, and it really shows how little these scenes have going on after they’ve been triggered.

I’m not judging the animatronic/sync issues too much yet since this is still a technical rehearsal. It’s not a great look for Disney but it’s understandable from a practical perspective.

The instrumental music is the one thing I can confidently give credit to. It doesn't hold a candle to either version of Splash, but it is pretty great on it's own. Unlike other elements of the ride, I think this truly can be appreciated without direct comparisons to the prior attraction, and I look forward to listening to higher quality rips in the future.

 

[co10064]

I don't think it's a bad strategy at all. Splash did it as well. But Splash also set up the story and introduced the characters on the ride. It was impossible to miss unless you chose to ignore it.

With Tiana, it's not so much the story that will confuse. It's the characters that aren't formally introduced. For us Disney fanatics, we know it all going in. For some general folks, especially kids, I see how they might be confused.

I suspect most know of Louis and Princess Tiana, but many will question the outfit change. The new critters are not introduced/referred to by name at all on the ride, not that it's necessarily an issue. I think Mama Odie is the biggest one though. If you haven't watched the movie, you probably don't know who she is or who she's affiliated with. I saw a POV from ResortTV1 and their kid pointed at Odie saying "Who's that? Is she the bad guy?". And quite frankly, I am not surprised at how someone would come to that conclusion with zero context given. She randomly shrinks you halfway through the ride, then tosses you over the scary waterfall whilst cackling at you.

Great points. I watched the POV with someone who had never seen The Princess and the Frog, and he mostly followed the attraction’s story until Mama Odie was introduced (on the screen before the dip drop), when he had to ask me what was going on/who she was.

 

[co10064]

These are fundamentally different things. Starcruiser had its own price of admission, and people invited for free were indeed less capable of doing a true cost-benefit analysis because it cost them nothing (which many noted in their reviews). Tiana is part of regular admission. There’s no extra layer that significantly separates the experience of an invited, publication-employed reviewer from that of a standard guest.

Except the difference is that the reviewers still get exclusive/early access (sometimes paired with behind-the-scenes tours, visits with Imagineers, free meals, etc.) and if they are critical of Disney, they risk losing that for the next Disney media event. It doesn’t matter if the reviewer is a journalist or an influencer—the experience is the same.

*One caveat is those who attended a Cast Member preview rather than an official media event

 

[_caleb]

Again, the backstory has nothing to do with the narrative weakness that I and others have pointed out.

I’m confused. I didn’t think I was disagreeing with you at all, but it seems like you thought I was? I just meant that some folks were seeing the queue as the setup that helped make the ride make more sense. Sounds like you disagree with them?

 

[_caleb]

Crazy concept - People just want to ride a ride without memorizing a textbook sized backstory

I imagine the backstory isn’t necessary to enjoy the ride, but something that can add a little fun for those who get into that sort of thing. Like when they added the S.E.A. backstories to several attractions—not necessary, but fun for some.

 

[SilentWindODoom]

Oh we’re already blaming the “marketing” are we? The attraction’s not even open to the public yet!

Everyone spent months complaining about how terrible the marketing was. It caaaaan't now be suggested anyone who says such is finding excuses.

 

[SuddenStorm]

The pacing on this ride is all over the place.



I mean, you place 'high energy' vignettes (if we can even call it that) of bands performing- then nothing before the dip drop. Just Tiana awkwardly sitting to the sound of crickets until your log gets close enough to trigger her telling us to keep exploring. It's like any energy they had just deflates.

But worse, I don't think any of the plot elements read visually.

Disney used to be able to create compelling set pieces with gags that read instantly- Pirates and Mansion are chock full of them. Splash's set pieces reinforced the story they were trying to tell. This ride doesn't have any of that- which is probably why they had to add banners everywhere to tell us what's happening.

 

[Kirby86]

I saw Princess and the Frog and I'm wondering what Mama Odie is doing in the ride. Honestly that whole shrinking thing is weird. Mama Odie shrinks us because the Imagineers needed to reuse the laughing place set , Tiana tells Luis she has to find us since we shrunk, then Tiana and Luis forget about us when they see the musical frogs. I assume Tiana leaves since she has to rehearse, again not to worried about where we were aperently. That middle section up to the drop is so odd.

 

[Professortango1]

These are fundamentally different things. Starcruiser had its own price of admission, and people invited for free were indeed less capable of doing a true cost-benefit analysis because it cost them nothing (which many noted in their reviews). Tiana is part of regular admission. There’s no extra layer that significantly separates the experience of an invited, publication-employed reviewer from that of a standard guest.

Many of these folks are being allowed to ride the attraction early and also sit in private logs for taping and such. They are being given a privileged experience and not part of general admission. I wouldn't be surprised if many of the invited guests are also let into MK without a ticket or anything.

Special access is still worth considering when responding to people's coverage of the attraction. Privilege breeds loyalty.

 

[LittleBuford]

I’m confused. I didn’t think I was disagreeing with you at all, but it seems like you thought I was? I just meant that some folks were seeing the queue as the setup that helped make the ride make more sense. Sounds like you disagree with them?

I understood you to be saying that criticisms of the ride’s story were unjustified coming from those who weren’t taking the queue backstory into account. My point is that nothing in that backstory mitigates the major narrative issues that people have pointed to in the ride itself, particularly the lack of tension in the lead-up to the drop.

 

[LittleBuford]

The complaints that the story isn't explained or set up in any way.

That certainly hasn’t been my complaint, nor has it been the loudest complaint voiced by others. The basic premise—that Tiana and Louis are in search of critter band members for her party that night—is actually pretty easy to understand and needs very little set-up. It’s what happens after we begin our journey that could use some fleshing out and tonal variety.

 

[Ayla]

Oh we’re already blaming the “marketing” are we? The attraction’s not even open to the public yet!

We've been talking about the marketing angle since the first information was released.

 

[gerarar]

The ride has not started cycling yet as of the time the article was written.

 

[monothingie]

The ride has not started cycling yet as of the time the article was written.

It was a "necessary downgrade". So no complaints from anyone.

 

[JohnD]

Some of this video was featured in the broken animatronics vid but it still is a good one to look at:



- This POV showcased the nature sounds during that long stretch to Tiana on the stump well. I really like what they did with that audio, the clearer POVs I hear the more I like the music direction of this attraction, minus disembodied Tiana and Ray voices.

- There’s a long log jam, and it really shows how little these scenes have going on after they’ve been triggered.

I’m not judging the animatronic/sync issues too much yet since this is still a technical rehearsal. It’s not a great look for Disney but it’s understandable from a practical perspective.

Wow! I didn't know that the Maleficent dragon was part of the ride!

 

[Tha Realest]

Wow! I didn't know that the Maleficent dragon was part of the ride!
View attachment 791381

Finally, an antagonist!

 

[Ayla]

The ride has not started cycling yet as of the time the article was written.

Is there a reason they need 12 CM's to tell people it isn't running??

 

[aladdin2007]

Is there a reason they need 12 CM's to tell people it isn't running??

was thinking the same, nothing else to do I guess with it down.