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

[MerlinTheGoat]

I’m not sure why people are intent on framing Facilier’s absence in ideological terms. The ride takes place after the movie, by which point Facilier has been carried off to the underworld. You wouldn’t expect to see Ursula or Maleficent in rides set after the events of the two movies to which those characters belong. (For my part, I would love for Facilier to make an appearance in spirit form, but I’m not holding my breath.)

Even if you're adamant to defend this ride taking place after the movie and keeping most of the plot they've come up with, there was still nothing to stop Disney bringing Facilier back. There are two different logical ways to do it-

1- Just straight up resurrect him. Facilier's power, or rather the source of his power, is different from Ursula and Maleficent. It comes from his "Friends on the Other Side", aka malevolent spirits in the netherworld who are after the souls of the living. This makes his character particularly compatible with a resurrection. Those spirits dragged him down there in the first place as punishment for his failure. Nothing to stop them from giving him another final chance at collecting souls.

2- If you don't like the idea of Facilier coming back to life, keep him dead but reverse the idea. Let guests travel to meet him instead, temporarily send guests to the "Other Side". Make the final small drop be our transition into the netherworld. The shadow spirits who inhabit it can appear there alongside an AA of Facilier in his skeletal makeup (i'd imagine black lighting would be a stunning way to bring this place to life....or death). With the final lift being our attempt to escape back up to the land of the living, Mama Odie appears at the top to fight off the demons and sends us back into the bayou with the big drop. Hell, if we're traveling to the afterlife, it would even provide the perfect opportunity to justify a cameo from Ray's spirit guiding us up the lift. You can even keep the entire co-op storyline if necessary and have this be a brief excursion you stumble upon when trying to find that "perfect ingredient".

 

[mickEblu]

I am not particularly inspired by what we know of the plot so far either, but I see no point getting preemptively angry about something of which we have so few concrete details. Why not experience the finished product first before forming a judgement?

Not having Facilier/ Friends on the Other Side is unforgivable. Not to say that it’s impossible the ride isn’t good without him but it’s a big strike and when you consider that + the details we’ve heard it’s not looking good.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I must say I am less passionate about Facilier and Friends on the Other Side than a lot of posters on this thread.

This may have something to do with the fact that PatF isn't one of my personal favourites from the Disney catalogue and I struggle to see any of the songs or any of the characters other than Tiana as among Disney's most popular, but a PatF attraction or spin-off without Facilier or his song doesn't exactly seem to me like trying to do an Aladdin spin-off without the Genie. It makes logical sense to use Facilier in this attraction if they want to have an element of threat or danger, but it seems that is not what they're going for here (for example, isn't Mama Odie now going to be on the lift hill?). In that case, do people really love that character and song so much that they it will ruin the attraction if they aren't there?

 

[ToTBellHop]

I must say I am less passionate about Facilier and Friends on the Other Side than a lot of posters on this thread.

This may have something to do with the fact that PatF isn't one of my personal favourites from the Disney catalogue and I struggle to see any of the songs or any of the characters other than Tiana as among Disney's most popular, but a PatF attraction or spin-off without Facilier or his song doesn't exactly seem to me like trying to do an Aladdin spin-off without the Genie. It makes logical sense to use Facilier in this attraction if they want to have an element of threat or danger, but it seems that is not what they're going for here (for example, isn't Mama Odie now going to be on the lift hill?). In that case, do people really love that character and song so much that they it will ruin the attraction if they aren't there?

He’s my favorite character in the film. I’d rather they drop Naveen. Tiana can do better than that duckboy.

The Other Side would’ve looked fabulous in dark light replacing the Laughin’ Place…

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Even if you're adamant to defend this ride taking place after the movie and keeping most of the plot they've come up with, there was still nothing to stop Disney bringing Facilier back. There are two different logical ways to do it-

1- Just straight up resurrect him. Facilier's power, or rather the source of his power, is different from Ursula and Maleficent. It comes from his "Friends on the Other Side", aka malevolent spirits in the netherworld who are after the souls of the living. This makes his character particularly compatible with a resurrection. Those spirits dragged him down there in the first place as punishment for his failure. Nothing to stop them from giving him another final chance at collecting souls.

2- If you don't like the idea of Facilier coming back to life, keep him dead but reverse the idea. Let guests travel to meet him instead, temporarily send guests to the "Other Side". Make the final small drop be our transition into the netherworld. The shadow spirits who inhabit it can appear there alongside an AA of Facilier in his skeletal makeup (i'd imagine black lighting would be a stunning way to bring this place to life....or death). With the final lift being our attempt to escape back up to the land of the living, Mama Odie appears at the top to fight off the demons and sends us back into the bayou with the big drop. Hell, if we're traveling to the afterlife, it would even provide the perfect opportunity to justify a cameo from Ray's spirit guiding us up the lift. You can even keep the entire co-op storyline if necessary and have this be a brief excursion you stumble upon when trying to find that "perfect ingredient".

Oh man, this would have been great. Ray guiding us up the lift is perfect.

 

[Bocabear]

That is a fun idea... I think Friends On The Other Side is about the best and most memorable song from the film...sure wish they were going to use it.

 

[Brer Panther]

Since one of the overarching themes of the attraction seems to be “empowerment,” it’s unclear how he would fit into that

In that case, the villains can be the guys who wouldn't let Tiana buy the mill and said she was better off not owning it because of her "background".

 

[mickEblu]

Apparently the only reason this attraction is going to have lots of animatronics (without projected faces) and a high budget is because Disney was startled by the backlash that followed the announcement. So it's a possibility.

I don't see why they're so obsessed with continuity here. Toy Story Land is supposed to take place in Andy's backyard, but Bonnie's toys are present (at least in Toy Story Midway Mania) and nobody complains about that. Do they really think anybody's going to complain about inconsistency if Facilier shows up in the ride?

Agree with the sentiment but Facilier or his spirit and/ or shadow coming back from the Other Side wouldnt be an inconsistency.

 

[mickEblu]

Even if you're adamant to defend this ride taking place after the movie and keeping most of the plot they've come up with, there was still nothing to stop Disney bringing Facilier back. There are two different logical ways to do it-

1- Just straight up resurrect him. Facilier's power, or rather the source of his power, is different from Ursula and Maleficent. It comes from his "Friends on the Other Side", aka malevolent spirits in the netherworld who are after the souls of the living. This makes his character particularly compatible with a resurrection. Those spirits dragged him down there in the first place as punishment for his failure. Nothing to stop them from giving him another final chance at collecting souls.

2- If you don't like the idea of Facilier coming back to life, keep him dead but reverse the idea. Let guests travel to meet him instead, temporarily send guests to the "Other Side". Make the final small drop be our transition into the netherworld. The shadow spirits who inhabit it can appear there alongside an AA of Facilier in his skeletal makeup (i'd imagine black lighting would be a stunning way to bring this place to life....or death). With the final lift being our attempt to escape back up to the land of the living, Mama Odie appears at the top to fight off the demons and sends us back into the bayou with the big drop. Hell, if we're traveling to the afterlife, it would even provide the perfect opportunity to justify a cameo from Ray's spirit guiding us up the lift. You can even keep the entire co-op storyline if necessary and have this be a brief excursion you stumble upon when trying to find that "perfect ingredient".

This sounds so much better than anything we’ve head from Disney. Particularly #2.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

Thinking about it I suppose it makes sense for Dr Facilier to not be in it if the goal is to avoid Princess Tiana to not be a frog through most of the attraction. I do wish they would Imagineer a way.

 

[ChrisM]

Wait - an exciting and meaningful storyline that actually ties into the movie? Why would anyone want that?!

Clearly what people want is an in-depth exploration of co-op food production techniques and a search for a rusty trumpet.

I'm personally looking forward to the unexpected conflict between labor and management (in a co-op! how daring!) really building to a crescendo as we top the lift hill, only for Mama Odie to magically appear and resolve all issues by dumping a thick legal agreement into our log which sends us careening down into the magical swamp of proletariat utopia!

 

[LittleBuford]

Wait - an exciting and meaningful storyline that actually ties into the movie? Why would anyone want that?!

Clearly what people want is an in-depth exploration of co-op food production techniques and a search for a rusty trumpet.

There’s also Option 3: “The story they’ve revealed so far isn’t what I necessarily would have wanted, but I’m going to remain openminded and give it a chance.”

 

[ChrisM]

There’s also Option 3: “The story they’ve revealed so far isn’t what I necessarily would have wanted, but I’m going to remain openminded and give it a chance.”

I'm absolutely ready to give it a chance! I truly hope it's a great ride and a worthy successor to Splash.

But Disney hasn't really done themselves anything favors in disabusing the skeptics of their worst fears. So until then, let the comedy continue.

 

[The Mom]

Just a reminder from the first page, per wdwmagic:

This thread will serve to update on construction progress, new storyline details, and other details specific to Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

I was wondering how long the Frozen talk was going to last...

Anyway, here's a question: Does anyone have any actual idea of how far along the interior is? There's been precious little revealed about what's going on inside the Salt Mine these days.

 

[RSoxNo1]

That is my issue exactly... I liked the film and characters... I don't need a whole new story into a character that (could have) evolved after story we love... Just like other classic Disney film characters...I don't need a sequel to know what happened afterwards...The idea of being in the bayou and having Dr Facilier send you over the water to the "Other Side" or escaping the "Other Side" over a waterfall sounds like an amazing attraction to me... Ending at Tiana's Palace is great too...but all this gobbledygook they have created does not make sense to me...

One of our biggest complaints on Fantasyland type rides lately has been the book report approach.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

One of our biggest complaints on Fantasyland type rides lately has been the book report approach.

You need a story other than the film for the ride to be enjoyable?

 

[Fox&Hound]

Frozen Ever After takes place after the film and yet we hear all the old familiar songs from the movie but with different lyrics.

I am hoping to hear a lot of the popular songs from the movie even if they have to do new lyrics.

 

[TeriofTerror]

He’s my favorite character in the film. I’d rather they drop Naveen. Tiana can do better than that duckboy.

The Other Side would’ve looked fabulous in dark light replacing the Laughin’ Place…

I agree with literally every word of this.
I've always been irked that my favorite princess is saddled with that ne'er-do-well.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I think there has been a lot of complaining about book report rides on here in recent years.

There are good and bad examples of book report rides, but overall I don't think it's necessary to literally retell the story of the film on which a ride is based. Personally, I would prefer they try and do something a little more interesting than that as I don't think a flume ride is a good medium for re-telling the story of a 90 minute film in the space of about 10 minutes. I know it gets a lot of hate, but I think Frozen Ever After does a good job of taking you through settings and songs from Frozen without the need to re-tell the story of the film.

Who knows if what they have come up with is a good alternative to re-telling the story of the film. However, the fact they are not just doing that doesn't necessarily seem like a bad thing to me.