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

[SilentWindODoom]

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.

The two banners are probably the only way you'd be able to tell there's a party happening.

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.

Two, it doesn't make any sense. We can't hear or find FROGS unless we're smaller than a mushroom?

Nothing in The Laughing Place hinted at a size change. The frogs were the same size as they were upstairs. I don't think it was included just to fit the previous space. I think if anything it was an opportunity to make the frogs life-size while keeping them in scale of what they were in the film.

Long before we saw any footage, I'd assumed Mama Odie was going to throw us down that the hill just for the lulz. She Glindas Tiana pretty well in the film. There's probably an easier way to find the frogs. This is the funniest to her.

Tiana and Louis see us. That's when she stops worrying. She addresses us personally, so she hasn't forgotten.

Three, if it's going to be used as an excuse why they needed to use screens for this replacement or a ride that was screen free then it's absolutely not worth it,

There's less screens there than upstairs. I don't think it was "an excuse" to use them.

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

You know how they usually have games set up while the ride is down? They're there to play Red Rover.

All which was corrected with OTHER videos released within days. So why do we keep harping back to the first Disney video as why everyone hates everything and pointing out it's flaws? It's not the data point everyone is limited too.. so it's limitations have been passed.

Sorry this is just making excuses - give your audience more credit - they are capable of forming new opinions with new information.

Your argument could be 'first impressions...' but instead you take it to the level to believe no one could get past those and everything is flawed because they can't get past that. That's you trying to spin... instead of giving people credit for taking in all the other information.. not just the day 0 video.

I think this is an assumption made by the fact that following videos that showed a lot more caused some to realize assumptions made based on the incomplete information were false while others stayed exactly the same.

I'm not going to assume that those who still say the same thing are stuck on that first video. I will admit that when people harp on things that *have* clearly been addressed and repeat the same talking points no matter what it feels like there is no outside information that can penetrate.

Love his twitter reporting... but can't take any more of that post serious after reading "I wish Disney had kept a simpler narrative instead of trying to combine two or three stories"

I don't think Scott picked up on the story at all..

This sounds like what detractors have said about the missing ingredient, finding a band, etc being rolled up messily together with artefacts of everything being left around.

To me, it’s the need to talk about “lived experiences” with a fictional character.

There's been a lot of talk around here about not dismissing people. That sounds like not shaming others for their lived experiences.

 

[SilentWindODoom]

I admit that I overstated the disconnect between the two, but could you specify which key ideas the queue sets up for the ride? The first Tiana animatronic in any case tells us that we’re on the hunt for animal musicians for her party. Does knowing more than that really change anything about the subsequent experience?

The first animatronic has a number of phrases and not all of them completely set it up. Louis also refers to looking for musicians, but people said that this conflict makes no sense given everything we know about the characters.

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.

That wasn't specifically speaking about you. Although I can understand confusion as the vast majority of comments about the story being about it being confusing or missing, so when you just said you have problems with the story, people think you mean that.

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.

I think we’re talking at cross purposes. I am not denying that the backstory provides extra context for the main story. Some people may even find that context interesting. What I am saying is that the main story itself—with or without that extra context—lacks tension and tonal variety. Experiencing the queue doesn’t change or mitigate that.

I admit at first, I read that you meant the lack of tension as "story issues" the terminology didn't seem to fit. Like when my friend had an argument with people over whether the sandy shores of his center-of-the-continent inland lake counted as a beach. I agreed with him, but when he referred to it as "going to the beach" months later, my brain immediately said "That's not right." Just a knee-jerk reaction, but I don't know any better terminology.

But as I said, I wasn't suggesting you said the story was not reading. Just saying it's a common thing.

The ride has no story.

And the story? Is there a story?

The story is MIA as far as I can tell.

What story?

One question that I have, and I feel silly for asking it-- what is the storyline?

the little story that is there

story doesn't make sense

(whatever story is there)

AAs don’t make up for lack of story.

There’s no story

They forgot the story.

with no story

Story is almost non-existent as well.

There's no storyline.

 

[flynnibus]

What I am saying is that the main story itself—with or without that extra context—lacks tension and tonal variety. Experiencing the queue doesn’t change or mitigate that.

That's not what what you challenged in _celab's post, nor what you asked of me... so I don't think we're talking cross purpose, I think you are moving the goal posts. You didn't critique the story's depth, you challenged why he mentioned the queue in a challenge to opinions formed about the first video.

You challenged why he mentioned the significance of not including the queue in the first video released, and you asked me to "specify which key ideas the queue sets up for the ride?" after calling the queue "entirely divorced from and irrelevant to the story of the ride"

The queue's setup helps introduce the ride's story. The story is still horrible, but the queue is part of the supporting cast for it.

 

[FinallyThereTiana]

I LVE it! Knew Disney would nail it right. Tiana is my favorite Disney Princess. I can't wait to experience TBA for myself!

 

[TheCoasterNerd]

I LVE it! Knew Disney would nail it right. Tiana is my favorite Disney Princess. I can't wait to experience TBA for myself!

"Bot!" "You're just wrong!" "No." "How dare you!" "But... but Splash Mountain!!" "No, but, but, but there's screens!" "But..."
^this site, probably.

All jokes aside, really glad you like it. I love it as well. Welcome to the boards!!

 

[lightningtap347]

"Bot!" "You're just wrong!" "No." "How dare you!" "But... but Splash Mountain!!" "No, but, but, but there's screens!" "But..."
^this site, probably.

All jokes aside, really glad you like it. I love it as well. Welcome to the boards!!

Hey man my "How DARE you" was sarcastic!

 

[LittleBuford]

That's not what what you challenged in _celab's post, nor what you asked of me... so I don't think we're talking cross purpose, I think you are moving the goal posts. You didn't critique the story's depth, you challenged why he mentioned the queue in a challenge to opinions formed about the first video.

You challenged why he mentioned the significance of not including the queue in the first video released, and you asked me to "specify which key ideas the queue sets up for the ride?" after calling the queue "entirely divorced from and irrelevant to the story of the ride"

The queue's setup helps introduce the ride's story. The story is still horrible, but the queue is part of the supporting cast for it.

I challenged the claim that knowledge of the queue backstory does anything to address the criticisms of the ride’s narrative deficiencies. I have been quite clear and consistent in that point, even if you somehow missed it.

I’ve already conceded that I overstated the queue’s irrelevance to the main ride in my initial reply, so in that particular regard, you are right to call me out.

 

[Drew the Disney Dude]

Regarding my "quote" in the NYT article, the article, unfortunately, directly quotes me when I never said those exact words.

I had a 5 minute long conversation with Brooks in person outside of the ride on June 3, and he took notes on our conversation, yet never had an exact transcript of what I said.

I emailed him on June 5 offering a transcript if he wanted a quote, because I was afraid this was going to happen.

I expected him to talk about my experience documenting the attraction, which was the main reason for our conversation after he heard me talking to Ted Robledo, yet that is not what's in the article.

Here's a screenshot of the email I sent to him on June 5:

 

[Brer Oswald]

I find this quite a confusing point to make... because the VAST VAST majority of riders had no clue about the characters in Splash... Most people under 40 probably never heard of brer rabbit before getting on the ride.. and certainly didn't know the tales the ride takes an abbreviated version of.

The story isn't setup.. or even laid out.. it's just more the story relies on constructs and notions that people can pickup on without explicit exposition.

They could just digest the very simple construct of a rabbit.. being a smaller less aggressive animal... being pursued by a fox and a bear... animals known to be predators.. and there are caricatures of those prenotions that play out... the rabbit is setup to be witty and outsmart the dumb clumsy bear and stubborn fox.

The characters presented traits and prototypes people are familiar with.. so it's not difficult for them to pick up and follow them with a few rides.. even if they don't know the actual source material and don't need a real setup.

The ride never sets up why the fox wants to catch brer rabbit... or that the rabbit keeps outwitting the fox and bear.. you just see the outcomes usually of these adventures.. except when it comes to the final outtwitting of the briar patch.

I mean.. the very notion the story ISN'T very explicit is the mask the ride was able to use to it's advantage to avoid scrutiny for so long. The fact the basic constructs of the critters and their conflict can be illustrated and be cute... without getting into their larger batch of stories.

The challenge with Tiana's story is... it's so trivial it's what you tell a baby to excite a smile... "lets goto the party!" over and over while smiling and clapping your hands.

The ride absolutely set up the characters. First lift hill, Brer Frog is telling stories about Brer Rabbit, saying he’s looking for adventure, but Brer Frog thinks he’s heading for trouble.

Second lift hill, you’re introduce to the world of the critters. Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear’s houses are labeled. Brer Rabbit is singing the song energetically. Brer Bear is snoozing. Paints the type of characters they are before you even see it.

The first scene with the Brers, you have Fox scheming about trying to catch the rabbit. He has a book labelled “How to catch a Rabbit” right next to him. Why is he trying to catch a rabbit? He’s a fox. You aren’t going to ask why a cat would chase a mouse.

Yeah it’s simple and relies on preconceived constructs, but there still is setup. It’s told through dialogue, visual cues, musical lyrics, scene composition, etc. I had no pre-existing knowledge of the characters and stories, yet I still got the gist of it and fell in love with the attraction because of its theming on my first ride. And here’s the kicker… I COULDN’T EVEN SEE PROPERLY . I rode without my glasses. Most things were blurry.

 

[easyrowrdw]

Tried for the VQ at 1:00 and nothing. It was closed as soon as it opened.

 

[IanDLBZF]

Tried for the VQ at 1:00 and nothing. It was closed as soon as it opened.

It was only open for like a couple of seconds. I’ve had good luck with the Tron virtual queue for extended evening hours once in July of last year. Heard it lasted for 6 seconds that night.

 

[SilentWindODoom]

I challenged the claim that knowledge of the queue backstory does anything to address the criticisms of the ride’s narrative deficiencies. I have been quite clear and consistent in that point, even if you somehow missed it.

As I alluded to (although my main focus was on that people did make the comment you thought I was suggesting you were making), the queue does not build tension more than the conflict of finding a band. You are correct there.

But the language of story and "narrative deficiencies" sounds more like the story itself is missing or lacking, as opposed to the tone of the story. It's all just a misunderstanding.

 

[LittleBuford]

As I alluded to (although my main focus was on that people did make the comment you thought I was suggesting you were making), the queue does not build tension more than the conflict of finding a band. You are correct there.

But the language of story and "narrative deficiencies" sounds more like the story itself is missing or lacking, as opposed to the tone of the story. It's all just a misunderstanding.

I have tried to be as clear and specific in my criticisms as possible, though I apologise if I left any room for misunderstanding.

 

[tiger04]

Just throwing my two cents in as I was able to ride several times yesterday. It seems I got lucky because even though TBA was down in the morning when my preview was supposed to start, it reopened before 11:30 am and I had no glitches on my rides.

Overall, I thought it was pretty but pointless. The random spaces between character scenes in the bayou were strange as it was just dead space and there was a bit of an uncanny valley element when you saw the Tiana and Louie figures just standing in the distance waiting to animate as you got closer. And each time the lift caught me off guard that we were already there so for some reason it feels shorter than Splash.

I rode with someone who has not paid any attention to the online discourse, nor any of the blog posts about animal musicians or weather vanes, and at the end of the first ride she said “I like it but it’s not Splash”. It just felt like a downgrade and oddly lifeless in comparison. Which is unfortunate.

That said I enjoyed the animatronics when they finally talked to you, and the last party scene was pretty, and I think people will enjoy it. Weirdly I got completely soaked in the front row so that was fun if you want to cool down!

But I just wish TBA had something to make it pop as opposed to just being okay, as I think the bones of Splash Mountain and a new Tiana-themed attraction deserved better.

 

[lightningtap347]

Just throwing my two cents in as I was able to ride several times yesterday. It seems I got lucky because even though TBA was down in the morning when my preview was supposed to start, it reopened before 11:30 am and I had no glitches on my rides.

Overall, I thought it was pretty but pointless. The random spaces between character scenes in the bayou were strange as it was just dead space and there was a bit of an uncanny valley element when you saw the Tiana and Louie figures just standing in the distance waiting to animate as you got closer. And each time the lift caught me off guard that we were already there so for some reason it feels shorter than Splash.

I rode with someone who has not paid any attention to the online discourse, nor any of the blog posts about animal musicians or weather vanes, and at the end of the first ride she said “I like it but it’s not Splash”. It just felt like a downgrade and oddly lifeless in comparison. Which is unfortunate.

That said I enjoyed the animatronics when they finally talked to you, and the last party scene was pretty, and I think people will enjoy it. Weirdly I got completely soaked in the front row so that was fun if you want to cool down!

But I just wish TBA had something to make it pop as opposed to just being okay, as I think the bones of Splash Mountain and a new Tiana-themed attraction deserved better.

How did you ride multiple times?

 

[SilentWindODoom]

I have tried to be as clear and specific in my criticisms as possible, though I apologise if I left any room for misunderstanding.

It's no problem. It's nobody's fault. It's an easy thing to happen. We're all from wildly different places with wildly different life experiences shaping our vocabularies.

 

[flynnibus]

The ride absolutely set up the characters. First lift hill, Brer Frog is telling stories about Brer Rabbit, saying he’s looking for adventure, but Brer Frog thinks he’s heading for trouble.

Second lift hill, you’re introduce to the world of the critters. Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear’s houses are labeled. Brer Rabbit is singing the song energetically. Brer Bear is snoozing. Paints the type of characters they are before you even see it.

Putting names on buildings is not explaining the story - it is introducing labels.

The first scene with the Brers, you have Fox scheming about trying to catch the rabbit. He has a book labelled “How to catch a Rabbit” right next to him. Why is he trying to catch a rabbit? He’s a fox. You aren’t going to ask why a cat would chase a mouse.

Except the real story is more than 'fox hunting for food' - it's about revenge for being outwitted. It's just not told in this exposition in the ride... because the ride is more a brief vignette of several of the brer rabbit stories.

Yeah it’s simple and relies on preconceived constructs, but there still is setup. It’s told through dialogue, visual cues, musical lyrics, scene composition, etc. I had no pre-existing knowledge of the characters and stories, yet I still got the gist of it and fell in love with the attraction because of its theming on my first ride.

I'm sure you enjoyed it - but that's different from understanding the story or even catching the significance of things.. especially on a first or limited # ride throughs. The ride relies heavily on single key audio lines connecting the scenes.. lines many don't even hear, let alone key off of. The story details are there, but hard to pick out in the ride for the casual observer - not just 'those who chose to ignore it'.

The key was riders didn't need the story line to enjoy the attraction given it's cute scenes, recognizable prototypes, family-oriented thrill aspects, and overall breadth of presentation. Basically the ride can sustain itself without the audience even fully connecting with the context or continuity. Relying on simple constructs like humor and established prototypes helps that. It's why most people get off saying they love Splash Mountain, but had a hard time communicating anything about it except for referencing the visual scenes and drops. They get the basics of the rabbit being chased, and escaping.. notable characters.. and that's about it.

Regardless... it's gone now. But let's not take fandom and spin new recollections of what was prior. The story continuity in Splash prior was subtle... and generally not understood by most... but it's excellence was in it's ability to entertain, even without the audience getting a full buy-in to the reasoning or tale being told. HM is another version of that.. where there isn't a heavy need for a 'plot' because its more of a lead through than a traditional story arc. Splash has a defined line of the stories, it's just not 'mandatory learning'... nor is missing the story creating conflict for the audience.

Tiana's has a story.. but unlike Splash.. it creates conflict in the audience because the story itself is kinda aloof.

IMO they would have been better off to lean more heavily into the Mardi Gras lead up and purpose to setup the party.. and introduce the conflict about party being at risk... the audience is kinda left hanging about significance or how there is a gap that needs filling and is thrown right into 'we need to fix this'... but the why and even 'fixes' themselves are kinda conflicting. When you need to key off a single audio line.. you really set yourself up problems where so many won't get that line.

 

[_caleb]

All which was corrected with OTHER videos released within days. So why do we keep harping back to the first Disney video as why everyone hates everything and pointing out it's flaws? It's not the data point everyone is limited too.. so it's limitations have been passed.

The reason I keep bringing it up is because that POV video is what led to a flurry of comments here. People were forming opinions based on it BEFORE other/better videos were available, and there was something of a snowball effect. For many, it seemed that the initial negative impression, combined with previous biases (based on marketing, ideology, expectations, nostalgia, etc.) colored their impressions even of later POVs. This isn't true of everyone, but enough people that I noticed and thought it worth discussing.

Sorry this is just making excuses - give your audience more credit - they are capable of forming new opinions with new information.

I'm not sure what I'd be excusing... I try to give people credit. I'm just commenting on what I saw in the thread.

Your argument could be 'first impressions...' but instead you take it to the level to believe no one could get past those and everything is flawed because they can't get past that. That's you trying to spin... instead of giving people credit for taking in all the other information.. not just the day 0 video.

I'm not trying to spin anything. I'm interested in the response of the fandom, so I'm just describing what I'm seeing.

 

[flynnibus]

The reason I keep bringing it up is because that POV video is what led to a flurry of comments here. People were forming opinions based on it BEFORE other/better videos were available, and there was something of a snowball effect. For many, it seemed that the initial negative impression, combined with previous biases (based on marketing, ideology, expectations, nostalgia, etc.) colored their impressions even of later POVs. This isn't true of everyone, but enough people that I noticed and thought it worth discussing.

Yet you claim to be giving people 'credit' - yet here you outline how you ASSUME their actions SINCE must be 'previous biases' and keep pointing at old data while you don't even know what information they have or have not consumed.

You're going backwards where everyone else has moved on... you should try it to. The Disney POV video is ancient history at this point - it's not binding anyone.

 

[_caleb]

Yet you claim to be giving people 'credit' - yet here you outline how you ASSUME their actions SINCE must be 'previous biases' and keep pointing at old data while you don't even know what information they have or have not consumed.

You're going backwards where everyone else has moved on... you should try it to. The Disney POV video is ancient history at this point - it's not binding anyone.

You just posted a really great post showing how the details in the queue set up the story of the ride. Why did you feel the need to make that post? Why didn't you give people credit that they knew what was in the queue and just disagreed that it had any connection to the ride?

(To answer my own question I assume it's because you thought, as I did, that some folks had formed their opinions without being informed by that information.

I think the POV was a major blunder on Disney's part, as it presented the ride poorly by amplifying some of its weaknesses and hiding some of its strengths. You're free to disagree that the POV was that significant.

It may be true that everyone has moved on, but I'm still getting texts from non-Disney parks nerds who are sharing that POV and saying, "Have you seen this yet?" So I think it's still influencing people's first impressions.