The “reasoning” presented for Tiana is astoundingly bad. She’s “20th century”, “has layers”, and “has goals and dreams”?? THAT is the best she can come up with?! The words I’d like to use would be censored.
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News Tiana's Bayou Adventure - latest details and construction progress
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
The “reasoning” presented for Tiana is astoundingly bad. She’s “20th century”, “has layers”, and “has goals and dreams”?? THAT is the best she can come up with?! The words I’d like to use would be censored.
Bocabear
Well-Known Member
Owning and running and managing a successful restaurant that is the "toast of the town" is enough...the natural next step is not to own a foods factory and co-op...and it makes for a ridiculous truncated off-model story...then having off-model figures of Tiana, continues the "off the rails" concept...
Brer Panther
Well-Known Member
Like I said, Tiana's story is like onions. It has layers.
Tiana's Bayou Adventure is like onions, too, but for a few different reasons... it stinks, it makes you cry if you liked Splash Mountain, and if left out in the sun it'll likely get all brown and start sprouting little white hairs.
Epcot82Guy
Well-Known Member
We're missing the obvious fix... Tiana's Bayou Adventure with Figment.
It will last longer than the original Splash Mountain.
It will last longer than the original Splash Mountain.
Disgruntled Walt
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
The more I think about this attraction, the more I realize just what a failure it is on almost every front. It's a catastrophic failure for WDI, and it should have every Disney fan extremely concerned about the quality of the future attractions.
I realize not everyone will agree with me on every part of this, but bear with me. I am not just being a TBA hater.
The Concept/Storyline - Most people thought TBA was going to tell the story of PatF overlaid on Splash Mountain's bones. By and large, the general sentiment on these boards (but not my sentiment) was excitement and curiosity to see what modern Imagineering could do with this storyline. I, being my Disgruntled Self, was bemoaning the loss of Splash Mountain still, but even I can admit that the idea of seeing a full-size Dr. Facilier animatronic would be terrifying in the good kind of Carnotaurus-terrifying way. Most everyone thought this is what we were going to get. Instead, we began to have details shared about the plot of the attraction. It takes place after the movie. Ok, so it's the exciting adventure that happens next? Dr. Facilier somehow returns? A different voodoo villain takes his place, perhaps? No. Tiana has expanded her business and is preparing a party. Something goes awry in the party prep. Huzzah. There's your storyline for one of the tentpole attractions of the Magic Kingdom/Disneyland. Sure, there are lots of extra details like Tiana's father's WWI service and the still, silent kleptomaniacal armadillo, but what do these actually contribute to the overall storyline of the attraction? Very little. And the armadillo actively annoys me (sorry, I'll try to keep this impersonal from now on).
Exterior - This was divisive, to be sure. The initial concept art indicated we'd be getting a boat on top of the mountain, but the mountain ended up with a buzzcut instead. Some like the faux foliage that has been added, but to me, it reminds me of the pipes and wacky colors (including the inexplicable black stripe) added to a luxurious Hollywood Hotel over in DCA. In other words, it's pasted on top of something else. Don Carson, an Imagineer on the MK version of Splash Mountain, told me that the attraction has good bones and could physically support the retheme; so they painted the rocks a different color, pasted fake grass and flowers on top of what was already there, lit everything up purple, and called it a day.
Animatronics - When the first video of the animatronics dropped, so did my jaw. I LOVE animatronics, so to see so many high-quality animatronics being added into a retheme that required scrapping so many animatronics, my hopes were high (yes, even my own disgruntled nature was set aside for a time). But then I saw them in context. Waving around, talking to us, surrounded by limited-motion figures that artificially inflate the AA number...and then failing to actually function consistently. Also, why is Louis the Alligator's skin made of such obvious fabric? He looks furry, and sometimes the way it folds up when he bends makes him look more like a teddy bear than an alligator.
Reliability - What did they do to this ride? I know Splash Mountain was not the pinnacle of attraction reliability, but my gosh, TBA makes it seem like it was. When was the last time a new attraction had this much downtime during its first year of operation? Test Track 1.0? What went wrong? I want to read the tell-all book about this in 40 years, because it's mind-boggling to me.
Anyway, this was a bit long, but I just want to restate what I said at the start: WDI has serious issues if this is the best they can do, and I'm very concerned about the quality of the quantity we are getting in the coming years. Could be a very dark time...dare I say, a disgruntling time...
I realize not everyone will agree with me on every part of this, but bear with me. I am not just being a TBA hater.
The Concept/Storyline - Most people thought TBA was going to tell the story of PatF overlaid on Splash Mountain's bones. By and large, the general sentiment on these boards (but not my sentiment) was excitement and curiosity to see what modern Imagineering could do with this storyline. I, being my Disgruntled Self, was bemoaning the loss of Splash Mountain still, but even I can admit that the idea of seeing a full-size Dr. Facilier animatronic would be terrifying in the good kind of Carnotaurus-terrifying way. Most everyone thought this is what we were going to get. Instead, we began to have details shared about the plot of the attraction. It takes place after the movie. Ok, so it's the exciting adventure that happens next? Dr. Facilier somehow returns? A different voodoo villain takes his place, perhaps? No. Tiana has expanded her business and is preparing a party. Something goes awry in the party prep. Huzzah. There's your storyline for one of the tentpole attractions of the Magic Kingdom/Disneyland. Sure, there are lots of extra details like Tiana's father's WWI service and the still, silent kleptomaniacal armadillo, but what do these actually contribute to the overall storyline of the attraction? Very little. And the armadillo actively annoys me (sorry, I'll try to keep this impersonal from now on).
Exterior - This was divisive, to be sure. The initial concept art indicated we'd be getting a boat on top of the mountain, but the mountain ended up with a buzzcut instead. Some like the faux foliage that has been added, but to me, it reminds me of the pipes and wacky colors (including the inexplicable black stripe) added to a luxurious Hollywood Hotel over in DCA. In other words, it's pasted on top of something else. Don Carson, an Imagineer on the MK version of Splash Mountain, told me that the attraction has good bones and could physically support the retheme; so they painted the rocks a different color, pasted fake grass and flowers on top of what was already there, lit everything up purple, and called it a day.
Animatronics - When the first video of the animatronics dropped, so did my jaw. I LOVE animatronics, so to see so many high-quality animatronics being added into a retheme that required scrapping so many animatronics, my hopes were high (yes, even my own disgruntled nature was set aside for a time). But then I saw them in context. Waving around, talking to us, surrounded by limited-motion figures that artificially inflate the AA number...and then failing to actually function consistently. Also, why is Louis the Alligator's skin made of such obvious fabric? He looks furry, and sometimes the way it folds up when he bends makes him look more like a teddy bear than an alligator.
Reliability - What did they do to this ride? I know Splash Mountain was not the pinnacle of attraction reliability, but my gosh, TBA makes it seem like it was. When was the last time a new attraction had this much downtime during its first year of operation? Test Track 1.0? What went wrong? I want to read the tell-all book about this in 40 years, because it's mind-boggling to me.
Anyway, this was a bit long, but I just want to restate what I said at the start: WDI has serious issues if this is the best they can do, and I'm very concerned about the quality of the quantity we are getting in the coming years. Could be a very dark time...dare I say, a disgruntling time...
Brer Panther
Well-Known Member
I think the Louis animatronics as a whole look good, but the fabric does confuse me. It makes the Louis statue peeking into the garden during the outdoor section stick out like a sore thumb...
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Very nice summation. Sums up my journey pretty well but you forgot to include the outrage I felt the first few months after the announcement.
Disgruntled Walt
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Oh it's in there...simmering under the surface...always...
There are many members of the "DIS"gruntled Club...
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I too am far from satisfied with how the attraction has turned out, but I cannot agree with your assessment here. The reaction when the retheme was announced was overwhelmingly negative, with only a handful of posters expressing any kind of excitement. And at no point did anyone think we would be reliving the story of the film; Disney told us from the outset that the attraction would “pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.”
Splash Mountain to be rethemed to The Princess and the Frog
The massively popular Magic Kingdom ride loosely based on Song of the South will be rethemed.
www.wdwmagic.com
EagleScout610
Premium Member
We knew there was a chance for them to screw this up with how high of a bar Splash had set, but we thought they could pull this off. Then Disney started talking about Co-Ops, salt domes and employee owned companies...I too am far from satisfied with how the attraction has turned out, but I cannot agree with your assessment here. The reaction when the retheme was announced was overwhelmingly negative, with only a handful of posters expressing any kind of excitement. And at no point did anyone think we would be reliving the story of the film; Disney told us from the outset that the attraction would “pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.”
Splash Mountain to be rethemed to The Princess and the Frog
The massively popular Magic Kingdom ride loosely based on Song of the South will be rethemed.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
OK, but that doesn’t relate to what I actually wrote, does it?
Fox&Hound
Well-Known Member
I think they did a wonderful job with the exterior, love the queue much more than I thought I would, there are impressive AAs, but I feel the story is the weakest element.
I am holding out hope that a few years from now we will get a halloween overlay that includes Dr Facillier and then due to positive fan reaction they will just keep it. I mean, couldnt they replace a few of the frogs in the scene before the lift hill with shadow creatures, change the music and lighting, and then make Facillier and his voodoo dolls appear on the screen where we now have giant Tiana and Louis. Does not seem impossible.
I am holding out hope that a few years from now we will get a halloween overlay that includes Dr Facillier and then due to positive fan reaction they will just keep it. I mean, couldnt they replace a few of the frogs in the scene before the lift hill with shadow creatures, change the music and lighting, and then make Facillier and his voodoo dolls appear on the screen where we now have giant Tiana and Louis. Does not seem impossible.
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Disgruntled Walt
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Ok, maybe most people didn't think it was going to be a complete rehash of the movie, but I think it's fair to say that most people were expecting the storyline to match the linear nature of the film's story, most likely using Dr. Facilier as the antagonist leading up to the drop. Also, when they say they're going to use the powerful music from the film, did we not all think "Friends on the Other Side" would be there?I too am far from satisfied with how the attraction has turned out, but I cannot agree with your assessment here. The reaction when the retheme was announced was overwhelmingly negative, with only a handful of posters expressing any kind of excitement. And at no point did anyone think we would be reliving the story of the film; Disney told us from the outset that the attraction would “pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.”
Splash Mountain to be rethemed to The Princess and the Frog
The massively popular Magic Kingdom ride loosely based on Song of the South will be rethemed.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
The discussion in the original thread (linked below) doesn’t substantiate this. People were already asking on Day 1 how Facilier could possibly feature given that the story would take place after the film. Yes, some (myself included) were hoping they might include him in spirit form, but this was always understood as wishful thinking rather than a real likelihood. The mood surrounding the whole project was overwhelmingly pessimistic from the outset.
The situation we’ve ended up with is bad enough as it is without having to pretend that Disney failed to deliver on the fans’ initial optimism. Such optimism was never more than a minority position—at least in this forum.
Splash Mountain re-theme announced
UPDATE: In the absence of many specific details on the project and due to its polarizing nature, this original thread is mostly a political/social debate, which is best served in the Politics/Social section of the forum. In its original location in News & Rumors it became impossible to moderate...