Tiana's Bayou Adventure (Now Open)

[Wesker69]

People: nobody knows who these Splash Mountain characters are

Also people: oh look at these cute animal characters that never existed in the PATF movie! So fun!

But .....Where's Doctor Facilier?

 

[rhino4evr]

think it’s funny blog Mickey rated this a 6/10. I mean … like it we are comparing it to other rides in magic kingdom it’s still one of the best , rabbit or frog.

One thing I noticed while watching the comparison, is the original ride AAs actually looked like animals; with real looking fur and feathers. The new AAs just look like cartoon characters come alive: which is fine I guess, but it looks a lot less “cute” and more “fake” despite the updates in the AA mechanics .

 

[OrlLover]

think it’s funny blog Mickey rated this a 6/10. I mean … like it we are comparing it to other rides in magic kingdom it’s still one of the best , rabbit or frog.

One thing I noticed while watching the comparison, is the original ride AAs actually looked like animals; with real looking fur and feathers. The new AAs just look like cartoon characters come alive: which is fine I guess, but it looks a lot less “cute” and more “fake” despite the updates in the AA mechanics .

I would give it a 7.5/8.5 but that’s based on videos I’ve seen.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

think it’s funny blog Mickey rated this a 6/10. I mean … like it we are comparing it to other rides in magic kingdom it’s still one of the best , rabbit or frog.

Even more, we’re comparing it to a ride that was built at a time when we blindly accepted what was built and gave things 30 years to build up nostalgia toward.

Thought experiment: what would the reaction to Splash Mountain be if it opened in the social media/theme park lifestyler era? My guess:

• Disney really cheaped out the first five minutes of the ride, nothing even happens
• Just a log flume? Give me cutting edge omnimovers and simulators, not something I can find at Six Flags down the street
• Sure there’s animatronics but most of them barely move
• The story doesn’t flow at all, the two minutes between the drop and finale make no logical sense and kill the pacing. Also who is that rabbit even supposed to be?
• Remember when Disney cared about theming? What does the Deep South have to do with the American frontier?
• Remember when Disney cared about sightlines? I can see that tree trunk from Haunted Mansion now…
• Really? Everything needs to be an IP? …even if it’s one we’ve never heard of before?

It definitely doesn’t look perfect, but IMO neither was Splash Mountain. In a time where we’re getting Ratatouilles and VillainCons and Journey of Waters and Dreamworks Dance Shows, I’m pretty grateful for a ride that has original music, amazing set design/atmosphere, some stunning tech, and a long ride layout.

 

[Wesker69]

• Just a log flume? Give me cutting edge omnimovers and simulators, not something I can find at Six Flags down the street

Six Flags? Doesnt exist in FL. Universal? Yes

California: Six Flags? No (replaced by coaster). Knotts? Yes, but with only 2 drops versus the 4-5 Splash offered.

If we're going to label it as a generic ride that can be found down the street (at any park), the same can be applied to Disney's coasters (well themed or not).

• The story doesn’t flow at all, the two minutes between the drop and finale make no logical sense and kill the pacing.

The story flowed just fine if you actually paid attention. Hell, it is literally sung to you playfully in song the entire ride. It was very cohesive & offered up a life lesson of "what you've got/where you're at" is all you need.

Tiana's Bayou Mountain is a disjointed mess, no matter how much powdered sugar you sprinkle on it.. You're never going to get an award winning beignet.

• Also who is that rabbit even supposed to be?

• Really? Everything needs to be an IP? …even if it’s one we’ve never heard of before?

See. This part annoys me. While yes, the character design derived from Song of the South's animated sequences, the Brer Rabbit story did not. For me, this was less film IP-based & more literature based. That's how I've known the story of Brer Rabbit. It was a book we read back in 2nd or 3rd grade. I remember my classmate had visited Disneyland on vacation & told all of us about the ride "based on the story" we read. Song of the South was never a blip on the radar until several years later.

And for those that have never heard of Brer Rabbit (before riding Splash) saying it was "outdated & unknown", what's your excuse for the classic rides not tied to an IP (originally).

 

[Andysol]

Just a log flume? Give me cutting edge omnimovers and simulators, not something I can find at Six Flags down the street

I know the post was tongue in cheek- and I agree with you!

But just this one caveat- this one. I think people would have been floored if all we had were still basic flumes. Even today.
It’s why SM was my favorite ride at MK and why ToT and SM both hail supreme to all other rides at WDW in my eyes.
Flume rides always existed. You go around, you splash down.
Drop towers always existed. You go up, you drop down.

Splash and ToT were revolutionary evolutions to an age old ride mechanism at amusement parks that gave us something completely new even with a familiar vehicle.
I classify Spider-Man in the same category at universal- a revolutionary evolution to a dark ride.

Those 3 rides are in my Mount Rushmore of theme park rides.

 

[saint.piss]

 

[OrlandoGuy]

I know the post was tongue in cheek- and I agree with you!

But just this one caveat- this one. I think people would have been floored if all we had were still basic flumes. Even today.
It’s why SM was my favorite ride at MK and why ToT and SM both hail supreme to all other rides at WDW in my eyes.
Flume rides always existed. You go around, you splash down.
Drop towers always existed. You go up, you drop down.

Splash and ToT were revolutionary evolutions to an age old ride mechanism at amusement parks that gave us something completely new even with a familiar vehicle.
I classify Spider-Man in the same category at universal- a revolutionary evolution to a dark ride.

Those 3 rides are in my Mount Rushmore of theme park rides.

Completely agreed! And that’s ultimately what I was trying to get at…Splash Mountain had the luxury of opening before social media could scrutinize and dissect it, allowing people to enjoy it for what it was. As a result, everyone 18-45 has been able to hold it in this high regard that, frankly, no ride would’ve been able to come close to (to the point of my original post, even a duplicate of the same exact ride).

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

What's Splash Mountain? That's just a bear, a rabbit, and a fox, innocent animals unconnected in any way to a hypothetically unsavory past.

 

[saint.piss]

This is really cool.

 

[belloq87]

This is really cool.

I like when on-ride photos feel like a premium offering, and not just something thrown into a generic little folder.

They could easily do something on that level for Tower of Terror.

 

[HHN Maddux]

I'm firmly of the belief that kids should be scared more in theme parks.

By age seven, I had been on Jaws, Kongfrontation, Alien Encounter, Tower of Terror, etc.

I think one of the things that made helped make Splash Mountain so good is it actually did this!

Recall the Fishing Place leading into the first choir of Laughing Place: It was very subtly done, but the lighting became progressively darker the closer you got to the second drop, before finally you reach it and you would notice there's no more happy music, just a dark pit, a kinda creepy laugh from Brer Rabbit, and the somewhat unsettling (or little me thought so) yells of pain from Brer Fox, before drop!

As I said, it was subtle, but it did an incredible job of building tension and creating a feeling of unease without you even realizing it.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I'm firmly of the belief that kids should be scared more in theme parks.

By age seven, I had been on Jaws, Kongfrontation, Alien Encounter, Tower of Terror, etc.

not posible in current year 2024 lol case in point:

She’s been retconned to be a “Bayou Fairy Godmother”

i laughed so hard, when i saw this. lol

I think one of the things that made helped make Splash Mountain so good is it actually did this!

Recall the Fishing Place leading into the first choir of Laughing Place: It was very subtly done, but the lighting became progressively darker the closer you got to the second drop, before finally you reach it and you would notice there's no more happy music, just a dark pit, a kinda creepy laugh from Brer Rabbit, and the somewhat unsettling (or little me thought so) yells of pain from Brer Fox, before drop!

As I said, it was subtle, but it did an incredible job of building tension and creating a feeling of unease without you even realizing it.

but now, if a ride seems cute, if a ride seems like it has cute little animals, i could see complaining that it had something "scary"

 

[Brian G.]

I know everyone wanted Dr. Facilier on the attraction, and it made sense that Disney was trying to stay away from the character so we all kinda begrudgingly (or not) understood - but maybe don't have him out meeting guests at Epcot if that's the narrative you're pushing...

 

[Alicia]

I know everyone wanted Dr. Facilier on the attraction, and it made sense that Disney was trying to stay away from the character so we all kinda begrudgingly (or not) understood - but maybe don't have him out meeting guests at Epcot if that's the narrative you're pushing...

Maybe, just maybe, that’s not actually what happened. Maybe they wanted the ride to stand alone as a true sequel to the film and bringing back a dead bad guy didn’t fit the tone or narrative structure, but we all filled in our own story about what we think happened behind the scenes.

Yes, I do believe the company will never again use the word “Voodoo,” but that doesn’t mean they’re going to throw away entire characters.

 

[Brian G.]

Maybe, just maybe, that’s not actually what happened. Maybe they wanted the ride to stand alone as a true sequel to the film and bringing back a dead bad guy didn’t fit the tone or narrative structure, but we all filled in our own story about what we think happened behind the scenes.

Yes, I do believe the company will never again use the word “Voodoo,” but that doesn’t mean they’re going to throw away entire characters.

Sorry, but I don't buy that. Every modern Disney princess ride has been a retelling, and this is the property they chose to create its own narrative for? I understand a "sequel" means they can't have Facilier and I'm not arguing that, it wouldn't make sense; but when the first film had all the makings of a great retelling and they opted for moving away from it - that paints a different picture.

UPDATE: Just wanted to mention that Frozen Ever After is, in essence, a retelling - though presented differently; but that's the only example I can think of that's not an outright retelling.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I'm fine if you want to make a new story...but if it comes no where near as interesting as the first film..then its going to be hard for me to want that

Also....I just feel like Epic Universe is going to come out next year and just blow away stuff like this....like the tech on this is cool but unless you have interesting story to with it...I feel like people will ride this but doubt it becomes the thing most people talk about...because the height means its not for kids...and its for sure as the heck isn't for adults

 

[belloq87]

I don't think telling a sequel story should have necessarily precluded also using Facilier. If his spirit/ghost were to have appeared at some point, I bet everyone would have rolled with it because the character is almost too good not to use.

I'm not sure what the ultimate reason for his exclusion was, but I suspect it has more to do with American WDI teams struggling a bit with incorporating conflict into attractions based on animated films.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I don't think telling a sequel story should have necessarily precluded also using Facilier. If his spirit/ghost were to have appeared at some point, I bet everyone would have rolled with it because the character is almost too good not to use.

I'm not sure what the ultimate reason for his exclusion was, but I suspect it has more to do with American WDI teams struggling a bit with incorporating conflict into attractions based on animated films.

the ride has such a friendly and happy story that Facilier just could not fit anywhere, it just couldnt happen
and if you add Facilier then it becomes a scary story

 

[Jerroddragon]

the ride has such a friendly and happy story that Facilier just could not fit anywhere, it just couldnt happen
and if you add Facilier then it becomes a scary story

Nothing says Friendly like a 50 foot Drop and height limits

If DIsney wanted a Dark ride they could have made a dark ride for kids