Tiana's Bayou Adventure (Now Open)

[Disneyhead]

As someone who whole heartedly agreed with retiring Splash, this is just...umm, IDK.

Parts are great. Parts seem a bit barren, but I assume there will be more eye candy added. Not a lot but more than we have now. I like the music.

Aside from the main character AAs, there seems to be a lot of "AAs" that are just simple mechanical figures with a rubber or fur skin. I'm ok with that, because it keeps downtimes and costs down and add a lot of kinetic energy.

Overall there is a lot of great and some just ok, but at the end of the day, it is still a top shelf log flume.

But I have to say, it seems as if WDI has lost the depth of coherent Storytelling. I have thought this since Frozen Ever After opened. Long and convoluted backstory is not storytelling.

 

[belloq87]

I assume there will be more eye candy added. Not a lot but more than we have now.

Why would you assume this?

I don't think Disney would put out an official ride-through of an unfinished attraction.

 

[HandsomePete]

Even though the video has been posted, I’ll spoiler my thoughts from riding it:

Spoiler

The AAs are good, but I can’t help but think that if they can barely keep Kylo operating at the end of Rise of the Resistance, they’re risking a lot of downtime.

It’s very dark. Way darker inside than Splash.

The final lift hill in the daytime is… not good. Once you take out the eyes staring at you, it’s just a plain dark tunnel.

Without the briar patch, the opening you drop through seems humongous.

Overall… it’s fine. People will ride it and most of them will like it. Without some sort of conflict, it’s just kinda there. It’s not boring, it’s just… hard to describe the feeling. MK will be exactly the same with it as it was with Splash, but it makes me a little nervous for the next round of park investments because other than Indiana Jones the rumored/half announced things seem like they could end up being the same “here’s an aimless trip through some IP.”

 

[Disneyhead]

Why would you assume this?

I don't think Disney would put out an official ride-through of an unfinished attraction.

It's "mostly" finished. But I am absolutely positive they still have a punch list. There is some rough, unpainted rock work visible.

And why would Disney post an unfinished ride POV? This isn't the Disney we grew up with.

 

[Legacy]

Yeah… I was all for this redo, but the lack of stakes is damning. That’s a much bigger issue than the “sparseness” of the show scenes.

I haven’t ridden Splash in over a decade, but it feels like there are fewer vignettes and scenes now than before. It’s just… a choice.

It’s even more concerning because I LIKE the idea replacing Laughing Place. There’s an opportunity to create whimsical fun stakes in the moment where you’re escaping something, anything without needing a villain. Instead… it’s just… another uninteresting moment.

Pretty, but definitely meh.

 

[HandsomePete]

It seems like something should have happened to the band… instead it’s like
“we need to find a band”
“here’s one”
“here’s the band playing again”
“alright, moving on”

 

[Legacy]

It seems like something should have happened to the band… instead it’s like
“we need to find a band”
“here’s one”
“here’s the band playing again”
“alright, moving on”

And the band are all varmints!

Spoiler

You can literally have a scene where the band itself is trying to go after you when you shrink because THAT’S WHAT VARMINTS WOULD DO!

Seriously! Instead of Tiana’s big eyes looking at, imagine if it was the predatory eyes of, like, the armadillo?

Never mind that the shrink feels entirely superfluous.

 

[Disneyhead]

You can throw in as many AAs as you want, but if you are going to try and tell a story...

Ok, I'm just going to flat out and say it, I don't think WDI has the intellectual depth needed to pull off these kinds of attractions anymore.

There is a reason they brought back Joe. But they need Tony Baxter too.

 

[saint.piss]

New POV videos

 

[Jamesh22]

New POV videos

It's not getting any better...
Damn, I wanted to love this like I love GOTG: Mission Break Out.

 

[Lucky Planet]

New POV videos

it looks nice

 

[kingcooger]

I finally watched a POV and I think I identified my biggest problem: apart from the finale, none of the songs are sung by the characters; they’re all treated as background music.

It just comes across as weird.

I would have liked them reusing the tunes, but with rewritten lyrics to fit the scene: first Tiana animatronic is singing “You’re on Your Way” which invites us into the action while laying out the story, Louis singing “Rolling Down the Bayou”, Mama Odie was singing a modified version of “Dig a Little Deeper” before we go over the drop, etc.

Still need to see more, but this stood out to me immediately.

 

[GAcoaster]

Having watched the split screen POV with Splash it looks like the "boring" areas were just as boring in Splash.



I'm hearing from CM friends that Tiana is having downtimes already during MK CM previews. Just like with Frozen they changed the experience but made no improvements to the ride's systems and reliability...

 

[HandsomePete]

I'm hearing from CM friends that Tiana is having downtimes already during MK CM previews. Just like with Frozen they changed the experience but made no improvements to the ride's systems and reliability...

They’ve increased the number of AAs (with no B mode like Kylo or the Millenium Falcon guy) that would dictate a closure. Same problem as Frozen.

 

[belloq87]

Ok, I'm just going to flat out and say it, I don't think WDI has the intellectual depth needed to pull off these kinds of attractions anymore.

I don't assume that's the case. It's clear certain limitations were put on the team from above (i.e. don't use Character X), and that dictated certain choices.

I look at what just opened in Fantasy Springs and I see a WDI fully capable of wonderful, creative work when given a wide berth and a large budget.

 

[OrlLover]

I don't assume that's the case. It's clear certain limitations were put on the team from above (i.e. don't use Character X), and that dictated certain choices.

I look at what just opened in Fantasy Springs and I see a WDI fully capable of wonderful, creative work when given a wide berth and a large budget.

Exactly their hands were tied and it was impossible task to fill out this attraction.

When was the last time Disney built a ride as long as Splash?

Like was stated elsewhere if this was built as separate ride somewhere else as an addition it wouldn’t have gotten so much scrutiny.

It has all the bells and whistles of a modern 2020s Disney ride. Eventually people will learn to treat TBA as its own thing instead of replacing an iconic attraction.

 

[kingcooger]

I don't assume that's the case. It's clear certain limitations were put on the team from above (i.e. don't use Character X), and that dictated certain choices.

Okay, so you cannot use Facilier, but you could reorchestrate his song for the shrinking scene. “Mama Odie gonna take you for a ride/To find some friends on the smaller side.”

There’s nearly always a work around.

 

[jarmor]

Reluctantly I watched the POV. I think some are being hyper-critical. I went in not expecting some fully fleshed out story. I realized I am riding this to be entertained and not to leave with enlighten questions about life and the pondering of it. I like how we are shrunken and have larger than life animal and props around us, I liked how there seemed to be no dark areas at all, I like how they incorporated the music from the movie in with the attraction and it didn't feel forced. I think the targeted audience, kids, will love this attraction leave with a renewed love of the princess and the frog.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

But I have to say, it seems as if WDI has lost the depth of coherent Storytelling. I have thought this since Frozen Ever After opened. Long and convoluted backstory is not storytelling.

I actually think their storytelling has gotten less complicated. A problem shared by both FEA and TBA is the lack of any story, or intrigue outside of some vague goal or destination. "We're going to Elsa's Ice Palace" or "we're gathering musicians for a party" is the main narrative thrust of both of these rides, with little in the way of tonal variation. It also makes both these rides obsessively destination oriented (i.e we are on our way to an event or accomplishing a goal rather than enjoying a journey with value in and of itself) which tends to increase the sense of dissapointment one might feel when they arrive at that destination.

Splash, by contrast, has way more going on narratively due to the conflicting interplay between the various Brers, even if it's not always the main focus of your journey.

Having watched the split screen POV with Splash it looks like the "boring" areas were just as boring in Splash.

I disagree with this take, but even if I did, the difference between TBA and Disneyland's Splash is going to be even more drastic.

 

[Lucky Planet]

but the animatronics look really amazing.