Tianas Bayou Adventure - Disney Releases POV Ride Through

[jelona]

I'm excited to ride. I didn't grow up going to Disney World, so SM wasn't nostolgic to me. I was a young adult when I first rode it. If i didn't have kids, I would also be upset that there was no Dr. Facilier scene. It would give you that sense of dread/build up the old SM did. I read where someone said it would be cool if they did it during a Halloween overlay... I agree.
BUT, as a parent to two scaredy cat kids that I'm trying to get to like roller coasters.... I'm excited it's a happy and joyous theme to the drop. Hoping my princess loving 4 year old will love it and this will give her the courage to ride other rides.
My 4 year old LOVES thrills... but hates scary or intense scenes (looking at you "its tough to be a bug)

 

[SheSingsAlong]

I was worried the "story" of the ride was going to be bland, with no conflict or anticipation building, I'm sorry to be correct about that. It won't ruin the ride such that I won't ride it, it's just unfortunate because it could have easily been better.

My only other issue is with the very fancy animatronics - they are fantastic looking. And they don't really do much, do they? So many Tianas, but they just seem to vaguely gesture around - they don't interact with anything or have any interesting poses or movements. I'm no fan of projection faces, but at least Elsa in the Frozen ride is *doing* something and creating magic with her arm swirls. And the shaman at the end of Na'vi River interacts beautifully with her drums and the foliage. When it worked, Bre'r Rabbit jumped along beside the boats! My favorite animatronic on TBA is Louis half buried, face first in a... log? hole? Can't quite tell, but at least it is unique!

My favorite segment of the ride overall is when Mama Odie shrinks us - I was *so* charmed by that and I like the unique perspective of then observing the bayou as a small creature among the plants. I do wish Dr. Facilier or some other "dark magic" character was the cause of shrinking and then Mama Odie saves us at the end just before the big drop.

In summary, I'm a little disappointed in the POV ride through, but still hoping in person it will be better.

 

[Karin1984]

My favorite segment of the ride overall is when Mama Odie shrinks us - I was *so* charmed by that and I like the unique perspective of then observing the bayou as a small creature among the plants. I do wish Dr. Facilier or some other "dark magic" character was the cause of shrinking and then Mama Odie saves us at the end just before the big drop.

It could have been a great take, to stick to the original movie and have everything between the first and the last drop as frogs. A way to have a reason to keep some Splash critters. You could have the scene with the hunters etc. to bring in some tension. And after Mama Odie saves the day, we can all celebrate. That could also be a way to add Naveen to the ride.

I saw another commentary that says that the new song is great, but it is a shame it is only used for the finale. It would be a nice thing if it was woven through the entire ride, to create a new classic. Now it's only in the last 30(?) seconds.

 

[wdw_dine_junkie]

Ok, so coming from someone who didn't finish watching the whole movie, I guess I expected the new ride to explain some of the movie, but clearly that's not what they were going for. I didn't expect Tiana to look like Dora the Explorer though. The last scene is more of what I knew of and expected and that looks pretty. I have no idea who Mama Odie is so not sure what I'm supposed to learn about her. So in summary, I am confused and didn't really follow along well and it didn't really make me want to go back and finish the movie either. And may or may not make the commute over for previews. Seems maybe a missed opportunity to sell the movie more? And I thought it was going to be more about food.

Eta: the bears playing instruments at 4:02 are really cute. They are a little country bear jamboree reminiscent.

I thought the frogs in Splash were very cute too.

 

[loislane]

Did we all ride the same splash mountain or we just now reliving it with rose-tinted glasses? Because that ride was always a bit boring and had lots of “dead spaces” and the end song was only catchy because we’ve been listening to it for decades. It was great for its time. People really want to hate on Disney right now and I get it, they have a lot to prove to parks fans but I truly don’t see how this isn’t an improvement to the look and story of SM. The animatronics are not even comparable; the storyline is cute, if a bit safe; it’s colorful and vibrant; the music is current, lively and actually interesting.

As a 30-something year old, I’ve been to parks dozens of times as an adult and only once as a young kid, so admittedly, I don’t have the same memory-enhanced attachement to Splash. I never found it iconic or all that interesting. But I think that’s the whole point. No one likes change when it alters our childhood memories. And Disney has to grow with its audience, it’s no longer trying to appeal to people who grew up and loved the parks 20 years ago, they need to appeal to the kids of this generation who know Tiana and those characters and music.

I think having Dr. Facilier in this could have been a cool element but I think this allows Disney to maybe do a Halloween overlay in a few years. If they go that route, I think that would be better than having him there the whole time, makes things fresh and exciting when it’s limited.

ETA: maybe it was a mistake to do a pre-open POV because the silence through the film is strange and won’t be the case when we park goers actually experience it. They obviously didn’t want to distract from the talking of the animatronics or the music so it’s oddly silent, not even a peep when they do the big drop. People will be laughing and singing and talking (and probably screaming) through the ride when we actually get to ride it which will make it feel normal and not so eerily quiet.

100% agree with you. I didn't visit WDW until my 30s (now live in Florida and am an AP) but, I am old enough to have seen Song of the South before it got locked away in the vault forever. And even still, the characters in Splash didn't resonate all that much with me. I wasn't riding it for the story - I was riding it for the drop! (And after being stuck in the room at the end for 20 or so minutes back in 2015, I'm ok without hearing Zip-a-dee-doo-dah because we heard it nonstop the whole time we were stuck. lol) I also remember lots of dead space and a story that really wasn't much of a story. It was a few lines and songs that connected segments. Who cares? It was still a fun ride then and it will be a fun ride now! And let's not forget that it was named after a completely different (mermaid) movie that had nothing to do with the theming.

I think the outside looks stunning. I love the greenery and color they added. Frontierland is pretty brown - nice to see some pops of color! We're headed down on the 16th for the passholder preview - hoping we snag a VQ ok and I can't wait to experience it in person!

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

I have been desperately calling for an Okra animatronic for the past 4 decades, and you have heard my pleas WDW. Thank you!

 

[Frank4202]

You have mild and strong feelings regarding this new ride... I think.

Are you hoping that Disney's attendance tanks because of this new ride? Or are there reasons not related to this thread?

The ride is a small part. The cockiness of Iger saying Universals third park will not impact Disney is wrong. With ride refreshes like this, the poor addition of Tron, I hope Universal steals some of their attendance.

 

[Minnie1222]

The ride is a small part. The cockiness of Iger saying Universals third park will not impact Disney is wrong. With ride refreshes like this, the poor addition of Tron, I hope Universal steals some of their attendance.

Tron is an awesome ride. Not everyone can handle the force of Hagrid's or Velocicoaster.

 

[GeneralTso]

I'm so glad they did this.
Took the wind right out of those "influencers" sails.

 

[brightlined]

My favorite part of the video:



"No... no, you dang fools! This way!"
"Stay out the marsh! STAY OUT OF THE MARSH!!"
"OH NOOOOOOOOOOO"

 

[fatmanatee]

The ride is a small part. The cockiness of Iger saying Universals third park will not impact Disney is wrong. With ride refreshes like this, the poor addition of Tron, I hope Universal steals some of their attendance.

You're talking about this quote?

We’ve had competition from them for a long time. I’m mindful of what they’re doing, but I’m confident. I like our hand. I’m confident in what we built and I’m confident we will continue to build. It’s not something that should be distracting to us or anxiety-provoking.

This is a very carefully worded statement meant to ease concerns from investors and assure them that they're going to continue building. It isn't cockiness.

 

[HopperFan]

My favorite part of the video:

View attachment 865637

"No... no, you dang fools! This way!"
"Stay out the marsh! STAY OUT OF THE MARSH!!"
"OH NOOOOOOOOOOO"

Gotta love Marshall Billy Bob Fritter!

I just visited him a couple weeks ago. And once again I didn't listen.

 

[ChrisFL]

Regarding the Splash Mountain storyline, it took me several rides to understand it, but I believe other than what people mentioned that Brer Rabbit was trying to avoid Brer Fox and Brer Bear is outsmarting them by saying whatever they do, don't throw him into the briar patch....except that's exactly where he wanted them to throw him because that's where he grew up (?)

I watched some POV's and I don't think the new ride is bad at all...yes there could be more drama but it's a different type of experience they're going for...a party atmosphere, which I think is fine. I'll withhold full judgement until I ride it in person

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Tron is an awesome ride. Not everyone can handle the force of Hagrid's or Velocicoaster.

Tron is actually faster then hagrids

 

[brightlined]

Gotta love Marshall Billy Bob Fritter!

I just visited him a couple weeks ago. And once again I didn't listen.

I rode Monster Mansion for the first time in forever this weekend. I always expect it to feel Six Flags cheap, but, man, it's still incredibly charming and well-done for what it is. (There's a scene near the beginning with arcing water sprays like the lower level of SM/TIA - very reminiscent of each other.) And, naturally, I had this thread in my head for part of the time.

And, yep, me too - left turn at the marsh.

 

[HopperFan]

I rode Monster Mansion for the first time in forever this weekend. I always expect it to feel Six Flags cheap, but, man, it's still incredibly charming and well-done for what it is. (There's a scene near the beginning with arcing water sprays like the lower level of SM/TIA - very reminiscent of each other.) And, naturally, I had this thread in my head for part of the time.

And, yep, me too - left turn at the marsh.

They renovated it about 2 years ago so it's quite fresh now. That is all Sid & Marty Krofft there, so underrecognized. They were creating before Jim Henson.

 

[disdani]

Glad to see this thread is overall pretty peaceful compared to reddit and youtube comments. As a kid going to WDW and Universal, I was on team Dudley Do Right instead of Splash Mountain. I couldn't tell you what either ride's story was about, but I could tell you I had a great time with my family. And I think at the end of the day, even if you think TBA is disappointing, it's not bad enough to make families hate the experience.

I look forward to riding it later this year!

 

[Karin1984]

The cast previews are going on and plenty of CMs have tiktok accounts, and much more content is coming out. The followers of the CMs I've seen seem pretty positive. But could have something to do with the CMs being positive and not wanting to lose their job ;-)

 

[Minnie1222]

Tron is actually faster then hagrids

I don't disagree. However, there are certain segments on Hagrid's that my body can no longer tolerate, although I was perfectly fine with them a few years ago. Tron is one of the last few rides that a former thrill-seeker like myself can still enjoy.

 

[80sTerraceCafeFan]

I don't disagree. However, there are certain segments on Hagrid's that my body can no longer tolerate, although I was perfectly fine with them a few years ago. Tron is one of the last few rides that a former thrill-seeker like myself can still enjoy.

Not to go off on a tangent - but same here....I find Hagrids harder on me, maybe the 3x ride time and some of those turns....

On a separate subject.....A silver lining of Disney of being cheap, if Disney keeps using the same tracks for new rides, they could kill it making augmented reality glasses for Splash Mountain, Malestrom and whatever is to come....