Tianas Bayou Adventure - Disney Releases POV Ride Through

[Stratman50th]

I'm still trying to figure out where they found a water drop in the completely flat and shallow bayou? I mean, not any that I know of except bayou Corne and that was as a result of an oil company punching a hole in a salt dome. Also, Disney couldn't spend a little on new ride vehicles, maybe bayou style boats like a pirogue for the theme.

 

[Minnie1222]

I'm still trying to figure out where they found a water drop in the completely flat and shallow bayou? I mean, not any that I know of except bayou Corne and that was as a result of an oil company punching a hole in a salt dome. Also, Disney couldn't spend a little on new ride vehicles, maybe bayou style boats like a pirogue for the theme.

If we could imagine that humans can turn into frogs, why is it so difficult to visualize that bayous can also have falls?

To simplify things, just pretend that this entirely fictional story took place in a parallel/different universe, where anything is possible.

 

[Karin1984]

If we could imagine that humans can turn into frogs, why is it so difficult to visualize that bayous can also have falls?

To simplify things, just pretend that this entirely fictional story took place in a parallel/different universe, where anything is possible.

Yes, we could... but Disney is (or used to be, if you are feeling pessimistic) the company who is all about the small details and being immersive.

I am willing to forgive them the falls, but not updating the logs is lazy. They could have created something more in theme with the bayou. The scene with the hunters in the movie has a boat. They could have used that as inspiration.

I am more wondering about all the animals in the bayou, are there bears and foxes?

 

[Stratman50th]

If we could imagine that humans can turn into frogs, why is it so difficult to visualize that bayous can also have falls?

To simplify things, just pretend that this entirely fictional story took place in a parallel/different universe, where anything is possible.

Sorry, not buying into it. I don't mind Tiana having her own ride. They could have done a lot with it. Look at how good Disney did with the bayou ride beginning in Pirates, the Disneyland version. Just refurbish Splash Mountain to give it a renewed life and have an old fan favorite still alive and well and give Tiana something uniquely hers.
Just my opinion.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Tiana deserves better. This is sad. The whole first half of the ride is empty. They could’ve at least put up a bunch of vegetation to make it feel like you’re going through the bayou. There’s just nothing, other than the little area of gardens, until you get to the indoor part. And the indoor part (especially the finale) looks really cool but sort of just feels soulless. And the anticipation of the upcoming big drop which was so present in Splash is just totally missing. This ride could’ve been so much better if Disney put more money and effort into it.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Original SotS was set on a plantation in Georgia. There are no more bears and foxes or hills in Georigia than there are in Louisiana. The people who did not want Splash to change are the same people that do not want Zootopia in ToL because animals don't wear clothes (as they ignore the fact that the animals in Splash also, in fact were wearing clothes).

It's a ride in a theme park. I'd much rather have a ride with working, state-of-the-art animatronics, than a ride that had become a museum piece with more broken down animatronics than working ones. On my last ride they had even completely removed the tied-up Braer Rabbit from the final lift scene. It was BAD, bad in the weeks and months before they closed it. You could say they had given up on it, which is true, but I assert that is just evidence of how hard it was to keep the whole thing running all along. My kids were calling it "the ride that breaks down a lot" long before the announcement came that they were changing it. It is the only Disney ride I have ever been evac'd off of.

TBA is a GREAT ride! Change is hard but you'll get used to it. If not, fine, just do us all a favor and don't clog up the line if that's how you feel, or at least keep your opinion to yourself if you do join the queue. What's done is done - enjoy what is there.

 

[HopperFan]

Original SotS was set on a plantation in Georgia. There are no more bears and foxes or hills in Georigia than there are in Louisiana. The people who did not want Splash to change are the same people that do not want Zootopia in ToL because animals don't wear clothes (as they ignore the fact that the animals in Splash also, in fact were wearing clothes).

It's a ride in a theme park. I'd much rather have a ride with working, state-of-the-art animatronics, than a ride that had become a museum piece with more broken down animatronics than working ones. On my last ride they had even completely removed the tied-up Braer Rabbit from the final lift scene. It was BAD, bad in the weeks and months before they closed it. You could say they had given up on it, which is true, but I assert that is just evidence of how hard it was to keep the whole thing running all along. My kids were calling it "the ride that breaks down a lot" long before the announcement came that they were changing it. It is the only Disney ride I have ever been evac'd off of.

TBA is a GREAT ride! Change is hard but you'll get used to it. If not, fine, just do us all a favor and don't clog up the line if that's how you feel, or at least keep your opinion to yourself if you do join the queue. What's done is done - enjoy what is there.

Yeah, in a park where Mice are human sized, dressed and talking, where bears are clothed, singing and playing musical instruments, where elephants fly, where we go under the seas to singing fish, where there are talking singing birds, where monsters exist and dragons spew fire. IT IS ALL IMAGINATION AND FANTASY .... if one can't accept the new ride because they don't think waterfalls belong in bayous ... ummm SM had waterfalls and there are NONE where their stories are based, they are just making excuses.

I'm so glad there are folks these days saying they won't ride certain rides and won't come to the parks anymore due to change. Hopefully rides will be more manageable for the folks who do bring their imagination and whimsical fun. I don't like wet water rides and avoided SM when I could - but this new design will have me in line.

 

[croschek05]

Tiana deserves better. This is sad. The whole first half of the ride is empty. They could’ve at least put up a bunch of vegetation to make it feel like you’re going through the bayou. There’s just nothing, other than the little area of gardens, until you get to the indoor part. And the indoor part (especially the finale) looks really cool but sort of just feels soulless. And the anticipation of the upcoming big drop which was so present in Splash is just totally missing. This ride could’ve been so much better if Disney put more money and effort into it.

Don't forget they left out Dr.Facilier. Ride looks like a letdown. Should have made the ride off the movie and not what happens after. Dropped the ball SMH.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Don't forget they left out Dr.Facilier. Ride looks like a letdown. Should have made the ride off the movie and not what happens after. Dropped the ball SMH.

I thought that was a conscious decision? Both Dr. Facilier and Ray did not survive the movie and are not included.

 

[jelona]

I'm still trying to figure out where they found a water drop in the completely flat and shallow bayou? I mean, not any that I know of except bayou Corne and that was as a result of an oil company punching a hole in a salt dome. Also, Disney couldn't spend a little on new ride vehicles, maybe bayou style boats like a pirogue for the theme.

Does the drop happen when you shrink down to frog size? or after? i would need to watch the video again, but also didn't pay attention since i will be there in July and i didn't want to spoil it too much.
Maybe we're going down the side of a rock/tree stump at the size of a frog? That would seem like a waterfall to something that small.

 

[Karin1984]

I thought that was a conscious decision? Both Dr. Facilier and Ray did not survive the movie and are not included.

Yes, it was a conscious decision to place the ride in a world after the movie and stick to who wasn't around at the end of the movie.
Then again... they also could make another conscious decision.

I find it weird that people say "Dr. Facilier got killed in the movie / he is dead". Is that the case? I haven't seen the movie in a while, but in my memory, he got pulled into the spirit world. Who says he can't escape?

I think people are mainly upset because Dr. Facilier has one of the best villain songs ever. The entire soundtrack of Princess and the Frogg is amazing, but that is one great villain song. That great song is now missing from the ride. While it could have worked with how the ride is build.

 

[Nimbus]

Yes, it was a conscious decision to place the ride in a world after the movie and stick to who wasn't around at the end of the movie.
Then again... they also could make another conscious decision.

I find it weird that people say "Dr. Facilier got killed in the movie / he is dead". Is that the case? I haven't seen the movie in a while, but in my memory, he got pulled into the spirit world. Who says he can't escape?

I think people are mainly upset because Dr. Facilier has one of the best villain songs ever. The entire soundtrack of Princess and the Frogg is amazing, but that is one great villain song. That great song is now missing from the ride. While it could have worked with how the ride is build.

I've said it before and I will say it again. The decision to omit Facilier from the attraction almost certainly stems from Disney's desire not to alienate guests. Princess and the Frog was controversial in its release--and remains so even today--for its inclusion of Voodoo by way of Dr. Facilier. Do most people find Voodoo and Facilier objectionable? No, but the number of people who do is not insignificant, and Disney hardly wants to lean into being accused of incorporating Voodoo, Paganism, Satanism into one of their top-tier attractions,

And unlike a character meet and greet for Dr. Facilier, where a family can simply decide not to meet the character, you don't really have that option on an attraction. It's all or nothing; you can't get off the ride just for the parts you don't like. You either ride it or you don't, and Disney hardly wants to dissuade a bunch of guests from riding an attraction that is supposed to be a high-capacity people eater.

Would I have liked to see Dr. Facilier? Yes, absolutely...but I don't find him problematic. If the purpose of the ride is to get as many people to ride as possible, leaving him out is the smart choice. It's not a "missed opportunity." It's a calculated decision to ensure the ride has the best chance of fulfilling its purpose: being an engaging ride that appeals to the largest number of guests as possible.

 

[80sTerraceCafeFan]

It's a calculated decision to ensure the ride has the best chance of fulfilling its purpose: being an engaging ride that appeals to the largest number of guests as possible.

...or a miscalculated decision b/c the lack of a compelling story may wind up alienating more people than the cartoon voodoo backstory would have offended. Time (and future wait times) will tell...

 

[Nimbus]

...or a miscalculated decision b/c the lack of a compelling story may wind up alienating more people than the cartoon voodoo backstory would have offended. Time (and future wait times) will tell...

The amount of data Disney has on guest sentiment, behavior, and habits related to their IP and attractions could fill a library, so I just think it would be an extreme act of hubris for any of us to assume we are better predictors of guest behavior at scale than Disney is. Disney isn't perfect--there's no doubt about that--but we are far more likely to miscalculate than Disney is.

The lack of a "compelling story" is not likely to alienate guests. Most attractions don't have a "compelling story" and guests still ride them. If a 5 act plot surrounding a villain-centered conflict was a requisite for ride-ability and guest satisfaction, nearly every ride at MK would be a walk-on...and that's definitely not the case. All that's necessary is a series of vignettes with a loose narrative while being visually and/or physically engaging. Even Splash's story--in my opinion--was not narratively-compelling for most guests.

The number of people who will say, "Dr. Facilier isn't on this ride so the story isn't good enough for me to waste my time riding," is a very small number. The number of guests who will say, "I'm not riding this, nor am I letting my kids ride because it promotes paganism and Voodoo," is almost certainly substantially higher.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I was curious how they were going to handle the "and the FROG" portion of the story line - and frankly I thought that was pretty brilliant. I guess they could have had Dr. Facilier turn you into a frog and Mama Odie bring you back. Yeah, that would have worked. Not really ruining the ride for me that they didn't though.

 

[80sTerraceCafeFan]

The amount of data Disney has on guest sentiment, behavior, and habits related to their IP and attractions could fill a library, so I just think it would be an extreme act of hubris for any of us to assume we are better predictors of guest behavior at scale than Disney is. Disney isn't perfect--there's no doubt about that--but we are far more likely to miscalculate than Disney is.

The lack of a "compelling story" is not likely to alienate guests. Most attractions don't have a "compelling story" and guests still ride them. If a 5 act plot surrounding a villain-centered conflict was a requisite for ride-ability and guest satisfaction, nearly every ride at MK would be a walk-on...and that's definitely not the case. All that's necessary is a series of vignettes with a loose narrative while being visually and/or physically engaging. Even Splash's story--in my opinion--was not narratively-compelling for most guests.

The number of people who will say, "Dr. Facilier isn't on this ride so the story isn't good enough for me to waste my time riding," is a very small number. The number of guests who will say, "I'm not riding this, nor am I letting my kids ride because it promotes paganism and Voodoo," is almost certainly substantially higher.

As I said, time will tell - Disney has made many rides that exceed expectations and some that fall short, and it's fair for anyone to predict if this one wildly exceeds like Splash did (I judge that by Splash having the second longest wait times in the park behind Mine Train 3 decades later despite being a ride in need of maintenance, got you wetter than many like, had a drop that scared little ones, and apparently alienated guests with racist elements).

And it's not that a rider is going to go through those specific mental machinations to say "Dr. Facilier isn't on this ride so the story isn't good enough for me to waste my time riding,"....it's that the lack of range of emotion, which is impacted by story, pacing, feelings evoked, may have riders finding it comparatively boring, which will reduce re-rides and the number of folks considering it a must do every time.

 

[ChrisFL]

After watching some more, including a low-light 4K ridethru....I get the idea...this isn't a dramatic story ride, it's a lighthearted party ride...and is that necessarily a bad thing?

 

[Gabby01]

I agree I think they are going for feel-good party vibes, and I like that! The last words you hear on the ride are something like "this party wouldn't be the same without YOU," which almost makes me think they're encouraging guests to sing along.

I also think they may be going for girl power by focusing on Tiana and Mama Odie (which I love!). When you think about it, dragging a dead villain back to be part of the ride might be construed as saying the female characters can't do anything meaningful on their own. Also, if Splash Mountain had nothing but male characters (granted, they were all animals) this could be Disney's way of balancing things out.

Finally, I think a theme park ride can have a plot, but I think it would be a stretch to say that it must have a plot . . . rides are fundamentally things you experience with your body and senses. If it's fun to ride, visually dazzling, and has a great soundtrack, that's an A+ from me.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

I've said it before and I will say it again. The decision to omit Facilier from the attraction almost certainly stems from Disney's desire not to alienate guests. Princess and the Frog was controversial in its release--and remains so even today--for its inclusion of Voodoo by way of Dr. Facilier. Do most people find Voodoo and Facilier objectionable? No, but the number of people who do is not insignificant, and Disney hardly wants to lean into being accused of incorporating Voodoo, Paganism, Satanism into one of their top-tier attractions,

The number of people who will say, "Dr. Facilier isn't on this ride so the story isn't good enough for me to waste my time riding," is a very small number. The number of guests who will say, "I'm not riding this, nor am I letting my kids ride because it promotes paganism and Voodoo," is almost certainly substantially higher.

Not trying to stir the pot. I'm genuinely curious... Isn't Mama Odie also a practitioner of voodoo?

 

[HopperFan]

Not trying to stir the pot. I'm genuinely curious... Isn't Mama Odie also a practitioner of voodoo?

"Mama Odie is a blind Voodoo priestess who lives deep in a Louisiana swamp. Mama Odie is the antithesis of Dr. Facilier’s character in every way. Although both possess Voodoo powers, Mama Odie’s practices white magic that seems to have been cultivated throughout her many years. Dr. Facilier deals in dark Voodoo magic brought about by deals with his “friends on the other side”.

Perhaps this is the difference.