Disneyland's Splash Mountain to close in late May to begin the transformation into Tiana's Bayou Adventure

Trooper Looper10 hours ago

If anyone is interested, here's a (presumably former) Disneyland painter/prop maker who worked on numerous classics including Splash Mountain sharing his thoughts on Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

truecoat2 days ago

Couldn't they have a B-mode where she at least bobs up and down like Buster?

Professortango12 days ago

Given how this attraction has been received and at how Pooh isn't broken, drawing decent wait times, I can't imagine that would be anything of a priority for Disney. I'd see them using Motorboat Cruise or Fantasyland Theatre before they try working in the tight footprints of the pretzel rides.

Nland3162 days ago

I don’t think this is appropriate for its own separate thread (at least at this current point in time), but the most recent Micechat live briefly talked about a rumor of Pooh being replaced. It was sort of inferred that it would be another PatF reskin, but themed more around Ray and Evangeline. Pooh would then be moving into Fantasyland, possibly replacing Pinocchio most likely. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some truth to this type of rumor (even if the IP is wrong) but figured I would just throw it out there as something being briefly mentioned. It didn’t sound like something immediate, so this is probably more of a blue sky idea more than anything else.

Figments Friend2 days ago

Thanks. I have a pretty good idea what his thoughts are on this atrocity… Really feel for the man as this has to be painful to watch unfold. A masterpiece of design, storytelling, and musical experience destroyed for a lesser tenent. Ripping at the heart much like the closure of the Original ‘Journey Into Imagination’…for us both. Time changes all things, but some things should sometimes NOT be changed. ‘Splash Mountain’ was a pure expression of sheer joy. The story of a rabbit who used his wits to outfox a manic fox and a dimwitted bear. Happiness, delight, drama, excitement, intrigue, intensity, fear, and joy are all experienced during the course of the ride experience. And let’s not forget about the big payoff at the end with a joyous reunion and celebration that was so memorable it literally had you humming a tune as you exited. ‘Bayou Misadventure’ tries too hard to seem ‘joyful’ and it falls flat on its cardboard face. The same feeling runs throughout the entire experience….wether that be a feeling of mediocrity or waiting for something to happen around the corner. There is no variety in what you are feeling at any given moment. Bland and contrived, it fails to deliver and worst of all robs Guests of what was once a major build up and payoff with the plunge. Shallowness is no match for pure creative excellence. I will never agree with the decision to remove the prior Attraction for the current atrocity. And I LOVE Tiana and ‘Princess & the Frog’..! The current Attraction is such a disappointment…to put it mildly. To not put it mildly, it ******* sucks. 🦃 -

EagleScout6102 days ago

Did you see that Tony supposedly rode TBA? His thoughts are a few posts up if you haven't.

Figments Friend2 days ago

This. I really miss the fact that these standards are not being followed for the most part these days. Glad to see I am not the only one who remembers the ‘old SoP’ standards … ‘Tiana’s Bayou Misadventure’ is such a disjointed mess on so many levels, SoP is just another mishap to throw on the long list of misguided mishaps. HOW …..just HOW is it now ‘okay’ to operate a major Attraction like this when the major central show elements and figures are NOT OPERATIONAL…?? 🤨 I want to slap someone in charge very badly. -

Castle Cake Apologist2 days ago

💯 If I recall, even Pirates had key figures that were required to operate the ride. The Auctioneer and the pirate dunking Mayor Carlos were two of them, I believe.

chadwpalm3 days ago

I recently read from someone (don't remember if it was here or Reddit or YouTube) that when you have a lot of animatronics like in Pirates or Splash, if one goes down it is far less noticeable than when you only have a few and they are being showcased as the main focus. When you have Tiana whom your meant to be looking at, even in the finale because she's the one singing, you very plainly see that she's broke and it affects the experience. If one of the Pirates goes down, you will notice, but it won't detract as much from the overall experience. In fact, for Pirates, they just remove the character temporarily to work on it and in that situation it's better than having it sit there lifeless. You can get away from that more in Pirates. Not so much in Tiana's. If finale Kylo goes down you notice (but at least there's a B-mode). If Hondo goes down you notice (but at least there's a B-mode). If Rocket goes down you notice (but at least there's a B-mode). Tiana has no B-mode. I won't say that this is an old vs. new either. If the boulder room in Indy goes down, you notice and that doesn't really have a B-Mode. If C-3PO goes down in the ST queue, you notice (though it is very rare). Not sure what point I'm making except that there should be contingencies. Either a B-Mode or don't make any particular animatronic that can't afford to go down be a centerpiece.

mickEblu3 days ago

😂

Disgruntled Walt3 days ago

It's just the design team re-riding to see where they went wrong.

EagleScout6103 days ago

Misted Compass3 days ago

To me it looked more like she was dejected. Head down, arms to her side, even with a somewhat sad expression on her face almost like she's thinking "I got my own ride and it turned out like this?"

Castle Cake Apologist3 days ago

I've told this anecdote here before, but when I started with Tomorrowland Ops at Magic Kingdom back in the ancient times (almost 20 years ago now!), Carousel of Progress wouldn’t even open if Uncle Orville's fan wasn’t working. It was considered a key effect, and ensuring that all major effects and figures were working for paying guests was SoP. The tracking cannons in Stitch’s Great Escape! were another example—officially considered “key figures” since they were treated as animatronics that were pivotal to the plot (beautifully animated ones, at that!). If the cannons weren’t running, neither was the show. Every attraction had official documentation detailing which animatronics and effects were critical for operation and which could remain non-functional until Maintenance could respond to our work orders (usually the same night). Now? We have this. Show standards have slipped so far, it’s almost laughable. Almost.