Tiana's Bayou Adventure: The Ride With Impossible Expectations
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- Опубліковано 11 лют 2025
- First, let me state that if you came here to express prejudiced comments about Tiana's Bayou Adventure or Splash Mountain, I'll essentially be banning you from the channel because I really have no tolerance for that. Recently, I was able to experience this new ride, so these are my thoughts on its quality and how it stacks up against the design of Splash Mountain.
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I think the only problem is the lack of a villain. It needs urgency. What worked for the old ride was you have this scary moment of the drop emphasizes with scary music and animatronics. And then the zip a do scene was a release “you made it”
Here it would have been wonderful to have a villain that makes you shrink and then go to the drop.
But the animatronics look epic
It's weird too considering the film has a great choice for a villain.
De todos los lugares en que creí que me iba a topar a Sol Carlos, este no era uno de ellos.
PD: que tengas una excelente boda
I think that's far from the only problem. There's no kinetic energy. Not enough animatronics
Jenny Nicholson pointed this out too, so many modern Disney attractions just seem to lack the stakes/sense of danger that past ones have.
@@ailem2707 She's a channel regular. No idea what her channel is about, but very clearly a big fan of Poseidon Entertainment
Not having Dr. Facilier on the ride at all feels really odd to me. I feel like adding him could add some kind of stakes to the ride.
Yeah setting it after the movie is one of those strange modern Disney quirks where they refuse to have an attraction "contradict" the movie it's based on.
Ya I think that is the biggest problem with the ride's story. The actual rework is pretty good for modern Disney and is definitely better than the Incredicoaster rework of California Screamin' but there aren't really any moments of fear like the original did.
Especially when that character and his song were by far the most memorable part of the film.
Yea he's an iconic villain and he deserves better!
The ride “icing” sucks (the cake part of the ride is obviously exactly the same ride) . They should have simply followed the princes and frog movie, I would have loved it!!!
The ride's biggest problem is its lack of story and repetitive dialogue, but I actually think it would be quite easy to fix: Just add one line early on mentioning that there's a scary part of the bayou you should steer clear of. Change the section of the ride where you're shrunk down to the size of a frog (formerly the Laughing Place) into the scary part of the bayou. Put a villain in there - maybe a scary predator animal that you "escape" from during the big final drop. You really just need to change that one section to build tension for the drop, and the rest of the ride can stay the same. And there you go, massive improvement.
As is, it's just going from one happy scene to the next, and a proper story that does not make. I have the same criticism toward Frozen Ever After.
Some part of me is always going to miss Splash Mountain, because it was the first Disney ride I ever went on, and it's what first introduced me to animatronics and the concept of dark rides. It was my favorite ride as a kid, and I have a lot of childhood nostalgia tied to it. But that doesn't mean I want Tiana's Bayou Adventure to fail. I think it just needs some tweaking, because the recent trend of Disney dark rides having nothing but happy scenes in them is pretty lame. On a positive note, the new animatronics are really impressive, especially Louis.
I like your solution a lot
That's a really incredible idea. If I didn't think that you would get attacked by other people, I would otherwise pin your comment because how good of a fix that is.
That's a great suggestion but I don't know what scary animal they can use, since most of the bayou animals are depicted as cutesy and friendly. I guess they didn't use any fish as a potential friendly animal. Maybe something like an alligator gar?
So basically, take a page out of Monster Mansion's book
@@e2daronthat ride scared me real bad so this approach would definitely work lol. Plus Monster Mansion was originally a ride based on Uncle Remus stories so that would be a funny coincidence
“Tiana’s errand running river cruise”
Lol.
I like how their solution to empty show scenes was just turning off the lights
You’re being generous that that turning off the lights thing was intentional, instead of a glitch. XD
Just goes to show how Disney innovates on the wrong areas.
Sure create super complex animatronics but then fail to actually focus on the ride itself
I'm sorry but that is standard procedure on nearly all of the dark rides at that park.
@@Cam4Cameron As to be expected by Disney nowadays…
i just hate the way tiana addresses the audience and makes the whole ride feel like an episode of dora the explorer. "Can YOU help us find the band in the bayou?" the writing is so strange, alien and lazy. They could have invented like… an evil brother of doc f to get revenge on tiana! That could have been fun! That tunnel is the perfect place for momma odie to save you at the last minute from getting dragged to the other side lol. I know splash mountain’s writing wasn’t great but it feels like the bar was pretty low and they still tripped over it.
I agree. I like attractions where it feels like I'm just going through their world and not really an active participant. A character may address you directly to set it up (pirates talking skull, haunted mansion ghost host) but everything else is just an experience in another world.
i feel like there could have been something there with Momma Odie saving riders from being dragged to the Other Side- that would have been far more interesting. the ride feels a bit soft as far as stakes go in the ride itself, and i think that may be my biggest complaint as well, but i also think there was someone higher up on the Disney Food Chain that said something along the lines of 'we can't scare the kids in this log ride', so they gave this ride some mittens to play things EXTREMELY safe.
i would have loved some sort of new villain in the ride, even if it was some critter that got its hands on Doc's necklace (i think he had a necklace? it's been a while since i've seen the movie) and was running around accidentally causing chaos. an in-park character would have been really great for them, but alas!
@@icy2523 That's why I don't mind the story of this ride. Yeah, it's stupid, but it doesn't really matter because you otherwise are just going through a lot of fun, well detailed atmospheric scenes.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I was gonna say I'm pretty surprised on this pretty lax review. I don't mind the whole re-theming but I felt like the drop could have been better and that really turned me off. Also, the amount of screens is too much for me. I really just dislike screens.
Tiana doesn't sound like herself on the ride at all, the voice direction seems to have been "enunciate your words slowly like you're on Disney Junior and teaching toddlers how to talk."
So the ride is like...
Tiana: "We need to find a band!"
Louis: "We need to find a band!"
Tiana and Louis: "Look, we found a band!"
...and you're only a third of the way into it. It really feels like they struggled to re-theme a whole mountain here.
As opposed to the plot of the original which was.....singing southern animals and a log flume.
@@InternatubeWhich was objectively superior to what it is now, it had actual merit and artistry.
@@johnyamahakeyboard7472 nah it was lame and outdated.
@@Internatube Nah, you just lack basic media literacy.
What I agree with most and frustrates me a lot is that Tiana's Bayou Adventure's tone is massively different from what Splash Mountain's was. While I also dislike what it's based on, Splash Mountain had a threat, rising tension, and a climax. It doesn't feel like Tiana's Bayou Adventure has that, and it perplexes me because Dr. Facilier is just... right there. Featuring him could've added a good villain and an important addition of "oh crap, we're being dunked down a 50 ft drop by an evil guy" that the original ride had. That tension is what got me so scared yet so enticed by the ride as a kid, and it's really disappointing that new riders won't be able to get that experience.
It reminds me of a lot of recent Disney films it feels like they're so afraid to feature a big antagonist and that just makes the experience so much worse for me. Personally this difference is enough for me to prefer Splash Mountain, and I really wish it could've been translated into the new ride.
Yeah. There's a pretty glaring mismatch between the ride system and the level of tension that they produce through the theming. Disney can make the ride as lighthearted and tension-free as they want to... but the ride track is still gonna have a 50 foot drop. It's a damn thrill ride, and trying to steer clear of tension to make it more accessible is pointless because littler kids are going to be scared away by the drop anyway. Splash understood how to synergize the story and ride system. Tiana's does not. I'll grant that much of this ride does seem like an improvement. But the story doesn't make sense for this ride, and they completely botched everything between the second and final drops. Poseidon handwaved this issue way too readily.
In the time since The Princess & the Frog came out, Facilier has been criticized as being a harmful stereotype of a religion that's practiced by mostly Black communities and has a lot of fear surrounding it, Voodoo. Replacing one problematic depiction with another would have been a terrible move. You could ask "well, why did they include it in the movie in the first place?" Well, clearly, Disney has had a...rough...track record with inclusivity and sensitivity.
I find it really funny that people's excuse for Facilier not being here is because he's dead. When did theme parks feel like committing to rigid canon? The fun of theme parks is meeting your favorite characters, the fact that you have to tell your kid he can't meet Luke at Star Wars Land because he's canonically a ghost doesn't equal fun. If anything it just limits what they can show in the park, like why have meet and greets of dead characters if it "goes against canon" by their logic?
Disney Parks will just make whatever excuse they need to in order to justify their (often bad) take on what their park goers want.
Isnt ray dead also but you hear him singing goin down the bayou... uhhh can sum1 explain xD
Disney made so much money off of the MCU during the 2010s that they're now applying ongoing movie franchise logic to theme park design
@@RariettyC You know what's funny, isn't Iron Man and Cap still in the park? I recall hearing it's some sort of neutral universe where everyone lived, if that is true I find it odd they don't just apply that logic to other areas. Correct me if I'm wrong tho.
Rowling was really into canonical accuracy, which is why she didn't put Harry Potter in Disneyland. It seems like Disney has been trying to 1-up her.
Was never really a fan of the original, but I feel like removing the tension heading up to the drop really kills anything that makes the ride notable, and a lot of water getting spashed into the boat basically removes any intruge I have for it as a dark ride.
I think that one of the under-discussed aspects of what made Splash Mountain so great is that it was a fully-fledged musical experience. I cannot think of any ride before or since (maybe Sinbad at DisneySea?) that has used music so thoughtfully. For example: the exterior section before Slippin' Falls did not have much happening visually, but what it did do was gradually ease you into the world of cartoon singing animals (layering in the How Do You Do melody, teasing you with character voices singing along as you pass the critter houses). When you reach the full-blown musical numbers, the lyrics have been rewritten to convey the plot. There is nothing incidental about the songs; the songs ARE the ride and dictate everything from the tone to the ride layout.
I was intrigued to see what Bayou Adventure would do musically, since the promotional materials made such a big deal out the song production. It was honestly kind of shocking that the ride immediately hits you with not one but TWO completely/mostly unaltered movie tracks (Down in New Orleans, Almost There) that exist to fill dead air and nothing else. If the songs were switched off nothing would be lost, and that is a problem for a supposed musical.
Gonna Take You there is especially bizarre, since the instrumentation is diegetically played by the critters and appropriately unique to the ride, yet the vocals are still sung by the extremely dead Ray. Why would the designers leave it like that?? Is this a musical or not?? Special Spice is cute but it comes and goes so quickly that you can barely appreciate it, since the ride opts to lead into it with Almost There (again) for some reason. The lyrics are also unrelated to the story, and I honestly wonder if it was commissioned for an unused version of the plot.
Maybe it’s not a popular opinion, but I also think the music from princess and the frog is mid. Not bad, just not great.
I KNEW something felt off about the music placement but just couldn't put my finger on why. You just read my mind
Splash Mountain felt like you were going into a world that is LIVED in, that despite not seeing critters in every corner, the set dressings give you the impression that something exists there. Tiana's Bayou Adventure feels like you're going through an abandoned swamp and the characters only show up to remind you they exist before disappearing into the darkness, which feels very unwelcoming. Really a major metaphor of modern Disney doing the bare minimum to entertain you and then making you find your own fun out of the lack of effort they put out.
Exactly.
Same reason that in film the first Alien and the original Star Wars trilogy are so good. Those worlds feel used
Couldn’t have said it better brother
Idk about Florida, but Disneyland actually did have a critter in every corner. That ride didn’t have a single area without something going on in it. Only the outdoor sections didn’t have critters, and those had houses and plants to set the scene
Old thing good! New thing bad!
My personal disagreement with this is giving the lack of story depth a pass because "the atmosphere has always been its strong point."
I think its pretty disingenuous to undermine the vitality of a ride's narrative structure and strength so long as it looks pretty. And in the case of Splash/Tiana's, I've gotten really tired by this excuse used over and over by people who want to shrug of valid criticism.
While Splash Mountain's plot wasn't anything groundbreaking, it still followed the basic structure of exposition, conflict, and resolution. Br'er Rabbit wants to find his laughing place, Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear chase him, catch him, and are thrown into the Briar Patch, and we see Br'er Rabbit being welcomed back by the rest of the critters. It's a solid narrative that - along with the atmosphere - further aids the log-flume ride system, especially the final act of going up the lift hill.
Meanwhile, Tiana's story is just... exposition. There's not much really going on; all that's there is seeing one highlighted show scene to the next. When you compare the two (which is going to be an inevitability and - if I'm being quite honest - valid), Splash's story has better cohesion with its ride system, while Tiana's fumbles the bag. That's why many people bring up the want of an antagonist like Dr. Facilier - so it can bring back the suspense and tension, and thus the lighter scenes are even lighter.
I get it, not every ride needs to be a book report in rideable form. But this is Disney's Princess and the Frog we're talking about, a very beloved story by many that people were really excited to see be given a spotlight as a ride. Is it really that bad to want to hold Disney accountable for having a standard in good storytelling in their rides? The very thing that made their theme parks elevated from the rest?
The video also alleges that the average park goer will not glean that story from splash mountain but I strongly disagree. It’s set up from the queue through the attraction, and reinforced through both the dialogue and lyrics of the songs (as opposed to Tiana’s, which slaps music from the film in everywhere but the finale with no thematic coherence whatsoever).
@@Michael-bs5tz yeah, even if you dont get the story, it follows a very clear story structure that you can understand. rabbit wants to leave home > rabbit causes trouble > rabbit gets in trouble > rabbit gets out of trouble lets celebrate
you can feel the emotions they are putting down even if you dont necessary get the story, though the attraction is better knowing what is going on in the climax (brer rabbit tricking them) but to say tianas story is on par is just lying, there is no structure
hi its tiana from The Movie> I need musicians for my band > I need musicians for my band > we almost have enough muscians for our band lets make you small > lets make you big again > 50 ft plummet down a mountian > party time
Tokyo Disney and its three new rides are all just literally rehashes of the stories already told in their respective movies, but in ride form, and every single one of them are getting incredibly positive rave reviews. Nothing but compliments about the pacing of the rides, the animatronics, the atmosphere, everything. The Tokyo Disney Imagineers have no problem seeing a perfect story and deciding to adapt it into ride form, but our American Disney counterparts want to make something "original" so badly that they're willing to ruin a franchise to do it. They didn't need to do this whole critter party thing at all; they could have adapted Princess and the Frog beat for beat into the ride and it would've been highly loved. Tokyo proves that you don't need to expand a story or write a new one if the original story is already good.
Hearing about needing a Dr. Facilier stand-in rubs me the wrong way because they would still have to write a new story about the conflict, and thus far, Disney's new rides don't seem to have the ability to tell good stories anymore. Disney could have just taken the movie as-is and turned it into a ride. The story beats would have meshed perfectly with the layout of the ride.
I mean its not like splash had peak storytelling either lol
@@CosmeAcajor That is true; even I mentioned that the story itself isn't groundbreaking. But how it differs from Tiana's is that it was more coherent and better structured once you lay it all out.
Poseidon is one of the most vocal against the rock-work and greenery being a positive on Seven Dwarfs. To see similar execution being praised here is a bit strange.
I still think a Kermit's Swamp Ride with the Muppets would have been a better way to go. They're fun, energetic characters, they could've had a fun easter egg with Fozzie dangling like Bre'r Bear, Gonzo or Crazy Harry blows something up before the big drop. Disney's owned the Muppets for how many years now, and they still dont have their own ride, or much of anything really.
Wow, that would have been a great idea!
Bean Bunny could dress like Brer Rabbit he looks like him!
@@Allie_Caan yes!
Also, floating along to the tune of Rainbow Connection just sounds blissful.
I’m still hoping that if rockin rollercoaster does ever get that retheme that they go with the electric mayhem
I loved the original. The story, the songs, the thrills, the animals, the perilous drop, etc. I also loved the lesson at the end about how there’s no place like home. I’ll always remember it and it will always have a special place in my heart.
The bayou adventure seems boring by comparison. If they had included scarier elements, voodoo, and Doctor Facilier, it would have made the ride much more awesome. I do not know if any of the songs will be near as memorable, though.
The plot to this ride honestly baffles me. Not in how it's told (although it is told very poorly) but why they chose what they did. "Let's go put together a critter band" has absolutely NOTHING to do with The Princess and the Frog. Louis wanted to be a jazz trumpeter, but specifically wanted to join a *human* jazz band and was upset people were scared of him. No other animals were invested in becoming musicians. This wasn't remotely part of the movie.
If you're a big fan of The Princess and the Frog and were looking forward to this ride, I can't imagine the experience is particularly cathartic. Some of the scenes are pretty cute (and I really like the part where you're shrunk down, what a neat perspective) but the queue is a much better sendup to the movie than the actual ride is.
Recent Disney rides have two main problems - overuse of trackless ride vehicles, and a complete lack of any sense of danger or fear. I mean, this ride has the word "Adventure" in it, but it is not an adventure. The definition of adventure is "an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity". Old Disney had enough faith in its audience to put them through a brief moment of fear, even flirting with the concept of death, with the promise of a big payoff of relief at the end. Recent rides don't do this at all.
It doesn't feel like they respect the emotional capacity of adults or especially children. It's very confusing how laid back and aimless the ride is when they have a 50 foot drop boldly displayed as the centerpiece of the exterior. I was actually a little enthusiastic when I heard in May that the lift hill would be like a celebration that has you singing along excitedly with anticipation, I thought the tone change would be an interesting new interpretation of the drop, but after seeing the real ride, I'm underwhelmed. If they didn't make the drop so obvious in the exterior part, there wouldn't be anything in the ride to suggest that a 50 foot drop would even be there
If they didn't do the "are you ready" lift hill with Facilier that literally everyone has suggested, they could've at least made the lift hill and the drop exciting and triumphant... if the ride actually had a story and a feeling of accomplishment or thrill to lead up to it
also "Tiana's Bayou Adventure" isn't a very snappy or memorable name... but "Splash Mountain" is
It’s the runaway railway situation, the fact that Tiana replaced splash mountain instead of being a new ride concept. Of course it’s gonna draw flak. Definitely more effort could have gone to fill the empty parts between each show scene…
They failed their own storyline it was finding animals for a band but in the ride you already have the band if the band was more stretched out through the scenes it would've been so good still I am not here to hate on tianas
I think the empty parts are likely because it was designed for Disneyland, which is a bit smaller. I suspect the MK version will get more scenes over time.
I wish it were just that
@@ZontarDowYeah, the timing was the sticky part. They said they were already planning on retheming splash, but if they were, why announce it then? Why not announce it at the last D23 when all that other info came out. The announcement for the jungle cruise update came up then; why not announce it at that point? If the plan was to always retheme it to Tiana, and the idea was in place before then, why just an image and a rough summary at that point? I'm sure there was a plan for splash to be rethemed and maybe they were going to do a Tiana attraction, but I doubt it was ever going to be what it was. Especially since the execution seemed so half assed. (By Disney standards)
Runaway is a great ride, with the nods to GMR cheeky and fun. I get the flack for replacing it. I just missed it when I went for the first time.. it was arguably the last Bastian of MGM studios, so it's a good thing the queue was untouched.
Anyway, my thoughts.😊
@@MrMac1138I hope so but with the way the company likes to cut corners…
I don't think the ride is /that bad/ by itself, but as a replacement for Splash Mountain, and as a Tiana Ride, I just don't think it met its potential. It totally could have - with more of a story, I think this ride could have been absolutely great. I think as is, the story just isn't enough to meet the thrills of the ride. At the same time, I think the animatronics and atmosphere are really great, and I'm a sucker for jazz music... Just wish the ride had a better story,, because as it is it seems like a little kid ride and not a thrill ride.
It definitely has issues for sure, but having gone back to Splash to compare them, I realized how flawed that ride was too. To me, it feels like an equivalent replacement and I was surprised how much I liked it after I rode.
Finally. A comment that isn't begging for a dead character.
@@PoseidonEntertainmentsplash mountain > Tiana's Boring Adventure
@@PoseidonEntertainment I definitely agree, I think all the comments I've seen calling this ride "a disgrace to splash mountain" (literally saw that one verbatim on tiktok) are being disingenuous. Although I don't have any strong feelings about Splash one way or another, so I guess it could be people's nostalgia talking. Either way the hate is way overblown for sure
@@maddiemaccheese8170definitely agree that it’s disingenuous. People are acting like splash mountain was Shakespeare when it was really scattered scenes of forgotten characters from source material Disney tried to bury. Not a bad ride by any means but it was never pirates or haunted mansion. People just cling to tightly to nostalgia or their obsession with newer media being “woke”
It's really just Frozen Ever After again. You have these incredible animatronics that don't work half the time. Then there's a very generic story that's difficult to understand. Dr. Facilier was one of their most popular villains, and they really pushed him for a while, yet he's completely absent from the ride, just like Hans is missing from Frozen Ever After (though he's not quite as popular). There are long stretches with nothing going on and no theming because all the budget went into impressive animatronics that are a coin toss as to whether or not they're working that day due to being so complex. That's the new Disney standard, apparently.
This ride really had potential to be a worthy successor to Splash. I think the mandate preventing Facilier from being used in the ride really held it back.
Wait there was a mandate preventing him from being used???
He went to the other side at the movie. This takes place after the movie. So there is no mandate.
@@djdsfNo one knows about a mandate but he could have been brought back via magic. They were too afraid of offending people due to voodoo. I think that’s too much safe space thinking personally but what can you do, the song would have indeed been perfect for a lift hill.
@@Holybeatdown What drugs are you on and where can I get so e if them to hallucinate like you when you say that people are getting offended by Tiana or Voodoo. Gtfoh
@@Holybeatdown”safe space thinking”. Ah yes, refusing to engage with racist misinterpretations of a religion is “safe space thinking.” I’m sure Poseidon Entertainment is just delighted to read these kind of comments. Now as for some actual valid criticism: I think they could have depicted his powers as generic “evil magic” and just not used the word “voodoo” at all. They do, in the film, simply call him “the shadow man” after all, which is pretty vague. You can be culturally sensible while still using his music.
If I was in charge of this, I would have either done a muppets ride, or move the country bears into splash mountain, with a plot involving the bears on a road trip to the west, with a few nods to the oregon trail thrown in, with all the country bear music being played throughout
@FaithElizabeth1981 or give her a restaurant with a audio animatronic band of characters from the movie
I respect your opinion, particularly as I know you've tended to dislike most things they've done lately and I'm happy that you like something. I like many of the things you've recently criticized, like Remy's, Galaxy's Edge, and Runaway Railway.
This, however, I find lifeless, empty, and devoid of a compelling story. You go out looking for a band, immediately find them, and go home. Oddly passive for one of the park's biggest thrill rides. Instead of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, it should be called "The Least Eventful Day Tiana Ever Spent in the Bayou."
I want to offer a thesis which I’m sure will rub some people the wrong way, but I think is a strange pattern. Obviously the Disney/theme park UA-camr/influencer sphere is very white, and the people I see who tend to like the movie in a vocal way are white people. As a mixed race person who is partially white, I get it. People don’t want to be called racist. But I also think many folks are enthusiastically for Princess and the Frog and now this ride because the optics of defending splash mountain are difficult and potentially bad.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think PATF is a bad movie. It has its charms and strong points. But I also don’t think it’s the height of cinema or even in the top ten best Disney films. It’s mid in the most objective sense. I get that some of this is subjective, but prior to 2020, you rarely heard people actually talk about it. Not only that, but many people of color also have mixed feelings about the movie itself (there are a number of good sized black UA-camrs who have discussed their issues with the film). But the people who I notice tend to be super defensive about it are white progressives.
So, I of course do not know what Poseidon Entertainments heritage is, (but ai suppose my criticism here reveals my assumption that he is white) but I suspect some of this comes into play. Again, trying to say that this ride isn’t worthy or good enough can feel like arguing for a problematic material. I understand it, but I do think that many people are being disingenuous saying the overall product is better.
Ultimately, this ride is…fine. It’s just okay. There obviously some welcomed improvements, but I don’t feel like it’s really fair to say that Splash Mountain couldn’t have been updated and improved. But I feel like many people are trying to use this as the reason that it’s obviously a better replacement. Some are also obviously trying to keep their place on the media list, but overall I think there is a reticence by many to critique this ride too heavily because it may suggest they are racist.
I don’t mean for this to be as inflammatory as it is, but I guess that unavoidable. To be fair, I could be entirely wrong but I think the big problem in Princess and the frog is how little it actually talks about or acknowledges race and I think there is a failure to do that here too.
@8opus244 This is a fantastic point. The Princess and the Frog was a weak band-aid on the longgg lack of representation of Black Americans in Disney media (literally don't get me started on ANY non-lion African rep) and was still kinda poorly done. The fact that it in 2020, was still the only Black rep property they could pull out to wash away their "happy slave propaganda film " [on a ride that they built in 1989??] highlights further how far Disney still needs to go if they want to prove "magic is for everyone."
Disney omitting Dr. Facilier for the sake of a dumbed down, more "child friendly" experience is so perplexing to me. It would have fixed so many flaws currently present.
I don't find empty scenes of bushes and screens very detailed. Is removing 70% of the classic animatronics that take up the ride and replacing them with quite literally nothing count as detailed?
Can’t get over the name though. Not only did they remove the mountain motif that tied Splash Mountain to Space and Big Thunder Mountain, I don’t like the ‘Adventure’ part. Modern Disney loves calling their rides ‘Adventures’
Do something like Mardi Gras Mountain or something like that
I find it funnier than I probably should that the acronym is TBA. As if they wrote down the new name a To Be Announced a few too many times and ended up with this as a backronym
I definitely agree with the name. "Splash Mountain" was iconic branding with Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. People often threw in Matterhorn and Everest too. The current name is too unwieldy and could have reasonably kept the Splash Mountain name with an additional word or two added.
@@PoseidonEntertainment or just call it "tiana looks for musicians"
Mardi Gras Mountain would have been interesting.
@@veritassumma5728🙌🙌🙌
I have been on this ride already and I can confirm this was one of the most disappointing revamps I’ve ever ridden. They took everything out and added 1 small scene in each large room. Very disappointed at Disney.
Some people just enjoy being unhappy.
I’m not white, my family isn’t either. We never got off the original Splash Mountain and thought “what a bigoted experience that was!” People are just allergic to fun and the irony is that 95% people who were complaining about the ride being “problematic” are probably white.
@@SometimesCompitent some people just can’t handle valid criticism.
@@SometimesCompitent I love how today, people can't complain or give genuine criticism about something without being called "whiner", "unhappy", "too negative", ect.
@@robertparker6280or racist.
Positives:
+The lighting was nice.
+The miniature part was neat and visually interesting.
+The big party looked nice and visually interesting.
Negatives:
-What was the theme? I felt like I didn't really know what was going on the entire ride.
-There is absolutely no sense of danger, build up, evocation of emotion, and finally victory.
-The outside scenes look obviously repurposed and not themed for the ride at all. This looks super cheap. You can't put a banner up and call it theming.
-Why was there absolutely nothing on the climb up to the drop? Is this nap part?
-The big party didn't last nearly as long as it should have. You get to see it for like 5 seconds and you can't take in anything. I think this had to do with Disney not wanting to do any major renovation of the ride so design decisions were more of "how can we fit this in" rather than "we're making this area specifically for this."
This could have been a decent ride but more thought and money needed to be spent prior to the "renovation." I use air quotes because again putting up a banner and calling it theming isn't a real renovation. More time should have been put into the story and theme which is like a movie that you need three acts essentially to make it engaging. Then, more money should have been spent on the outside portions to make it actually feel like you're really in a bayou and not a briar patch. This move just seems like the typical new Disney decision making where "hey it's new therefore it will draw in X% new ticket sales over the next Y quarters" and not "will people be able to enjoy this for generations to come?"
Exactly. I'm honestly surprised that he said that he likes this ride, because it is missing the most important element of all: excitement. Animatronics, atmosphere, and whatever else he liked were all things that Splash Mountain used to build excitement. The ride may not have had an obvious storyline, but it still did a great job of conveying plot. The introduction to the characters' happy lives, the rising action with the fox and the bear, the climax with the fox throwing the rabbit into the briar patch, and the resolution with the joyous boat scene. Tiana's Bayou lacks all of it, and no amount of other elements makes up for it. Disney took the exciting Splash Mountain and turned it into another Na'vi River Journey or Small World ride. Disappointing.
I thought the negatives list would never end
I'd say you nailed it on the head here.
Yes I completely agree this is insane how they can call this a renovation when all they did was paint things and changed some animatronics. The line is nice it has more detail than splash but that was the only thing better. They didn’t even change the logs which is absurd since it is in the 1920. They did the bare minimum on which they could do. I’m wouldn’t be shocked if it won’t be nearly as popular as it was before. The ride also doesn’t fit in with the frontier theme at all. Even though he said it was still frontier and that may be true it is in the completely wrong time. It would be like me saying that Great Britain is still medieval even though it’s the 21st-century. It Is completely ridiculous that this ride was changed to what it is now. I would rather have them go through and make it themed on big thunder since it would look more visually pleasing than what it is now, and it would fit in more and probably be more thrilling than what it is now.
I hate seeing The Princess and the Frog characters on screens in CG. I'm wiling to give the benefit of the doubt and assume that it was to keep them more visually consistent with the animatronics, but I feel like it's more jarring to see a 3D animated Tiana than a 2D animated one.
Quick edit: The ride does look good on the whole! I just hate to see the last 2D princess like… that…
Well get ready because that version has to be coming to D+
right? it looks horrible..
I feel the same. I think especially the screen after you shrink should have been hand drawn animation style.
But also I personally hate Disney (and other Studios) insane reliance on 3D animation.
What once was a Pixar technological wonder is now just completely lazy animation.
My opinion is Disney Animation should have remained 2D hand drawn and the Pixar wing could stay 3D computer animation.
Yeah, the 3D animation is weird, but I get why they did it. I would have just preferred that they eliminated screen characters entirely.
Bro, they are animatronics.
Usually agree with your criticisms but cannot agree that this is a strong ride. It's a noticeable step down from something that was built 20 years ago and the only area where Disney put any effort in was the final room. I strongly disagree about the empty areas being good atmosphere in a ride that is supposed to be an adventure. This should have been an improvement in every way to Splash but it still uses all of the same areas in between the animatronics and adds little. I'm not giving Disney any credit for doing more than they usually do when it comes to replacing something as iconic as Splash Mountain. And the rides biggest fault is there is no story. There is nothing to leave with. The ride could be summed up in a sentence while Splash had so much world building.
my big complaint - it has no point. every other ride let's you jump into the story you know. Peter pan doesn't take you to what happens after the kids leave - you relive the story we saw in the movie. Same with every other ride, except this one. Going to a party after the events of the movie feels like the designers missed the point
I don't need Facilier (though that would have been nice) and I don't need more animatronics (though that would be nice too). Tiana is my favorite Disney Princess by far due to her grit and stick-to-itiveness , but for me, Splash was the better attraction because it had a complete hero's journey, a range of emotions, and more things to look at (which is what I value *most* on a dark ride). None of what makes Tiana a great character (or at least the kind of character with values we want kids to emulate) comes through in the attraction because there's no obstacles for her to demonstrate those values.
Bayou Adventure falls short on the things I valued most from Splash and the things I value most about Tiana. I hope they revisit it in 10 years and overhaul the narrative to address what I feel are relevant shortcomings, but I certainly wouldn't want them to remove her IP from the attraction. To be clear - Tiana deserves an E-Ticket attraction; I just think she deserved better than she got.
Couldn’t have put it better myself
It's just got no story. I dont get why they didn't bring the doc in. I know it's supposed to be after the movie, but when your villain practices voodoo, you could easily have him come back in some spirit form. Its almost like they wanted to recreate the Pandora boat ride but forgot that unlike Pandora, New Orleans is a real place so that mystical feel of going through a different planet's wilderness that Pandora offers is out the window.
I was ten years old when i rode splash (and now i guess ill never ride it again) and I'd never seen the characters before, but I still remember the story. The classic "i want a more exciting life, went out there, was careless, gets caught up in dangerous situation, then gets home and decides a quiet life is okay'. I even remember that the rabbit was clever, tricking the fox to throw him into the thorns so he could get away. It's a very simple, but effective, story, it isn't hard to understand.
for a 10 year old to figure all that out from one ride-through is the exception, most people would not
@@jamsquan9415 most people I knew heard the story as a bed time story around age 5.
If you think that’s an exception to some rule then you might as well say the same thing about Pooh Bear.
Still exists in Tokyo Disney (although it is all in Japanese)
@@jimmyjamsburner6944 people pull all stops to act like this.
If they did get rid of it they’d be saying “stop complaining, you can still watch the videos povs.” Or some shit…
Respect the nuance...but personally, I think the ride is awful. The lack of any tension whatsoever in the story just makes it fall so flat. Even though Splash's story was hard to follow, you still get the sense of being in danger and needing to escape. I also really wish they kept some of the America Sings animatronics to fill out some of the emptiness, as well as contribute to preserving park history. This video did help me to see some of the positives though. The ride could have been so much worse and it does feel like Disney at least tried in some respects.
I personally feel like the story is splash. Mountain looks pretty easy to understand because they literally sing about What is going on in the story.
For someone whose videos are all about maintaining quality in the theme parks, it is really surprising to see you say "the story is dumb but I don't care". The story is the attraction, otherwise just put some IP on a rollercoaster and call it good like Six Flags. If the story is dumb that makes the whole foundation of the attraction dumb... I feel like you are more happy at the physical props making a return to the ride and ignoring the glaring, massive issue, and what has the general Disney guest scratching their head. Its a princess and the frog ride, with no semblance of the characters personalities from the movies, no plot that actually has stakes (this is a thrill ride after all) and leaves you wondering at the end... What did I just ride when you get off.
They couldn't even include "Princess" in the title.
It's because he's too busy tip-toeing around the cultural dogma.
@@arealworm Exactly right!
agreed. love his content generally but this just felt very different from most of his reviews.
@@arealwormI swear people didn’t even know about this “cultural” drama and now people are pulling it out of their asses as an excuse to attack splash mountain. The ride was already open for quite some time so I’m not sure why they now want to remove it. Splash mountain is a classic ride, and Disney replaced it for the sake of “inclusivity” and “sensitivity”. Tiana could have been a worthy replacement but it seems the only thing that disney can innovate is robots and not the actual tide
Splash Mountains cultural context was never an issue for anyone and ignoring was perfectly fine, it was when miserable people wanted something to complain about that it seemed like an issue. Silencing those who want to discuss this and have differing opinions from you is just childish honestly
̶B̶u̶d̶g̶e̶t̶s̶ ̶S̶l̶a̶s̶h̶e̶d̶ Mountain II, i was rather unimpressed with the ride as a whole, i feel like they could have done better in about every aspect. i wasnt even a big fan of the original splash but i think they rather dropped the ball here. The story is off, i feel like the animatronics are impressive but poorly integrated into the rides plot.
The plot is dumb, but it doesn't really matter. I think of the strength of Splash was the atmosphere and I think that's the strength of Tiana's too.
Splashs strongest strength and what the old Imagineers got right was the world building. They weren't the most advanced animatronics and some of the sets didn't have any but they all contributed to feeling like you entered that story when you first go in to the climax. This however feels like any random cave with forest sets and a few animatronics. It's not cohesive in its storytelling. You could replace the Tiana animatronics and replace them with any other properties just based on a forest and it would still work. That used to be the Disney magic and it's what makes this come off as something that could have been at a third party theme park outside of the final room where the budget all went.
@@PoseidonEntertainment
@@PoseidonEntertainmentthe plot of splash mountain was really cool tho! Like I read the full song of the south book so that made it way more enjoyable! The voice acting was also really good too. This Tiana ride is just sooo meh.
@@optimusprime777slapAgreed. Having a pathetic story would be completely acceptable for a six flags or cedar fair ride. The problem is, this is Disney replacing a ride that had a great story with one that has barely any
Kids are going to love this ride/refurbishment and honestly that's all that matters. Disney adults aren't the target audience here.
Gonna have to disagree with you on this one, but glad you enjoyed it. I know that this is your true opinion and not one of a “shill” because of how critical you have been of Disney in the past.
Agreed. You can tell this is genuine passion and he backs up his opinions with footage and context. A lot of us will still disagree with his takes, but that's part of the fun 😎
Yeah, I gotta give this one a hard disagree too. This ride just kinda reeks of missed potential imo. No Dr. Faciller? Why is the ride about collecting vegetables? Where is the prince?
@@HeftyDan agreed. It’s telling that the story is a miss when many fans think it’s about finding the special spice when it’s actually about organizing critters for a band
Yeah when he said "a disguise for their malicious prejudices" I kinda feel like he believes a lot of people who defend splash mountain are secretly racist or something when they are totally not. If you're someone like me who's actually read the book and found the ride really cool because of it then there's nothing wrong with that.
@@optimusprime777slap A lot of them are, otherwise he wouldn't have had to make a statement lmfao.
It is funny that Dr. Facilier was not in the ride because he is dead but the going down the bayou song is unchanged and the character who sings that died as well. Also voodoo is a legit reason as to why Facilier could be in the ride 😭
That was literally I was going to say! Isn't it weird that Ray is still alive and not dead. This ride makes no sense at all.
I feel that it's hypocritical to applaud Disney for using modern day animatronics but then try to justify the mediocrity of the story by comparing it to how it was presented in the previous attraction. Disney had a chance to improve upon what was there and push their story telling talents into the modern day, but they failed. An epispode of Dora the Explorer has higher stakes and causes more of an emontional investment.
Agree. But you gotta realize the only story these 🤡 care about now is the one where you buy your beignets, your small cup of gumbo, your alcoholic drink and your Tiana merch after the ride ends. Preferably taking pics of it that you’ll put on your Insta.
i mean, the video is meant to be a comparison. i don't think pointing out the original had some major storytelling issues when discussing the (admittedly flawed) story of the new ride is the same as justifying it. it's just pointing out that people say a lot of stuff about the original that just isn't true because they are blinded by nostalgia and bias, which is a fair point.
Honestly yes, Dora genuinely has more of a story
Be mindful of shifting baselines. 'Some parts are improved' does not mean it's good. Years of degraded attraction development can erode expectations.
1000%
“The drop is the drop.” Why doesn’t this lead to a bad review. The drop was integral to the storytelling in the original SM. You were being thrown into the briar patch with Brer Rabbit. There does not seem to be any real story element to the drop in TBA. The drop is the key to any flume ride.
Ok, but 99% of the park guests didn’t even get that that’s what was happening, I honestly had to watch Song of the South to even realize that.
Most people didn’t even know there was a story… it was just funny animals and a drop on a log ride.
@@JavaCake I agreed with Poseidon that most people didn’t get the story of the mid-ride scenes, like the laughing place. But I remember riding SM as 7 or 8 years old and understanding that the rabbit tricked the bear and fox into throwing him into the briar patch. The story was told well on the final lift and then the finale. Also the theme of homecoming was not lost on me as a kid.
@@JavaCakeFrom when I was a kid, maybe I didn't know that Brer Rabbit tricked the other two into being thrown down the briar patch to land safely but I perfectly could tell they were chasing him and we were warned of the danger of the fall ahead since even before boarding. With some signs on the queue, little signs throughout the ride, lines of dialogue and even mentioned every once in a while in the songs (ok, maybe you had to pay more attention to this last part), you could tell the briar patch was dangerous and a fall down there could kill you. I mean, not understanding the "tricking" part actually made you more scared for the rabbit and for yourself... That's why all the previous smaller "mock" falls worked better, you didn't know if this was the big one. And then with the vultures before the drop and seeing they had succeded in capturing Brer Rabbit you were told that was the end for you both. Then there was the relief of the finale zip a Dee doo boat scene. All those story points, I could infer even being a Mexican kid tourist with limited English knowledge.
@@mariotorresgo I was more referring to Br’er Rabbit being thrown into the Briar Patch being the big drop, but yes, I did understand that there was a Fox and a Bear chasing a rabbit. To be fair though, the first time I rode Splash I was more focused on the drops rather than the show scenes.
Singing the songs was one of the best parts of Splash…I really wish they just did the movie so we could sing “almost there”
I never knew Splash Mountain was based off of a film until everyone kept talking about it being about a film. Splash had many speaking and singing characters, whereas Tiana's Bayou foregoes this and leaves a lot of dark and dreary dead space in between. I don't see why some of the Splash characters from America Sings couldn't have been in Tiana's band, too (they are currently out of work rn, and could use the gig).
Universal : we’re opening up a whole new theme park
Disney: we have a new coat of paint…and a copy of a roller coaster
So…we basically have Dora (Tiana) the explorer episode in the bayou.
I definitely prefer the original Splash by a long shot, and it's not just because of nostalgia, either... the new ride has no climax, the plot is literally a Dora the Explorer plot. Entire story feels like they used an early version of ChatGPT to write it.
At least Dora had that fox guy who tried to steal their stuff.
There is no story. Tiana recruiting a bunch of animals to play a band at a party is not a story for what is supposed to be an adventure log ride.
Tiana's Boring Adventure as I always say
@@owivictin4878 SWIPER, NO SWIPING
@@officialmonarchmusic YES, THAT ONE!
I think the part that makes this worse is that your comparison basically ended up with a 1:1 ratio with Splash Mountain and Tiana's Bayou. The amount of the things improved vs taken away makes it seem like Disney wanted to mimic Splash Mountain by doing the bare minimum to copy it, instead of making the ride better. If they wanted to win over the fans of Splash Mountain, they should have tried to take all of the elements of Splash Mountain and just make it better as a whole. Instead, they improved some things by sacrificing others, creating a very boring looking and feeling ride. Even with a weak storyline, Splash Mountain did an excellent job with conveying emotion and providing contrast. The high moments were very high, the scary moments were very scary, and the silly moments were very silly. And without even knowing what was happening, riders could still get a feeling of the exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution of the ride. Tiana's Bayou mimicked all the elements of Splash Mountain except the elements that made it cohesive and exciting. It's another Na'vi River Journey but with drops. They created a loud storyline but did not fill in the gaps or create emotion to follow that storyline, which only exaggerated the fact that their storyline is dumb. People enjoy Small World because it has a calming and whimsical atmosphere, but that is to be expected from a small indoor boat ride for families. Splash Mountain was known for its' excitement and thrill as a flume ride in the South, and Tiana's Bayou took that away to replace with a boring plot and bland theming. It had so much potential to be exciting using the plot from Princess and the Frog, but yet again they chose to do the bare minimum. Disney rose in popularity because it always provided quality for its' consumers, and now it is cutting every corner to gain extra profit. Because the company knows that people will still support them regardless thanks to nostalgia and the big name of Disney. I wish people would unanimously stop supporting them until they make better choices.
Epic universe opens in one year and this is all Disney can do after 3 years?? They’re cooked
Tiana’s Broken Adventure…
To me, the problem is Tiana's is a great dark ride/boat ride like It's a Small World or Navbi River Journey, but it's been awkwardly and inelegantly placed on a log flume track where it doesn't belong. This means that there's a disconnect between the story/atmosphere and the course the ride takes. The big drop is now something that takes the guest out of the experience rather than the climax the ride has been building up to.
This would be better if that drop was removed entirely and what story there is would make more sense. The other smaller drops could stay, but that big one does not work at all with the new story. They really should have put more thought into working with the layout they had, because the drop absolutely needs there to be some sort of tension in the story to build up to it. Because of the story they went for, the drop went from the best part of the ride to the worst part.
Small World is more exciting than TBA.
@@pilotcritic Small World definitely has more to see than TBA
I just can't forgive the absence of any tension or story. It was Splash Mountain's strongest aspect. The feeling you get from finally conquering the drop and floating into the finale scene was absolutely one of a kind. I agree that most people wouldn't have been able to follow Splash's story super closely (for the reasons you mentioned) but I'm pretty sure everybody picked up on the fact that brer bear and fox were repeatedly trying to "get" Brer Rabbit. It was like an atmospheric and charming road runner and coyote-esque cartoon that you rode your boat through. The story telling wasn't in the dialogue, it was in the visuals. Bayou Adventure has no visual storytelling whatsoever. Even with the weak premise of just searching for critters to be in the band, they could have easily created memorable scenes that portrayed something more than just randomly seeing the characters scattered about. The only thing that comes even close to successful in this regard is when you are shrunk down, which was actually a cool idea and seemed promising at first, but once you are shrunk after the drop the ride just goes right back to being slow and uneventful. You are small for the sake of being small and nothing creative or interesting came out of it.
The exterior of the mountain is pretty. The animatronics are very nice. The queue actually is a huge upgrade, too - I'll 100% agree with that. However, the ride overall is just so full of missed opportunities and disappointing execution... it's very difficult to see this as a worthy Splash replacement.
It's also not fair to generalize people with negative opinions of the retheme as either "unable to let go of the past" or "using Splash as a platform for their prejudices". It's easy to let go of a bad ride. Splash was a masterpiece. And 99.9% of people who loved splash have no idea what Song of the South is (or at least they didn't until all of this happened). Wanting the ride to stay does not have anything to do with being racist or insensitive, in my opinion.
All of that being said, I LOVE this channel and your content. I agree with a vast majority of your videos. And I I have no problems with your opinions or points made in this video. Agree to disagree and complete respect.
"It's also not fair to generalize people with negative opinions of the retheme as either 'unable to let go of the past' or 'using Splash as a platform for their prejudices'."
It's VERY clear to me that this is the case for a huge number of people who were never going to give this ride a chance. They either wanted to be bitter, or are definitely using the ride for culture war virtue signaling. Save Splash Mountain was a hate group founded in mid November of 2020 that I was invited to when I first started the channel. What I saw in there was very much coded racism, using this ride as a shield for the things that they actually wanted to say.
Anyways, yes, I very much agree with your other points. Tiana's could use a lot of improvements and many of its issues could have been avoided. Still, this is a good first step in the right direction for Disney and it's a very strong ride when experiencing it in person.
@@PoseidonEntertainmentyikes!! I was going to comment a similar response regarding dismissing fans of splash mountain as racists but given the context of that “Save Splash Mountain “ group, I can see why. I wanted Splash Mountain saved or at least the wonderful characters designed by Marc Davis. There is so much history with those critters!!
I'm sorry, but since I was 6 years old I was able to understand the story of Splash Mountain. I'd certainly rather have something a little more complex that not every three year could understand first ride, than have such a lack of a story like Tianas does. I also feel like all of the critter band animatronics are a downgrade from their splash mountain counterparts with an extreme lack of motion.
I was taking back by the insinuation that New Orleans is not “in the south“
I live here in NOLA, it’s common for people to acknowledge that it’s geographically in the South, but culturally it’s its own thing. The northern most Caribbean City is what I hear a lot, and I agree. The moment you leave the city, it is very southern culturally. But New Orleans really is a little microcosm.
It's because it was under French control for so long and their colonial rules were so different from the stricter racial lines of the Anglo
@@RoyalKnightVIII Goes beyond that, too; you also had the Spanish influence in there (where the racial lines were more "bloodline purity" insanity), plus great survival of indigenous practices, even some from the Caribbean that made it across the Gulf. It's one of the great cultural meshes in the modern western world, just about nothing else like it.
It’s not even a good Princess and the Frog ride. It’s an even lesser version of one of the most iconic rides in Disney history. I just think it plays things too safe.
You can set aside all consideration of Splash Mountain or the Princess and the Frog movie, and pretend that this attraction was a non-IP ride and judge it on its entertainment merits: It's weak. It has a dumb "story" (why even bother?), redundant scenes (Tiana and Louis...again??), and a bizarre overall theme (food co-op in a salt mine with a ride about finding an animal band??). No need to compare against past rides, or compare to a movie people may or may not have seen. Just ask: Does this reflect excellence in theme park entertainment?
I miss the Zip A Dee Do Da song, it was such an iconic song not only in Splash but throughout the park.
I'm sorry but lack of a decent story or any sense of tension is a MAJOR issue on a ride that literally has "Adventure" in the title. Princess and the Frog deserves better.
Princess and the Frog deserves its own land imo. It deserved better at the box office too. 😅
Total Snoozefest. This is up there with the 'remake' of Journey into Imagination.
Going to have to hard disagree here.. This ride is an insult to both Splash Mountain and the Princess and the Frog. I love the Princess and the Frog film and it deserved it's own brand new attraction.
Same here I was so disappointed because princess and the frog was a really good movie but it’s like Disney spit on it with the making of this ride. It feels the same way as the crappy avengers campus and web slingers, because it feels poorly thought out, lazy, and cheap.
@@dayoldbread1696 id say it’s more like they half-assed it myself. But yeah.
@@battybuddy exactly 😂
He wants his virtue points. The ride is just boring now.
@@dr.decker911 I will admit I kept waiting for a "sponsored by" tag. This is one his hardest "pro Disney" reviews, and he kept going on about how if you disliked this ride it was because of having "out dated views" and being a big R.
All that said I agree this ride did the movie no justice. It was set years after the movie, basically made up what ever it wanted and barely did anything with most the characters. Other than Madame Ode you could probably replace the entire cast with another character and it would change nothing about the ride.
I think the lack of a story is really what gets me here. I haven’t been to Disney in nearly 10 years but the impact splash mountain left on me was huge. The story made more sense to me as a 13 year old than this one does as a 22 year old. I think the excuse that splash mountains story wasn’t that meaningful is bs.
Splash's story worked appropriately with the more thrilling ride system, and its final drop was easily justifiable within the theme. This, on the other hand, purposefully downplays the thrill factor (a fact they flat out admitted to in an LA Times article), which is why the drop feel so weirdly out of place.
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree on your repeated assertation that most guests couldn't follow Splash's story because it was "conveyed terribly." That just feels like revisionist history to excuse the current drop in most people's media literacy.
TBA is THIS close to being a worthy successor to Splash, but without a single element of danger or peril? It's not even an adventure.
Agreed. You were literally slapped in the face with the stories message at the end of the ride with the lone Brer Rabbit animatronic affirming to the boats there's no place like home.
Yep. Revisionist history for who knows what reason. Credibility down the drain.
It seems to be half and half. I personally never knew there was a story plot until I watched UA-cam videos that told me about said story plot. Same for my family and friends who I've ridden Splash Mountain with. For some it was very obvious, for others we were completely oblivious.
Princess and the Frog deserved a dedicated ride built from the ground up
17:29 "The drop is the drop" This little comment about the drop really hurts the overall strength of the argument you're making on Tiana's. You even mention early on how the drop helped build tension before you got anywhere near to it. You cant expect to have a themed thrill ride and have the big final drop just be "the drop". When you're on a ride, you should be thinking about the ride's elements in context of the story, not in terms of the logistics of it. There should be a reason to be afraid of the drop in story rather than just go "oh, it's a big drop, i'm going to get soaked". With Splash you had the threat of Brer Fox throwing you and Brer Rabbit into the prickly Briar Patch. With Tiana's, it's just Mama Odie making you big and the drop just happens?
I just think the ride is very lackluster on every part, and instead closing Splash for the same amount of time it took to build Tiana's and rebuild everything probably would've been better overall.
If you watch a video of Splash Mountain from when it opened in ‘92 (with all the animatronics fully functional) this new ride doesn’t hold a candle to it, story elements not withstanding. There’s just so much more “going on” in the old ride, where in the replacement it’s just replaced with static show scenes to fill the space. Not much of an argument to be made for the new version
I mostly agree with this video, though there's one issue I think needs to be mentioned. The A1000 figures are not being used to their fullest potential and are just there because they're "impressive". They don't really do anything interesting other than wave about and T-pose a lot of the time you see them. This becomes really apparent when you look at the Fantasy Springs attractions. What Fantasy Springs also highlights in this ride is the lack of compelling story. Given the thrilling log flume system they had to work with, they should have had a ride with a sense of adventure and danger that would go perfectly with the drops; it just makes sense. I also think more meaningful things could have been done with the critters. They just move back and forth and don't really sync to the music. They look considerably more lifeless than the Splash critters too.
I both agree and disagree.
Yeah, the characters in Tiana's are probably way more advanced than they need to be for the movement in their scenes.
However, while I like Fantasy Springs a lot, I can't agree that it's doing much in the way of storytelling. Frozen just retells the film and Tangled only focuses on the love story of its film for the sake of getting to the lantern scene. They're still interesting rides, but I wouldn't consider them to be examples of good story telling unless you're specifically "re-telling" those stories.
For me, the strength of Splash was its atmosphere and that's where Tiana's does well too. The story is dumb, but it falls into the background for interesting scenes.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I'm mostly referring to Frozen and Peter Pan when it comes to story, since Rapunzel is more of an aesthetics ride. In Frozen, there's a linear story with a buildup (Build a Snowman to Let it Go), a climax (Anna gets frozen), and a resolution (sisters reunite). Each scene has a lot of emotion. For Peter Pan, you help the Lost Kids save John and get the Darlings home safely. It's more focused on the action. Both definitely have a better story than the Frozen Ever After story Tiana got.
Taking a bunch of cues from Fantasy Springs, I decided to make a rewrite of TBA:
THE QUEUE will remain mostly the same, but with a few notable changes. There will be some newspapers or articles about a mountain in the bayou formed by Mama Odie through her use of bayou magic (I personally found the salt mine problematic). There will also be some other newspapers referencing critters wearing clothes sighted near the mountain and people going missing. The salt mine part of the queue is now replaced with a preshow room. While waiting for the preshow to start, you will be able to hear various instruments being tuned.
THE PRESHOW will start with Tiana introducing the band who will play at the Mardi Gras celebration at her place later. The various members of the band show up one by one, each playing their own solos starting with Louis on the trumpet, then Naveen on the ukulele, then Charlotte on the triangle, a saxophone player... before revealing an empty drum set (this should be a good opportunity to show off the ability of the A1000s to emote). Suddenly, the room goes dark and Facilier shows up; however, he is not in solid form and is only a shadow. It is then shown through projections that Ralphy is being kidnapped. Facilier notices he has been caught and flees. The preshow ends with Tiana and friends leaving to get to the bayou. The loading station remains mostly the same and guests are sent off on their way.
THE MOUNTAIN resembles earlier concept art with Mama Odie's boathouse on top. The outdoor scenes after the second lift hill are quite different. Instead of vegetable gardens, there will be more bayou scenery. However, it starts to become clear that this isn't a normal part of the bayou. Assorted weenies will be scattered around this part; including a tree with a small door, windows, and a smoking chimney; a flamingo wearing a suit, tie, and top hat (it will stand in the water and will have limited motion); some small critter sitting on top of a gator hanging from a tree hand painting an unfinished sign (reference to the previous attraction); and more. The ambience for this area will come from a lone critter playing a banjo (reference to Pirates). At night, the place will be illuminated by fireflies, lamps, and windows from the houses.
THE FIRST DROP will be completely covered like in Tokyo to prevent sunlight from entering and interfering with the nighttime atmosphere. Immediately, we have Tiana talking to a bunch of critters who tell her to just go down the bayou. Continuing on, a bustling critter community is revealed with a bunch of gags here and there. A rearranged version of Goin' Down the Bayou plays in this area. After some time, the rescue group encounters a bunch of frightened critters, while some shadows wreak havoc and leave. The scenes mentioned so far will be loops to prevent sensor errors as much as possible. You know that scene right before the second drop where Tiana awkwardly stares into space while waiting for your boat to arrive? Instead of that, Charlotte is seen hysterical pointing towards the drop (this will be another opportunity to show off the A1000 range of motion). While Charlotte is flailing around, the rest of the group watch in horror as Ralphy is seen taken down the drop (shown using projections and light flashing effects).
GOING DOWN THE SECOND DROP, a light effect similar to the one currently being used will be in place. The former laughin' place area will be a hideout for Facilier that looks drastically different from the bayou. The hideout will be a watery graveyard in a cave with a bunch of shadow projections, effects, and animatronics. One notable effect for this scene will be a Dr Facilier that phases between shadow form and solid human form. It will work similarly to the pepper's ghost used in Beauty and the Beast and Shanghai Pirates. Ralphy can be seen being prepared for a ritual. The music in this area will be a more energetic and thrilling arrangement of Friends on the Other Side. The final lift hill will resemble that of Disneyland Space Mountain and will have Are you Ready playing. A heavy mist with a creepy face projected on it is seen at the end of the lift hill (it will actually be around 5/8 of the way up). As you get closer to the face, the effects get stronger and brighter until you hear Mama Odie's voice, and everything stops. Once you get past the mist wall, you see Mama Odie, who tells you to hold on because she will get everybody out of the hideout (this will pretty much be set up the same way as now).
AFTER THE FINAL DROP, the ride pretty much plays out the same, but the finale will have a few changes. The setting of the finale will be the same, but there will be some additional figures that materialize out of some shadow matter (these are the missing people referred to in the queue and they are referenced in the hideout). Some of the critters also join the party and Tiana now wears her iconic green dress (I would like Joe Kucharski to design the dress as he did a really good job with the Fantasy Springs Hotel display). The post-finale scene will be pretty much the same, except Mama Odie has a few minutes of looped dialogue instead of relying on a sensor to be triggered.
I apologize if some of the concept seems half baked or off. I just came up with a lot of this spontaneously and didn't really give much time to thoroughly develop the ideas and iron out the edges.
@@idk-zt8rx Pretty good, but I'm not sure if Splash can have a preshow. It wasn't built for that, maybe you could rework those elements into the ride?
@@PoseidonEntertainment I think that's half right. Part of the atmosphere was telling the story through music, and the environments. It felt like you were going deeper down the metaphorical rabbit hole (Wow, now I'm just realizing how good of an Alice in Wonderland ride this could've been) The story just doesn't fit the drops anymore, and a part of that atmosphere is just gone
@@officialmonarchmusicif it were to have no preshow, then I guess there can be some characters heard talking about something in the long hallway (currently salt mine). It would be nice if that part of the queue had subtle shadow effects to already give it a bit of an uneasy atmosphere. Tiana and friends can then explain things in the barn (maybe just Tiana, bc there just seems to be room for 1 figure). A lot of the sensor issues could be fixed if they just optimized the system to run just like Tokyo. You rarely get any ride throughs where you stop before lift hills or drops. The logs are also spaced out perfectly so all sensor timed effects always work and are only visible to one log at a time.
The ride design is fantastic but I honestly believe whole heartedly that they should’ve made this a story book attraction. Having us shrink down to the size of frogs alongside Tianna and Prince Nadeem would’ve been so much fun and would’ve made more sense for why we could interact with anthropomorphic animals. It also would’ve added more thrills considering how scary Dr Facilier and his voodoo magic is. That was probably the reason why he was excluded from the ride and why they completely replaced Voodoo with “Bayou Magic” which for some reason sounds more racially insensitive. Anyways the point is that I hope in the future they do add upgrades to the ride and change it to be a storybook attraction in order to improve the one thing that’s really holding the ride back, which is the story.
Yeah but with the current Disney, I don't see that happening anytime soon.
I appreciate your sentiment but I disagree with what I like from this ride. The current story is dumb, but it can just fall into the background. For me, the strength of Splash was atmosphere and that's what I really like about Tiana's.
@@PoseidonEntertainment
True but even though Splash’s story did fall into the background, like you stated in the video, I think it still somewhat made sense to people riding the ride. Rabbit is being chased around by a fox and bear, done. That is what I think is or was so great about Disney. They would adapt their stories for their rides in ways in which it was simple enough for riders to just have the context which eliminates the issue of them getting confused or lost like in recent modern day attractions. Here they sort of do the same but the issue is that the concept of the ride itself isn’t great, which is stated in your video. Sure the atmosphere is nice but the story itself doesn’t really go well with what the ride was built for. I feel like this ride would work best as a slow boat ride similar to the one in Pandora or maybe as a ride similar to Pirates rather than as a log flume. Maybe Princess and The Frog was too hard to adapt into a ride but if that was the case then why even use the film? As much as I love to see the characters return, they’re really done a disservice as we only really see Tianna, Louis, and Mama Odie while fan favorite characters like Charlotte and Prince Nadeem only show up in the background of the final scene. As someone who’s a fan of the original film that’s really disappointing, especially since the original concept art showed Prince Nadeem as a main character in the ride.
@@PoseidonEntertainmentit wasn't just the atmosphere man, it was the music, the voice acting, the characters, the suspense, and yes, the story, which was actually much easier to follow and even cooler than what we have now.
@@PoseidonEntertainment I think the atmosphere looks like it COULD be good, but it needs more. If the great setting were repurposed for the story of the movie, I think that would be great
Princess and the Frog certainly deserves its own attraction, but this should’ve been a Muppets ride!
It should have remained Splash Mountain.
@@MamyShmerman I don’t entirely disagree. I’m saying if Disney were to change it, then The Muppets would fit a lot better than PaTF for a good number of reasons.
I never got to ride Splash Mountain while it was still open, so that's a regret I'll always have. Also, the appeal of Splash Mountain to me were the talking animals, specially Br'er Fox, that cutie~
Always love your videos Poseidon, it’s clear you have such passion for quality them parks, but this ride just seems to do so much you normally hate it seems odd to enjoy it so much. Incoherent story, a boring drop, most animatronics removed and replaced with screens, and more Disney IP lazily added to attractions. Once again, not trying to hate but that’s like a hate bingo for you lol
I think you’re forgetting the first half of the video where he goes in depth talking about the detail in the queue?
Nah, I thought I explained my thoughts pretty well? Splash was great, but also a ride with many flaws that people have overlooked. Tiana's has many flaws too, but it improves on areas where Splash was lacking. Like I said, it's a pretty lateral move in terms of quality.
@@PoseidonEntertainment it may improve on areas where Splash was lacking, but it absolutely lacks in areas where Splash was GREAT. Not really a good tradeoff, all in all.
Just seems like the most visited theme park in the world with capacity issues could really benefit from more investment in new attractions vs. re-theming what’s there.
15:05 I whole heartily disagree with this one I'm gonna be honest.
I was paying attention to the story ever since I rode it my first time. The lesson of the ride was really interesting. Sometimes it's important to remember where you came from and appreciate the good in life.
I picked up on that since I was at least 5 or 6...
I'm only saying this as a huge fan of your channel, in fact I've almost always agreed with you but I STRONGLY disagree with this sentiment.
You always say to respect the audience that rides the ride... But then you essentially said they're too dumb to pay attention to the story of splash mountain... which is so blatantly spelled out to the audience through reiterated story beats to ensure the audience pays attention.
Might I also add that this was one of your bigger complaints about Mickey and Minnie's, a lack of story with random scenes strung together. That's all Tiana's is. A mishmash of random scenes that ultimately mean nothing.
I love your channel but I disagree with you on this one.
The ride overall just feels lazy. They couldn't bother to have an actual story, the songs are; and it pains me to say this, mediocre at best with some incredibly clunky lyricism.
They have you shrink down on the ride... And then do nothinbg fun with the concept because they don't give you enough scale throughout the ride for the shrinking to mean anything. The only thing they did was use screens to make tiana and louis big... Which is... Disappointing. Yeah they have like two frogs... But frankly that's not enough. Don't turn us into frogs if it's not in the budget to follow through on that concept.
Overall I appreciate you looking on the bright side, especially since most of your Disney stuff has been negative recently which I completely understand, but I just don't think it's the right fit.
And you said the theme is more in line than splash with the surrounding area, but I strongly disagree (when it comes to disney world, I think it actually fits perfectly fine at Disneyland). Time period, I would say, is the most important factor on whether something or someone fits a setting. And I just can't accept Tiana's being in frontier land, NOTHING about that movie screamed western. At least Splash Mountain fit the overall aesthetic of the land even if it was flawed. I'm not saying they shouldn't have changed splash mountain... But this wasn't the right choice.
It's not an excuse to say it fits the theming because subjectively you felt it fit more than the other ride, that's not an argument... Or at least not the strongest of arguments. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit. No western film would have the radio playing music as they drive their cars... That's as unwestern as you can get...
Sorry if this came across as harsh... But... Clearly I'm passionate about this stuff 😂 and like I said, love your channel subscribed and everything, I even still liked the video... But... I disagree 🫤
I think people were pretty aware of the Splash Mountain storyline, it was pretty straight forward. The bear and the fox were attempting to catch the rabbit, with the backdrop of the rabbit wanting to leave home and eventually finding out that home is where he belonged. The main issue is the lack of tension. Its a beautiful ride with excellent animotronics but the issue for me is a boring story and lack of tension….
The laughing place was my favorite part of the ride and I'm disappointed that its missing the energy.
i’ve been on both versions of splash mountain countless times and could not tell you one plot point from the story. doesn’t help that you can’t hear a word that’s said on the ride.
@@jamsquan9415 honestly, that sounds more like a you thing.
I second @jamsquan9415 , I couldn’t tell you the plot of Splash Mountain either when I rode it.
@@jamsquan9415 you couldn’t tell that the Fox and the bear were trying to catch the rabbit? Did you pay attention to any of the scenes? I mean how did you miss that exactly?
@@jakehess27 maybe I’m just different for growing up having Brer Rabbit and Anansi the spider read to me as a kid…
But I kind of doubt it. I mean, Brer Rabbit is kind of bugs bunny before bugs bunny.
They should have done an IP-less ride. Most people already considered splash mountain to be an original idea because I guess they never saw song of the south. Which I find odd. I'm very familiar with that film. But whatever. Plus they're already facing criticism about everything being branded. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for an original ride. But alas
I actually would have loved if this became Disney's version of the TImber Mountain Log Ride. Just the west and some critters would have been fun
@@PoseidonEntertainment Especially given that log flumes were mostly used in the frontier....Finally coulda had the Western River Expedition that got cancelled for pirates. Would have fit thematically better too with the area, and then build Tiana her own attraction maybe more like the beauty and the beast attraction from Tokyo.
I don't think it's odd at all that a lot of people have never seen Song of the South. Disney has not officially released the movie in any form in the US since 1986. A huge chunk of the country wasn't even born the last time that movie was legally available for viewing, including myself. The only way that most younger audiences will have seen the film is if they pirated it online. Which a lot of people probably don't have the interest in doing for a mediocre 40s family movie that also has a reputation for being racist. Some might out of morbid curiosity or to be edgy, but they are probably in the minority.
@kylejones8289 it was circulated alot on the internet in the late 90s but I often forget that was nearly 30 years ago. My bad. I forget that I'm a geezer lol
@@forty_two42 Yeah. I turned 3 in 2000, so I was not old enough to use the internet in the late 90s. And I'm not even that young at this point.
I finally was able to watch this video after riding it myself a couple days ago and Im actually surprised by how positive you are if this ride. I agree the theming of the queue and the “mountain” itself are really well done, but I’m really surprised by how much praise you have the ride for its atmosphere. When I was riding it I kept thinking to myself “this is it?” as there’s so much dead space in the ride just filled with plants and in the dark, where as in Splash, I felt like the “dead space” between animatronic set pieces was lit up and full of little details like the animals houses helping the ride to feel more lived in, at least to me. I kind of felt like I was watching a Disney Junior show with commercial breaks, just waiting to get to the next generic task which I think is why I don’t like this version of the ride as much. For me Splash Mountain while not telling the story perfectly at least had that sense of worry and conflict with Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox/Bear. You might not have been able to tell what exactly was going on but you knew that Brer Rabbit was in danger and yet outsmarting the bad guys, giving you someone to root for, and characters to be weary of. Tiana on the other hand to me seems insanely boring and juvenile which was probably what they were going for and it would be fine as a pirates style dark ride but as you stated, Splash was seen as a thrill ride, so fundamentally that’s what the track layout was designed to do and not leaning into that especially with a villain as good as Dr. Facilier and leaving him out for one reason or another seemed like a strange decision. I think younger audiences will love this ride as they get to see Tiana a bunch and the young girl and her family in the log with me seemed to be enjoying it, but for someone who is not a young girl, I found it to be very boring. I don’t think it’s a “bad” ride like make are labeling it as but I do think it’s just very average.
How did they NOT play “ARE YOU READY” just before the drop?!??! Literally the most obvious design choice ever. But no, let’s SUBVERT EXPECTATIONS.
don't you know? any reference to voodoo magic is horribly racist!
I just think the biggest flaw with the ride is that there’s practically no conflict and build up especially with just having this random big drop and the fact that they remove dr facilier but kept mama odie makes no sense to me why make fake limitations if your not gonna even follow your own rules?
I feel like everyone is afraid to say anything bad because of the situation happening when they announced this ride. Yes the animatronics are good I will give it that, but the overall problem is its boring. I mean it took them about 4 years and all they did was just gut the attraction and make it feel lifeless. When you try to appeal to everyone you appeal to no one, should be the Disney motto now.
It looks good idk
well said
YES! The ride has no soul. It just feels lifeless. And when you take away all the quirks that made Tiana who she was, she may as well be any generic character. I rewatched PATF after riding (Because I love that movie) and I just realized how movie-Tiana is just a different person. Ride Tiana literally sounds like a member of Disney's PR team on one of those fake Disney shows Jenny Nicholson was talking about
Personally it was worse cause I’ve grown up with Brer Rabbit stories and now I’ve had so many people trying to make up lies about the characters just to justify removing it. Brer Rabbit is just Anansi 2.0, with a smidge less of a dick personality.
My problem with the ride is 2 fold- why is it a random, Pointless and empty sequel to the beloved film, rather than Just being the film? And 2. Why is it so boring?
Disney has been on a "no villain" trend for a while now and it doesnt work and nobody likes it- so when the 4ude had an obvious place for a villain in dr facilier with Are You Ready but no- we get a small light show and then the drop
Wheres the suspense??
I remember you talking about how Disney (and even Universal, to a degree) have taken to overutilizing too expressive animatronics, and not for number of them. I think that problem is especially noticeable here. Especially in the WDW version, which is longer. I think you lose a lot of the charm when the animals don't sing, and there isn't that kinetic energy with the ride.
To top it off, the story is absolutely horrible, and everything wrong with modern Disney. I feel like you also illustrated this very well. The story doesn't have the proper beats because it doesn't have tension. On its own this might be fine but in Splash, you need some tension IN THE STORY before the big drop, to match the tension in the ride
Maybe I'm misunderstanding your point? I do like that many of the critters have lower levels of animation precisely because they do add a lot of kineticism and I would prefer to be more.
@@PoseidonEntertainmentI know you do agree. I’m just saying that I think it is a bigger issue than you’re making it out to be. I’d argue having these animatronics is PART of the atmosphere, which is why I don’t agree with your point about the atmosphere in TBA being as good as Splash
Impossible? My expectations were almost 0 and I'm still underwhelmed
Yep, this overlay is typical of modern Disney. Cheap, Lazy, screen filled mess that they know will appeal to sad "Disney Adults" who have no better way to spend their time/money.
Love your content man, but I think you missed or skipped over a few major issues here that I'd like to to point out to get your opinion on.
Lets start when you described the animatronic of "Louis, who didn't seem to be working when I rode." It must be acknowledged that this is a bad sign. Already the ride is facing cascading breakdowns and delays, with many evacs occurring during AP previews and lots of on ride footage showing whole set pieces of animatronics being fully static. Its obvious that, in Disney World at least, they are rushing the opening of the ride when clearly they could use a few more months to iron out the software and dispatching flow. The fact that they are "in previews" doesn't excuse this - the major operational errors such as these should be ironed out of new ride before the public is allowed in - that is what is expected from a multi million dollar company like Disney.
I also disagree with the sentiment that no one "knew the story being told on splash mountain unless they really liked theme parks." It was a simple story that was told through not only the songs of the ride but the set pieces as well - Brer Rabbit wants adventure, Brer Fox and Brer bear want lunch, loony toons-esque hijinks ensure. The new "mission" of finding musical critters seems overly simplistic and, as you mentioned, doesn't lend itself to creating the feeling of peril that was inherent to Splash that was a major part of the ride. This could've been fixed with the addition of a villain (and yes I know its a sequel to the movie but Dr. Facilier would've fit perfectly into this role), an opposing force, a visible time crunch, anything, but instead, the ride seems almost purposely sanitized in a manner where no one riding it will get that feeling of "oh no, something might go wrong!" Essentially, imagine if they remade Tower of Terror, but they made it a magical fun elevator that loves to dance by going up and down the floors.
Lastly, it seems that very often in the video you make sure to conflate anyone who dislikes the ride, or prefers splash, with bigoted people that have co-opted the "Save Splash" movement for their own malicious purposes. This is very much not conducive to allowing for discussion around the ride to happen at all, and it saddens me to see it happen so often. Some people do prefer Splash, myself included, and I acknowledge the bias that the nostalgia I have may impart on my opinions, but when people's innocent opinions of their like of a theme park ride are associated with being being a racist or a bigot, it can make them feel afraid to voice those opinions or critiques, even if they are valid points.
Overall, its great that you enjoyed the ride, and for all intents and purposes, it seems right up my alley as well - I love jazz music and the princess and the frog was, in my opinion, among the best movies Disney has put out in the past 20 years, so I'm glad it's finally represented in the parks. That being said, major issues like this in terms of ride storytelling and operational failure must be pointed out and critiqued thoroughgoingly as so that better rides and experiences are produced in the future by learning from the mistakes made in the past and present.
I couldn't have said it better myself. Also I feel like Splash' music was far better.
"I'm very tolerant, and people should be tolerant of differing views. At the same time, anyone who disagrees with me is a r@cist and should be blocked! That will show the world how tolerant I am!" - Poseidon Entertainment
Well said. It's a shame that Poseidon is choosing to ignore so many comments like yours. I am not a bad person for vastly preferring Splash over this sanitized mess.
"Essentially, imagine if they remade Tower of Terror, but they made it a magical fun elevator that loves to dance by going up and down the floors. " is masterpiece !
Your second to last paragraph fails the vibe check. Poseidon never said that everyone who doesn’t like the changes is racist, he said that the removal of Splash Mountain and its replacement with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure got unnecessarily politicized.
I think the biggest issue with the new ride is a lack of an antagonist which is what would have built more tension.
I enjoyed Splash Mountain as a kid, but honestly haven't touched the ride or Disney in years so I wasn't too attached to it. That said this ride seems "okay" at best and I think the money would been better spent creating the ride in another area, or replacing a less important shop or something to increase capacity of the park, and not tearing down a popular ride to replace it with another.
Also not a huge fan of WHY it was taken down, as this new ride has some culturally sensitive topics tied to it as well. Like just who worked in those salt mines and what not. For a ride built to remove that issue, they seemed to have done a poor job in being 100% culturally accurate and safe.
While I won't address overall issues I have with both versions of the rides that have been in this location, I have to completely disagree with your opinions of this ride. It's absolutely horrible...if you can even get an uninterrupted ride. It's actually down more than it's up. Foregoing that issue, the story is so disjointed that it really makes zero sense. Also it's so spread out with areas of nothing but projected fireflies, it's boring AF. Unless you have a 5 year old with a heavy attachment to Princess and the Frog, this ride is by far not worth wasting your time on...if you can even get an uninterrupted ride through. But this is what Disney parks have become. Definitely not worth my time...or money.
The new one feels sterile and leave a bad job at representing the last 2D animated movie by disney, They should have thrown in Dr. Facilier since hes the best part of the Movie.
edit: this review reek, kinda disappointed since i love watching your videos on theme parks i'll probably never gonna visit in my life time
How can you simultaneous not care about the story for Tiana but apply the Song of the South story to the original? I'd say 95% of people who rode Splash Mountain and/or knew of it did just genuinely think that it was a cute little water ride with singing critters. That feels very weird to me.
Double-think is a hell of a drug.
I didn't know it was based on Song of the South until I was an adult. I was always confused as to why there was no movie about Brair Rabbit when I was a kid. 😂😂😂
Yeah, it was kinda like the streisand effect for me. I thought it was a park only thing, like figment, before the shutdown was announced.
@@MKLettis Splash Mountain wasn't based on the Song of the South story; it was based on the Br'er Rabbit stories, which originated with African-American slaves. Labeling Splash Mountain as racist would be like labeling the African-Americans who first told the stories as a bunch of racists. It's totally nonsensical.
It’s also worth noting that literally everyone who has seen it comes out thinking it wasn’t nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be.
It’s a somewhat bland and boring film, but it’s not the Disney version of Birth of a Nation like people frame it as
So surprising you like this ride considering its just like the rest of the slop the disney company has been producing. Unexciting rides with terrible story covered in good animatronics and lighting. Ill just stay in Tokyo Disney resort where they utilize the new technology without trying to shove IPs while keeping classic attractions
This truly is a very strange take from Poseidon and one of the few times I truly disagree with him. Makes me wonder just how much value he places on simply being a contrarian.
@@tulinfirenze1990 he trashed Seven Dwarf Mine Train as well. Like I said, I agree with 99% of his takes, but this is one of the rare ones where I flat out disagree with him. While I am able to understand his arguments for why he thinks it’s great, I just totally disagree. I do think he approaches these things from a perspective of being the “outside the box” theme park channel. That is actually usually an angle that I agree with when it comes to his more outlandish takes, but this take is just so off the mark. It is honestly shocking. Like he’s trying his hardest to justify this ride because he thinks Splash and it’s fans are just racists stuck in the past. I must say I did lose a bit of respect for him here. I’ll still watch all of his stuff for sure, but this is just wild.
I'm confused isn't Fantasy Springs 100% IP?
@@cuttinol it's not like the IP rides like the ones in the states. It's using the IP's but in a way more creative manner and as just a source, which is what Disney Sea does best. It's in my opinion the best land in any Disney park.
@@ev7d167 Agreed! Tokyo really does set the standard, but we can't deny that IP is shoved into literally every ride at every major theme park haha. Some just execute it far better
You’ve acknowledged the shortcomings of modern Disney design for years but when it happens in Tiana’s you seem to miss all of it. Those new critters are hardly AAs, they just sway back and forth and don’t even blink. They’re more like moving figures.
They're "animated props" according to old Disney standards. AAs were synced with the audio and moved according to signals, animated props were basically upgraded versions of the Christmas or Halloween decorations from Home Depot.
Reminds me of Dudleys animatronics at Islands lol
I'm assuming they blew more money than is wise on the super complicated main character animatronics that they plopped down several times.
And the splash ones were???
"Animatronic" is a colloquialism in this case, but that's exactly what Disney should be adding more of into their rides.
I think people are upset to see this go because it's New Disney replacing a classic Old Disney ride. Whatever your thoughts on Splash Mountain's history may be, it was a good ride that was constructed in an era of Disney where there was no doubt they wanted to create good experiences. The Disney as of late, however, is unanimously agreed to be disconnected and distant at best, with some saying that it has more sinister intentions. Again, whether you agree with those people or not, the perceived intentions behind a company, in my opinion, does have an effect on the experience a guest will have at the parks. What's happening to Splash Mountain is essentially what's happening to Epcot, in a way. The Old Disney that understood the park and its distinctly "un-disney" experience were able to craft an experience only Disney could craft, and the new renovations seem disconnected and hollow.
It just feels so empty and dead on the inside
Have you been on it
@@jaredfamily123yes
You keep praising the atmosphere but seem to be talking strictly about decor and acknowledging the lack of tension and story. The atmosphere of the original was absolutely swayed by the tension and the stakes of the storyline, with Brer Rabbit constantly staying ahead of the bear and fox. Sets and story absolutely must work together to create atmosphere, and this ride absolutely fails at this. As many have said, it’s essentially a high-budget Dora the Explorer ride.
21:14 was a very weirdly heavy-handed section, seemingly condemning anyone who simply preferred the original ride over this one. It seemed to be in anticipation of heavy backlash but was very harsh towards your viewers. I prefer the original because it was my absolute favorite ride the very few times we got to go to Disney World when I was a child, and also because it was an overall fun ride with the right balance of thrill and lightheartedness. So I suppose that puts me in the category of “unable to let go of the past,” as I certainly hope I wouldn’t use an amusement ride about a bear, fox and rabbit as a front for secret malicious feelings towards other human beings. Didn’t care much for that part of the video myself.
Yeah 100% agree with you here. His review of Tiana's does make me want to ride it now, but I don't understand the heavy-handed condemnation of people who feel Splash Mountain was unfairly maligned. II don't believe anyone is using the ride to conceal prejudices, as the old ride was not prejudiced in any way as the animated parts of the movie were not what people took issue with.
Absolutely. I must say I am quite disappointed in Poseidon's take on all this. He has had a pretty much perfect record in terms of theme park takes imo, but this one feels like grasping at straws in order to paint Splash Mountain as some horribly racist thing. This attraction doesn't come anywhere close to the level of its predecessor no matter how you slice it.
@@STSGuitar16 Or maybe he just enjoyed the ride
@@cuttinol doubtful. Poseidon’s takes typically have multiple angles, so “he just enjoyed the ride” has never been enough to make something a good ride in his eyes. There are typically many factors that add up in order to make a good attraction according to him, and Tiana’s lacks a lot of those factors that he typically make a good ride. Despite that, he praised this ride in a way I don’t think I’ve ever seen him praise any new attraction at all before.
You don’t feel like there are some other reasons for his take here besides him just enjoying the ride? He made sure to denigrate Splash as some sort of racist thing that only people with nostalgia for the ride actually like as much as possible here. There’s more behind his wildly positive take than the new ride itself.
@@STSGuitar16 Other reasons like what?
For what it’s worth, I’m not surprised most people didn’t know that Splash Mountain was based on Song of the South. The movie hasn’t been available in the US since it was re-released in cinemas in 1986. It’s been locked in the Disney Vault for coming up on 40 years, so Splash Mountain would have been the first encounter with these characters for almost anyone under 50.
Btw, I first encountered these characters as also-rans in European Donald Duck comics. Comics kind of do their own thing, so in that context they ended up being friends and rivals of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf (and his comics-original son, the Little Bad Wolf, who is actually a good guy… long story.) Needless to say I was really surprised when I eventually learned that they were not comics-original characters as I had assumed and instead came from what I only vaguely knew of as the secret racist Disney movie shrouded in mystery.
My introduction to these characters was actually in storybook format. My dad had (and still has, I think) an old book with a lot of these fables in it. When I was young I assumed Splash Mountain was based directly on these fables.
Technically it is, just by way of them having been retold in Song of the South.
It's actually one of the best Disney movies.
The Song of the South and it's characters were based upon classic American literature by Joel Chandler Harris. His books at the time were praised by no less than Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling, who both credited Mr. Harris' use of animals to convey morality tales, in a way that would connect with children.
If you think this movie is soooooo terribly rrrracist, you should check out some of the older Disney animated movies like Peter Pan, Dumbo, Pinnochio, etc.
If Song of the South is THAT racist, then these movies will give you an absolute heart attack.
@@CobbleBompsterLmao sit down, you're not being a big scary boogeyman.
For me, the big problem is the Music, they use Jazz, Zydeco, Gospel the works, yet the ride is so empty it creates a cognitive dissonence since you're on a slow moving boat ride. another thing is the use of said music, which seems to have no bearing on the story, as compared to splash mountain which used just three songs for the 3 acts with matched up with the context. Tiana just feels like they shoved a jukebox into the ride with no rhyme or reason. (Here's what I mean by acts)
Act 1: How do you do (Introducing the Briar patch and it's inhabitants)
Act 2: Laughing place (Brer Rabbit out and about and having a good time before getting captured and outsmarting Brer Fox)
Act 3: Zip-a-dee-doo-dah (Everyone's celebrating being back at home)
We've rode Tiana's Bayou Adventure 2x now and my opinion hasn't changed its OK, it has a few standout moments but overall this ride is very underwhelming. The long stretches of just darkness and very confusing story make this ride a 6/10 IMO.
Mostly agree, but one note where I think you’re being obtuse - I had no idea what the story of splash mountain was but I knew what I was supposed to feel - calm - intrigued - scared - DROP - relieved - celebratory. All of this was communicated by atmosphere, as well as (poor) narration. By editing out the build up in menacing atmosphere, they made a thrill ride dramatically less thrilling. That’s a bigger miss than you’re admitting. Thanks for the thoughtful review.
HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS RIDE PRINCESS AND THE FROG AND NOT HAVE “Friends on the other side” PLAYING DURING THE DROP???!!!!😭
The elephant (alligator) in the room is how well those sophisticated animatronics will be properly maintained and fully operational years from now. Current Disney isn’t always the best at doing that, and it’s more crucial than ever for this attraction.