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

DrAlice56 minutes ago

Right? The word anodyne keeps coming into my head as I think about this. For a ride named "Tiana's Bayou ADVENTURE". Again, oof.

DrAlice1 hour ago

This could've been 10x better if.... we had been turned into frogs by a) Dr. Facilier/shadows or b) accidentally by Mama Odie. Then, during the small scenes, have some alligators try to eat us, or someone try to catch us with a net. Then, just as we are about to be turned into a frog legs feast, Mama Odie finds us and makes us big again (final lift hill). Yes, this idea is silly, but in its current state, it makes zero sense why we have been turned into frogs. And.... if the rumor is true, Bob Iger's "boring" assessment is correct. Ugh.... I still can't get over the lack of good storytelling here. It's sad because they did some great work with those fabulous animatronics. Unfortunately, great technology does not equal great storytelling.

shambolicdefending1 hour ago

Seems like they actually proactively worked to take as much of the "thrill" out of it as they could. I have no other explanation for why the lift hill was made into such a non-event.

Rich T5 hours ago

Exactly. They have concocted an applesauce, non-eventful “story” appropriate for preschoolers who are too short to meet the height requirement. What a work of genius.

brb10068 hours ago

I wonder how Califronian Elisit feels about the POV video that arrived recently. She hadn't been active on this site since November 2023.

DrAlice11 hours ago

OOF. Ugh. Wow. I'm stunned. I really wanted to like this change. Ooof. What a shame to put so much engineering time & talent on those fabulous animatronics, only to have them wasted in a non-story. I had essentially the same thoughts as @Rich T , so I'll just add this: I enjoyed the Special Spice song in isolation. However, when watching the POV video and listening to all the music from the movie, that song just doesn't fit. Someone more musical than me could probably explain why, but it just doesn't feel the same. RIP the Vultures. RIP any sense of telling a story in multiple acts. RIP Disney Imagineering.

tanc11 hours ago

I truly wonder what Disney's thought process was for not doing Disneyland first. I just am so puzzled by why they took a big grand step to retheme the Florida one first and then finish California later? Especially since the impressions seem so mixed, it's really such a strange move. You would think they would use the Disneyland version as a baseline and improve upon it, but now there's potential for DL to be better than WDW? Who would have thought.

mickEblu13 hours ago

It’s a disaster. People like to say the music is fine (and it is one area that’s not a total $hit show) because they re trying to be optimistic but @Professortango1 wrote a great post on another thread highlighting what a downgrade the overall sound design is. You should read it.

Rich T13 hours ago

Watched the ride-through. Saving final opinion until I ride it in person, but… Good grief. I’ve been trying to be optimistic, but the best thing I can think of to say is, it looks pretty and the music’s mostly fun and… there are no trim brakes added to the big drop… and it’s better than having the flu? Judging from Ariel’s ride and now this, I have to wonder: What exactly does today’s Imagineering think an “Adventure” is? Cause it sure ain’t this. It’s so bland. It’s so monotone. The story is such a nothing-burger. The repetitive theme of animals playing instruments gets old so quickly. Every scene feels the same. There is ZERO drama or excitement. Disney, seriously, how can you take a potentially good idea like “magically shrinking the riders” and make it so BORING???? The celebration at the end feels empty, because nothing dramatic precedes it. It’s unearned. It’s a celebration of nothing happening, in spite of what the song lyrics and dialogue try so hard to hammer into your head. No. I’m sorry. The emperor has no clothes, and this ride’s lousy excuse for an “adventure” amounts to a whole lot of vapid smiling. Seriously, every animatronic on this ride seems to have the same stupid, vacant smile on its face. Again… so monotone. So emotionally flat. And why was it so vital to have animals playing at the party? Wouldn’t it have been nicer to employ local human musicians who need money to survive? They should call it “Tiana’s Happy Happy Joy Joy Flowers and Sunshine Party Logs.” ‘Cause this is not my idea of any kind of “adventure.” And I LOVE the Princess and the Frog!!! Pity the unsuspecting adventure-hater who streams the movie for the first time, thinking it’ll be like the Tiana ride, and finds themselves being exposed to (gasp) dramatic tension, (gasp) a villain the heroes must defeat and (horrors!) a genuinely emotional, exciting story where something actually happens. It’ll be a pleasant enough log flume ride, I’m sure. But what a missed opportunity to create an actual adventure. I just hope Disney keeps the animatronics in good working order, because… can you imagine what this ride would be like without that element? I’d take a ride on Knott’s Timber Mtn. over this any day.

mlayton14414 hours ago

The biggest thing I’m going to miss from splash was the music - from the banjo bluegrass in the long MK queue all the way to Zip at the end , I like the new music but it’s gonna take quite some time (if ever) to leave the same impression. The other thing is the cheese of the story line , but that should be easy to ignore with the wonderful ride layout and the fairly impressive artistry of the scenes

Disney Irish14 hours ago

Agreed, Splash was great but it wasn't some masterpiece of storytelling. GP knew it was a flume ride with a bunny where you got wet, that's about it. So now it'll be a flume ride with Tiana with a gator and other critters, where you get wet.

zipadee99914 hours ago

I was upset when I first saw the POV, then I watched a prime Splash POV from the 90s and then it really cut me deep

mlayton14414 hours ago

Let’s be real , the casual rider on splash had no idea of the backstory or what the heck was going on , they just knew it was fun

Disney Irish15 hours ago

He isn't hiding, but whatever. As for what the casual rider will pick up on, we don't know yet. The queue might lay out better the whole concept of searching for the band, which will make why Louis searching in the Okra make sense.