Tiana's Bayou Adventure Effects Status Watch

[WorldExplorer]

I can't believe they started the Shadow Man overlay and didn't tell any of us.
View attachment 888990

That sounds like a literal nightmare. I don't normally go complain, but for this? They wouldn't be able to get me out of Guest Relations.

 

[Chef Mickey]

It did. As much as I enjoy TBA, it is experiencing a lot of the same problems that Splash had in terms of the non-show scene operational issues and extended downtime to the point that I’m starting to feel it wasn’t Disney letting Splash rot in the end as much as it was/is there are some foundational operational issues with the bones of the attraction that they for some reason didn’t manage to fix during the reskin. Disneyland’s doesn’t seem to be nearly as temperamental either which is interesting.

You actually enjoy the new ride? That is a wild take.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

You actually enjoy the new ride? That is a wild take.

I do, yes.

I know you aren’t gonna believe me when I say it but the hatred for TBA really only exists in spaces like this among a specific section of Disney Parks fans. I’m a part of this space, but I’m not really in that slice of parks fandom.

I don’t think it’s better than Splash, I think it’s pretty much equal in terms of what I get out of it which is a fun ride with neat things to look at to ride once a vacation.

It, like Splash, is a solid secondary attraction in my eyes. Not the best Magic Kingdom or Disneyland has to offer, not the worst. Somewhere in the middle.

I find the undying love for Splash to be perplexing and the undying hatred for TBA equally perplexing because personally I don’t feel either one really warrants emotions that strong.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I do, yes.

I know you aren’t gonna believe me when I say it but the hatred for TBA really only exists in spaces like this among a specific section of Disney Parks fans. I’m a part of this space, but I’m not really in that slice of parks fandom.

I don’t think it’s better than Splash, I think it’s pretty much equal in terms of what I get out of it which is a fun ride with neat things to look at to ride once a vacation.

It, like Splash, is a solid secondary attraction in my eyes. Not the best Magic Kingdom or Disneyland has to offer, not the worst. Somewhere in the middle.

I find the undying love for Splash to be perplexing and the undying hatred for TBA equally perplexing because personally I don’t feel either one really warrants emotions that strong.

TBA isn't even an its own attraction...it's a re-theme. For this reason, nothing about it is better than Splash because it couldn't exist without ruining Splash.

Splash was never second tier.

 

[mickEblu]

I know you aren’t gonna believe me when I say it but the hatred for TBA really only exists in spaces like this among a specific section of Disney Parks fans. I’m a part of this space, but I’m not really in that slice of parks fandom.

This isn't really a wild take IMO. You would have to really love Splash Mountain and/or care or understand the nuances of the art form and all the ways it was downgraded to "hate" it considering its still has water, drops, characters to look at, music to listen to and the same ride path. I do think many causal fans can probably feel that something is missing though even if they cant express it or don't care enough to. In other words I don think they are completely oblivious.

I don’t think it’s better than Splash, I think it’s pretty much equal in terms of what I get out of it which is a fun ride with neat things to look at to ride once a vacation.

It's interesting to me that someone that frequents these boards would reduce the attraction and comparison of them down to this. This is typically how a more casual fan would think and not someone who spends time here. For that reason it comes across as inauthentic to me

 

[tanc]

I’ve rode TBA in DL and WDW many times there’s and there’s always some animatronic or effect that breaks down. I probably have about 15 ride throughs combined for both parks, and no exaggeration everytime one of the major animatronics just did not work.

Now, Splash’s final days were horrible. The ride was barely functional and many effects were just no longer working. Disney just stopped caring. I get it, but man I remember riding Splash in 2010 during the fantastic refurb or even around 2013 and loving it. As time went on I noticed neglect but after I returned in 2023 it was very apparent that Splash was not being cared for.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

TBA isn't even an its own attraction...it's a re-theme. For this reason, nothing about it is better than Splash because it couldn't exist without ruining Splash.

Splash was never second tier.

I don’t know what else to say other than everyone’s opinions vary! To me Splash was a fun experience but not an impressive one or one I was ever interested in doing more than once a trip. I feel exactly the same way about TBA.

This isn't really a wild take IMO. You would have to really love Splash Mountain and/or care or understand the nuances of the art form and all the ways it was downgraded to "hate" it considering its still has water, drops, characters to look at, music to listen to and the same ride path. I do think many causal fans can probably feel that something is missing though even if they cant express it or don't care enough to. In other words I don think they are completely oblivious.



It's interesting to me that someone that frequents these boards would reduce the attraction and comparison of them down to this. This is typically how a more casual fan would think and not someone who spends time here. For that reason it comes across as inauthentic to me

How can someone’s own personal opinion be inauthentic though? I’m not reducing them down to anything that is just how I view and have always viewed the attraction and what it was turned into. I gain absolutely nothing from holding the belief that splash was a good, not great attraction. If anything, it has made my time here and noticeably worse when the subject comes up. Inauthenticity would be me sitting here lying to you that I loved it when I didn’t. Inauthenticity would be me saying I think TBA is better than splash when I don’t. I don’t know how much more authentic I can get by just saying that I didn’t love splash I don’t love Tiana‘s and while sure there are some objective differences between them, I don’t come off of it feeling any differently. If you just want me to acknowledge there are some objective differences between them sure! Their objective differences between Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, but I feel the same way when I get off of both of them, which is I love them and think they’re the best Disney has to offer.

To me, the conversation has never been let’s discuss what is different between the two of them. The conversation is do I feel differently when I get off of Tiana’s than I did when I got off of Splash Mountain? And the answer for me is no. I feel the same, which is that was fun, I’m not gonna do it again this trip, and I’ll see you next time.

I can acknowledge there are things Splash did well just as I can acknowledge there are things TBA does well but I can’t say from my point of view that those things saved either of then from coming up short of greatness. If you feel differently that is wonderful! I respect that. But don’t call my opinions inauthentic simply because they don’t align with yours.

To me Splash was a fun experiences to have, but not something I ever felt a pull to do more than once per trip, not something my family ever held up as a favorite, and not something that I personally feel warranted as much discussion as it received. That is in my definition something I’d call a second tier attraction for me and my family.

To me, it was a perfectly acceptable attraction that was nowhere near close to the brilliance and awe inspiring work that Disney’s top tier attractions offer. And I feel TBA is exactly that as well: perfectly acceptable but nowhere close to brilliant. In my eyes it was a lateral move. There are some small things Splash did better sure, but not enough to me to move that needle.

We have a differing opinion and that is okay, but just because mine is different does not mean that it is inauthentic. I respect your point of view, please respect mine. Authenticity does not derive from worshipping Splash Mountain and praying for TBA to collapse in the night.

Some of you all have this nasty habit of questioning whether or not people are “real fans” based on if they agree with you or not, and it doesn’t make sense. I’ve been going to Disney my whole life, I sought out a board like this because I’m obsessed with it. Is that somehow invalidated because I didn’t think Splash Mountain was a great ride and that I don’t think TBA is really any better or worse?

 

[networkpro]

This isn't really a wild take IMO. You would have to really love Splash Mountain and/or care or understand the nuances of the art form and all the ways it was downgraded to "hate" it considering its still has water, drops, characters to look at, music to listen to and the same ride path. I do think many causal fans can probably feel that something is missing though even if they cant express it or don't care enough to. In other words I don think they are completely

I disagree. A New Orleans themed attraction sandwiched between the 'Western', 'Caribbean', and 'Frontier' makes only incongruous confusion in Magic Kingdom. There's at least a New Orleans Square in Disneyland. Wdw has butkis.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

As I have written ad nauseam, I feel that TBA is a big downgrade. Splash was never my favorite ride—frankly, I never liked water rides, especially at night, and that's when my family would always ride Splash when I was growing up (I never waited more than five minutes). However, the animatronics, songs, and storytelling were fantastic.

In all three of these areas, TBA is a downgrade.

Sure, they've added some A1000 animatronics, but I would so much rather have the plethora of standard animatronics we had in Splash than a handful of (usually broken) hand-waving animatronics surrounded by copies of identical animal figures with one axis of motion.

Musically, this is also inferior. I know a lot of people like the PatF soundtrack (I'm more of a "meh" on this), but just playing the songs randomly throughout the attraction seems really half-hearted. It's like something I would do if I were creating a "ride" in my backyard. They don't serve the storyline at all, whereas in Splash, the music was integral to the story. I'll get back to the story in a minute, but let's not forget the **new song** written for this attraction. Special Spice is nowhere near the quality of the Splash Mountain songbook—it's also plagiarizing Mr. Rogers' "It's Such a Good Feeling." PJ Morton really laid an egg with this one, in my opinion.

Now let's talk about the story. They need a band for Mardi Gras, so we look in the woods for animals playing instruments. We find some. It's not enough. So we find some more. It's still not enough, so we decide to look under logs. Then Mama Odie makes us small so we can find small animals playing tiny instruments; Tiana doesn't know Mama Odie made us small, but then she finds us, so it's fine. Then Mama Odie makes us big again, we go to the party, and all the animals are there playing music together. Just because a story works as a theme park attraction idea, that doesn't mean it should be used as the basis for a thrilling log flume. This could be a great dark ride (i.e. Winnie the Pooh), but it's no successor to the life & death stakes of Splash Mountain.

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

As I have written ad nauseam, I feel that TBA is a big downgrade. Splash was never my favorite ride—frankly, I never liked water rides, especially at night, and that's when my family would always ride Splash when I was growing up (I never waited more than five minutes). However, the animatronics, songs, and storytelling were fantastic.

In all three of these areas, TBA is a downgrade.

Sure, they've added some A1000 animatronics, but I would so much rather have the plethora of standard animatronics we had in Splash than a handful of (usually broken) hand-waving animatronics surrounded by copies of identical animal figures with one axis of motion.

Musically, this is also inferior. I know a lot of people like the PatF soundtrack (I'm more of a "meh" on this), but just playing the songs randomly throughout the attraction seems really half-hearted. It's like something I would do if I were creating a "ride" in my backyard. They don't serve the storyline at all, whereas in Splash, the music was integral to the story. I'll get back to the story in a minute, but let's not forget the **new song** written for this attraction. Special Spice is nowhere near the quality of the Splash Mountain songbook—it's also plagiarizing Mr. Rogers' "It's Such a Good Feeling." PJ Morton really laid an egg with this one, in my opinion.

Now let's talk about the story. They need a band for Mardi Gras, so we look in the woods for animals playing instruments. We find some. It's not enough. So we find some more. It's still not enough, so we decide to look under logs. Then Mama Odie makes us small so we can find small animals playing tiny instruments; Tiana doesn't know Mama Odie made us small, but then she finds us, so it's fine. Then Mama Odie makes us big again, we go to the party, and all the animals are there playing music together. Just because a story works as a theme park attraction idea, that doesn't mean it should be used as the basis for a thrilling log flume. This could be a great dark ride (i.e. Winnie the Pooh), but it's no successor to the life & death stakes of Splash Mountain.

This is the way of having this discussion that I absolutely respect. Stating your overall perspective and then giving the reasons why you feel that way. That’s what I’ve been trying to do this whole time, but it appears that for some folks because my overall opinion does not align with theirs that that opinion is somehow in authentic or invalid.

There are lots of things that are different between the two of them of course on an objective scale. And I love discussing those individual components and getting down to the nitty-gritty of things I think work and things that don’t work because I’m very interested in that.

But when I zoom out and want to have the conversation about what rides I may prefer to other rides or just a blanket statement of enjoyment, my answer to questions like that are always going to be based on how I feel once I step off the ride. I could absolutely get down into the individual elements that may contribute to how I feel, but it’s still going to be a feeling that guides my hand on that. And the reason that I considered Tiana’s Bayou Adventure a lateral movement from Splash Mountain for me personally, not objectively, is because I feel pretty much the same getting off of it than I felt getting off of Splash Mountain. how I feel in my enjoyment hasn’t been upgraded or downgraded, it’s pretty much the same as it always was. It is an experience that I enjoyed while I was having it, and then when it was over, I didn’t really have much of an interest in going to do it again and can’t say I really thought about it for the rest of my vacation or when I got home. And it would be the same every time. I would do it once a vacation and that would be that.

it’s like you can put Toy Story next to Toy Story 4 and I can recognize individual elements and decisions in Toy Story that are better than Toy Story 4, but in the end, I’m still going to rate both movies the same because I enjoyed them the same amount. It may not make sense for some people, but for me, I can recognize certain creative elements maybe being stronger or better in one thing than another thing but still overall feel mostly the same about them because the end overall result of all of those pieces put together ends up leaving me feeling pretty much the same way.

I absolutely love talking about the individual parts when it comes to discussing theme park attractions just like when I discuss movies or music. But at the end of the day, how I may rank or engage with rides, films, or music, is going to be informed not by the individual pieces, but by the feeling I get from the completed whole.

Yes, there are absolutely differences between the two. But they don’t make me feel any different. And I am all for the discussion of individual elements that may make Splash better or Tiana‘s worse and vice versa because I do find that interestint, it is just for me personally none of those individual elements add together to create two different feelings for me in the end. ItMd two different equations that add up to the same answer for me.

When I speak about things like that, it is completely subjectively as I don’t think there really is a way to talk about theme park attractions in an objective way because everybody is going to feel differently and enjoy things differently.

And that’s why I think it’s such nonsense for that point of view to be painted as an authentic by some when I really don’t know how more authentic I can be than letting my feelings decide my opinion.

 

[Brer Panther]

Sure, they've added some A1000 animatronics, but I would so much rather have the plethora of standard animatronics we had in Splash than a handful of (usually broken) hand-waving animatronics surrounded by copies of identical animal figures with one axis of motion.

I've said this before, but there was absolutely no reason for them to use fancy A1000 animatronics for Tiana, Louis, and Mama Odie when all they do is stand there flailing their arms and nothing more.

I know a lot of people like the PatF soundtrack (I'm more of a "meh" on this), but just playing the songs randomly throughout the attraction seems really half-hearted. It's like something I would do if I were creating a "ride" in my backyard.

Oh, The Princess and the Frog has some great songs. But as you said, just playing the songs, with the exact same lyrics even though they don't fit the situation, doesn't work. Especially lazy is that they just took the recordings of the songs directly from the soundtrack album - so you have, for instance, Tiana's voice singing "Almost There" during the outdoor loop for some reason. They couldn't have bothered to whip up a new instrumental?

As for "Special Spice", it's not bad, but it's no "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah".

Even ignoring that it's not a good replacement for Splash Mountain, it's not a good Princess and the Frog attraction either. I know they were insistent on having it take place after the movie because we can't have Tiana be a frog, but surely they could've made something that FELT like the movie. Tiana's Bayou Adventure doesn't. The Tiana animatronics don't look like Tiana, she's now an employee-owned food co-op entrepeneur who's an inspiration to all (which just screams "LOOK AT HOW WOKE WE ARE!" and it feels so cynical and fake). Louis and Mama Odie are the only characters from the film who do anything. At all. Most of the characters (Naveen, Charlotte, etc.) are just reduced to cameos in the finale. I'm glad Ray made it in, but he doesn't do anything either. Even the animation used in the ride is ugly CGI, which is really insulting to the film that was intended to bring back 2D animation (that it didn't work is irrelevant). Seriously, that CGI Louis doesn't even look like the ANIMATRONICS, much less Louis in the movie.

You could rename Tiana, Louis, and Mama Odie and make it an original ride not related to The Princess and the Frog at all, and not much about the attraction would change.

 

[EagleScout610]

The ceiling leaking on the right side of the big lift hill is now a steady drizzle in several spots. You can see it splashing off the evacuation steps during the video above.

In addition to the roof leaks:
• Mill Tiana isn’t moving her mouth and her eyes are stuck crossed.
• Might be the camera but her audio seems very quiet next to the lift hill and music.
• Zydeco Louis has no mouth or eye movement and his arms are stuck up in the air.
• Zydeco Tiana has a wonky eye and her body isn’t moving, making her arms flailing look even more comical.
• Rara Louis’ mouth isn’t working.
• Limited movement Tiana next to him is only turning her head, her body is completely static and she’s slouched further forward than usual.
• Tiana on a stump misses the log and just sits in her idle position.
• Mama Odie’s screen above the lift hill is still broken.
• There are at minimum three noticeable steady water leaks from the ceiling on the big lift hill.
• Mama Odie on top of the hill isn’t moving from the neck up.
• The waterfall during the outdoor portion before the finale isn’t working.
• Tiana’s Mom isn’t moving.
• Mama Odie in the finale is missing most of her movement and her mouth is broken. She’s also stuck slouched all the way forward.

 

[LittleBuford]

The ceiling leaking on the right side of the big lift hill is now a steady drizzle in several spots. You can see it splashing off the evacuation steps during the video above.

In addition to the roof leaks:
• Mill Tiana isn’t moving her mouth and her eyes are stuck crossed.
• Might be the camera but her audio seems very quiet next to the lift hill and music.
• Zydeco Louis has no mouth or eye movement and his arms are stuck up in the air.
• Zydeco Tiana has a wonky eye and her body isn’t moving, making her arms flailing look even more comical.
• Rara Louis’ mouth isn’t working.
• Limited movement Tiana next to him is only turning her head, her body is completely static and she’s slouched further forward than usual.
• Tiana on a stump misses the log and just sits in her idle position.
• Mama Odie’s screen above the lift hill is still broken.
• There are at minimum three noticeable steady water leaks from the ceiling on the big lift hill.
• Mama Odie on top of the hill isn’t moving from the neck up.
• The waterfall during the outdoor portion before the finale isn’t working.
• Tiana’s Mom isn’t moving.
• Mama Odie in the finale is missing most of her movement and her mouth is broken. She’s also stuck slouched all the way forward.

I really, really hope the fact that so many of these issues have been left unaddressed means that they are planning a major remedial campaign, all to be undertaken in one fell swoop. Goodness knows the attraction needs it.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I really, really hope the fact that so many of these issues have been left unaddressed means that they are planning a major remedial campaign, all to be undertaken in one fell swoop. Goodness knows the attraction needs it.

I hope you are right, but in my opinion, this is just today's Disney failing again.

In my opinion, I think they were well intentioned and was trying to replace the hydraulic or pneumatic (whatever Splash had) to the latest servo stuff and it just cant handle the environment because they did not consider that.

I think they don't have the manpower or parts to keep it working day after day now.

 

[mickEblu]

I hope you are right, but in my opinion, this is just today's Disney failing again.

In my opinion, I think they were well intentioned and was trying to replace the hydraulic or pneumatic (whatever Splash had) to the latest servo stuff and it just cant handle the environment because they did not consider that.

I think they don't have the manpower or parts to keep it working day after day now.

How do you not consider that as an engineer? Assuming the the "neer" part of Imagineer still stands for engineer?

 

[Disstevefan1]

How do you not consider that as an engineer? Assuming the the "neer" part of Imagineer still stands for engineer?

Maybe maybe when they were testing them in the clean room, they thought it would be fine in the actual attraction

 

[EagleScout610]

How do you not consider that as an engineer? Assuming the the "neer" part of Imagineer still stands for engineer?

Someone did at least

 

[LittleBuford]

Someone did at least
View attachment 891626

Mildew and mould are quite easy to smell, so I’m rather sceptical of this.

In any case, the current state of the attraction is inexcusable.

 

[zemmyz]

The ceiling leaking on the right side of the big lift hill is now a steady drizzle in several spots. You can see it splashing off the evacuation steps during the video above.

In addition to the roof leaks:
• Mill Tiana isn’t moving her mouth and her eyes are stuck crossed.
• Might be the camera but her audio seems very quiet next to the lift hill and music.
• Zydeco Louis has no mouth or eye movement and his arms are stuck up in the air.
• Zydeco Tiana has a wonky eye and her body isn’t moving, making her arms flailing look even more comical.
• Rara Louis’ mouth isn’t working.
• Limited movement Tiana next to him is only turning her head, her body is completely static and she’s slouched further forward than usual.
• Tiana on a stump misses the log and just sits in her idle position.
• Mama Odie’s screen above the lift hill is still broken.
• There are at minimum three noticeable steady water leaks from the ceiling on the big lift hill.
• Mama Odie on top of the hill isn’t moving from the neck up.
• The waterfall during the outdoor portion before the finale isn’t working.
• Tiana’s Mom isn’t moving.
• Mama Odie in the finale is missing most of her movement and her mouth is broken. She’s also stuck slouched all the way forward.

MORE: Missing bottle screen effect with lightning bugs, missing lightning bugs on leaves before 3D tiana screen, the lights on hills obviously, snake at the Mama Odie ending, continues to be one of the most fascinating "wth is going on/how is this actually happening/allowed" in all my years of following the parks.

 

[marni1971]

Good grief.