THEME PARK FLOPS: Why ATTRACTIONS Like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Don’t Work, and What Theme Park’s need to Avoid in Order to Make Immersive Attractions.

 THEME PARK FLOPS: Why ATTRACTIONS Like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Don’t Work, and What Theme Park’s need to Avoid in Order to Make Immersive Attractions.

Hello readers,

Today, I thought I would Write about a few attractions, that have come out in recent years. Normally my articles are criticisms and my own creative look on what can be done better, and how I would do things. Many times I provide my own way, my own creative concepts for the Orlando Theme Parks, but this morning I was contemplating what I can write and this lead me to a controversial subject. As many of you who know me personally, I was a Massive Fan of Splash Mountain, regardless of if it’s theme was problematic or what anyone says about this attraction, it was still undoubtedly a beloved attraction. It has been two years since TIana’s Bayou Adventure opened, and I have remained silent, as I watched this attraction from afar. Now as many of you know, from my previous article, Theme Parks have been catering to a different class of fan, they no longer only attract the Looky Loo’s and Theme Park Fanatics, but now the Amusement Park people, who Walt Disney and his Wife, both wanted nothing to do with in their park. 

While this has little to do with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, it is imperative I argue that this in part why attractions like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was created to adhere to Audiences, that aren’t exactly who Walt and Lilian wanted in Disney, a controversial claim, but to begin Splash Mountain probably wouldn’t have existed in Walt’s perfect and Ideal Park, it would have in all reality had been something more akin to Pirate’s of the Carribean, if walt had any involvement with Splash Mountain, and it probably would have been called something less fun under Walt, possibly Song of the South the Ride, but I digress. 

Anyways, as many of you who read and watch videos on Theme Park lore, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is heavily criticized for changing a few key aspects of the attraction. While the skeleton of the ride it’self remains the same utilizing the same drop, flume and vehicle(minus Brer Rabbit on the front of the log boats) the attractions have two key differences, Splash Mountain had over 68 Audio Animatronics within the ride at Magic Kingdown, while Tiana’s Bayou Adventure focused more heavily on the use of Screen’s and projection technology with only 48 A1000 Audio Animatronics, which by comparison isn’t alot, at Disneyland however this is much more prevalent as they had 103 animatronics on their version by comparison to the attraction here in Florida. This ia criticism of many but it isn’t the only criticism by a long shot of this attraction.

Part of what makes Most Disney World attractions work is the use of animatronics, and turn of the century technology providing an element of  Nostalgia to the young and old who visit, however, the second part that makes an attraction is the success is the reliance on story telling and retelling of the story that many guests already know. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, is an original Story, a concept developed by Imagineers, for this attraction and it takes place as a sequel to The Princess and the Frog, rather than a retelling of the story with all of the familiar characters and songs from the movie. 

While I wouldn’t say doing something like this is always bad, the Amusement Park People, don’t care about the lore and work Imagineers went into to create this original story. They only care about going up the hill and down the hill, and the climactic splash, on a Hot day in Florida. This is precisely why this Attractions doesn’t work. 

Theme Park Fans who watched the movie and want to be immersed get the immersion, and learn the story. The looky loo’s and Amusement park people however(the people who have taken over the theme park’s) they do not care about the story, they saw the movie maybe once, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure by Proxy to Splash Mountain is underwhelming, slow and focuses so much on an original story it loses Audiences who went on it for the nostalgia of the old attraction(Splash Mountain), or the Feature Film(The Princess and the Frog). 

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure isn’t all bad, for those who want to learn the lore and love Tiana and Nadine, (Mama Odie, Ray and Louis) but it’s missing a key aspect that made Splash Mountain as Success, and that is familiarity and conflict within the story. (not to mention when guests are confused because halfway through the ride they are shrunken and turned into frogs, which confused many first time riders, as it isn’t explicitly said and sometimes is missed by riders entirely)

The way I would have advised Imagineers in regards to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is first they didn’t have to rebrand it. People still to this day call Tiana’s Bayou Adventure “Splash Mountain” it was a stupid decision to Rebrand, the title for the ride. Tiana’s could have been called “Splash Mountain: Featuring the Princess and the Frog” and took guests through scenes from the film. Including songs like: Almost There, Dig A Little Deeper, and Friends on the Other Side, familiar sing along songs from the film, but instead the new Song “Going Down the Bayou”and “Special Spice" aren’t nearly half as catchy, and is not something guests remember after riding the ride by comparison to “Zippity Doo Da” was for Splash Mountain. 

The inclusion of these iconic better known songs, would have created memories for guests who visit once, but many will never remember the two original songs as they aren’t as memorable and aren’t within the rides Feature film. In fact I would argue most Amusement Park People, don’t care about the song, they won’t listen to it on Disney Radio (Apple Music or Spotify) and they will watch Princess and the Frog looking for the song, and think that Dig a little Deeper is the song anyways.

The main criticism I have with Tiana’s Bayou adventure is and always will be that it used to be Splash Mountain and it included Brer Fox and Bret Bear, two comical Villains who lead to your eventual drop into the briary patch. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, lacks this aspect and I argue that Doctor Facillier, should have been included in the attraction, along with his song Friends on the Other Side, turning guests into Frog’s but instead, they go into a tunnel of blackness and nothing ness, and then suddenly they emerge shrunken into the size of a frog. The incorporation of the Film’s main antagonist would have played a huge part in making this attraction work, and adding the forces of good and evil in terms of magic and theme to the ride. Instead guests spend 5-10 minutes on a boat ride through the bayou trying to help Tiana find members of the Jazz Band to play with Louis the Alligator's band at a celebration in the finale, and I think many guests don’t even know what is going on. In all honesty Tiana didn’t really strike me as someone at all interested in music, it would be one thing if it was Louis the Alligator, or the attraction was from his perspective of the Original Film, but if anything it should have been an Ingredient hunt for some sort of New Orleans/Cajun recipe in the Bayou following Tiana, on a boat ride to find food ingredients in the Bayou, set to almost there.

Instead we are left with this confusing to the casual fans attraction, set in the world of the Princess and the Frog, where outside the hero characters and the fact that guests get “turned into a frog” their is little to no reference to the original film providing the nostalgia to the attraction.

So what does this have to do with Piston Peak National Park AKA Car’s Land? 

Well to that question it is simple. Piston Peak is an Original Concept set in the world of Cars. It isn't Radiator Springs, it isn’t anything as far as we have been told connected to Radiator Springs, and it is a location from the lesser known cars spin off Planes Fire & Rescue. Therefore it isn’t actually a Cars themed land but one could argue it is in fact a “Planes”themed land, with cars in it. 

The lack of unfamiliarity, and why reports (rumors and speculation) suggest that the President of Walt Disney World, Jeff Vahle, stepped down due to the lack of Faith from Josh D’Amaro in the project and the failures having to do with shutting down the Rivers of America, and Piston Peak not being something that anyone including D’amaro wants within Magic Kingdom. Pison Peak isn’t Nostalgic, Planes: Fire & Rescue is only rated at a 5.9/10 on IMDB with a 44% critical approval rating and 56% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes(I don’t normally agree with Rotten Tomatoes), where as Cars  has an 7.3/10 on IMDB and a 74% critical approval rating and a 80% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. Therefore the locations (one can argue) from Cars are hence more iconic and familiar to audiences than those from Planes: Fire & Rescue. 

This may also be why Audiences, the Press and Disney Adults are referring to it as “Cars Land” while only Disney is referring to it as Piston Peak, which will as we have seen in the past be a let down for most Disney Parks fans. 

Where have we seen this before though? Where what the fans, and the press were calling the project, wasn’t what the project actual was? I of course think back to The Star Wars: Galactic Star Cruiser, which was being called by everyone the “Star Wars Hotel” when I would have referred to it as an Immersive Stay Experience (“I.S.E” but that is a concept for another time) or a two day L.A.R.P Experience, but rather than trying to convince fans it was more than a hotel they went with what the press were calling it and this eventually lead to the hotels downfall, but once again I digress. 

So then, if choosing to use something not seen on screen(something Original) doesn’t work, then why Do lands like Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge and the Potential Villains land still work?

That is the question isn’t it. Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge was intended to be an expansion within the larger Star Wars Universe, it is still hailed as a L.A.R,P land and caters to the fandom in ways that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and this new “Cars Land” at Magic Kingdom never will. Star Wars is a property of its own set in a vast universe with dozens of era’s and an established Canon(that every couple years gets a retcon or two but thats besides the point). Galaxy’s Edge didn’t take us on a weird journey on Batuu where Rey(who wanted to become a Jedi) and Finn(who was just a rebel character who was done dirty by the sequel trilogy) were trying to find BB-8. Instead we got flung into the action of a familiar Star Wars Story, On Rise of the Resistance, where Guests join the Resistance against the First Order. Where as Tiana’s Bayou is an Original story like Galaxy’s Edge and is missing conflict and lacks a pre-show and any story telling element before you are actually on the attraction to convey this to the park goer(audience). 

Villains Land however, I will argue can be a success, as long as the story on it’s attractions has adventure, conflict or some sort of Story Telling Pre-show element to the attraction to tell the guests(park-goer) what is happening to bring them into this world. For example Monster’s Unchained would be a very weird ride at Epic Universe if it didn’t have the Pre-show part 1 and part 2 where Igor, Doctor Frankenstein and the Monster, all appeared and explained to guests the plot of the story. 

The age of guests being to board an attraction and not get any juxtaposition or information about why the ride exists is over. They can either retell the story from the film or franchise placing guests in the center of the action from that story like: Peter Pan’s Flight, Winnie the Pooh, Pirates of the Carribean, Seven Dwarves Mine Train, or they can have a Pre-Show and focus on Storytelling:Rise of the Resistance, Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, Haunted Mansion, and (at Universal) Monsters Unchained.

Thank you for reading, let me know in the comments below what you think of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, do you agree or Disagree!