Imagine the ride as the original movie. Where Tiana in her blue dress, kisses the frog and then we turn into frogs in the bayou while Dr faciller chases us with his demons! Imagine “are you ready” as you’re going up the hill and dr facillier poofs smoke and his eyes are showing in the dark as you splash down!!!! And then the ending is Tiana and naveens wedding, then a peppers ghost effect of the frogs turning into their human forms. Tiana in her beautiful green dress!!! With mama odie!!!
Your version sounds so much better! Park guests and fans were coming up with all sorts of wonderful and creative ideas when they first announced the retheme, should have hired a panel of guests to head the project because this ain't it. Where has all the magic and creativity gone?
Advice for Disney, if you make a decision like taking voodoo out of a voodoo story or taking dwarves out of a dwarf story, the first thing you should do is stop and take a breath and realize that you cannot go further with the project. You’re welcome.
It just looks like there’s so much dead space. There was always something to look at when riding splash. Definitely disappointed. Almost gives me Dudley Do Right vibes with the vacant scenes (not quite as bad but still)
Dudley Do Right at least makes you chuckle a few times. (Funny enough, their Mr. Toad parody train gag outlasted the original at Disney World almost since park open). It's lower rent but arguably better paced. This just feels like a leisure ride with a few drops thrown in last minute to appeal to adolescents. Kinda like how Pirates of the Caribbean was marketed as a "thrill" ride before Space Mountain opened in 1975.
@@dancingangel95 watch the side by side. There was not something always happening there were multiple parts where there was dead space. They were just different. Did you ride this ride? Because I feel like it’s much better when you ride it than a video.
Most of the animatronics look lazy. Barely moving, eyes just fixed in place with only the arms moving etc.. so poorly executed. It could have been good.. especially after seeing how good Disney Shangai's Pirates of The Caribbean ride is.
It looks like a rough draft instead of a finished product. The story does not make any sense. Why are we turned into tiny frogs.....There should have been a white versus dark magic element to this to make it more thrilling which fits the actual ride and could have been easily incorporated into this story.
It's become very apparent that a substantial part of the disappointment comes from people who actually love this movie and its characters and were excited about the ride's potential. That deserves to be highlighted, as I'm already seeing plenty of people pretending it's just a bunch of people hung up on Splash Mountain who were going to hate on Tiana's anyway. Not true and a pathetic way to protect Imagineering from legitimate feedback.
Yes!!!! I never went on splash and I LOVE Princess and the Frog. I really wanted this to be good. I think the critters are adorable and I already want the plush merch. It just looks so underwhelming and not worth my time or headache. I don’t like log flumes but I’d be willing to go on if it looked even remotely worth it
I love the movie, all this attention for the ride makes me want to watch it today. I've also never been on Splash Mountain so I hope they add things and make it a great attraction
nothing like a plot revolving around finding "musicians" that you find almost immediately lol there is no interesting story here, no conflict, no adventure, no tension.
@@graffiti.777They are probably scared of offending people. Though they probably shouldn’t be. I say this as someone who was born and raised in Louisiana
@@MarkHeathcliff-bf2im It's funny because witchcraft and wiccans are a religion or belief system and they have no issue making them evil. How about Hades and the gods in Hercules? The voodoo take is just so dumb. They had good use of Voodoo in Odie and bad use of Voodoo in Facilier. Is it offensive that some people use things to their devious advantage that others use for good? Then I guess we shouldn't charge people money to come to the park.
100%, that's what Tokyo DisneySea did for Rapunzel's Lantern Festival and it's beautiful. Disney is doing everything backwards now. Why is the Country Bears Jamboree being rethemed to nothing more than country covers of ALREADY imagined Disney IP? Why have a Princess and the Frog ride and FORCE a new storyline when the source material that everyone already knows and loves exists RIGHT THERE to use?
Apparently someone in charge of the imagineers has a hate-on for rides that follow the movie scripts. They even have a pejorative for it "book report ride". Nevermind that most of Disney's most beloved rides follow their movie's plot.
@@mandipowell2418 disney is morally and creatively bankrupt!!! Thay cannot create, only corrupt and destroy(Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Marvel, ect...)!!!
@@DtLS Agree--and what's wrong with making it a quasi-sequel, then? Star Tours, Rise of the Resistance, and Guardians Cosmic Rewind aren't "book reports"--but they ARE more fun.
Right? Like at this point, just turn Splash Mountain into Winnie the Pooh if they're so worried about the Twitter mob. Or is Winnie the Pooh controversial now too?
They are so scared of offending everyone and trying to appeal to everyone that they end up appealing to no one. I say this as someone from Louisiana who was born and raised in the state..99.9% of people here weren’t offended by the original movie.
Pocahontas would have been a way better new theme for Splash Mountain because she actually dives off a beautiful waterfall and rides canoes 🛶 on the river
That wouldn't work, Pocahontas easily suffers the same fate where she's culturally insensitive since she's a native American caricature. There's a reason Disney kind of tucked her aside and doesn't mention her very often.
I am a former Splash CM....a disappointing redux is not a surprise....Disney's new MO is water everything down, rip the guts out...they'll still come.....so...........I mean....have you SEEN the new Poly tower and interior decor????????..........🤨
Splash mountain was bland and ugly and beyond outdated even if we ignore the whole problematic origins thing. Kids are gonna feel the same way about tianas in 20 years as you do about splash
It feels like the people who designed the queue and the actually ride's story itself doesn't quite intermingle, as if something was lost in production. It's all about vegetables and food and ingredients, yet most of the ride is about finding a band. Perhaps it should have intermingled both food and music as a theme?
In my opinion, it's hard for a ride to be "terrible". It's still an impressive achievement either way. And the drops alone make it good. But in terms of what they had to work with, yeah, no
Is it better than most offerings elsewhere? Yes, thanks largely to the ride system and layout still intact. Is it the best it could be? No. That will make the rest of the crowded attendance in the park worse, not better, since fewer people will want to wait in longer lines for this.
Which brings me back the #1 Award in that category....Journey into Imagination. Replaced by trash and then more trash. LOVED the original. It was the dark ride I always did no less than twice on any trip. Now I get tear/fury thinking of it! Figment Forever! Given all the problems Disney had, this should have been MUCH lower on this "must do" list IMHO
Why they couldn't re-use a lot of the other America Sings song critters and existing sets (birds and rabbits, swirling frogs, bees, etc.) is beyond me. Feels like it would have been *more* work to take them all out than just slap a couple re-themes?
@@PreferredCustomerthey don’t work well anymore and the technology is outdated. Why would they keep them? Did you see them? That ride was falling apart.😭
It just seems like such a missed opportunity. Think of how much better this could have been if there was a Facilier tie-in... like, a real narrative with a hero's journey. So disappointing. That's for the honest take. This is definitely not a "destination" ride. I'll go on it if the line is short next time I'm in MK.
Same, especially after seeing the amazing animatronics and technology used on the new Disney Sea rides. Not even sure how the whole organic looking “Tiana’s Foods” fits into the whole story line either…why not go with a Tiana’s Place theme like the movie? They didn’t have to rehash the original story, but they definitely could’ve brought back Facilier and “friends” to ruin the party. All just seems a bit underwhelming imo.
@@vilsunnington1528 Yeah--that's the problem with Disney. They still think the Internet doesn't really exist, and we can't see examples elsewhere of how much better themed attractions "could" be--and ARE--done. Probably why they despise the Oriental Land Company so much.
Was voodoo a huge problem in the original movie? I do not practice the religion but as I understand, they did a good job of showing that it can be used for both good and evil.
Thank you for being the first genuine review of this ride. So far all the other TH-camrs have been giving it all positives with a defensive “well I walked off smiling a little so that’s all that counts”. You’re the first one to actually say yes this ride has problems. Everyone else is clearly scared to lose their press passes so they say nothing but blue skies and sunshine but their tone and studder says another more genuine story
Splash Mountain had a better storytelling, for sure. And more Animatronics. And was more fun, had more color and a real sense of “Adventure”. Princess Tiana deserved a really new ride and not just a sort of makeover. Well, just my opinion. I have 50 years visiting WDW once a year and I think there are some attractions that You can label as “classics”. Pirates, Mansion, Big Thunder, etc… Splash Mountain, for me, had that status. It was a classic! You can improve, add new effects, do such things, but never get rid of them. But, again, It’s just an opinion from an old (and I mean it) Disney fan. Have fun, folks! ✌️
Splash isn’t a classic to me.😭 I never thought of it as that big of a deal. I’ve never even heard others thinking of it like that until recently because everyone thinks they’re fighting wokeness or something by keeping a ride that was falling apart and old with a story most people haven’t heard of and people are offended by.🙄 Why would they keep that?
Tba seems as spicy and fun as boiled chicken and white rice for dinner. Looking forward to going to Japan for splash mountain. Iger co. did Tiana no favors.
I'm not looking forward to this opening in Disneyland, California anymore. In fact, I wish Disney would shut it down, put back Splash Mountain and build a separate, re-imagined Tiana's ride somewhere else in Critter Country or Fantasyland. Like you, I think Disney should quit scrapping brilliant rides that could've just been updated. Disney's California Adventure lost Tower of Terror because it was converted into Guardians of The Galaxy, which I think deserved to be its own ride. In the process, Disney changed the beautiful TOT attraction exterior into a neon-covered junk heap that is an absolute eyesore no matter how you look at it. I did not find anything offensive about Splash Mountain. The entire ride was populated with animals. It was lively, endearing, unforgettable and fun. Tiana's Bayou Adventure makes me wish Splash Mountain was never taken out.
Hopefully, the Disneyland version will be better because it’s smaller there won’t be as much dead space if you know what I mean. but I want your time will tell.
I'm just really hoping they take all of the negative feedback into consideration when they work on Disneyland. They have all of the Splash animatronics, use them!
@@ingtapoot According to reports, in WDW, the animatronics were disassembled to use some of their parts in the refurbishment of Country Bears. I hope the DL Splash Mountain animatronics are still intact. But somehow, I doubt it.
Apparently, Mama Odie makes everyone tiny for no apparent reason and then makes them big again so they can make a big “Splash” at the party? I don’t think so.
I genuinely don’t get that part either lol I dont understand why Facilier wasn’t a part of the story to make the shrinking make more sense & then have Mama Odie save the day before the drop & make you big again. But then again wtf does the shrinking have to do with Louis finding a band?
@@itsnoterica, I could be wrong, but I think the point of shrinking was to find a frog for the band. Although I think the story is stupid. If you want to hire animals for a band, send the fireflies to spread the word and have them come to audition.
It’s taken me 4 videos on this to realise they shrink you down to a frog to find the smaller ‘band members’ (I think) not clear at all. The animatronics with the awkward pauses and repetitive phrases to me make them not look anymore impressive than previous animatronic models… they looked much more impressive in the studio. Maybe they come across better in person?
I think The Rescuers would have been a much better fit story/theme wise. Why? Because it's an actual "bayou adventure!" It even has the same imagery as Splash Mountain: swamp critters, alligators, caves, a riverboat. It's too bad Disney only builds rides based on merch sales.
I never would have thought about that! An attraction based off The Rescuers would be phenomenal. Why didn't they use that as a retheme? They could have also reused the steamboat for it, especially since it was Madam Medusa's "lair" in a way.
I think the Rescuers was originally one of the ideas? In any case, it was a current year executive's pet project which garnered plenty of press--so even though Disney walked back a bunch of Chapek decisions, this one was going to happen come hell-or-high-water. If it wasn't so mediocre, it would've been a good hit that they desperately needed.
@@PreferredCustomer Really? I can't see modern Disney considering a Rescuers ride when it's a more obscure movie. Maybe back in the 80s when it was newer.
I feel like they didn't need to get rid of all the old animatronics. With a little sprucing up and some rethemeing, they could have found a home on Tiana's, like the original ones did coming from America Sings to Splash. If they have them in storage, which I hope they do, select a crop of them and fill out this ride.
Nobody but people who would NEVER visit Disney anyway were complaining about Splash Mountain. It was insane to reskin a classic and beloved ride like Splash. If you’re gonna reskin it you better make it an improvement in every aspect. And this ride is inferior to Splash in every way except for having better AA technology than a 30 year old ride.
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I have no attachment to the theming or story of splash mountain. I only ever cared about the drop since it was my first big drop on a ride as a kid. I see it being very popular since a lot of people love princess and the frog. It's also the only water ride in the park that gets them wet, which is great in the FL heat.
@@metallicnole4514 I think it’s because I grew up with the story of Brer Rabbit and how he fooled Brer Fox and Bret Bear into thinking he didn’t want to be thrown into the briar patch all the while that was his home. But I get you. It is a nice ride on a hot day.
I dunno man, i loved Splash Mountain but it was also really weird to have a ride based on a movie that Disney barely wants to acknowledge they made. So a reskin made a ton of sense to me. But I am a little underwhelmed here. The original final scene with the riverboat was overwhelming with how many animatronics there were, so what we have now is... Kinda meh. I also love Naveen so it was a bummer that he barely showed up. So yeah, i am actually team reskin despite having loved both the Disneyland and Disney World versions, but i will say that this feels pretty underwhelming.
@@BrightBlueInk I'm with you. A re-theme could have been great. I'm so bummed about the lack of story. My then-8 year old had a better idea when it was announced.. Maybe Disney needs to get some actual children on their imagineering teams.
This is why I enjoy this channel. You get an honest opinion of one man. The good. The bad. The ugly. From the footage, it’s a bit underwhelming. No use of Dr. Facilier who is a brilliant villain voiced by Keith David? Yeah, the details in story-telling are lacking which is important tool in keeping you coming back.
Imagine if the lift hill played "friends on the other side" and the song gets more intense as you get to the top. That would have been an addition worthy of replacing Splash Mountain.
Man i had no idea Disney was so scared to use Voodoo, maybe they shouldnt have made a ride based on a property whose whole thing is VOODOO!?! I think it wouldve been super cool if instead of the frog section have Dr. Facilier pop up and say like "My Friends and I dont think youll be making it to that little party" and have the frog section be us escaping Facilier and his Friends. I love a kinda scary section in a Disney ride especially if the source material has spooky elements i mean Pirates scared me as a kid and i literally refused to ride Haunted Mansion until i was a teenager cause the thought of it scared me and now those are my favorite theme park rides of all time. now all that said i dont think the ride is terrible but if Tony Baxter walks out on the project halfway through i think its proof this reskin was DOA.
I don't understand Disney they are "scared" of racism and insensitivity but had and have no problem making movies that represented those things. Mine you PATF was made in 09 but 14 years later they want to pretend the voodoo aspect doesn't exist. Same reason they had no issues making Pocahontas but because of the colonization and white savior aspect she's barely in anything. WHY DO YOU KEEP MAKING THESE TYPES OF MOVIES THEN?
Why even mention Voodoo? Just hint that it's some kind of sinister dark magic and leave it be. You could even create a new side-villian for that if you wanted? Disney still has Tom Sawyer island with its references to "1njun Joe," so it's not so much racism as it is being scared of common popular accusations.
@@friedchicken4735Because today's culture is so sanitized, that an ethnic character in a 2000s show or a movie with a black princess is the same as the Censored 11.
I noticed so many signs dotted around the ride to explain what area you are in or whats going on, it shows how weak the story telling is if they have to do this.
The Disney Parks, have become a big joke. To put it simply, they must know something, that the rest of us do not. They literally quit on the entire company, and did their best to alienate the most die-hard of fans. I’m glad I went mostly in the 80’s, and 90’s and got to see the parks at their finest. I won’t be returning ever again. For the first time ever, I will be staying on a Universal property, and spending ALL of my time in the Universal Parks. Nintendoland, Harry Potter, Epic Universe, with the Universal Monsters, etc. Disney is DONE.
I simply cannot believe they did not reuse the showboat from America Sings. It would have fit in perfectly. At this point, the only historical/easter egg reference to Splash is Louis' big behind sticking up instead of Br'er Bear's hanging from the snare trap (unless someone else finds something).
So much dead space and wasted potential with no plot. This reminds me of a Sofia the First episode where she needs a princess to help her with her small task
I really enjoyed Sofia The First as a series, I gotta admit. The songs in that show were more bangers than missers, especially stuff like My Evil Dreams.
@@NostalgictotheMax I actually think the final season finale was really special, so many great callbacks and amazing resolutions. This is supposed to be a Disney JR show yet it actually felt so rewarding. I still need to go through Elena of Avalor at some point.
You absolutely NAILED it with this review. Why are so many other Disney vloggers seeing this ride through such rose tinted glasses? Is it because they wanted to like it so bad?
Investment bias. If you put so much energy into wanting to like something, if it doesn't deliver, it's difficult to force a change of opinion. Also, vacation vloggers generate more revenue and followers by having positive experiences people can live through. Vicarious positivity is profitable.
so disappointedddd it just doesn’t scream princess and the frog, with all the missing characters and random storyline. it took me awhile to realize we shrunk, and there was no adrenaline buildup before the drop!! whyyyy disney, tiana deserves better
Seems weird that the cars just race through the party scene at regular speed. It feels like there's not enough time to take that part in, whereas the rest of the ride feels so empty.
@@Katesaprincess Right, but it was a lot less detailed. It was just a bunch of animals singing on a river boat. Tiana's had a lot more going on that fans of the movie would probably like to have time to see
@@hexkobold9814 there is a lot going on. There’s so many details on this ride but it’s not captured on video I think. There’s a lot of parts of this that have empty space where splash had stuff BUT there’s a lot of empty space on splash where this ride has stuff. Also the lift hill was just dark on splash so they added the lights without taking away anything.
Even if Tiana's Bayou Adventures is the greatest ride ever, there is no reason that Disney couldn't have built this a as a brand new attraction and left Splash Mountain alone. P.S. I have been to the Louisiana Bayou and don't recall a Mountain.
The worst part isn't how bad this attraction is, it is how good its predecessor was. They killed off one of the last attractions with that "classic Disney" feel, to make way for this low-effort, low-quality shell of an attraction. Plus the fact that this new one will likely be there 25 to 30 years makes it all even worse.
Depends on its reception. Stitch's Great Escape only lasted 14 years, and they've replaced that with *nothing.* Journey into Imagination with Figment seems to be the bar for how low they can design something and still get away with it. This seems worse.
@@PreferredCustomer Seems like a good reception so far, theres a huge line even now with the soft opening. Is that because of the hype? Idk. I certainly dont care for it based on the vids.
This ride is super underwhelming. Only the die-hard shills who get kickbacks from Disney think this is any good. If Disney PR, with their huge budget, can't make this ride look amazing, that says something. This ride is pretty garbage overall. No coherent storyline, lots of dead space, crappy decor, and constant mechanical issues. A hard NO on this. Horrible job Disney!!!
Lmao I am just a twenty year old who really enjoys the ride and wasn’t the biggest fan of splash mountain. Its a massive upgrade especially in tech and ride upkeep!
@@morgiemango6242 LOL! You obviously must not be talking about this ride, but that statement you made regarding an "upgrade" is completely false. Please get the facts right. And people of my generation and many others loved Splash Mountain. It was the most popular ride at any of their theme parks. I recommend rewatching the ride footage out out by Disney.
Agreed. Look at Pirates of The Caribbean in Disney Shanghai.. it's incredible looking and easily the best version of them all. They could have done so much better.. or just left it as-is. There was literally nothing wrong with Splash Mountain. Woke nonsense ruining everything, as usual. The Vagisil logo reference is so fitting.
20:48 There's actually kinda of a missed Opportunity to have the Three hillbilly hunters show up as the main villains instead of Dr. Facilier. Let me explain: First of all, since your goal was collecting "Critters musicians" for the Festival, It seems natural to have the Hunters show up as Threatening, yet comical antagonists trying to hunt down these critters down and interfering your progress. They can easily fill up all the empty spaces within the ride with their insane antics trying the catch the critters with little to no results. Secondly, They are perfect analogues for B'rer Fox and B'rer Bear as they too are Comical Hunters who are trying the catch and eat a Critter which in this case is the Cleverly-witted B'rer Rabbit. And finally, In the final drop, rather than have Mama Odie basically preparing you for the final drop, you instead have the Hunters pointing their shotguns at you since your were turned into a frog by that point before Mama Odie shows up and save your butt.
If Disney can re-name Madame Odie as a bayou fairy godmother instead of voodoo queen, then instead of totally abandoning Dr. Facilier due to voodoo connection, Disney should just evolve the character to be a charlatan, schemer, illusionist...whatever is needed. Don't mention voodoo. But keep this fantastic villain character, he's one of the very best and will be helpful in any future Tiana content, including hinting at him (shadow projections, evil laugh) in this attraction.
Voodoo voodoo voodoo. I said it three times. Nothing happened. Why are you people so scared of a word? Madame Odie being a Voodoo Queen is freaking amazing.
Im a huge splash mountain fan and an even bigger princess and the frog fan. I didnt care how they changed the ride because i understand change. But i was really hoping they would gut and complely redo EVERYTHING about the original ride track/log flumes. It was always broken down, i got evacuated from it twice and once during mnsshp we rode it in complete silence none of the animatronics were making a sound and no soundtrack was playing. Super creepy but sad to see that the wdw splash seemed to not get taken care of. These problems wont go away just because they made it pretty and added great animatronics.
I don’t know anything about the movie, but the ride looked horrendous. To be honest, considering how upset I was with splash closing, I’m glad that I don’t like this ride. Really lazy do over of a ride that should’ve never left. I’m probably skipping this ride in future visits. The scenes look like they just did the bare minimum and the animatronics look really boring. The audio animatronics on splash were better. They did absolutely nothing well in this ride. Makes me really want to sing zip a dee do dah on the ride or in front of the ride. Except I can’t sing. The best part of the ride from the POV seemed to be getting off. Doesn’t look good. I don’t think reviews are going to be very good and I’m probably not the only one who wants this ride to close already.
Story first - Technology second. This is like a not fully formed band. Yes it may have a few shiny instruments, but it is missing a harmony and several additional band members. Your POV is better than the one released by Disney.
So sad it didnt live up to the expectations that they created, and so sad that with such a good oportunity they missed the ball big time! Tiana and the movie deserve and amazing ride created for it specifically! Hopefully we can get it in the future :/
Splash Mt: take the movie and make into a ride, complete with "don't throw me in the briar patch.". Art at its finest. Tiana's: take the movie, flush it, create a new lame story, miss the chance to fall into "I've got friends on the other side." Ehhhh Took it from a Home Run to maybe a double or triple. Still good, but missing all the elements that made it awesome.
@@asudevil316 I dunno, I did a search on something called the "Internet." At best, the online reaction seems only only be 1 in favor (Themeparkinsider) vs 2 against (Insidethemagic and Thatparkplace) with a lot more negative examples being cited on the more critical side.
They still have it in Japan from what i've heard. And i've heard nothing on them replacing their Splash Mountain. If that's the case then I gotta make a special trip to Japan then.
Maybe for anyone that hasn't ridden splash but it's a disappointment! 50 animitronics of Tiana don't make it good,I love that Coco is playing drums at the end! Surprised there isn't some spare Galactic star cruiser stuff😂
Disney you should release a new version of "Song of the South" film, without the racism. This keeps the songs, keeps the fun animal characters, piques curiosity to see it, and you can relaunch Splash Mountain by updating its animatronics. Easy Peasy. You destroy a beloved beloved ride and kill the essence of Princess and the Frog by making a "Dora the explorer: The ride without adventure"
when considering what di$ney has done up to this point and then seeing THIS, the obvious conclusion is this........... di$ney is cutting everything. They dont care what you think, the next gen of guests who dont know better will accept this crap. Dont know if it can ever get better under present management, but dont hold your breath. The parks are on a severe downward trend and it won't come back.
It could almost certainly come back, but demand has to warrant it. As long as the guests keep flocking to support mediocrity, you'll get that--and then some. This might see some changes purely due to crowd capacity influence and merch sales. If no one is waiting in line for this, then all those park goers who would have been waiting are just going to clog up everything else, including the pathways. That might convince Disney to put in the effort to spruce this up to an attraction worth waiting.
At the end of the day, they destroyed something great and legendary and replaced it with something mid level with a Disneyesque politicization wrapped in to boot. Of course the public isnt going to be positive on this. Im available for consultancy Disney!
I've only seen the POV video, but it feels like a simple Fantasyland kiddie ride with a weak story, but with better lighting and a few good animatronics
Imo mission breakout sucks and doesn't match the area like the tower of terror did Disney should of just gave guardians of the galaxy and princess and the frog they own ground up rides instead of these tacky rethemes
@@DrWarbirdThis. Splash was actually based on black folklore. Disney could have updated the ride to reflect its literary roots but that was too much trouble for them I guess.
Damn imagine being the original creator/ imagineer of something and then they bring you in to replace the entire ride, sounds like they didn’t let him have any creative freedom when he saw how stupid the rules they would have put on him. No wonder this dude left mid project. They probably gave him zero creativity freedom, on top of making him destroy what he once made. Sounds like a nightmare as a creator/ imagineer.
I don't think it looks nearly as bad as people were making it out to be. I love The Princess and the Frog and there are elements of this ride that really look cool - clearly going to be a great night ride. But I agree...the ride's story doesn't really make much sense. I also don't believe the ride rivals that fun factor that Splash had. We'll see. Planning to get on it in July during a big family trip before passing final judgement. But it certainly doesn't feel like an upgrade at face value yet.
you're wrong regardless of opinion or not. the ride looks horrible. i'm not a die hard splash mountain either but a mountain in "louisiana " when that doesn't exist. the mountain is full of flowers like Tifiti from epcot took a shit on the mountain . flowers and ambient lighting does not make it look good
@@tbgtabiasWell it's not a Mountian now, it's a Salt Mine. Specifically based off of one known for terrible treatment of slaves. Because Disney wanted to remove themselves from any problematic elements of the old ride.
"Disney didn't really want anything to do with voodoo" cracked me up. Similar to the watering down of Pirates. Looks like Small World level of intensity with the thrill ride final drop. Strange pairing.
If they wanted to stay away from the voodoo stuff for lord knows what stupid reasons then why in the world did they make a princess and the frog ride in the first place!?
Pretty sure they won't bring it back--but they *should* add some more color and life to the existing version. No Prince? No variety of bayou animals? No fantastic villian who makes guests feel like they "escaped" and adds tension to the ending? Not even that Southern bubbleheaded lady who chirps on about her Big Daddy?
I couldn't agree more with this review. I was a huge splash mountain fan and I was disappointed when they first announced its closure but then I rewatched the princess and the frog loved it got excited for the retheme just to end up disappointed. This could have been better if they didn't change the storyline a million times and stuck to the actual movie and not a sequel to it that doesn't even exist lol. I specificaly agree with you that splash had way more animatronics and things to look at and this does not have enough animatronics at all. Its mostly dark and plants and you have to wait awhile to get to the next animatronic. Luis isn't already not working in the first time you see him and Tiana isn't talking when you see her with Luis and the critters. The bears aren't blinking which is creepy. The safari outfit makes no sense and the storyline is kinda all over the place. Its disappointing we don't get to see what was in the concept art like Tiana in that beautiful blue dress and Luis. Then Naveen is hidden in the finale. Charlotte and Tiana's mom don't do anything in the finale scene all they do is wave. its just very underwhelming and disappointing. Tony prob backed out because he saw that this would be a boring and dull ride. what a huge disappointment. :( The exterior is more beautiful then splash though.
The no vodoo on the ride is definitely so people don’t get mad about it as cultural appropriation, etc. It’s ok in shows and parades because they always can always pull/change it.
Yeah, but in the end, when you play it safe I think you're going to have even more hate and negativity than if they had just put it in. People keep saying the ride is n't suspenseful enough and I agree. Putting voodoo in would offend a small minority, yes, but leaving it out and playing safe offends the vast majority.
I visited back in 2006 when Expedition Everest was in previews, and the Yeti was fully functional. The finale on that ride was AMAZING!!! JAW-DROPPING. But the Yeti has been broken for 18 years, and, instead of fixing it, we get...this. This. This is what we get.
They would likely have fixed the yeti if they safely could have but he's a load bearing yeti that would also are the structure more and more unstable as he operated
The first and easiest change they need to make is swapping out the background music for stuff that doesn’t have lyrics. Characters shouldn’t be talking while their songs play in the background it’s distracting.
I think people forget that the only reason Splash had so many random animatronics is just because thwy were all salvaged from America Sings. If they would have built Splash originally without that shortcut, it would have had a fraction of the characters and almost certainly would have leaned on cutouts and static figures like Alice. Tiana's had to build every single figure, no shortcuts this time. That said, I do think the story is very thin, and would have liked to see Dr. Facilier, myself. I think the number of animatronics and look of the ride is fine, it's the narrative that needs help.
Disney has exponentially more resources now than they did when they first build Splash Mountain in 1989, I feel like a few more animatronics isn't an out of pocket request.
@@parasiteprincess3923 Yes... and no. The *corporation* is rolling in dough. They seem excessively averse to spending it on their parks to the degree they need to. Epic is coming next year... guess we'll see what happens when Disney takes a roundhouse punch to the bottom line, because they sure missed the chance to be proactive in response.
The first half didn’t look that bad and actually looked really good but at the top of the first lift hill when I realized the plot I was really disappointed in Disney. Would’ve been better is they took out the ip and kept the western theme/made a new story
I think they should have dedicated a whole new attraction to Tiana's Bayou Adventure. The mountains, rockwork, and waterfalls dont align with a traditional Bayou
I do agree with you the retheme on Tower of terror in Disneyland was good and I'm happy they did it. But what they did with splash mountain was awful they're going to have to put a lot more in that ride to make it feel like it's not empty and they need to put Tiana in her signature dress. They're going to have to do something but at this point it seems like they can't even get The ride to stop breaking down
This thing cost like $100 million. You know what they could’ve done with that money? They could’ve remade a new movie for Song of the South with just the animal character storyline and not the live action story. It would’ve revitalized the IP for years to come, they could’ve still refurbished the ride to fit closer with the new film (update character designs and whatnot) and it would be good to go for DECADES!! It would’ve been a huge hit and it would’ve been the easiest money they’ve made in YEARS!! Now, because they didn’t want to follow the movie for the Princess and the Frog, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be lucky to make it 5 years without them having to sink millions more into it to fix it. What a complete joke 🙄
Imagine the ride as the original movie. Where Tiana in her blue dress, kisses the frog and then we turn into frogs in the bayou while Dr faciller chases us with his demons! Imagine “are you ready” as you’re going up the hill and dr facillier poofs smoke and his eyes are showing in the dark as you splash down!!!! And then the ending is Tiana and naveens wedding, then a peppers ghost effect of the frogs turning into their human forms. Tiana in her beautiful green dress!!! With mama odie!!!
This is GOLD. THIS should've been the story to the ride.
You’ve made a better theme than the creators 😩👏🏾
You're right, that sounds awesome!
Your version sounds so much better! Park guests and fans were coming up with all sorts of wonderful and creative ideas when they first announced the retheme, should have hired a panel of guests to head the project because this ain't it. Where has all the magic and creativity gone?
Somehow Dr. Facilier returned
Advice for Disney, if you make a decision like taking voodoo out of a voodoo story or taking dwarves out of a dwarf story, the first thing you should do is stop and take a breath and realize that you cannot go further with the project. You’re welcome.
It just looks like there’s so much dead space. There was always something to look at when riding splash. Definitely disappointed. Almost gives me Dudley Do Right vibes with the vacant scenes (not quite as bad but still)
Dudley Do Right at least makes you chuckle a few times. (Funny enough, their Mr. Toad parody train gag outlasted the original at Disney World almost since park open). It's lower rent but arguably better paced.
This just feels like a leisure ride with a few drops thrown in last minute to appeal to adolescents. Kinda like how Pirates of the Caribbean was marketed as a "thrill" ride before Space Mountain opened in 1975.
There was dead space in splash too just in different areas.🤦🏻♀️
@@Katesaprincessmmmmm disagree there was something happening 99% of the time. Even if it was a little turtle. Or a projection.
@@dancingangel95 watch the side by side. There was not something always happening there were multiple parts where there was dead space. They were just different. Did you ride this ride? Because I feel like it’s much better when you ride it than a video.
Are we not gonna talk about the first Louis animatronic's mouth is already not working after not even a week! 😮
Yeah. He looked creepy. His eyes...
And Tiana's shirt sleeve revealing her arm's inner workings at 10:38
Most of the animatronics look lazy. Barely moving, eyes just fixed in place with only the arms moving etc.. so poorly executed. It could have been good.. especially after seeing how good Disney Shangai's Pirates of The Caribbean ride is.
I did notice that also
@@PowerTrain611 Good eye!
It looks like a rough draft instead of a finished product. The story does not make any sense. Why are we turned into tiny frogs.....There should have been a white versus dark magic element to this to make it more thrilling which fits the actual ride and could have been easily incorporated into this story.
Right I think not have Dr. Facilier hurt it a little.
@@calebray1834 A LOT!!!
It's become very apparent that a substantial part of the disappointment comes from people who actually love this movie and its characters and were excited about the ride's potential. That deserves to be highlighted, as I'm already seeing plenty of people pretending it's just a bunch of people hung up on Splash Mountain who were going to hate on Tiana's anyway. Not true and a pathetic way to protect Imagineering from legitimate feedback.
Well stated.
Yes!!!! I never went on splash and I LOVE Princess and the Frog. I really wanted this to be good. I think the critters are adorable and I already want the plush merch. It just looks so underwhelming and not worth my time or headache. I don’t like log flumes but I’d be willing to go on if it looked even remotely worth it
I love the movie, all this attention for the ride makes me want to watch it today. I've also never been on Splash Mountain so I hope they add things and make it a great attraction
Precisely this.
I’m a huge princess and the frog fan and think it looks amazing
nothing like a plot revolving around finding "musicians" that you find almost immediately lol
there is no interesting story here, no conflict, no adventure, no tension.
Can't believe Disney is so scared of voodoo right now lol.
@@graffiti.777They are probably scared of offending people. Though they probably shouldn’t be. I say this as someone who was born and raised in Louisiana
@@MarkHeathcliff-bf2im It's funny because witchcraft and wiccans are a religion or belief system and they have no issue making them evil. How about Hades and the gods in Hercules? The voodoo take is just so dumb. They had good use of Voodoo in Odie and bad use of Voodoo in Facilier. Is it offensive that some people use things to their devious advantage that others use for good? Then I guess we shouldn't charge people money to come to the park.
@@MarkHeathcliff-bf2im thank you. There's literally nothing offensive about it.
The Magic King dumb!
Imo they should've gone the storytelling route of princess and the frog. I think it would've been a much better ride.
100%, that's what Tokyo DisneySea did for Rapunzel's Lantern Festival and it's beautiful. Disney is doing everything backwards now. Why is the Country Bears Jamboree being rethemed to nothing more than country covers of ALREADY imagined Disney IP? Why have a Princess and the Frog ride and FORCE a new storyline when the source material that everyone already knows and loves exists RIGHT THERE to use?
Apparently someone in charge of the imagineers has a hate-on for rides that follow the movie scripts. They even have a pejorative for it "book report ride". Nevermind that most of Disney's most beloved rides follow their movie's plot.
@@mandipowell2418 disney is morally and creatively bankrupt!!! Thay cannot create, only corrupt and destroy(Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Marvel, ect...)!!!
@@DtLS Agree--and what's wrong with making it a quasi-sequel, then? Star Tours, Rise of the Resistance, and Guardians Cosmic Rewind aren't "book reports"--but they ARE more fun.
Splash closes 'cause of some "problematic" aspects but they can't put in Dr. Facilier because there are "problematic" aspects with him? Got it!
Right? Like at this point, just turn Splash Mountain into Winnie the Pooh if they're so worried about the Twitter mob. Or is Winnie the Pooh controversial now too?
@@TheLeastOfficialOfBrosdude you got me dyin over here. Winnie the Pooh comment for the win!!! 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣😆😆😆
They are so scared of offending everyone and trying to appeal to everyone that they end up appealing to no one. I say this as someone from Louisiana who was born and raised in the state..99.9% of people here weren’t offended by the original movie.
Removing the ride themed around black folklore and stories was problematic but 🤷🏾♀️
@@TheLeastOfficialOfBros It is controversial with the Chinese because people kept saying their leader looks like Winnie the Pooh
Pocahontas would have been a way better new theme for Splash Mountain because she actually dives off a beautiful waterfall and rides canoes 🛶 on the river
I would ride that
That wouldn't work, Pocahontas easily suffers the same fate where she's culturally insensitive since she's a native American caricature. There's a reason Disney kind of tucked her aside and doesn't mention her very often.
Nothing would be a better new theme for Splash in my opinion, it got it right the first time
Or even Rapunzel when the dam breaks and Eugene finds out her hair glows...
😂 liberals are the biggest threat to humanity.
You may not have noticed but the first time you saw the Louis animatronic his lips weren’t moving, not a good sign for how the ride is already doing
I think that’s why he put it at the very beginning of the video.
The eyes and mouth were broken
It's another Betty the Yeti situation
We has better animatronics at Chuck E. Cheese and Show Biz Pizza!!! And that was 40+ years ago!!!
@@tmapes1989 I remember those! And miss them.
Mouth already not working on Louis, oh man
Gonna be a rough couple of years before they scrap it 😂
We has better animatronics at Chuck E. Cheese and Show Biz Pizza!!! And that was 40+ years ago!!!
It’s Disco Yeti but worse.
Ironic how the queue line is better than the ride itself. LMAO
Yeah it’s really sad to see
I'm guessing because the executives didn't micromanage the queue line details, so the Imagineers could get more creative?
just like the universal fast and furious ride 💀💀
I am a former Splash CM....a disappointing redux is not a surprise....Disney's new MO is water everything down, rip the guts out...they'll still come.....so...........I mean....have you SEEN the new Poly tower and interior decor????????..........🤨
This and the cost is the reason I don't go to Disney anymore.
That and there's no creative storytelling anymore.
Splash mountain was bland and ugly and beyond outdated even if we ignore the whole problematic origins thing. Kids are gonna feel the same way about tianas in 20 years as you do about splash
@@HeatherLandon227you clearly haven't been to a disney park
Shhhh, do you hear that? That's the sound of a shill coping hard cuz they don't know what a good ride actually is lol
It feels like the people who designed the queue and the actually ride's story itself doesn't quite intermingle, as if something was lost in production. It's all about vegetables and food and ingredients, yet most of the ride is about finding a band. Perhaps it should have intermingled both food and music as a theme?
I think that was the original plan. There was also a rumour that Louis would lose his trumpit and that'd be why you're going down the Bayou.
Right? Like WTF?
I’ve seen a few reviews and this is the first one that seems reasonable. The ride isn’t terrible, but compared to splash it’s underwhelming.
In my opinion, it's hard for a ride to be "terrible". It's still an impressive achievement either way. And the drops alone make it good. But in terms of what they had to work with, yeah, no
Is it better than most offerings elsewhere? Yes, thanks largely to the ride system and layout still intact.
Is it the best it could be? No. That will make the rest of the crowded attendance in the park worse, not better, since fewer people will want to wait in longer lines for this.
So many dark spots with nothing 👎 why Disney can not leave well enough alone is amazing. Everything they refurb is a disaster
Which brings me back the #1 Award in that category....Journey into Imagination. Replaced by trash and then more trash. LOVED the original. It was the dark ride I always did no less than twice on any trip. Now I get tear/fury thinking of it! Figment Forever! Given all the problems Disney had, this should have been MUCH lower on this "must do" list IMHO
Why they couldn't re-use a lot of the other America Sings song critters and existing sets (birds and rabbits, swirling frogs, bees, etc.) is beyond me. Feels like it would have been *more* work to take them all out than just slap a couple re-themes?
@@PreferredCustomerYou reminded me that I feel like at some point I heard they were gonna keep them.
I prefer the old Matterhorn!!
@@PreferredCustomerthey don’t work well anymore and the technology is outdated. Why would they keep them? Did you see them? That ride was falling apart.😭
They should have had the villain at the big drop. Hes one of the best villains of Disney.
It just seems like such a missed opportunity. Think of how much better this could have been if there was a Facilier tie-in... like, a real narrative with a hero's journey. So disappointing. That's for the honest take. This is definitely not a "destination" ride. I'll go on it if the line is short next time I'm in MK.
Same, especially after seeing the amazing animatronics and technology used on the new Disney Sea rides. Not even sure how the whole organic looking “Tiana’s Foods” fits into the whole story line either…why not go with a Tiana’s Place theme like the movie?
They didn’t have to rehash the original story, but they definitely could’ve brought back Facilier and “friends” to ruin the party. All just seems a bit underwhelming imo.
@@vilsunnington1528 We has better animatronics at Chuck E. Cheese and Show Biz Pizza!!! And that was 40+ years ago!!!
@@vilsunnington1528 Yeah--that's the problem with Disney. They still think the Internet doesn't really exist, and we can't see examples elsewhere of how much better themed attractions "could" be--and ARE--done.
Probably why they despise the Oriental Land Company so much.
Was voodoo a huge problem in the original movie? I do not practice the religion but as I understand, they did a good job of showing that it can be used for both good and evil.
Thank you for being the first genuine review of this ride. So far all the other TH-camrs have been giving it all positives with a defensive “well I walked off smiling a little so that’s all that counts”. You’re the first one to actually say yes this ride has problems. Everyone else is clearly scared to lose their press passes so they say nothing but blue skies and sunshine but their tone and studder says another more genuine story
Splash Mountain had a better storytelling, for sure. And more Animatronics. And was more fun, had more color and a real sense of “Adventure”. Princess Tiana deserved a really new ride and not just a sort of makeover. Well, just my opinion. I have 50 years visiting WDW once a year and I think there are some attractions that You can label as “classics”. Pirates, Mansion, Big Thunder, etc… Splash Mountain, for me, had that status. It was a classic! You can improve, add new effects, do such things, but never get rid of them. But, again, It’s just an opinion from an old (and I mean it) Disney fan. Have fun, folks! ✌️
In a way, I think this is more insulting than Splash Mountain was.
Splash isn’t a classic to me.😭 I never thought of it as that big of a deal. I’ve never even heard others thinking of it like that until recently because everyone thinks they’re fighting wokeness or something by keeping a ride that was falling apart and old with a story most people haven’t heard of and people are offended by.🙄 Why would they keep that?
The ride is so bad that even people who were enthusiastic about it are disappointed
Lol fr. What's funnier is that there are Disney glazers defending it!
@@graffiti.777corpo defenders
People wanted this, they got it. Now they’re complaining about it. 🤷
@@danielandlucycartoonsmadne5885 the majority didn't want it
A lot of people didn’t want this
Tba seems as spicy and fun as boiled chicken and white rice for dinner.
Looking forward to going to Japan for splash mountain. Iger co. did Tiana no favors.
I'm not looking forward to this opening in Disneyland, California anymore. In fact, I wish Disney would shut it down, put back Splash Mountain and build a separate, re-imagined Tiana's ride somewhere else in Critter Country or Fantasyland.
Like you, I think Disney should quit scrapping brilliant rides that could've just been updated. Disney's California Adventure lost Tower of Terror because it was converted into Guardians of The Galaxy, which I think deserved to be its own ride. In the process, Disney changed the beautiful TOT attraction exterior into a neon-covered junk heap that is an absolute eyesore no matter how you look at it.
I did not find anything offensive about Splash Mountain. The entire ride was populated with animals. It was lively, endearing, unforgettable and fun. Tiana's Bayou Adventure makes me wish Splash Mountain was never taken out.
Would have made more sense to retheme The Jungle Cruise!!! There are no mountains in New Orleans!!!
Hopefully, the Disneyland version will be better because it’s smaller there won’t be as much dead space if you know what I mean. but I want your time will tell.
@@tmapes1989 I'm guessing there are no bayous atop mountains either.
I'm just really hoping they take all of the negative feedback into consideration when they work on Disneyland. They have all of the Splash animatronics, use them!
@@ingtapoot According to reports, in WDW, the animatronics were disassembled to use some of their parts in the refurbishment of Country Bears. I hope the DL Splash Mountain animatronics are still intact. But somehow, I doubt it.
So basically Navi river journey with a drop?
Yes, it seems to have very pretty ambiance, especially at night.
YES!! This!!!
except NRJ is better 🤣
Apparently, Mama Odie makes everyone tiny for no apparent reason and then makes them big again so they can make a big “Splash” at the party? I don’t think so.
This is literally the dumbest criticism I've seen of tianas yet lmfao you're hilarious
I genuinely don’t get that part either lol I dont understand why Facilier wasn’t a part of the story to make the shrinking make more sense
& then have Mama Odie save the day before the drop & make you big again. But then again wtf does the shrinking have to do with Louis finding a band?
@@itsnoterica, I could be wrong, but I think the point of shrinking was to find a frog for the band. Although I think the story is stupid. If you want to hire animals for a band, send the fireflies to spread the word and have them come to audition.
In the film, she doesn’t have the power to transform them but now she does with potions. Inconsistent storytelling.
Why did anything happen really
It’s taken me 4 videos on this to realise they shrink you down to a frog to find the smaller ‘band members’ (I think) not clear at all. The animatronics with the awkward pauses and repetitive phrases to me make them not look anymore impressive than previous animatronic models… they looked much more impressive in the studio. Maybe they come across better in person?
I think The Rescuers would have been a much better fit story/theme wise. Why? Because it's an actual "bayou adventure!" It even has the same imagery as Splash Mountain: swamp critters, alligators, caves, a riverboat. It's too bad Disney only builds rides based on merch sales.
I never would have thought about that! An attraction based off The Rescuers would be phenomenal. Why didn't they use that as a retheme? They could have also reused the steamboat for it, especially since it was Madam Medusa's "lair" in a way.
I think the Rescuers was originally one of the ideas? In any case, it was a current year executive's pet project which garnered plenty of press--so even though Disney walked back a bunch of Chapek decisions, this one was going to happen come hell-or-high-water.
If it wasn't so mediocre, it would've been a good hit that they desperately needed.
@@PreferredCustomer Really? I can't see modern Disney considering a Rescuers ride when it's a more obscure movie. Maybe back in the 80s when it was newer.
Disney doesn't remember they even made that movie. The sequel bombed and they basically scrapped any mention of it.
I feel like they didn't need to get rid of all the old animatronics. With a little sprucing up and some rethemeing, they could have found a home on Tiana's, like the original ones did coming from America Sings to Splash. If they have them in storage, which I hope they do, select a crop of them and fill out this ride.
Splash Mountain followed the plot and Tiana's Bayou certainly does NOT.
Not all rides are supposed to follow the plot of the original movies lmao, but they could’ve done a better with an original sequel with Voodoo in it
Yes....100 percent correct
So then where was Uncle Remus and the rest of the human characters in the ride?
@@Brand0n3500Official The ride was following the Br'er Rabbit stories, not Song of the South.
The Magic King dumb!
Nobody but people who would NEVER visit Disney anyway were complaining about Splash Mountain. It was insane to reskin a classic and beloved ride like Splash.
If you’re gonna reskin it you better make it an improvement in every aspect. And this ride is inferior to Splash in every way except for having better AA technology than a 30 year old ride.
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I have no attachment to the theming or story of splash mountain. I only ever cared about the drop since it was my first big drop on a ride as a kid. I see it being very popular since a lot of people love princess and the frog. It's also the only water ride in the park that gets them wet, which is great in the FL heat.
@@metallicnole4514 I think it’s because I grew up with the story of Brer Rabbit and how he fooled Brer Fox and Bret Bear into thinking he didn’t want to be thrown into the briar patch all the while that was his home.
But I get you. It is a nice ride on a hot day.
@@nickn271 This summer is gonna be another scorcher, so I see the ride eating up a lot of guests.
I dunno man, i loved Splash Mountain but it was also really weird to have a ride based on a movie that Disney barely wants to acknowledge they made. So a reskin made a ton of sense to me.
But I am a little underwhelmed here. The original final scene with the riverboat was overwhelming with how many animatronics there were, so what we have now is... Kinda meh. I also love Naveen so it was a bummer that he barely showed up.
So yeah, i am actually team reskin despite having loved both the Disneyland and Disney World versions, but i will say that this feels pretty underwhelming.
@@BrightBlueInk I'm with you. A re-theme could have been great. I'm so bummed about the lack of story. My then-8 year old had a better idea when it was announced.. Maybe Disney needs to get some actual children on their imagineering teams.
This is why I enjoy this channel. You get an honest opinion of one man. The good. The bad. The ugly. From the footage, it’s a bit underwhelming. No use of Dr. Facilier who is a brilliant villain voiced by Keith David? Yeah, the details in story-telling are lacking which is important tool in keeping you coming back.
Imagine if the lift hill played "friends on the other side" and the song gets more intense as you get to the top. That would have been an addition worthy of replacing Splash Mountain.
A poor substitute, very sad 😔
Man i had no idea Disney was so scared to use Voodoo, maybe they shouldnt have made a ride based on a property whose whole thing is VOODOO!?! I think it wouldve been super cool if instead of the frog section have Dr. Facilier pop up and say like "My Friends and I dont think youll be making it to that little party" and have the frog section be us escaping Facilier and his Friends. I love a kinda scary section in a Disney ride especially if the source material has spooky elements i mean Pirates scared me as a kid and i literally refused to ride Haunted Mansion until i was a teenager cause the thought of it scared me and now those are my favorite theme park rides of all time. now all that said i dont think the ride is terrible but if Tony Baxter walks out on the project halfway through i think its proof this reskin was DOA.
I don't understand Disney they are "scared" of racism and insensitivity but had and have no problem making movies that represented those things. Mine you PATF was made in 09 but 14 years later they want to pretend the voodoo aspect doesn't exist. Same reason they had no issues making Pocahontas but because of the colonization and white savior aspect she's barely in anything.
WHY DO YOU KEEP MAKING THESE TYPES OF MOVIES THEN?
Why even mention Voodoo? Just hint that it's some kind of sinister dark magic and leave it be. You could even create a new side-villian for that if you wanted?
Disney still has Tom Sawyer island with its references to "1njun Joe," so it's not so much racism as it is being scared of common popular accusations.
@@friedchicken4735Because today's culture is so sanitized, that an ethnic character in a 2000s show or a movie with a black princess is the same as the Censored 11.
I noticed so many signs dotted around the ride to explain what area you are in or whats going on, it shows how weak the story telling is if they have to do this.
The Disney Parks, have become a big joke. To put it simply, they must know something, that the rest of us do not. They literally quit on the entire company, and did their best to alienate the most die-hard of fans. I’m glad I went mostly in the 80’s, and 90’s and got to see the parks at their finest. I won’t be returning ever again. For the first time ever, I will be staying on a Universal property, and spending ALL of my time in the Universal Parks. Nintendoland, Harry Potter, Epic Universe, with the Universal Monsters, etc. Disney is DONE.
I’ll cheer as Disney falls. It is not the same park my family fell in love with, and we’re the minority they’re delusionally trying to appeal to.
Okay incel
@@viaxxlokay incel
@@asudevil316 Thanks for confirming my suspicions that you are, indeed, a child
@@Renee5322 awww you are such an angry and uneducated child. Does it suck to be you?
Man a non-shill youtuber is like the most refreshing thing. Thank you.
facts
What a boring ride. They ruined it.
I simply cannot believe they did not reuse the showboat from America Sings. It would have fit in perfectly.
At this point, the only historical/easter egg reference to Splash is Louis' big behind sticking up instead of Br'er Bear's hanging from the snare trap (unless someone else finds something).
There's some tiny wooden carvings in the line, of a bear, a fox, and a rabbit.
@@danieldietrich9969 where did you see that? Just wondering.
So much dead space and wasted potential with no plot. This reminds me of a Sofia the First episode where she needs a princess to help her with her small task
I really enjoyed Sofia The First as a series, I gotta admit. The songs in that show were more bangers than missers, especially stuff like My Evil Dreams.
@@jukesy1992 agreed! The show was very cute
@@NostalgictotheMax I actually think the final season finale was really special, so many great callbacks and amazing resolutions. This is supposed to be a Disney JR show yet it actually felt so rewarding. I still need to go through Elena of Avalor at some point.
You absolutely NAILED it with this review. Why are so many other Disney vloggers seeing this ride through such rose tinted glasses? Is it because they wanted to like it so bad?
Shilling
They’re paid off.
Yeah how dare people have opinions who disagree with the incel who made this video
Investment bias. If you put so much energy into wanting to like something, if it doesn't deliver, it's difficult to force a change of opinion.
Also, vacation vloggers generate more revenue and followers by having positive experiences people can live through. Vicarious positivity is profitable.
@@thomasw178 or....people actually like it. Crazy that someone can have a different opinion than you.
It’s the new “Journey Into A Lack of Imagination Ride”!
Think of all the cool animatronics they took out of the great movie ride......just to replace it with a big empty building with screens
EXACTLY!!!
Was looking for this comment!!
@haileyguynes2982 it's true!!...all those cool sets too!!!....I wish they wouldn't rely so much on projectors.
so disappointedddd it just doesn’t scream princess and the frog, with all the missing characters and random storyline. it took me awhile to realize we shrunk, and there was no adrenaline buildup before the drop!! whyyyy disney, tiana deserves better
If they didn't want to be associated with Voodoo, then don't do it. The villain in the Princess in the Frog is great!
Seems weird that the cars just race through the party scene at regular speed. It feels like there's not enough time to take that part in, whereas the rest of the ride feels so empty.
Splash was the same the biggest part was at the end
@@Katesaprincess Right, but it was a lot less detailed. It was just a bunch of animals singing on a river boat. Tiana's had a lot more going on that fans of the movie would probably like to have time to see
@@hexkobold9814 there is a lot going on. There’s so many details on this ride but it’s not captured on video I think. There’s a lot of parts of this that have empty space where splash had stuff BUT there’s a lot of empty space on splash where this ride has stuff. Also the lift hill was just dark on splash so they added the lights without taking away anything.
Even if Tiana's Bayou Adventures is the greatest ride ever, there is no reason that Disney couldn't have built this a as a brand new attraction and left Splash Mountain alone. P.S. I have been to the Louisiana Bayou and don't recall a Mountain.
The worst part isn't how bad this attraction is, it is how good its predecessor was. They killed off one of the last attractions with that "classic Disney" feel, to make way for this low-effort, low-quality shell of an attraction. Plus the fact that this new one will likely be there 25 to 30 years makes it all even worse.
Depends on its reception. Stitch's Great Escape only lasted 14 years, and they've replaced that with *nothing.*
Journey into Imagination with Figment seems to be the bar for how low they can design something and still get away with it. This seems worse.
@@PreferredCustomer Seems like a good reception so far, theres a huge line even now with the soft opening. Is that because of the hype? Idk. I certainly dont care for it based on the vids.
This ride is super underwhelming. Only the die-hard shills who get kickbacks from Disney think this is any good. If Disney PR, with their huge budget, can't make this ride look amazing, that says something. This ride is pretty garbage overall. No coherent storyline, lots of dead space, crappy decor, and constant mechanical issues. A hard NO on this. Horrible job Disney!!!
You are so clearly blinded by anger
Lmao I am just a twenty year old who really enjoys the ride and wasn’t the biggest fan of splash mountain. Its a massive upgrade especially in tech and ride upkeep!
@@morgiemango6242 LOL! You obviously must not be talking about this ride, but that statement you made regarding an "upgrade" is completely false. Please get the facts right. And people of my generation and many others loved Splash Mountain. It was the most popular ride at any of their theme parks. I recommend rewatching the ride footage out out by Disney.
@@MikeKops i've heard people say the way they shot the ride didn't help, its better in person since you can look around
Agreed. Look at Pirates of The Caribbean in Disney Shanghai.. it's incredible looking and easily the best version of them all. They could have done so much better.. or just left it as-is. There was literally nothing wrong with Splash Mountain. Woke nonsense ruining everything, as usual. The Vagisil logo reference is so fitting.
20:48 There's actually kinda of a missed Opportunity to have the Three hillbilly hunters show up as the main villains instead of Dr. Facilier. Let me explain:
First of all, since your goal was collecting "Critters musicians" for the Festival, It seems natural to have the Hunters show up as Threatening, yet comical antagonists trying to hunt down these critters down and interfering your progress. They can easily fill up all the empty spaces within the ride with their insane antics trying the catch the critters with little to no results.
Secondly, They are perfect analogues for B'rer Fox and B'rer Bear as they too are Comical Hunters who are trying the catch and eat a Critter which in this case is the Cleverly-witted B'rer Rabbit.
And finally, In the final drop, rather than have Mama Odie basically preparing you for the final drop, you instead have the Hunters pointing their shotguns at you since your were turned into a frog by that point before Mama Odie shows up and save your butt.
It seems like a whole ride just to sell beignets
Haha...you're right. I did want a beignet after watching the ride footage.
@LiquidJ619 there's a pile of them at the top of the lift hill. They look so good on camera lol
And online tickets for the ride
Just go to EPCOT and eat one after the Ratatouille ride. Better experience.
Hmmm. And I’m in the minority that thinks donuts are, indeed, better 😮 🫠
If Disney can re-name Madame Odie as a bayou fairy godmother instead of voodoo queen, then instead of totally abandoning Dr. Facilier due to voodoo connection, Disney should just evolve the character to be a charlatan, schemer, illusionist...whatever is needed. Don't mention voodoo. But keep this fantastic villain character, he's one of the very best and will be helpful in any future Tiana content, including hinting at him (shadow projections, evil laugh) in this attraction.
Or they could stop hiring woke nuts and just keep the voodoo.
Exactly, just don’t use the word voodoo and use another word in its place. Magic (good and evil) is a key element of Disney storytelling.
Or just the usual evil sorcerer.
Voodoo voodoo voodoo. I said it three times. Nothing happened. Why are you people so scared of a word? Madame Odie being a Voodoo Queen is freaking amazing.
Im a huge splash mountain fan and an even bigger princess and the frog fan. I didnt care how they changed the ride because i understand change. But i was really hoping they would gut and complely redo EVERYTHING about the original ride track/log flumes. It was always broken down, i got evacuated from it twice and once during mnsshp we rode it in complete silence none of the animatronics were making a sound and no soundtrack was playing. Super creepy but sad to see that the wdw splash seemed to not get taken care of. These problems wont go away just because they made it pretty and added great animatronics.
@@tbgtabiasBruh...
We had better animatronics at Chuck E. Cheese and Show Biz Pizza!!! And that was 40+ years ago!!!
The worst Disney mistake would be the NBA experience replacing Disney Quest. But I guess that's a whole different story. 😂
Worse than the Galactic Starcruiser?
@@kitchenskills5427 lol 😆 good point
I don’t know anything about the movie, but the ride looked horrendous. To be honest, considering how upset I was with splash closing, I’m glad that I don’t like this ride. Really lazy do over of a ride that should’ve never left. I’m probably skipping this ride in future visits. The scenes look like they just did the bare minimum and the animatronics look really boring. The audio animatronics on splash were better. They did absolutely nothing well in this ride. Makes me really want to sing zip a dee do dah on the ride or in front of the ride. Except I can’t sing. The best part of the ride from the POV seemed to be getting off. Doesn’t look good. I don’t think reviews are going to be very good and I’m probably not the only one who wants this ride to close already.
at the very end, the entire boat should sing zip-a-dee-doo-dah at the top of their lungs. every bost should do this. it will be legendary
No it would be cringe
Story first - Technology second. This is like a not fully formed band. Yes it may have a few shiny instruments, but it is missing a harmony and several additional band members.
Your POV is better than the one released by Disney.
So sad it didnt live up to the expectations that they created, and so sad that with such a good oportunity they missed the ball big time! Tiana and the movie deserve and amazing ride created for it specifically! Hopefully we can get it in the future :/
Well we finaly found out what happened to the purple roadway signs. They are hanging from tianas. This ride is souless. I feel personally hurt
Splash Mt: take the movie and make into a ride, complete with "don't throw me in the briar patch.". Art at its finest.
Tiana's: take the movie, flush it, create a new lame story, miss the chance to fall into "I've got friends on the other side." Ehhhh
Took it from a Home Run to maybe a double or triple. Still good, but missing all the elements that made it awesome.
Disney is getting THE WORST press on this ride!! They better do something FAST to try get some positive press. Yikes!!
The only positive press they will get is from all the "influencer" shills
And it is well deserved
Might want to join the real world, it disagrees with you
@@asudevil316 I dunno, I did a search on something called the "Internet." At best, the online reaction seems only only be 1 in favor (Themeparkinsider) vs 2 against (Insidethemagic and Thatparkplace) with a lot more negative examples being cited on the more critical side.
RESTORE SPLASH MOUNTAIN
There are no mountains in the bayou. Can’t wait to walk past this ride
RIP Splash Mountain, you died for nothing.
So sad 😭
They still have it in Japan from what i've heard. And i've heard nothing on them replacing their Splash Mountain. If that's the case then I gotta make a special trip to Japan then.
@@aharonmrichardson3213Asia always gets the good stuff 🙁
@@aharonmrichardson3213TAKE US WITH YOU😭
@@aharonmrichardson3213yup definitely going now
Maybe for anyone that hasn't ridden splash but it's a disappointment! 50 animitronics of Tiana don't make it good,I love that Coco is playing drums at the end! Surprised there isn't some spare Galactic star cruiser stuff😂
We had better animatronics at Chuck E. Cheese and Show Biz Pizza!!! And that was 40+ years ago!!!
Okay, seeing a collection of disused Disney junk at the end would have been funny.
This is like an episode of a Disney Junior cartoon down to the low quality CGI parts 💀
Disney you should release a new version of "Song of the South" film, without the racism. This keeps the songs, keeps the fun animal characters, piques curiosity to see it, and you can relaunch Splash Mountain by updating its animatronics. Easy Peasy.
You destroy a beloved beloved ride and kill the essence of Princess and the Frog by making a "Dora the explorer: The ride without adventure"
It was hard to tell which music was part of the ride and which was added in editing.
when considering what di$ney has done up to this point and then seeing THIS, the obvious conclusion is this...........
di$ney is cutting everything. They dont care what you think, the next gen of guests who dont know better will accept this crap.
Dont know if it can ever get better under present management, but dont hold your breath.
The parks are on a severe downward trend and it won't come back.
It could almost certainly come back, but demand has to warrant it. As long as the guests keep flocking to support mediocrity, you'll get that--and then some.
This might see some changes purely due to crowd capacity influence and merch sales. If no one is waiting in line for this, then all those park goers who would have been waiting are just going to clog up everything else, including the pathways. That might convince Disney to put in the effort to spruce this up to an attraction worth waiting.
At the end of the day, they destroyed something great and legendary and replaced it with something mid level with a Disneyesque politicization wrapped in to boot. Of course the public isnt going to be positive on this. Im available for consultancy Disney!
perfectly representative of modern disney, dunno why anyone would've expected differently.
FIRE bob!!!
Thanks for including me in this one!
Thanks for all the great coverage of the attraction:)
Are you going to be there on the 13th!?
@@RobsShinyDex I hope to be!
Jesus LOVES you all❤
this is so incredibly cheap
I've only seen the POV video, but it feels like a simple Fantasyland kiddie ride with a weak story, but with better lighting and a few good animatronics
Imo mission breakout sucks and doesn't match the area like the tower of terror did Disney should of just gave guardians of the galaxy and princess and the frog they own ground up rides instead of these tacky rethemes
The first Luis animatronic at the start of the ride is already brocken on the mouth and the eyes
They did this to appease the masses that were offended by splash. Also I don’t like that a ride like this a virtual que or fast pass pay
Masses weren't offended by Splash. Just a few woke idiots were who didn't appreciate the Oscar winning Black folklore.
@@DrWarbirdThis. Splash was actually based on black folklore. Disney could have updated the ride to reflect its literary roots but that was too much trouble for them I guess.
@@dr.winstonsmithYep, they replaced a ride based on African Folklore, with a ride based on a story written by a couple of white guys.
The masses? More like 6 people that never stepped foot into the park
All this still wouldn't be a problem if the ride weren't so bland and forgettable.
Karma at work, I guess.
Damn imagine being the original creator/ imagineer of something and then they bring you in to replace the entire ride, sounds like they didn’t let him have any creative freedom when he saw how stupid the rules they would have put on him. No wonder this dude left mid project. They probably gave him zero creativity freedom, on top of making him destroy what he once made. Sounds like a nightmare as a creator/ imagineer.
I don't think it looks nearly as bad as people were making it out to be. I love The Princess and the Frog and there are elements of this ride that really look cool - clearly going to be a great night ride. But I agree...the ride's story doesn't really make much sense. I also don't believe the ride rivals that fun factor that Splash had. We'll see. Planning to get on it in July during a big family trip before passing final judgement. But it certainly doesn't feel like an upgrade at face value yet.
you're wrong regardless of opinion or not. the ride looks horrible. i'm not a die hard splash mountain either but a mountain in "louisiana " when that doesn't exist. the mountain is full of flowers like Tifiti from epcot took a shit on the mountain . flowers and ambient lighting does not make it look good
@@tbgtabiasWell it's not a Mountian now, it's a Salt Mine. Specifically based off of one known for terrible treatment of slaves. Because Disney wanted to remove themselves from any problematic elements of the old ride.
I will wear my headphones and play zipadeedoodah while on this ride. Same with the Space Mountain theme playing over the Star Wars theme.
"Disney didn't really want anything to do with voodoo" cracked me up. Similar to the watering down of Pirates. Looks like Small World level of intensity with the thrill ride final drop. Strange pairing.
If they wanted to stay away from the voodoo stuff for lord knows what stupid reasons then why in the world did they make a princess and the frog ride in the first place!?
Bring splash back. Wasted time and money
I'm with you!! bring splash mountain back💯💯👍👍👍 I want my splash mountain back NOW.
The Magic King dumb!
Pretty sure they won't bring it back--but they *should* add some more color and life to the existing version. No Prince? No variety of bayou animals? No fantastic villian who makes guests feel like they "escaped" and adds tension to the ending? Not even that Southern bubbleheaded lady who chirps on about her Big Daddy?
I couldn't agree more with this review. I was a huge splash mountain fan and I was disappointed when they first announced its closure but then I rewatched the princess and the frog loved it got excited for the retheme just to end up disappointed. This could have been better if they didn't change the storyline a million times and stuck to the actual movie and not a sequel to it that doesn't even exist lol. I specificaly agree with you that splash had way more animatronics and things to look at and this does not have enough animatronics at all. Its mostly dark and plants and you have to wait awhile to get to the next animatronic. Luis isn't already not working in the first time you see him and Tiana isn't talking when you see her with Luis and the critters. The bears aren't blinking which is creepy. The safari outfit makes no sense and the storyline is kinda all over the place. Its disappointing we don't get to see what was in the concept art like Tiana in that beautiful blue dress and Luis. Then Naveen is hidden in the finale. Charlotte and Tiana's mom don't do anything in the finale scene all they do is wave. its just very underwhelming and disappointing. Tony prob backed out because he saw that this would be a boring and dull ride. what a huge disappointment. :( The exterior is more beautiful then splash though.
The no vodoo on the ride is definitely so people don’t get mad about it as cultural appropriation, etc. It’s ok in shows and parades because they always can always pull/change it.
Yeah, but in the end, when you play it safe I think you're going to have even more hate and negativity than if they had just put it in. People keep saying the ride is n't suspenseful enough and I agree. Putting voodoo in would offend a small minority, yes, but leaving it out and playing safe offends the vast majority.
I visited back in 2006 when Expedition Everest was in previews, and the Yeti was fully functional. The finale on that ride was AMAZING!!! JAW-DROPPING. But the Yeti has been broken for 18 years, and, instead of fixing it, we get...this.
This. This is what we get.
They would likely have fixed the yeti if they safely could have but he's a load bearing yeti that would also are the structure more and more unstable as he operated
9:28 mouth work no more :(
Needs the Dr.
didn't louisiana salt mines use slaves?
I live in Louisiana, and knowing some of the history of it probably yes. We were the reason the civil war started.
Why is there so much empty space?!!
Yes it is a bad attraction......
The first and easiest change they need to make is swapping out the background music for stuff that doesn’t have lyrics. Characters shouldn’t be talking while their songs play in the background it’s distracting.
I think people forget that the only reason Splash had so many random animatronics is just because thwy were all salvaged from America Sings. If they would have built Splash originally without that shortcut, it would have had a fraction of the characters and almost certainly would have leaned on cutouts and static figures like Alice. Tiana's had to build every single figure, no shortcuts this time.
That said, I do think the story is very thin, and would have liked to see Dr. Facilier, myself. I think the number of animatronics and look of the ride is fine, it's the narrative that needs help.
Disney has exponentially more resources now than they did when they first build Splash Mountain in 1989, I feel like a few more animatronics isn't an out of pocket request.
@@parasiteprincess3923 Yes... and no.
The *corporation* is rolling in dough. They seem excessively averse to spending it on their parks to the degree they need to.
Epic is coming next year... guess we'll see what happens when Disney takes a roundhouse punch to the bottom line, because they sure missed the chance to be proactive in response.
The first half didn’t look that bad and actually looked really good but at the top of the first lift hill when I realized the plot I was really disappointed in Disney. Would’ve been better is they took out the ip and kept the western theme/made a new story
Man, seems like there are several people who do not like this new ride.
I think they should have dedicated a whole new attraction to Tiana's Bayou Adventure. The mountains, rockwork, and waterfalls dont align with a traditional Bayou
I do agree with you the retheme on Tower of terror in Disneyland was good and I'm happy they did it. But what they did with splash mountain was awful they're going to have to put a lot more in that ride to make it feel like it's not empty and they need to put Tiana in her signature dress. They're going to have to do something but at this point it seems like they can't even get The ride to stop breaking down
6:26 You can see that they kept same scratched up log
This thing cost like $100 million. You know what they could’ve done with that money? They could’ve remade a new movie for Song of the South with just the animal character storyline and not the live action story. It would’ve revitalized the IP for years to come, they could’ve still refurbished the ride to fit closer with the new film (update character designs and whatnot) and it would be good to go for DECADES!! It would’ve been a huge hit and it would’ve been the easiest money they’ve made in YEARS!! Now, because they didn’t want to follow the movie for the Princess and the Frog, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be lucky to make it 5 years without them having to sink millions more into it to fix it. What a complete joke 🙄
I'll never be able to experience Splash Mountain again, unless i fly to Tokyo.
Worth the trip, Tokyo is actually still run to the standards Disney used to be known for.
Cheaper in the country, too.
@@A_A610 I know.
@@PreferredCustomer Yep.