Image Credit: The LA Times
Author
May 30th, 2023
May 30th, 2023: Today I have lost a great part of my childhood, a large part of what made me the theme park connoisseur I am today, and what reminds me most of Disneyland. Splash Mountain, the brainchild of Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter opened on July 17th, 1989. Tony Baxter conceived it while he was stuck in SoCal traffic, and thought of a way to get a log flume ride into Disneyland and to save the animatronics from the soon to be demolished show “America Sings”, by shoehorning it into then-Bear Country which had virtually nothing to see, and by theming it to the animated portions of Song of The South which leaned heavily on anthropomorphic animals like rabbits, foxes, and bears—so the ride fit the land’s theme. The ride opened in now-Critter Country, and has stayed mostly the same since then, except for a massive update which added upgraded animatronics-far more realistic than the originals. In summer 2020, Disney announced it would retheme Splash Mountain to 2009’s Princess and the Frog. Fans were either overjoyed by the news that Disney’s only African-American princess would have her very own ride, or disheartened that a perennial classic was being removed for the sake of including a newer character (one that some consider to be from a second rate Disney film).
I for one am divided on the matter. On the one hand, I grew up with Princess and the Frog, I enjoy the film, and I think appealing to one of Disney’s major audiences makes financial sense (think of all the merchandise sales of Tiana Beignets and Tiana princess dresses that could be sold!). On the other hand, the latest model of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure looks quite ugly (and is a downgrade from the earlier concept art, which had a lovely tree on top of it with a boat stuck in it, giving the “mountain” a distinctive look. So, I think the tree was a victim of budget cuts), the story setup lacks any sense that there will be any conflict, also the story setup thus far seems focused on “finding ingredients” (which seems like an almost devilishly boring catalyst for conflict), and we lose one of the most unique attractions of all time (as it used and adopted very unique source material for theme park use and made use of lovely Southern environments).
I am convinced that despite being set up for economic success, since the attraction will help sell a mountain’s worth of merchandise (pun intended) and includes a respectable source material, the new ride will be disastrous thanks to its current lack of real conflict. But, regular park goers who have never experienced this attraction’s predecessor will have no quarrels with this attraction because of its massive 50 foot drop. However, there will be utter pandemonium in Disney’s PR department as Disney’s largest fans will be in revolt, and will give scathing reviews of it (as well as the press, since they will also tell that the story is a ghastly mess). Personally, I hope that I’m wrong and that Disney creates a new classic, just like with Radiator Springs Racers and Rise of the Resistance. There is precedent for Disney successfully retheming a classic attraction, such as The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror being converted into Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout!, which many believed would be a disaster. Realistically, it is too early to discern whether this replacement will be a success or a failure—but by judging the quality of work that Disney has been previewing for this attraction, I believe that Disney will eventually retheme Tiana’s Bayou Adventure after less than 10 years of operation to the next franchise.
Considering things, I feel so far that the loss of Splash Mountain is a total loss because the attraction was among the classics (including Star Tours and Jungle Cruise), was one of my personal favorites, and so far the previews of this attraction make Tiana’s Bayou Adventure appear as nothing to talk about.
Kommentare