It isn’t each day that we get a brand new Disney journey, not to mention a glance into the internal workings of the theme park’s Imagineers staff. The highest-secret division is liable for creating immersive experiences rooted in storytelling, artwork, science, and, in fact, pioneering expertise. For that reason, Imagineers are very tight-lipped about their upcoming tasks. So, Disney followers had been shocked when the corporate unveiled its latest journey sooner than anticipated—and much more stunned by the landslide of hateful remarks at what’s alleged to be probably the most extremely anticipated attraction of the yr.
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Tiana’s Bayou Journey at Walt Disney’s World Magic Kingdom will not be open to parkgoers till later this month, however the Disney Parks social media staff determined to present followers a digital sneak peek. On June 1, the corporate’s YouTube channel dropped a video titled “FULL Journey POV: Tiana’s Bayou Journey | Walt Disney World.”
As followers may need guessed, the long-awaited attraction is impressed by the 2009 movie The Princess and the Frog. Not like the animated flick, the journey does not contain speaking, kissing frogs or the evil witch Physician Facilier. As a substitute, passengers are taken on a journey via the bayou to assist Tiana discover the proper Mardi Gras music for her yard backyard celebration.
The evolution of Tiana’s Bayou Journey has been a creating story since 2020. Some followers might recall that it was created to exchange the controversial Splash Mountain log journey at each Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
In Could 2023, Deadline reported that Splash Mountain could be closed indefinitely following criticism for “racist and stereotyping associated to its roots within the 1946 Disney movie Track of the South.” The film has been underneath scrutiny for “its racist depictions of Black folks and for romanticizing the period [Civil War],” defined Forbes.
Individuals have been voicing their disdain in the direction of Splash Mountain for years, however tensions rose amid the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests. Throughout a 2020 shareholders assembly, Disney’s chief govt Bob Iger mentioned that “Track of the South, even with a disclaimer, was simply not applicable in in the present day’s world.”
Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that Splash Mountain could be reimagined as Tiana’s Bayou Journey, a nod to Disney’s first film that includes a Black princess. However now that the journey is nearly right here, followers nonetheless aren’t excited to get in line, although for some completely different causes.
“A multimillion-dollar Disney journey that appears…..boring? I by no means thought I’d see it,” one particular person wrote within the YouTube feedback.
“This journey represents the whole lot unsuitable with fashionable Disney,” one other remarked.
In the meantime, others are calling out Disney for straying from the film’s unique plot. “There wasn’t a single imagineer that mentioned hey, perhaps we simply base this on the precise film?” requested one consumer.
“Disney spent a lot on the animatronics they forgot to spend cash on creating a great story,” wrote a 3rd.
“This video is so boring, I am unable to even think about why they thought it might be a good suggestion. And the animatronics with the awkward arm motions…This retheme goes to go down as one of many biggest theme park blunders,” one mentioned.
“Whelp, about the one advantage of this journey goes to be brief strains,” wrote one reviewer. “There’s a zero re-rideability issue as a result of there isn’t a story line to advertise emotional connection or something visually gorgeous.”
They added: “Disgrace on you, Disney!”
