Tiana’s Retheme Points to Figment Closure

Although we are days away from the public opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, it’s safe to say the reception has been anything but warm. Still, it’s not the only soulless and scandalous closure to hit Walt Disney World.

Although the original Splash Mountain attraction was a Walt Disney World Resort staple for decades, racist allegations were reportedly what led to its eventual demise. Gutting and reimagining an attraction is nothing new for the company, and neither is fan backlash leading to backtracking on a complete makeover.

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Newsfeeds might be buzzing and flooding with people voicing their increasing disapproval for Tiana taking over for Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox, and Br’er Bear, but the pattern of change is eerily similar to what happened to a certain EPCOT attraction years ago. Ever wonder why we have Figment and no Dreamfinder?

Theming Triggers a Disney World Disaster

Splash Mountain debuted at Disneyland in 1989 and soon came to Walt Disney World in 1992, maintaining its status as a Disney Park icon for well over 30 years. However, its classic status was not enough to keep it from falling into the hands of an angry mob.

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Things change, as do audiences and their preferences, but this isn’t the first time Disney has completely gutted an attraction to “get with the times.” Moreover, it’s also not the first time Disney has altered a fan favorite and been met with absolutely vicious results.

A Cruel Reimagining

Fans who are old enough to remember the early days of EPCOT will know about the original layout for Journey Into Imagination, which ran from 1983 to 1998. The psychedelic adventures of Dreamfinder and his purple draconic companion were an unforgettably campy and colorful experience that continues to influence the park even years after its closure.

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As beloved as the attraction was, a combination of contract negotiations with Kodak Film and the EPCOT Millennium Celebration ultimately led to a disastrous makeover that robbed the attraction of its characters and heart. Yesterworld Entertainment goes into much greater detail in the video below, but eagle-eyed Disney fans might notice a familiar pattern that rings hauntingly true for Tiana’s takeover.

To say that the ride has a troubling past is just scratching the surface. Not only did the new Journey Into YOUR Imagination rob the ride of everything fans loved, it seemingly insulted the fanbase by replacing the beloved sequences and songs with cheap visual gags and an atmosphere that was stark and void of the Disney magic that came before.

Familiar Failures

By the time the ’90s rolled around, Figment and the Dreamfinder were prominent EPCOT fixtures. Even today, Figment is the unofficial spokesman for the park, landing his face on everything from buses to bushes to having his own Meet and Greet at the end of the current incarnation of the ride.

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After dealings with Kodak fell through, a new “modern” reimagining of the ride soon pushed Figment and his top-hatted friend out of the park. As the footage above points out, the ride was stripped of its recognizable characters, iconic theme song, and audio-animatronic effects that made it such a favorite among guests.

By little exaggeration, die-hard Disney buffs can point out distinct correlations between what happened at Journey Into Imagination and what eventually became Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. You know what they say, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Burns Down the Briar Patch

Ever hear the phrase “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it?” Sponsorship details aside, Disney’s attempt at modernizing a fan-favorite attraction was one of its first mistakes during the EPCOT attraction’s lifetime.

The science-lab theming practically bleached out all the fun, color, and (let’s admit it) imagination of the original ride. The archival footage of Journey Into YOUR Imagination shows a tremendous amount of screens and empty space taking the place of the various effects seen in the previous ride, just like how many guests have complained about the same thing with Tiana’s.

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Additionally, what Disney chose to fill up this space was a night and day difference between the kooky and colorful imagery of the Dreamfinder and Figment traveling on a strange flying machine and the edutainment-esque displays that came after. Honestly, did anyone really ask for that?

That all being said, the two most grievous offenses seen in both Figment’s ride and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure were the removal of their iconic cast of characters and the deletion of some of Disney’s best songs. Something the company had to learn a second time.

Just as Journey Into YOUR Imagination removed Figment and the iconic Sherman Brothers classic, “One Little Spark,” Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has erased Br’er Rabbit and the Oscar-winning “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.” Naturally, this has not gone over well with many fans, and the current attraction is making headlines for the wrong reasons.

To add insult to injury, Tiana’s attraction didn’t just reduce Br’er Rabbit’s influence. The Disney Imagineers ultimately scrapped any and every connection with the previous ride. At least Figment had a courtesy cameo.

Disney World Does It Again

To recap, both attractions had a change in theme that corollated with modernization, original animatronics and layouts were scrapped in a controversial redesign, and fan backlash was large enough to get Disney to change things again. Although Figment eventually made his triumphant return to his original attraction, can the same be said for Br’er Rabbit taking back the mountain?

For the record, the reasons behind both attractions changing so radically were completely different. Where Figment’s removal was primarily caused by a contract termination, Br’er Rabbit’s was threat of racist allegations from groups that many would argue are in the minority.

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That said, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure might be a temporary fix to a fabricated problem. As controversial of Song of the South (1946) has been for Disney, there were almost no connections or references to it on Splash Mountain apart from the animated characters and soundtrack.

Many Disney fans, and even black historians, agree that erasing Br’er Rabbit from the parks is doing more harm than good. Although Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is giving new storytellers a chance to take the stage, did it really need to take out a fan-favorite in the process?

Will Br’er Rabbit Be Back?

The debut footage above was posted by the official Disney Parks YouTube account, and users had a field day in the comments. The consensus was that the ride was an ultimately soulless experience, and this will undoubtedly be repeated once the ride opens.

At the time of writing, we are T-minus three days away from the official opening date (June 28, 2024) and Disney fans are still picking the ride apart. If this pattern continues, Disney might be forced to backtrack on their decision.

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Journey Into YOUR Imagination ran at Disney World from 1999-2001, a measly two years compared to the sixteen-tenure of the original attraction. In response to the negative reception, Disney reimagined things yet again to include elements of both rides, even bringing Figment back in a starring role as a sort of peace offering to the disillusioned fanbase.

While it was still not the true return of the original attraction, Journey Into Imagination with Figment reunited fans with both the titular dragon and his iconic theme song. Given the current reception for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to see Disney pull a similar stunt.

Ending the Disney World Drama?

If we’re being entirely realistic here, Disney won’t likely do anything to drastically change the ride until it’s too little too late. Despite being built on best intentions, Tiana’s ride already has more than a few strikes against it.

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Along with replacing a Disney Parks icon, it has little to no connection with the film that inspired it, omits a sense of suspense that drew many fans to the original attraction, cuts out the fan-favorite Doctor Facilier, and has been met with a poor first impression before the doors even open. In short, this bayou adventure is already swamped.

Disney has already invested upwards of $60 billion dollars in Walt Disney World, and a portion of that budget undoubtedly went to this massive makeover. With the original ride costing $190 million, a second reimagining will likely cost Disney even more to maintain a good standing with their consumers.

The Truth of the Matter

If change does come back to Frontierland, it likely won’t be any time soon. Judging by how fans are reacting to the current footage, Tiana’s Bayou adventure will be exceptionally lucky if it can outlast Journey Into Your Imagination’s two year mark.

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Even if Disney does decide to backtrack and bring back Br’er Rabbit and company for another Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah day, it still won’t be the attraction fans truly desire. Whether the current ride gets a much-needed facelift or the critters from the Briar Patch somehow make it back, Disney park guests are going to have to muddle through until the company comes to its senses.

Do you see a pattern here? Tell us what you think in the comments down below!