Podketeers Ep520: Gonna Take You There

This week lots of shiny new cards that would make Tamatoa proud, some people are better at being animatronics than animatronics, more Dreamlight Valley stuff, we prepare to discuss a video by creator Jenny Nicholson about the failed Galactic Starcruiser, stuff is closing at California Adventure, we have a couple of complain o'clocks and we take a look at Disney's POV of Tiana's Bayou Adventure!
More from this episode can be found at:
www.podketeers.com/520
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[@AuraleafStorm]

I'm not sure how you could make the argument that the ride is better off for having no story. It definitely needs more conflict - a villain, or at least a more serious problem for the characters to solve than just "We need some musicians for the party. Oh look, there's some!" because without something a bit more compelling, the story's too simplistic for the length of the ride, and there's no tension leading up to the drop. As is, it's just going from one happy scene to the next, and a proper story that does not make. I have the same criticism toward Frozen Ever After. The recent trend of Disney dark rides having nothing but happy scenes in them is pretty lame.
Sure, not all dark rides need a strong sense of conflict, and building tension may seem unnecessary for a ride that's meant to just be cute and fun, but without it, there's less catharsis during the final celebration scene, and that definitely matters. The track layout of THIS ride lends itself to a sense of conflict and resolution, purely based off of its length and the fact that the drop is there. The ride system itself needs to be taken into account when setting the tone, and this ride is just not living up to its full potential without a story. All it has right now is the SETUP for a story.
But I actually think it would be quite easy to fix: Just add one line early on mentioning that there's a scary part of the bayou you should steer clear of. Change the section of the ride where you're shrunk down to the size of a frog (formerly the Laughing Place) into the scary part of the bayou. Put a villain in there - maybe a scary predator animal that you "escape" from during the big final drop. You really just need to change that one section to build tension for the drop, and the rest of the ride can stay the same. And there you go, massive improvement.
...For the record, I also disagree with the statement that rides like Sindbad's Storybook Voyage have no story. Sindbad is presenting a series of vignettes, but each one has a conflict-resolution. Sindbad is nearly shipwrecked during a storm, mermaids help him weather it. Brigands are attacking a roc and trying to steal her eggs, Sindbad helps fend them off. Brigands try to steal an imprisoned giant's treasure, Sindbad fends them off and helps free the giant. Etc. It's not lacking story, it's presenting multiple stories. They're not complicated, but they don't have to be. And sure, the ride never gets tense or scary, but that's because it's a gentle boat ride. As previously stated, the ride system itself needs to be taken into account when setting the tone. But even with the lighthearted tone, it's not lacking a story the way Tiana's currently is.