Disney Reveals Incredible Audio-Animatronics For Newest Ride
We are getting closer to the opening of Tiana's Bayou Adventure this summer at Walt Disney World and later this year at Disneyland. Disney has been sharing more and more information about the attraction. Recently they revealed new characters that will be featured in the attraction and a new song and storyline details.
Earlier this week we had the chance to visit Walt Disney Imagineering to go behind the scenes and see a new look at new Audio-Animatronics that will be part of Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Though we weren't allowed to take photos or videos during our visit earlier this week, Disney released a new video and photos that captured much of what we saw in person.
Below we'll share a look at these new figures and thoughts from some of the Imagineers that worked on them. Keep reading for new pictures and details shared for the animatronics in Tiana's Bayou Adventure! For everything you need to know about the upcoming Princess and the Frog attraction, see our guide to Tiana's Bayou Adventure.
Discovering Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering is the group responsible for designing Disney resorts, shows, and attractions around the world. The group comprises artisans within over 140 disciplines ranging from artists to engineers to financial analysts. I was so lucky to join a group of journalists to meet some of these Imagineers during a tour of the facilities.
During our wide-ranging tour, I got to step into the model shop, the R&D lab, and the Audio-Animatronics facility where they were putting the finishing touches on the set of figures for the Tiana's Bayou Adventure attraction at Disneyland – the figures for the Walt Disney World attraction have already been installed.
Coinciding with our tour, Disney released the first video in a new YouTube series called “We Call It Imagineering” (see video embedded below). The first episode is themed to Audio-Animatronics and centers around the figures for Tiana's Bayou Adventure. That video captures some of what we got to experience during our visit. We got a glimpse of how multiple Audio-Animatronics coming to the attraction will work and heard from multiple Imagineers on their roles in developing the characters.
During our tour I saw a few figures that Disney didn't reveal here, but these photos capture the amazing next-generation Audio-Animatronics coming. You can see the highlights and the complete video below.
Audio-Animatronics in Tiana's Bayou Adventure
Disney has already shared that Tiana's Bayou Adventure will be home to dozens of Audio-Animatronic figures when it opens. These figures include Eudora (Tiana's Mother), Lottie (Tiana's Friend), Prince Naveen, Ralphie (Naveen's younger brother), Mama Odie, Louis, and of course Tiana. Some of the characters will be represented multiple times in the attraction.
When I was at Walt Disney Imagineering we were taken into a large warehouse-style room where nearly 10 Audio-Animatronic figures were on display and going through their full range of motion. All of the figures look incredible. As you can see below, they don't rely on the projection-face technology that the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Frozen Ever After use at Walt Disney World. Instead, they have a realistic face structure.
Overall we were super impressed by the amount of figures and the attention to detail on them. Sitting there and watching their motions performed as they will appear in the attraction was incredible. Guests will only spend seconds viewing these figures as their ride vehicles pass by, but we got to spend minutes watching the figures repeat their movements. One of the Tiana figure was up on an elevated platform to replicate how she would appear to guests as they passed her going up the first lift hill of the attraction.
In the photos and video that were released, you will be able to see key characters of the attraction including Tiana and Louis, as well as glimpses of Mama Odie, Ralphie, and Byhalia the Beaver. During our tour we also saw Eudora (Tiana's Mother), Lottie (Tiana's Friend), and Prince Naveen. There was also a box over what I assume was a figure of Tiana next to Prince Naveen where he appears in a tuxedo. I bet this is a Princess Tiana figure that will be featured in the finale but has not yet been revealed to us in any media preview or anywhere publicly.
Overall seeing the attention being given to these new figures has me even more excited about the upcoming attraction.
Even before we ventured in to see the new Audio-Animatronic figures we actually stopped at Walt Disney's office on the Disney Studio lot. I'll share photos from that tour very soon, but today I wanted to highlight one detail that we saw that is also featured in this new Imagineering video. Located inside the office is the inspiration for all the Disney Audio-Animatronics.
This mechanical birdcage was purchased in New Orleans by Walt Disney and his wife Lillian, and it inspired Walt to “jump off a paper traditional animation into dimensional animation” according to Edward Ovalle, Archives Manager of Walt Disney Archives. We discussed some of Walt Disney's history with New Orleans in our piece highlighting Walt Disney Imagineering's work to celebrate the stories of New Orleans in this new attraction.
New Tiana's Bayou Adventure Audio-Animatronics
Below I'll share some of the best quotes about the new figures and the creation of Audio-Animatronics shared by some of the Imagineers in the video.
Avi Tuchman, Principal Show Programmer at Walt Disney Imagineering, said, “When we start working on audio-animatronics for any attraction, we start back at the story because the story is key and we figure out what the characters need to do, and each individual scene is built off of that point. The things that then start to become important are characterization, what the character is doing, why are they there, what is happening?”
In order to visitors to fully believe that the character they see in person is the one they've seen on screen, Sarah Nesbitt, Show Programming Manager at Walt Disney Imagineering, shares that this “comes from the animator working very closely with his or her collaborators from the show mechanical engineering design to surface development to our figure finishing team. Because to make it real is a lot of work beyond just the 3D animation.”
A particularly interesting part of the video shared by Walt Disney Imagineering highlights the “collaborative dance” that Rob Fox, Senior Show Programmer at Walt Disney Imagineering, and Heather Greene, Illusion Maker at Walt Disney Imagineering, engaged in when it came to the movement and costuming of an animatronic. Fox gives the example that if he is trying to create some movement in the wrist, it could obstruct the costume or the costume could obstruct the animation, so it's necessary to workshop the perfect balance and make adjustments as needed.
Greene notes that a challenge is that while the animation brings the character to life, “the costumes can be restrictive, so we have to work back and forth with each other to make sure that we can clear all those things and bring the character the life it needs and still maintain a good costume.” You can see in the video that both the costuming and incredibly fluid movement of Tiana's animatronic look incredible. This was truly masterful Imagineering work for this character.
It's really interesting to see how Walt Disney Imagineering is bringing the Louis animatronic to life. Sonny Chapman, Principal Illusion Maker at Walt Disney Imagineering, commented that “He is one of the largest and most dynamic figures we've built today. There's a lot of moving parts.” Chapman shared that “In the past, we've had hydraulic pneumatic, but he is a fully electric figure, so the tolerances and the movement that we're getting from these electric motors is spot on.”
One thing that I observed when looking at these figures was how quiet they were. The room of all those figures moving at the same time was extremely quiet.
Jessica Basgerow, Show Programmer at Walt Disney Imagineering, shared that for the Louis animatronic, “We really try to think of what Louis is as a character. He's a very jolly character. We want to make him appear as happy as possible. And a big part of that is having his belly joyfully move up and down, and we're trying to incorporate that as much as possible from our digital profile, seeing how it's going to translate onto the figure.” You can see a great glimpse of the motion of all of Louis' various moving parts in the video and how his jolliness is brought to life as he greets guests when they go down the bayou.
We also got a glimpse of Mama Odie, who will appear in the ride demonstrating her magic and joking with visitors. You can see a glimpse of her in action, with impressive wrist and hand fluidity. This figure and the Louis figure are my favorite that I have seen so far. I love how they both appear to bounce and squish and stretch.
One of the 17 original characters that is being introduced for this attraction is Byhalia the Beaver. The beaver is a “strong-willed percussionist” who builds musical instruments using natural materials from the Bayou, playing along with Ralphie as Louis conducts. This looks like such a fun moment that we'll see on the ride! Spot Byhalia in the bottom right of the shot below.
Here is a closer look at the Byhalia figure.
Here is a closer look at the Ralphie animatronic below:
Disney actually did just reveal one snippet of footage that includes Eudora and Lottie. Here's a screenshot of that below.
We are so excited to see this attraction come to life this summer at Walt Disney World (and later in the year at Disneyland)! You can see the full video from Walt Disney Imagineering below.
The more details that we see of this attraction the more impressed that we are with it. These figures feel like they can be a timeless addition to the Disney Parks. I am holding my final judgement until we get a chance to experience the attraction but seeing these figures is just one more demonstration of the care and attention to detail that is being given for this attraction. Disney knows that all eyes of the fans are on this attraction and they are working to knock this new version of Splash Mountian out of the figurative park.
Based on these figures plus the fact that we know the Splash Mountain attraction is already a really fun ride, it's easy to see that Tiana's Bayou Adventure will be a must-see addition on both coasts.
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