New Orleans Square replacing Frontierland?

[gharter]

Just watched a Vlog talking about a plan to remodel Frontierland to New Orleans Square. Not sure if I believe that rumor, but with the change to Splash Mountain, changing Frontierland does make sense.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Nah

 

[Disneychick13]

Tiana’s bayou adventure ride makes no sense in Frontierland. I don’t know if they will make a change to make it New Orleans square but it wouldn’t surprise me. The main issue would be having BTMR all alone (well I guess with Tom sawyers island) in Frontierland. But the flip side is that Tiana’s will be all alone with no ties to Frontierland. They are going to have to really work to make it all make sense.

 

[gharter]

Tiana’s bayou adventure ride makes no sense in Frontierland. I don’t know if they will make a change to make it New Orleans square but it wouldn’t surprise me. The main issue would be having BTMR all alone (well I guess with Tom sawyers island) in Frontierland. But the flip side is that Tiana’s will be all alone with no ties to Frontierland. They are going to have to really work to make it all make sense.

That was my thought when they announced this. Without changes, it doesn't fit any theme. But if they make a change, then BTMRR has a problem.
Will be interesting to see how/if they fit that.

 

[Disneychick13]

The more I think about it the more that I think it is a no-brainer to go with New Orleans square. Yes, it will take a retooling of a restaurant/country bears/etc but man would that be a winner. I think they do it but it’s gonna be a while. And that area would flow more seamlessly into liberty square in my opinion.

 

[NotUrsula]

I seem to recall that when WDW was built, Frontierland was a deliberate choice over New Orleans Square because NOLA (and to some extent, Charleston, which looks similar to it) were close enough geographically to Orlando that it was thought that far more guests would have been to the real thing, and wouldn't be impressed. They thought that "the West" would be more novel for the average visitor.

The thing is, if you've actually been to the Louisiana salt domes, you know that they are really nowhere near New Orleans (the nearest town to the largest one is actually Napoleonville, which is 75 miles from New Orleans, and is pretty tiny; the population is around 500. Avery Island's more famous dome is nearer to the somewhat larger town of New Iberia, which is twice as far from New Orleans.) Most of the area where the salt domes are is bayou, kudzu, and 2-lane country roads; it really is near-wilderness for the most part, but with oil wells dotted around every few miles like giant mechanized grasshoppers.

Disney could just slightly de-Westernize the buildings to make them look more generically 19th century "country", then change the name to something that implies "wilderness," and I think all bases would be covered.

 

[OKW Lover]

I don't believe this rumor at all

 

[umichigan10]

I’ve argued since the beginning tiana’s fits no worse in Frontierland than splash mountain did. New Orleans is actually further west than where the characters from song of the south were based.

 

[gmi3804]

It'd be pretty easy to re-theme the walkway from Splash to Tortuga into a mini-land without changing the general vibe of Frontierland. The train station might have to be re-named the New Orleans Square Station, though BTMRR would still stand out a bit.

 

[BrianL]

I’ve argued since the beginning tiana’s fits no worse in Frontierland than splash mountain did. New Orleans is actually further west than where the characters from song of the south were based.

I think the issue with Tiana though is timeframe. Princess and the Frog takes place in the 20th centruy, which is after the height of the frontier times. There was a time when Tennessee/Mississippi were the "frontier" but they weren't the "wild west" that we associate with the general look of Frontierland. That said, you aren't wrong about Splash - it didn't fit that well from a storyline perspective, though at least it looked the part. At Disneyland a whole new are was dedicated for it, Critter Country which makes it a better fit.

Interestingly, the musical arrangement for Splash was different at DL vs. MK. At DL it has more of a jazz style since it is close ot New Orleans Square, wheras at Mk it has more of a twangy, country vibe. At least they paid attention to that.

I'm not one to get too bent out of shape about things that only tangentailly fit. There are a LOT of attractions that are a bit of a stretch out there. It's not a huge deal really. They don't need to conform the rest of Frontierland to it really. There is a lot of space in that Spalsh Moutnian area at MK - just let that be a "sub-land" like Storybook Circus is to Fantasyland. "The Louisiana Bayou" can be an offshoot of Frontierland and works as well as anything.

 

[starlite_]

I still think that "fitting in" at least aesthetically is part of why they changed the look of the attraction. The first concept for it looked very magical, New Orleans-y and bayou. Now it doesn't, I don't particularly like the final design but visually it does fit the area better.

 

[BrianL]

I still think that "fitting in" at least aesthetically is part of why they changed the look of the attraction. The first concept for it looked very magical, New Orleans-y and bayou. Now it doesn't, I don't particularly like the final design but visually it does fit the area better.

They may do the other style at Disneyland. PErsonally, I think it would be great if the two attractions were different. That makes me want to ride both.

 

[WEDcryoHEAD]

I think this is going to happen. Obviously WDW has a basis from which to draw on to produce a New Orleans Square. This will aid in fitting Tiana's into the overall landscape. It will not take much to retheme the store front, merch shops and restaurants to NO square. This also will allow WDW to separate from the glorification of the old west and the frontier, which has been a push for a while. I think they could re-theme Tom Sawyer Island to something Bayou (Mama Odie's, Dr. Facilier or something having to do with Ray and Louis perhaps) related quite easily as well. I know the Disney purists will hate it and cry WOKE, but Tom Sawyer is very problematic for WDW as well. This provides an opportunity to move away from it. I think that BTMR will then be re-themed into a Coco / Encanto themed southwest area as runored as well.

 

[starlite_]

They may do the other style at Disneyland. PErsonally, I think it would be great if the two attractions were different. That makes me want to ride both.

I would love for the other one to come to DLR, def would fit near NOS and you are right, even clone attractions should have a bit of uniqueness to them.

 

[BrianL]

I think this is going to happen. Obviously WDW has a basis from which to draw on to produce a New Orleans Square. This will aid in fitting Tiana's into the overall landscape. It will not take much to retheme the store front, merch shops and restaurants to NO square. This also will allow WDW to separate from the glorification of the old west and the frontier, which has been a push for a while. I think they could re-theme Tom Sawyer Island to something Bayou (Mama Odee's, Dr. Facilier or something having to do with Ray and Louis perhaps) related quite easily as well. I know the Disney purists will hate it and cry WOKE, but Tom Sawyer is very problematic for WDW as well. This provides an opportunity to move away from it. I think that BTMR will then be re-themed into a Coco / Encanto themed southwest area as runored as well.

There's really no reason that Tom Sawyer should be considered problematic - at least not by people who actually read and understand the books. They are in fact pretty critical of racism, and while maybe they are not a perfect repudiation, I think Twain's intent was quite clear. That said, the real reason to retheme the island would be relevance. The fact is Tom Sawyer is just not a popular icon in our culture anymore. It has been relegated to a thing of the past - rightly or wrongly. Disneyland did a retheme several years ago, assing the "Pirates Lair" to the theme. It's still called Tom Sawyer Island, but the POTC influences are prominent. There are a few directions they could go.

Interestingly, DL is also retheming the treehouse from Tarzan back to Swiss Family Robinson. Talk about irrelevant! It will technically be called "The Adventureland Treehouse inspired by Walt Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson." There have been rumors of a Disney Plus series for Swiss Family Robinson, so maybe that's why. The island is just one "Tom & Huck" away from being relevant again.

 

[WEDcryoHEAD]

I agree with you. I don't particularly have a problem with Tom Sawyer Island or find it to be problematic. However, many do. I also agree that it is also outdated and not really relevant. I just think that it will be changes as WDW can use this as an opportunity to remove it and move on.

 

[BrianL]

I agree with you. I don't particularly have a problem with Tom Sawyer Island or find it to be problematic. However, many do. I also agree that it is also outdated and not really relevant. I just think that it will be changes as WDW can use this as an opportunity to remove it and move on.

Yeah. Tom Sawyer just isn't super relevant - it can jsut be "Frontier Island" with almost no changes. I wouldn't get bent out of shape ofver that. I would hate to see the entirety of Frontierland go though, and I don't think it needs to. Westerns are a hard sell these days, but there are ocassional attempts. Disney has a Bigh Thunder Mountain project in the works, so that bay juice it a bit.

 

[umichigan10]

I think the issue with Tiana though is timeframe. Princess and the Frog takes place in the 20th centruy, which is after the height of the frontier times. There was a time when Tennessee/Mississippi were the "frontier" but they weren't the "wild west" that we associate with the general look of Frontierland. That said, you aren't wrong about Splash - it didn't fit that well from a storyline perspective, though at least it looked the part. At Disneyland a whole new are was dedicated for it, Critter Country which makes it a better fit.

Interestingly, the musical arrangement for Splash was different at DL vs. MK. At DL it has more of a jazz style since it is close ot New Orleans Square, wheras at Mk it has more of a twangy, country vibe. At least they paid attention to that.

I'm not one to get too bent out of shape about things that only tangentailly fit. There are a LOT of attractions that are a bit of a stretch out there. It's not a huge deal really. They don't need to conform the rest of Frontierland to it really. There is a lot of space in that Spalsh Moutnian area at MK - just let that be a "sub-land" like Storybook Circus is to Fantasyland. "The Louisiana Bayou" can be an offshoot of Frontierland and works as well as anything.

To add credence to your “tangentially fit” part, the Matterhorn has existed at Disneyland since 1959 straddling fantasyland and Tomorrowland, and was considered part of Tomorrowland for a long while. If an icy mountain can be considered the future, we got nothing to worry about here

 

[BrianL]

To add credence to your “tangentially fit” part, the Matterhorn has existed at Disneyland since 1959 straddling fantasyland and Tomorrowland, and was considered part of Tomorrowland for a long while. If an icy mountain can be considered the future, we got nothing to worry about here

Exactly. There have always been things that were a stretch. Honestly, the original "Tomorrowland" wasn't really "The Future" so much as the most fantastical things you could do "today" or maybe in just a few years. It was speculative, but not science fiction based. That's why it had the house of the future, the Submarine Voyage, and the Carousel of Progress.

Even now at MK, they have Monsters Inc. in Tomorrowland. Stitch was there too, which while sci-fi, isn't in the future. The theming works reasonably well though, so that's okay. I would like to see differentiation between the Tiana area and Frontierland proper though.

 

[umichigan10]

Exactly. There have always been things that were a stretch. Honestly, the original "Tomorrowland" wasn't really "The Future" so much as the most fantastical things you could do "today" or maybe in just a few years. It was speculative, but not science fiction based. That's why it had the house of the future, the Submarine Voyage, and the Carousel of Progress.

Even now at MK, they have Monsters Inc. in Tomorrowland. Stitch was there too, which while sci-fi, isn't in the future. The theming works reasonably well though, so that's okay. I would like to see differentiation between the Tiana area and Frontierland proper though.

I think you can make that whole area around the splash queue/exit a bit of a different vibe without it being totally out of place. I’m very interested to see what they do, but changing the entire land to match one new attraction seems ridiculous and super unlikely