Originally Posted By TDLFAN Hello everyone, I rode the newly revamped version of "El Rio del Tiempo", now officially called "Grand Fiesta Tour" at EPCOT's Mexico pavillion. Here are some thoughts... Upon arriving there, noticing the newly repainted marquee for the attraction, new artwork on the walls featuring the Three Caballeros and a somewhat darker color paint scheme in the area, I arrived at the boarding platform in seconds. I noticed the festive and colorful banners that now hang overhead, new boarding gates swing open to allow guests to board (now a standard feature in most rides at all Disney parks, another great overpaid lawyer's idea) and also noticed what appears to be new tiles on the floor, complete with new numbers for each boarding row/gate. The ride pretty much starts the same way... only difference here is the constant lawyer caution spiels ... "keep arms and feet..jada jada, mantengase sentado...jada jada" I got this uneasy feeling that the jungle was talking to me as the spiels could be hear a good 20 seconds or so after our boat had departed the boarding area... Anyways... SPOILERS AHEAD, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! As many of you know by now... all of the former ride's films from "mexico's ancient times" have been replaced by a travelodge of sorts. As soon as we leave the dark lagoon area, past the Restaurant.. (this is as close as WDW gets to DL's Blue Bayou and POTC) we sail straight into the opening video scene.. as Jose and Panchito introduce their act and find that Donald has missed his curtain call. As we sail deeper into the ride, we see Donald doing the same stuff that any casual tourist in Mexico would do.. the Azteca Pyramids, the water canals of Xochimilco (<--is that the proper name?), and other tourist areas... all to the tunes of festive mariachi music and some zany comedy, compliments of visual gags and Jose and Panchito as well.. Then we sail into the most popular scene from the original ride, the kids's fiesta in a small mexican town.. complete with firecrackers and such. The scene remains virtually unchanged from the original format it seemed to me, but it does feature new lighting (lower light levels as well) and newly added props and paint colors. A Donald pinata is prominently seen as the kids play with it. The scene remains the highlight of the ride but in context with the rest of the ride as a whole, it seems a bit out of place within the context of the "Where is Donald" storyline. Or maybe I wasn't paying much attention at this point in time and missed how the scene is now a part of the new storyline... From there, we move on to those other famous beaches in Mexico, and we see Donald trying to parasail and failling miserably. Keep looking and a totally nude Donald tries to catch up with his parasail... it's hilarious and probably the first time a WDW ride features nudity. Hahaha!! Streaker Donald! We also see Donald enjoying other popular activities, such as imitating the world famous divers who entertain tourists for a peso by jumping off rocks, etc. In this act, I also spotted what I felt was the best funny moment in the ride... Panchito and Jose fly into a restaurant looking for Donald, then ask a handsome waiter if he has seen a "duck". Guess what? The waiter is holding in his hand a tray with a roaster duck on it. Panchito and Jose freak and fly away, leaving their hats hanging in mid air... but wait! One second later, they backpedal to the same spot, to allow for those hats to fall on their heads before they move on to the next scene... FUNNY!! Next up, the former mercado scene is now replaced with scenes of a Mexican fiesta, complete with bonita senoritas...and Donald, the ever so manly man that he is (forgetting he has a girlfriend, Daisy, no less) has an eye or two for them lovely gals, while the mariachi plays in the background. It is here where Panchito and Jose finally catch up with Donald. Final scene, we are in modern Mexico, and to the left (where the old and cheesy puppet carrousel used to be) now sits a stage which looks awfully too much like that famed one at the Hollywood Bowl. This is a mere prop to a bigger sized film screen, where we finally see the Three Caballeros putting on a show. I also happen to catch one hidden Mickey here... and also the newly painted tropical palms and foliage behind the newly built stage, whereas this wall used to be as bare as could be in the former original version of the show. They also have added other props to give this final scene a scene of fun and party time, with hanging banners similar to those over the boarding area. The ride ends, with a painted mural (as it did before) but now..the Three Caballeros are featured over a goodbye message as well. Now my opinion on this new ride... It is most definitely an improvement over the old tired and rather stale version of "Rio del Tiempo". The ride is fun, features sight gags, festive music, and a colorful new feel throughout. The plot in regards to Donald being missing from the show is inspired and definitely propels the ride with a cohesive theme, whereas there was none before as far as I remember.. While the changes are mininal and mostly in cosmetic and visuals...they do work and work well, so much so that I would have loved for the boat to go a bit slower so I could have enjoyed the many filmed montages thur the ride. While the ride remains a C-ticket in my estimation... if does push the quality closer to a D-ticket... But here is it why I can't recommend it as a D-ticket. As much fun as the new version of the ride is...I was disappointed by several aspects of the execution. Now, I understand that not everything that Disney does has to be of D or E-Ticket quality... however, on a ride where the show so heavily relies on filmed bits.. why oh why are they still using what appears to be film loops as opposed to digitally photographed/projected film imagery? One some of the filmed portions, I couls already see dust and dirt particles on the film itself, which to me is a major NO-NO now a days. I would have prefered to see a much better quality of projection here than this, especially since the quality of the animation is so nice, and the scenes on the films are so lush and colorful. Secondly, either the boats travel too fast or the looped filmed videos are a bit too long, because we moved out of view on some scenes where I practically missed how any particular gag or joke would have ended. Can you spell "repeat business" here? Maybe it was intended that way, or maybe I was paying way too much attention to each individual screen where Imagineers didn't think it would matter... oh well. Now... the final act. I for one am extremely glad that they took down that horrible carrousel scene and added a bit more fanfare to this portion of the ride... but, Disney cheapened out by not giving us the icing on the cake here. While I welcome the new ending over the old one... this was a missed opportunity by not having a huge musical extravaganza here with great special effects, lighting and (for the love of God) the Three Caballeros in Audio Animatronics form. With the advancement of AA technology, it would have been a great treat and reason to ride over and over again, if the final scene had been much more spectacular than the current new "Hollywood Bowl" set with film. Why... with that film screen format, it gave me an uneasy feeling that I was back at the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor and that a CM holding a mike would come out at any moment and make us sing along with the Caballeros!!! I shudders just thinking about that!! So yes... Disney went cheap on the final act. A pitty because this new version could have been so much more in terms of technology and show virtues. Yet, I can't put it down. The ride is delightful and family-friendly. I think most people will definitely enjoy the product, regardless how it's presented... but the only way I can describe how I feel is this way: It met my expectations, but didn't exceed them. ...And for those Imagineers who may be reading this... don't think that because I was entertained by this ride, doesn't mean you can sleep in your laurels and take the easy and cheaper way out. I feel Disney guests deserve to be WOWed! and not just merrily entertained. Also, please don't rely so much on video and screens to present the show.. it's just not the way to go all of the time, reason why the Nemo ride was a mere "OK" on my list. If I wanted to watch TV, I would have stayed home and saved my passport money for bills. Just a thought... TDLFAN's rate: 3***+ (out of 5) I took some pics, but they didn't turn out that great. This is a ride that is difficult for me to photograph because with my cheap camera, you need to be stationary and using a tripod to capture some of the action. Oh well, here they are... <a href="http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4334673&a=32506092&f=" target="_blank">http://albums.photo.epson.com/ j/AlbumIndex?u=4334673&a=32506092&f=</a>
Originally Posted By ssWEDguy >> where Donald is doing body shots off a co-ed in Cancun? << Now I feel old. I don't know what this means. I can guess, but I haven't heard the terminology before. Please enlighten.
Originally Posted By DAR I'll let Wikipedia explain this one. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_shot" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B ody_shot</a>
Originally Posted By demderedoseguys I was on the attraction for the first time myself last week and have the same feelings as TDLFAN. Nice redo, pleasant to ride through and seemed more family (Kid) friendly than the old version. I MUST SAY - I really do miss the old song that used to be playing over and over in your head long after you left the ride. Other than that, I rate it a 3.5
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn Do they still have the big drop into the water near the end of the ride?
Originally Posted By BlueOhanaTerror >>>Now I feel old. I don't know what this means. I can guess, but I haven't heard the terminology before. Please enlighten.<<< You could sit through a few minutes of Girls Gone Wild, but then you'd probably want to put your head in a machine press....
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn www.soundofmagic.com still has the complete soundtrack of the original ride.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>Do they still have the big drop into the water near the end of the ride?<< Norway's Maelstrom has the drop at the end; not Rio de Queso.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>Azteca Pyramids<< I presume you mean the big giant pyramids? If so, those were not built by the Aztecs, but by a mysterious group that vanished into history long before the Aztecs arrived. The Aztecs called the place Teotihuacan (city of the gods) since the believed that humans were incapable of such a feat. To this day very little is known about the Teotihuacanos. And yes, you did get Xochimilco right.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "The ride is delightful and family-friendly." Did TLDFAN just say something was good for people with little kids (AKA "brats") and he actually enjoyed it as well? What is this world coming to? I hope they still have the thrilling nudge at the end, where you get hit by the boat behind you! I convinced my friends to go on it because the end has a really cool part. So we went on it, and I knew that nothing really happens, and then we got to the end and they asked what was supposed to happen. Then we got hit by the other boat. How thrilling!
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>who / what / where is Xochimilco ?<< It is a watery suburb of Mexico City, best know for its many canals and Venice like gondola boats you can hire to take you around. Even though I lived 12 years in Mexico City, I only went once. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xochimilco" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X ochimilco</a>
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Well.. thanks for the history lesson. Personally, I would have preferred Gillermo Capetillo as one of the three caballeros but heck... I will settle for the cartoon.
Originally Posted By ssWEDguy >> you'd probably want to put your head in a machine press.... << I haven't seen this done since Curly did it in the Three Stooges. Even when I was a kid I didn't know what a letter press was for.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Sounds painful, but anyways... BUMP! I don't put up these reports and photos for my topics to sink past the #15 spot in less than a week, so visit the albums please.
Originally Posted By demderedoseguys Godd pics, much better than the ones I took last week, which came out dark and murky. thank you.
Originally Posted By MPierce I am shocked, and appauled at the lack of continuity in this ride. Are we just suppose to accept character from Central America, Brazi, and the U.S.A. fit in well with the themeing of a pavillion dedicating itself to showing the culture of Mexico. No wonder Epcot is going to hell in a handbasket. I can hardly wait until I get one of those Two X's beers, and ride it. Thanks for the review, and the pictures TDLFAN. I did all I could to keep this thread alive.
