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Thread: "New" Mexican Boat Ride

  1. #1

    "New" Mexican Boat Ride

    Has anyone experienced the new Mexican Boat Ride which opened in EPCOT the other day? It is now called the Grand Fiesta Tour. We are headed down in a couple of days and wondered if it was worth riding.


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  3. #2

    Couldn't possibly be any worse of a complete and utter desperdicio del tiempo than what it replaced.

    James H. H. Lampert
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  4. #3
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    i thought i read somewhere that the opening was delayed because they are still trying to get the timing of the boats and the screens right.

    i would call to check


  5. #4
    Shrinking for the better
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    Read on allears that the opening has been pushed back to Friday April 6th. It was supposed to open on Monday the 2nd.

    To DL or not to DL September 2010-that is the question....


  6. #5

    but I love the Rio Del Tiempo song.... it's always stuck in my head!


  7. #6

    The opening has been delayed until (hopefully) later this week.


  8. #7
    Ready for MA World Explorers! Drince88's Avatar
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    As of yesterday (April 4) the construction walls were still up. The times guide just said 'Early April', though that guide was for Wed Thurs only.


  9. #8
    Registered User petesimac's Avatar
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    I've always liked this ride, sort of another take on It's a Small World, but I'm excited to see the new version in 75 days!!!!


  10. #9
    sort of another take on It's a Small World


    The only parts of the ride the ride that I can even remember were incredibly crude, grainy films (they looked like Super-8, on high-speed film stock, with so much generational loss that they looked like copies of copies of copies), most of which not only perpetuated, but reveled in, negative cultural stereotypes.

    It says a lot, when the only elements of an attraction that aren't utterly forgettable are the ones that are either crude, offensive, or both.
    James H. H. Lampert
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  11. #10
    Blue Ball Go Down The Hole
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    there were a lot of small world-like animatronics in it, plus the fiber optic fireworks, etc.

    i actually loved the marketplace with all the films. probably would be worse for me if i remembered the 70s, but it's just so dated you couldn't help but love it.

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  12. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by bradk View Post
    there were a lot of small world-like animatronics in it, plus the fiber optic fireworks, etc.

    i actually loved the marketplace with all the films. probably would be worse for me if i remembered the 70s, but it's just so dated you couldn't help but love it.
    Yes! It reminds me of my trip of Cancun. People constantly trying to sell stuff to you. :-P I even got offered a husband once. lol I was 16...

  13. #12
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    My wife & I love the fireworks & Small World-type part of the attraction. The marketplace always makes me smile, because it exactly fits my memory of the 1st time I visited Mexico. I wonder if any of that will remain?


  14. #13
    Registered User petesimac's Avatar
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    The marketplace part of the ride reminds me of the old "If You Had Wings", all the movies playing over and over again, the fish that grows as you watch it, the people resting on the waterfall rocks; I always found myself imagining them filming the movie and wishing I had been there.


  15. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by hbquikcomjamesl View Post


    The only parts of the ride the ride that I can even remember were incredibly crude, grainy films (they looked like Super-8, on high-speed film stock, with so much generational loss that they looked like copies of copies of copies), most of which not only perpetuated, but reveled in, negative cultural stereotypes.

    It says a lot, when the only elements of an attraction that aren't utterly forgettable are the ones that are either crude, offensive, or both.
    I don't mean to single out you, hbquikcomjamesl, but it's getting to the point where any presentation other than what us Americans view as proper is immediately considered offensive stereotyping. Did anyone consider the El Rio Tiempo attraction was influenced by actual Mexicans? Yes, the attraction is very dated. However, I used to visit Mexico as a kid and much of it really did resemble the scenes in El Rio Tiempo.

    What's so offensive about cliff divers? They really do exist. What's offensive about sombreros? They really are part of traditional Mexican dress. The same goes for guitars and trumpets. Every time I walk by a group Mexican immigrants here in Colorado, of which there are many, they are listening to that type of music.

    I agree the attraction would have been much better had it included portrayals of remote tribes currently living in Mexico or even Pre-Mexican native tribes. Thus, I would certainly call the attraction incomplete and one-sided, but I just don't understand how it could be so offensive.

    I'm wondering if many Mexicans foung El Rio Tiempo offensive. I would think if they did, they would have complained and Disney would have shuttered this attraction long ago. If a number of Mexicans who experienced the attraction told me they found it offensive, I could understand.

  16. #15
    At Walt's in Disneyland Paris DisneylandForever's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Klutch View Post
    I'm wondering if many Mexicans foung El Rio Tiempo offensive. I would think if they did, they would have complained and Disney would have shuttered this attraction long ago. If a number of Mexicans who experienced the attraction told me they found it offensive, I could understand.

    Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about Dr. Whatley. I have a suspicion that hes converted to Judaism just for the jokes.

    And this offends you as a Jewish person.

    No, it offends me as a comedian!



    I was never personally offended by El Rio Del Sueno. I thought it was tacky, sure. But not racially offensive.

    I did find it imaginatively offensive though! I am so glad The Three Caballeros are replacing it. Love that film.

  17. #16

    Allow me to clarify:

    I found the "Marketplace" scene to be offensive. (Ditto for the "Pepper's Ghost" peepshows in DCA's Mission Tortilla Fiasco.)

    I found the use of crude, grainy, poorly-color-balanced films to be cheap.

    I found the rest of the attraction to simply be more eminently forgettable than any other Disney attraction.

    James H. H. Lampert
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  18. #17
    At Walt's in Disneyland Paris DisneylandForever's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hbquikcomjamesl View Post
    I found the rest of the attraction to simply be more eminently forgettable than any other Disney attraction.

    Clearly you've never been on Sounds Dangerous.

  19. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by hbquikcomjamesl View Post
    Allow me to clarify:

    I found the "Marketplace" scene to be offensive. (Ditto for the "Pepper's Ghost" peepshows in DCA's Mission Tortilla Fiasco.)
    How was it offensive? Have you ever been to a Mexican Marketplace? Because I have, several times, and if anything the scene was tame compared to what really goes on. I've had vendors literally follow me around, all the way to my car/taxi/bus constantly bartering and trying to make a sale.

  20. #19

    Paris has a stereotype of snot-nosed waiters with superiority complexes insulting non-French diners, and it, too, is apparently based on fact. So is the stereotype of people getting mugged in New York City. But would the French tolerate it if the waiters in Epcot's "Chefs de France" were rude? Would anybody tolerate a Disney simulacrum of New York City that involved guest getting mugged?

    On a more earthy note, we all have to occasionally relieve our bladders and bowels. But unless we have a starring role in some really bizarre show, we generally don't do so on stage, in front of a paying audience.

    Just because Mexico HAS marketplaces where the vendors won't take "no" for an answer, and where they chase down the tourists, doesn't mean a Disney attraction about Mexico should revel in it.

    James H. H. Lampert
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  21. #20
    Self-proclaimed Diz nut TinaMouse's Avatar
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    Did the ride open today? That was the last date I heard.......

    Working hard for that next WDW trip!

  22. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by hbquikcomjamesl View Post
    Paris has a stereotype of snot-nosed waiters with superiority complexes insulting non-French diners, and it, too, is apparently based on fact. So is the stereotype of people getting mugged in New York City. But would the French tolerate it if the waiters in Epcot's "Chefs de France" were rude? Would anybody tolerate a Disney simulacrum of New York City that involved guest getting mugged?

    On a more earthy note, we all have to occasionally relieve our bladders and bowels. But unless we have a starring role in some really bizarre show, we generally don't do so on stage, in front of a paying audience.

    Just because Mexico HAS marketplaces where the vendors won't take "no" for an answer, and where they chase down the tourists, doesn't mean a Disney attraction about Mexico should revel in it.
    I don't follow most of your post, but I still don't see what's offensive about a marketplace of forceful marketers. This is how much of the world is, not just Mexico. Not every stereotype is negative.

  23. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by hbquikcomjamesl View Post
    Paris has a stereotype of snot-nosed waiters with superiority complexes insulting non-French diners, and it, too, is apparently based on fact. So is the stereotype of people getting mugged in New York City. But would the French tolerate it if the waiters in Epcot's "Chefs de France" were rude? Would anybody tolerate a Disney simulacrum of New York City that involved guest getting mugged?

    On a more earthy note, we all have to occasionally relieve our bladders and bowels. But unless we have a starring role in some really bizarre show, we generally don't do so on stage, in front of a paying audience.

    Just because Mexico HAS marketplaces where the vendors won't take "no" for an answer, and where they chase down the tourists, doesn't mean a Disney attraction about Mexico should revel in it.
    I object to your entire presumption that the Marketplace scene is a negative one. Why are you judging the culture of a people? I never thought poorly of the merchants who were trying to make a sale; often I end up buying something I had no intention of buying just to reward a persistant & creative salesperson.

    Getting mugged is a crime, not a part of NY culture. As for snooty French waiters, well I can't disagree with you there.

    Of course, this is jjust the 2 of us with dissenting opinions. I'd be interested to hear what a Mexican or Mexican-American has to say about this.

  24. #23
    At Walt's in Disneyland Paris DisneylandForever's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SpamPutney View Post
    I'd be interested to hear what a Mexican or Mexican-American has to say about this.

    If 1/2 Mexican is good enough for you, see post #15.

  25. #24
    Blue Ball Go Down The Hole
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    yes, the attraction is operating today

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  26. #25
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    Whoa! How can a simple little ride cause so much mayhem? I always found it a great 15 minutes away from the hustle and bustle. Yes, the films were cheesy and grainy and the finale was stolen from IASW but who was it really offending? The various countries were intended to be advertisements and were funded to some extent by the countries involved. Over time that drifted. I'm from the U.K. and if I thought the country I live in bore any resemblance to the clean, polite, tidy, friendly land portrayed at EPCOT then I'd move there tomorrow. The lands are meant to be distillations of the whole and some are suffering with age. Canada is re-vamping its film so why not a change at Mexico? And if you really want to be pestered by shopkeepers then I suggest they open Egypt as soon as possible or San Francisco land where one of those camera shop owners could berate you that they have a lens that fits every camera known to man.

    Now, I'll turn that little mouse's dream into a Nightmare Fantasmic!
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