Snappy Serape (continued)

The room has also been freshly re-painted, or painted in new colors in some cases. Our boats then enter a rocky, beach-themed area. In El Rio Del Tiempo, the footage became pure 1980s travelogue. We saw coastal fun, bars actually in swimming pool caves (with mariachi band nearby) and ceremonial celebrations.

And there was even cliff diving.

This scene culminated with a video that played on a viewscreen literally on the floor; we looked down onto scuba divers below us.

Now in Gran Fiesta Tour, the footage is totally different. No mere seaside resort greets us; we now see parasailing... by Donald's wetsuit.

Donald himself follows, naked, running across the top of the water and incensed that he's been left behind.

In place of a poolside bar, the serape flies by and leaves puffs of smoke that spell out the message "donde esta Donald" (Where is Donald).

The flying serape zooms into a restaurant on a screen that loops between two scenes. In one scene, they accost a waiter and seek Donald, and he uncovers a large cooked bird, causing Jose and Panchito to beat a hasty retreat.

In the other scene, Jose and Panchito get a chef's attention, but he turns around and sharpens knives at them. This is meant to be menacing, but it's ludicrous and the worst part of the whole attraction. The actor isn't even looking at the characters! I wish they could re-film this.

The new diving sequence is a nice homage. This isn't the same footage, as one of the divers here does a forward somersault on the way down, rather than just a headfirst dive. Unlike the humans, Donald isn't graceful, and hits invisible pinball-machine bumpers so he follows a zigzag course down.

Rather than merely show scuba diving, the screen in the floor now shows off Donald cuddling a baby octopus... until mommy octopus comes to make him pay, in a flurry of bubbles. What I like about this scene is the set dressing. We can see Donald's usual outfit of clothes right there on the rocks near the videoscreens, as if Donald disrobed to go swimming. Nearby is also his drink and snorkel gear.

Meanwhile, the new mood lighting here also tells a story. Unlike El Rio Del Tiempo, the backdrop painting here is illuminated with a red lamp, to communicate the idea that dusk has arrived. So what that it's turning into night? Well, remember that there's a concert tonight. Time is running out to find Donald. Jose and Panchito continue their search in a nearby screen, and the serape now sports headlights in the gloom.

The next scene was one that always made me wince in El Rio Del Tiempo (and hard to see in the photo below): the shopkeepers would follow you from window to window and try to sell you items.