Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the ride update to the previous attraction, Splash Mountain, is nearly complete at Walt Disney World. With an opening day expected to be announced any moment, we look at construction updates by @DrewDisneyDude on X to see the bayou being built at Magic Kingdom Park.
Walt Disney Imagineering has continued to give us sneak peeks at this new Tiana ride. A-1000 audio animatronics, some of Disney’s most impressive tech, will be utilized heavily in this attraction. Many fans (myself included) have been eagerly awaiting to see what level of detail this ride will truly offer.
I can thankfully say that it appears that Disney has pulled out their big box of tricks (and thick wallet) for this attraction. Originally announced in 2020, admist the chaotic summer of protests, COVID-19 and an impending economic collapse, this ride has had a wild life and it hasn’t even opened yet. In that time, Walt Disney World has had many changes in operations. The Walt Disney Company has also switched CEO during that period.
That being said, the actual construction work on the attraction has gone by fairly quickly – at least by Disney’s recent standards.
New Tiana ride will shorten Splash Mountain
Some people make a mountain out of a mole hill. Disney wants to do the opposite, turning Splash Mountain into a salt mine hill of the bayou. The original mountain structure remains, but Disney is doing something we rarely hear of. They are removing certain forced perspective elements.
Disney uses the forced perspective trick to make buildings appear larger than life. Sorry, Cinderella Castle is not actually as big as your brain says it is. For Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, this ride is mean to look shorter – while still giving the same thrilling drop.
Adding Louisiana and New Orleans to the Orlando theme park
One easily noticeable element is the addition of “the bayou.” Walt Disney Imagineering has not shied away from plants, overgrowth, twisted trees and the feeling of swamps. As heard in the post above by Drew, the iconic “Princess and the Frog” music is playing along as well.
As expected, music will be a big part of this ride. Disney states, “From Zydeco to Rara to Afro-Cuban jazz, you’ll hear all kinds of musical flavors from critters big and small around the bayou, just like you would walking the streets of the French Quarter in the Crescent City.”
Princess Tiana is adding new life to Frontierland
Ted Robledo, the executive creative director of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, stated that this attraction will feature cypress trees, water lilies, and Spanish moss. Robledo spoke on the creatures of this new Tiana ride, “A true Mardi Gras celebration isn’t complete without music. We’ll follow Tiana and Louis into the bayou in a last-minute search for this essential missing ingredient for her party — musical critters!”
The end of construction at Magic Kingdom
Construction has been ongoing for years and years at Walt Disney World. In fact, it is hard to ever find a time that somewhere at the massive resort that a new project, ride, eatery or hotel isn’t being remodeled, fixed-up or built entirely new. Epcot is preparing to finally finish a major portion of its remodel and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is joining along.
As more foliage is added, more scaffolding comes down. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be a welcome addition to the park for many, especially for those who enjoy shorter waits.
The end of the Virtual Queue?
Splash Mountain was a fan favorite for many guests (you may have seen the online petitions begging Disney to keep the ride alive). Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will change the storyline, but it will keep many features. It will still offer the big drop, the cool down of the watery splashes and the same ride track. This re-vitalized attraction will also keep one essential part of Splash Mountain, a ride with fantastic capacity.
Splash Mountain could shovel through hundreds-and-hundreds of guests an hour. With the Magic Kingdom continuing to get more popular this is vitally needed. Over the years in Orlando, Disney, Universal and SeaWorld have all torn down some rides to replace them with new. This results in less ride capacity during, and sometimes even after the ride is open.
While Frontierland is currently down its log flume and animatronic bear show, it is leaning heavily on Big Thunder Mountain and Tom Sawyer Island. The opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure allows thousands of more guests a day to enjoy a ride in Frontierland. And with this ride opening, we could see the end of Disney’s infamous Virtual Queue.
Tron Lightcycle / Run and Magic Kingdom Virtual Queues
The newest ride, currently, at Magic Kingdom Park is Tron Lightcycle / Run. This high-speed roller coaster offers a thrilling ride with fantastic Daft Punk music. But it, alongside many ride openings in the past, has been plagued with the infamous Disney Virtual Queue. Originally built for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, this system has its benefits and its annoyances.
The Virtual Queue forces excited guests to be up by 7 a.m. to enter a lottery in hopes they can ride a ride. If guests miss out, they can also fork over $12+ a person to ride. You can’t choose your Virtual Queue time, nor ride again. This is a major dissatisfaction for guests visiting Walt Disney World – just checkout the Yelp reviews or online forum groups. The system was built to stop overcrowding and keep actual ride queue times short. It works, but it also fights those who want to just ride an amazing ride.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure may, in essence, help to kill this portion of the Disney trip.
The massive capacity of this new Tiana ride
With log flumes being sent out again and again, this attraction is built to hold a lot of people. In simple terms, this is a really big ride with a really long line.
In more complex terms: Tiana’s Bayou Adventure can both hold a ton of park visitors and send through large waves of riders all at once. The attraction has room to hold over an hour of guests waiting in line. The ride’s estimated capacity is over 1,500 guests an hour. Plus this attraction has been in the center of controversy ever since it was announced. This all points to the idea that it could lead Disney Parks with the destruction of the Virtual Queue (for the time being).
Expectations of excitement for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Admist the controversy, Disney has fought strong to showcase they are working hard on this ride. Insider looks, research trips and more have all been shown to the public. Disney knows that there is a strong Disney Princess following. They know the music from “Princess and the Frog” is regarded as iconic. Now, how will they show off that they did it right from day one?
The introduction of the Virtual Queue has quelled crowds at grand openings. The excitement is there. But, it appears that the crowds aren’t. Instead, they are told at 7 a.m. whether they will ride. This has helped keep five plus hour lines away, but has also killed a bit of the opening hype.
Perhaps Disney will open the floodgates for Tiana and let the whole world head towards the bayou. Now, I will state, this is not currently confirmed by Disney. Instead this theory points to a possibility for press, ride expectations and fandom excitement. We may see virtual queue not used for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Instead, it may stay, but only for Tron Lightcycle / Run.
A tried and true ride track
Walt Disney Imagineers haven’t hidden ride testing ongoing in the park. And rumors are suggesting tons of possible opening dates for this attraction. While we don’t yet know when it will open, this tried and true ride track could allow Disney to be less worried about crowds.
The animatronics are new, the effects are new, but Disney has proven for decades that they can move these log flumes consistently. Now imagine tens-of-thousands, all happily standing out in front of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure on opening day. Yes, there will be a lot of people, and Cast Members will have to do crowd control. But that hasn’t stopped the daily operations without a Virtual Queue in Pandora – The World of Avatar.
This ride, this opening, could get longtime Disney fans excited just for the idea to ride a ride when they want to. Since 2019 guests have relied on a lottery system to ride a brand new attraction. Five years later, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure may change that. We will have to see.
Alongside Magic Kingdom, Disney Springs is also getting a new offering – and this one is free. “Disney Dreams That Soar” will be an all new limited time drone show. Debuting May 24, this new offering will be showcased to all who arrive at this incredibly popular shopping and dining district.
