Tiana watch: Magic Kingdom ride goes green, stays dry
Work continues in Magic Kingdom's Frontierland, turning Splash Mountain into a new ride experience called Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Now, even casual passers-by may notice a visual difference in the attraction, which Walt Disney World says will open to the public this summer.
For months, I listened to confused park visitors as they walked by the site. Folks now have a better grip on what's happening, thanks to signs and a new water tank that's topped with a tiara.
The current crowd tends to point at the former mountain, and there are attempts to peek through the construction wall skirting the site. Earlier, there was some lament about the end of Splash Mountain, but the feeling is shifting toward anticipation.
Here are comments and questions overheard on the bridge to the attraction entrance recently. They're followed by clarifications and, as needed, actual facts that have been announced by Disney since the Tiana transformation was announced in June 2020.
‘I LIKE THE GREENERY’
Imagineers have leaned into green for the exterior look of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, adding trees, hanging moss, blooms and vines. It's less desert beige now as Disney turns this mountain into a (very big) molehill.
The silhouette has been changed with the subtraction of the uppermost stump and other elements near the top of the ride's drop. (From the ground, you also may spy dangling decor that riders will see just before the descent.)
‘IT’S A LOT MORE NEW ORLEANS’
Disney has shared several examples of the New Orleans influence in the planning of the ride and its queue, including music, art, history and cuisine.
The storyline takes place after the events of “The Princess and the Frog,” a Disney animated film released in 2009 but set in the 1920s.
‘I HEARD IT’S SWAMPY’
Tiana's Bayou Adventure will, indeed, travel through swampland. Disney has shared artist concepts of scenes featuring critters with instruments in a swampy setting and Louis, the trumpet-playing alligator from the film.
‘I THINK THEY HAVE THE WATER GOING … OR MAYBE THEY’RE JUST WORKING ON IT,’ AS WELL AS ‘LOOK HOW DEEP IT USED TO BE’
There are workers clearly present on the scene, as well as a huge crane out back. The construction noise may have thrown off the first commenter, but she wasn't the only one to look for rushing waters. For now, it's a dry zone,
and visitors can see the trough that circles from the drop back into the building for a grand finale (at least in its Splash Mountain era).
‘THERE HAS TO BE A BR’ER BEAR IN THERE,’ AND ‘IT’S WEIRD FOR THEM TO TAKE OUT THE BUNNY’
I would counsel folks who are expecting “Song of the South” characters in the new ride to brace themselves long before the 52-foot drop. The film, released in 1946, has been long criticized for its depiction of Black people, so it's a long shot that they will be seen when the ride is functional again.
‘IT’S GOING TO BE A FOOD PLACE?’
No, but you can see the confusion. On the site's construction walls are signs for Tiana's Foods, which is a part of the ride's storyline — our princess starts an employee-owned business — more so than a Magic Kingdom food and beverage option. The water tower is also marked with a Tiana's Foods logo.
Back on the ground, a large portion of the wall facing toward Adventureland is an image of Louis, floating instruments on a musical background and the words “Come join the party!” (A smaller sign instructs that this is a photo op where folks can stand in front of the instruments.)
It also notes that Tiana's Bayou Adventure will be coming in summer 2024, but that's all the signage we have so far.
‘I’M GOING TO TAKE A PICTURE AND SEND IT TO MY MOM’
Sure, it's kind of a big deal. Although Splash Mountain wasn't an opening-day Magic Kingdom attraction, it had an old-school Disney dark-ride vibe a la Haunted Mansion or Jungle Cruise. Disney has swapped out other attractions there, including Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, which became the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in 1999 and Snow White's Scary Adventures, which closed in 2012 and is now Princess Fairy Tale Hall.
Disneyland's Splash Mountain in California is also getting the Tiana treatment, although an opening date has not yet been announced.
‘I NEED TO STOP OFF AT RAPUNZEL’
OK, this overheard sentence has nothing to do with Tiana and friends, but only in Orlando can a Rapunzel reference be shorthand for a bathroom break. This group was off to use the tower-topped Fantasyland facilities.