Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens to the public at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom

The day is finally here. The general public will get to ride the new “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park. This is a complete retheme of the former Splash Mountain attraction. The ride system itself remains the same, but everything else is themed with characters from “The Princess and the Frog” movie. 

I was at Disney World a few weeks ago for their official media preview and got to ride the attraction multiple times. Here are some things to know about the ride, along with my thoughts on the overall experience. 

The Story

Walking through the ride’s queue, you’ll be able to pick up the storyline of the attraction. It takes place a year after the events of the 2009 film. Tiana is following her dreams and running her own restaurant. She’s looking to have a big party but she’s missing a few ingredients to make it special … and guess what …. YOU are one of those ingredients! Here are some photos from outside and inside of the queue…

The Ride Experience

Like I said before, the ride system is the same as it was on Splash Mountain. You ride in logs with a few dips along the way, and the 50-foot drop remains as the ride’s centerpiece thrill. 

To sum this up, the ride is one big party. Most of the music is from the film, re-orchestrated and recorded specifically for the ride. This was my favorite part of the attraction – there are multiple songs that get caught in your head as the colorful elements of the bayou come to life. 

As for those scenes, Disney Imagineers have created some incredible animatronics of Tiana, the alligator Louis, Mama Odie and more. These characters do more then sway back and forth. They swivel their hips while turning their heads in lifelike fashion. It made me wonder about where this technology will be 20 years from now. Here are some shots from inside and around the ride, featuring those new animatronic characters…

My Thoughts

As you can probably tell, I really, really enjoyed this attraction. The ride is a party from start to finish, consistently building in energy along the way until you hit the large drop. Then you slowly float into a room with a giant celebration scene and a brand new song. 

The music is the real star of the show, all throughout the ride. My favorite scene takes place just before the big drop as the song “Dig A Little Deeper” bumps throughout the bayou, as you are surrounded by glowing plant life. It’s just plain fun.

There is no suspense in this attraction – and I LOVED that. Many have criticized the ride for not featuring a villain or something to bring some tension as you head up the lift hill before the big splash, but why can’t a big drop be fun? I love big drops. It was refreshing to have a ride that is a giant party from start to finish. This will work especially well for the younger kids experiencing a daunting drop like this for the first time.

Of course, all of this comes with one big question…

Does The Ride Work? 

If you have been following reports over the last month or so, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has experienced quite a bit of downtime and riders have been evacuated off of the attraction more than a few times. It’s important to remember that this is during a time of technical rehearsal where Imagineers are consistently tweaking and evaluating the attraction. 

But now the ride is open to the public. The people getting onto the logs are not castmembers or annual passholders who head to the park many, many times a year. Now, the guests getting on the attraction may be a family taking a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disney World. This is when the ride needs to run consistently and efficiently. 

There are significant challenges when you try to take new technology and apply it to an older ride system. Hopefully Disney Imagineers have worked through many of those issues and the ride will be able to operate on a regular basis with limited issues. Don’t be surprised to see some setbacks and breakdowns as Disney-sized crowds take in the attraction for the first time. I’m hoping they are able to figure these out and settle in on a system that works long term. 

The ride is that good. I can’t wait to take it all in again, next time with my own family by my side. 

I will have my full ride and review posted in video form soon!

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