Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which replaces Splash Mountain, is now officially open to the public at Walt Disney World.
Opened on June 28, the ride takes guests through the swamps of New Orleans picking up after the events of the Walt Disney Animation Studios film, “The Princess and the Frog.”
Riders are immersed in a musical experience as they jettison along the log ride with new, original music alongside favorite songs from the 2009 animated film. Along the way, riders can spot familiar faces like Tiana, Louis and Mama Odie as well as a number of instrument playing critters from the bayou.
Controversy
Tiana’s Bayou arrives as a revamping of Disney’s iconic and controversial Splash Mountain. Amid the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, multiple petitions circulated online demanding that Disney retheme Splash Mountain. The petitions state that the splash ride glorifies racist tropes.
“Song of the South,” in particular, is a 1946 Disney live-action/animation hybrid movie best known for its racist caricatures and rosy glorification of life in the Reconstruction-era South.
“The retheming of Splash Mountain is of particular importance today. The new concept is inclusive — one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year,” Disney said in a statement.
In addition to changing their public perception, for Disney, retheming Splash Mountain allows it to upgrade ride elements, like its animatronics, tie the ride to a popular studio film and develop a slew of new merchandise, food items for guests to enjoy.
Imagineers have developed all-electronic audio-animatronics for the ride, including for characters such as Louis, the trumpet-playing alligator from the film.
Disney revolutionized animatronics decades ago with its hydraulic, or liquid-fueled, and pneumatic, or air-fueled, systems, but the electronic animatronics for Tiana’s Bayou allow for more refined and precise movement, making them appear more realistic. Similar animatronics can be seen in the rides Smuggler’s Run and Rise of the Resistance, in Galaxy’s Edge.
Disney has teased that an area based on “Coco” or “Encanto,” or both, could be underway in the Magic Kingdom. There were also talks about opening an area of the Magic Kingdom that would be overrun by Disney villains.