Photos: A year of construction progress at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Construction for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure reached its one-year milestone at Magic Kingdom, so let’s compare year-over-year photos of the attraction’s progress.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will feature characters from 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog” in a new story taking place after the movie. The log flume will debut sometime in 2024 at Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Fla. and Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. At both parks, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure replaces Splash Mountain, which closed Jan. 23, 2023 on the east coast and May 31, 2023 on the west.
As construction teams reach one full year of progress in Orlando, traces of the attraction’s arrival are ramping up.
Bye Bye Briar Patch, Hello Bayou
While the skeleton of Splash Mountain’s exterior and track remains, the aesthetic, color palette, and environment of the structure look completely different one year following the former attraction’s closure. What was once a prickly briar patch with rocks and a tree stump is now a lush, green swamp with foliage and a water tower.
Top row: Photo by Matt Roseboom; Bottom row: Photo by Magic City Mayhem
These viewpoints are visible to guests inside Magic Kingdom, providing a glimpse of what’s to come.
Left: Photo by Matt Roseboom; Right: Photo by Magic City Mayhem
At the top of the lift hill before the final drop, construction crews replaced barren rock with lots of greenery. They also added colorful bottles hanging from above.
Left: Photo by Matt Roseboom; Right: Photo by Magic City Mayhem
The view from across the Rivers of America is much more green now.
Left: Photo by Matt Roseboom; Right: Photo by bioreconstruct
Yellow, pink, and white flowers accentuate the leaves.
Photos by Magic City Mayhem
Moss drapes from the nearby trees, creating a swamp-like atmosphere.
Photo by bioreconstruct
Atop a wooded shelter in the outdoor scenery, Imagineers recently installed a weather vane crafted by New Orleans artists.
Photo by Jenna Clarke
Imagineers built a water tower outside the final drop in June 2023. A crown adorns the water tower in honor of Tiana.
Photos by Magic City Mayhem
After nightfall, the area will take on the glow of the bayou.
For good measure, here’s what the infrastructure looks like underneath, captured way back in 1991:
The swampy, guest-facing outdoor area is just a small part of the attraction’s total real estate. Though some riders may not realize it, most of the attraction is housed in a show building out of view.
Photo by bioreconstruct
As with Splash Mountain, passersby in Frontierland will be able to see riders’ reactions as the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure ride vehicles flow into the surrounding area following the splashdown.
Left: Photo by Matt Roseboom; Right: Photo by Magic City Mayhem
Left: Photo by Matt Roseboom; Right: Photo by Magic City Mayhem
We got a peek at the scale model for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure during D23 Expo 2022:
The Views
With all of these changes in mind, for now one can only imagine what the view will look like from the ride itself. The former Splash Mountain track bobbed around and within its layered landscaping. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is expected to do the same, providing unique views of not only the exterior swamp, but also of Magic Kingdom at large.
Photo by Matt Roseboom
Many Walt Disney World landmarks are visible from the ride, including Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Swiss Family Treehouse, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room.
Photo by Blake Taylor
Of course, the ride’s finale splashdown provides a fleeting view of the most magical place on Earth. Cinderella Castle appears nearly dead-center from riders’ perspective just before they plummet down the hill. Imagine what the view may look like with the new multicolored bottles hanging from this spot in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure — at daytime and nighttime.
Photos by Matt Roseboom
Gateway to “Beyond Big Thunder”
Imagineers teased an expansion for Magic Kingdom “beyond Big Thunder” during D23 events in 2022 and 2023. Details are still under wraps, but an Imagineering executive compared the project’s scale to that of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Pandora – The World of Avatar. We analyzed the Imagineers’ remarks in a recent story.
Assuming the expansion is still in the works, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad may be a stepping-off point for new Magic Kingdom adventures.
Photos by bioreconstruct
Photo by Matt Roseboom
Try Tiana’s Beignets for a Limited Time
The fictional backstory of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure involves Tiana’s Foods, a business owned by the princess. For a limited time, Magic Kingdom guests can try one of Tiana’s recipes for themselves, the Disney Parks Blog announced this week.
Golden Outpost will serve Tiana’s Famous Beignets from Feb. 1 – Mar. 1, 2024. The treat will come with strawberry dipping sauce. Golden Outpost, a walk-up window, is located on the pathway between Frontierland and Adventureland near the parade gate. Disney’s announcement did not mention mobile ordering.
Tiana’s Famous Beignets are among the many limited-time menu items available throughout Walt Disney World’s “Celebrate Soulfully” event during Black History Month. Other Celebrate Soulfully items inspired by “The Princess and the Frog” at Magic Kingdom include Tiana’s Petit Cake at Main Street Bakery and a special peach cobbler at Pinocchio Village Haus.
Photos courtesy of Disney
Almost There
Disney hasn’t announced an official opening date for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure beyond “2024.” That being said, the company recently added webpages for the attraction onto the official Walt Disney World and Disneyland sites. Both pages feature story information and concept art previously shared by Disney. The Orlando webpage also directs visitors to a Disney Parks Blog landing page called “Everything Tiana,” which assembles previous blog posts pertaining to “all things Tiana at Disney Experiences.”
Image courtesy of Disney
Nearby Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom, Country Bear Musical Jamboree will open summer 2024. The new show will feature the same Audio-Animatronics bears as the 1971 original, now singing familiar Disney tunes.
Stay tuned to AttractionsMagazine.com and our YouTube channel for continued coverage of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and the future of Frontierland. For more from the attraction’s construction site, check out this video by Magic City Mayhem:
