In June 2020, Disney announced that the water-based ride Splash Mountain will close to be rethemed into an attraction inspired by the Disney animated film, The Princess and the Frog. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open in both Disneyland park and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in late 2024!

©Disney

During the ESSENCE Festival of Culture 2022 held on July 1st, Disney revealed that the NEW name for the reimagined attraction will be Tiana’s Bayou Adventure! 

Princess and the Frog attraction Concept Art ©Disney

Disney has shared that the reimagined attraction will pick up the story of The Princess and the Frog “after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.” 

The Story

That’s right.. get ready for a Mardi Gras celebration in Frontierland!

©Disney

As you can see in the concept art, “Tiana is leading the way and fans will be able to encounter old friends and make new ones along the way as well!” You’ll notice that Tiana is wearing pants, which is “connecting who Tiana was in the movie to who she will be in the future.”

Click HERE to take a closer look at the latest concept art for this upcoming attraction!

You may also notice, with a closer look at the perimeter of the art, that Tiana is surrounded by some new characters in this expedition through the Bayou, with an otter, a pelican, and turtles among them!

©Disney

And YOU will join Tiana, too! Imagineers shared that guests will be active participants coming along with Tiana on this adventure.

Music, of course, will play an important role in setting the scene, and the attraction will even feature original music “inspired by songs from the film.”

Princess Tiana

President of Walt Disney Imagineering Bob Weis shared with D23 that “Tiana is a modern, courageous, and empowered woman who pursues her dreams while never losing sight of what’s really important. So it’s a great story with a strong lead character, set against the backdrop of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou.”

Princess Tiana

Weis also noted that Walt Disney opened New Orleans Square in Disneyland park in 1966, “so it feels natural to link the story of The Princess and the Frog to the park.”

The Inspiration

A panel from Disney gathered to discuss the project, and in August 2021 Disney shared the video featuring Carmen Smith, Creative Executive, Vice President, Inclusive Strategies for Walt Disney Imagineering; Charita Carter, Senior Producer for Walt Disney Imagineering (who oversaw the creation of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway in Disney’s Hollywood Studios); and Marlon West, VFX Supervisor for Walt Disney Animation Studios.

©Disney

They were joined by Stella Chase Reese, owner of Dooky Chase’s Restaurant — the New Orleans restaurant which inspired Tiana’s story! (Her mother, founder Leah Chase, also served as inspiration for Princess and the Frog.)

“The two coming together, music and food, brings joy and happiness to all” — Stella Chase Reese

The panel discussion took place during a research trip to New Orleans to further the goal of “digging deep into the culture of New Orleans to tell a story that’s as authentic to the region as it is to the characters’ stories. From the food, music, art and architecture to the diversity of its people and their traditions, there is much from which to draw inspiration.”

The Reimagining of Splash Mountain

Regarding the re-theming of Splash Mountain, Disney shared that the process “begins with Imagineers asking the question, how can we build upon or elevate the experience and tell a fresh, relevant story? It’s a continuous process that Imagineers are deeply passionate about.”

Splash Mountain in Magic Kingdom

“And with this longstanding history of updating attractions and adding new magic, the retheming of Splash Mountain is of particular importance today.”

©Disney

“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.”

Transformation Timeline

During the ESSENCE Festival of Culture 2022, Disney revealed that the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is expected to open in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World in late 2024!

Splash Mountain

However, the timing for the closure of Splash Mountain has yet to be announced. For now, the existing Splash Mountain attraction remains open in both Magic Kingdom and Disneyland.

Princess Tiana in Magic Kingdom

During an August 2021 episode of the Theme Park Rangers Podcast, Melissa Valiquette, vice president of Magic Kingdom, provided an update on the project shared that “terrific work has been done, including some selections around music, around animatronics and music, and it is really an inspiring story.”

Additionally, Valiquette asked for guests for their trust “because we promise not to let you down, we’re going to deliver a wonderful attraction that’s inspiring and beautiful, and worthy of this princess, Princess Tiana.”

Inspiring Art

Sharika Mahdi — a visual artist, art educator, and alumna of the YAWA (Young Aspirations Young Artists) Arts Center in New Orleans — was commissioned to create a series of four original paintings to inspire the Disney Imagineers working on the attraction!

©Disney

The painting inspires the attraction’s final scene, described as a “Mardi Gras party!” We imagine it’s likely that this scene will be located after the flume’s “big drop,” (which is the riverboat finale scene in Splash Mountain currently).

In August 2021, Disney also shared: “To celebrate all of these developments, our love and appreciation for New Orleans, and our commitment to arts education, Disney announced a $50,000 donation to the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), a regional, pre-professional arts training center that offers students intensive instruction in culinary arts, dance, media arts, classical instrumental music, jazz instrumental music, classical vocal music, drama, musical theatre, theatre design, visual arts and creative writing.”

We will continue to update this page as new information regarding The Princess and the Frog-themed attraction is revealed! In the meantime…

See all the news about the upcoming Princess and the Frog-themed attraction here!

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