In 2020, Disney Parks announced that the iconic attraction, Splash Mountain, located at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, will close to make way for a new “Princess and the Frog” ride.
Earlier this year, Splash Mountain in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World took its final splash as the ride officially closed so Disney Imagineers could begin working on transforming the attraction to its new Tiana-themed ride.
Yesterday, The Blast was visiting Walt Disney World and witnessed construction workers demolishing the iconic Splash Mountain attraction.
Saying Goodbye To Splash Mountain
Splash Mountain officially closed in Walt Disney World last month, and scrims have already gone up around the mountain as workers have begun to take apart the ride. The area is also blocked off with construction walls, which feature signs that read “Tiana’s Foods Coming Soon”.
The signs on the construction walls are a way for Disney Parks to get fans excited for the new Tiana-themed ride — which will be called Tiana’s Bayou Adventure — coming soon to Magic Kingdom at Disney World and Disneyland Park at Disneyland.
Taking Apart The Laughing Place
The Splash Mountain attraction sign has been removed, as well as certain parts of the mountaintop. The water from the ride was almost immediately drained so that workers could begin taking apart the attraction.
Splash Mountain was based on the film, “Song of the South”, which is extremely controversial as many deem it racist — which is why Disney decided to close the ride and reopen it as a new “The Princess and the Frog” attraction.
“Song of the South” is a mix of live-action and animation and features an older African-American plantation laborer named Uncle Remus who tells stories to a young white boy. Groups including the NAACP protested the film’s initial release.
Splash Mountain Being Quickly Demolished
As the Walt Disney Company pushes for more inclusion, they made the decision to get rid of Splash Mountain and turn it into a “Princess and the Frog” attraction.
In order to transform the mountain into the bayou, construction workers are removing certain aspects of the outside, as well as gutting the inside of the attraction space. Although fans cannot see what is happening on the inside, Guests visiting Disney World can clearly see the scrims and workers tearing down the outside of Splash Mountain.
Let’s Go Down The Bayou
On the construction walls, Disney placed signs that read “Tiana’s Food Coming Soon” and “Southern Dome Salt Company” — both of which are small details that get fans ready for the new “Princess and the Frog”-themed attraction taking over the space.
As previously reported, the new ride will pick up where the beloved 2009 film left off, seeing how Tiana’s life is after the success of her restaurant debut and marrying Prince Naveen. Per Disney Parks Blog, “Walt Disney Imagineering is creating an original, next chapter story for Tiana. Within the attraction queue, guests will discover that she continues to grow her business with Tiana’s Foods – an employee-owned cooperative. Combining her talents with those of the local community, Tiana has transformed an aging salt mine and built a beloved brand.”
The storyline will follow Tiana as she purchased the salt mine and the surrounding areas that the salt dome operated from. Fans will see beloved characters from the film including Tiana’s mother Eudora, her husband Prince Naveen, and the lovable alligator, Louis, who all helped Tiana revive the old salt mine and the surrounding land, allowing them to grow fresh new ingredients such as vegetables, herbs and spices for her recipes.
Disney Parks Blog continues to report, “This multi-faceted enterprise has turned the aging salt mine into a space that has come alive. Complete with a boutique farm and both a working and teaching kitchen, Tiana’s Foods is where Tiana and her colleagues create all sorts of new products that they are bringing to the world, including a line of original hot sauces.”
The new ride, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, is set to open at both Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California sometime in 2024.
