In 2020, Disney Parks announced the iconic attraction — Splash Mountain — at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland — would be closing permanently as the Parks make way for a new “Princess and the Frog”-themed ride. This announcement came as the company pushed for more inclusion.
At Walt Disney World, Splash Mountain officially took its final drop as the ride closed and construction began on the new ride — Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Now, new aerial photos show the progress made on the demolition of Splash Mountain and the construction of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Construction
Twitter user and photographer bioreconstruct shared some aerial photos of the constructed ride, sharing, “Aerial look at work on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. A boom crane is lowered and hidden from view by guests.”
In the photo shared on social media, fans will notice a gigantic crane and the removal of some aspects of what used to be Splash Mountain. The water has also been drained to allow construction workers to demolish and rebuild the structure.
Aerial look at work on Tiana's Bayou Adventure. A boom crane is lowered and hidden from view by guests. 📸Feb 17 pic.twitter.com/7KOuLoEJmp
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) March 18, 2023
Disney Parks previously reported that the new ride will pick up where the beloved 2009 film, “The Princes and the Frog” left off, seeing how Tiana’s life is after the success of her restaurant debut and marrying Prince Naveen.
Per a previous report from 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.”
Say Goodbye To Splash Mountain
In another photo shared on social media, fans can get a closer look at the scaffolding and the current state of the ride. Imagineers are working quickly to build Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World as it is set to open sometime in 2024.
“Aerial look at scaffolding at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. 📸Feb 17,” bioreconstruct shared alongside an aerial photo.
Aerial look at scaffolding at Tiana's Bayou Adventure. 📸Feb 17 pic.twitter.com/gSua6Sz4wB
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) March 18, 2023
The storyline for the new ride will follow Tiana as she purchased the salt mine and the surrounding areas from which the salt dome operated. 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.
Tiana wants to throw a big Mardi Gras party as a thank you to her family and friends and the entire community for their support. Unfortunately, things do not go as planned, so Tiana invites the Guests to meet at Tiana’s Foods instead to help her search for the missing ingredient.
“Picking up where that story left off, Tiana continues bringing people together with Tiana’s Foods, another treasured meeting place to spend time together and celebrate a diverse community. Tiana is also working with cooperative members to teach gardening and cooking to children of all ages, and inspiring other women to run successful businesses as the brand grows nationwide,” Disney Parks Blog’s report continued.
The new ride, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, will open at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California sometime in 2024.
