Tiana's Bayou Adventure is a

log flume A log flume or lumber flume is a watertight flume constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain using flowing water. Flumes replaced horse- or oxen-drawn carriages on dangerous mountain trails in the late 19th century. Loggi ...

attraction at

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...

and

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

. It is based on

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...

' 2009 film ''

The Princess and the Frog ''The Princess and the Frog'' is a 2009 American Animation, animated musical film, musical Romance film, romantic fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Inspired in part by the 2002 ...

''. The ride experience begins with an outdoor float-through that leads to indoor

dark ride A dark ride—or ghost train when horror themed—is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain Animatronics, animation, sound, music and Special effect#Live spe ...

segments, with a climactic steep drop followed by an indoor finale. The drop is . The attraction, which replaced Splash Mountain, opened on June 28, 2024 at Magic Kingdom and on November 15, 2024 at Disneyland.

Development

In June 2020, it was announced that the Splash Mountain attraction themed to

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's 1946 film ''

Song of the South ''Song of the South'' is a 1946 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated musical film, musical comedy-drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson, produced by Walt Disney, and released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pi ...

'', which opened in 1989 and 1992 at

and

respectively, would be rethemed based on the 2009 film ''

''. Disney stated that the development of the project began in 2019, prior to the online petitions that were circulated during the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

. There had been renewed scrutiny of ''Song of the South'', which is "rarely aired or shown" in the U.S. due to its controversial aspects. It has been considered by critics as portraying African Americans as stereotypes, making them appear content with

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

life in the post-Civil War South. At the time of the film's release, the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

protested its subject matter.

Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc.—commonly referred to as Walt Disney Imagineering, Imagineering, or WDI—is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construc ...

based Splash Mountain on the animated portions of the film, which the company felt at the time would leave them unaffected by these issues. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reported that Disney executives had privately discussed removing the attraction's ''Song of the South'' theme for at least five years, before putting into development a theme based on ''The Princess and the Frog''. During the month of the announcement, in an interview with

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

's official fan club D23, Bob Weis, (then-president of Walt Disney Imagineering) stated that Splash Mountain "has been the subject of many conversations through the years. Its brilliant ride platform and landscape create the potential for great storytelling." On the subject of retheming an attraction instead of building a new one, he said "We have a longstanding history of enhancing attractions with 'new magic,' like ''

Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with Wa ...

'', and completely retheming others, like '' Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!'' We completely understand that these decisions aren't always popular, but I think our biggest fans know that we care as much as they do." The project was led by Imagineer Senior Creative Producer Charita Carter while Splash Mountain Imagineer

Tony Baxter Tony Wayne Baxter (born February 1, 1947) is the former senior vice president of creative development in Walt Disney Imagineering and was responsible for creating designs and carrying out the construction of attractions all over the world. He ann ...

returned as a creative advisor. Imagineer Carmen Smith, senior vice president of inclusion strategies, later stated, in reference to the

murder of George Floyd On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old White police officer. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a c ...

and the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

; "the world changed, ..Life kind of lets you know when it's time for something to give birth to a concept, and it was without hesitation that leadership came together and said, 'You've been working on it, you've got a good idea. Let's move forward on this. In August 2021, new artwork and details for the retheme were revealed. In July 2022, during the

Essence Music Festival The ESSENCE Festival of Culture is the largest African-American culture and music event in the US. The annual music festival started in 1995 in New Orleans, Louisiana to celebrate the 25th anniversary of ''Essence (magazine), Essence'' magazine. ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Disney announced that the new ride would be called Tiana's Bayou Adventure, setting an opening date of "late 2024" at both parks. At the D23 Expo in September 2022, it was announced that

Anika Noni Rose Anika Noni Rose (born September 6, 1972) is an American actress. She is best known for voicing Tiana (The Princess and the Frog), Tiana in ''The Princess and the Frog'' (2009). She was named a Disney Legends, Disney Legend in 2011. Rose starred ...

, Bruno Campos, Michael-Leon Wooley, and

Jenifer Lewis Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films ''Beaches'' (1988) and '' Sister Act'' (1992). L ...

would be reprising their roles from the film for the attraction. In December 2022, new artwork was unveiled and it was announced that the Magic Kingdom version of Splash Mountain would close on January 23, 2023. In April 2023, it was announced that Tiana's Bayou Adventure would include "dozens" of "entirely new

audio-animatronics Audio-Animatronics (also known simply as AAs) are a form of Mechatronics, mechatronic animatronics puppetry created by Walt Disney Imagineering and Trademark, trademarked by The Walt Disney Company for use in designed shows and attractions at Disn ...

figures" and that the Disneyland version of Splash Mountain would close on May 31, 2023. In addition to Audio-Animatronics, the ride features animation of fireflies provided by

. In February 2024, a preview video of a Tiana Audio-Animatronics figure was released. This was followed in April 2024 by the release of an in-depth video showcasing several of the other Audio-Animatronics figures. In total, there are 48 Audio-Animatronics figures in the attraction. Since the setting of Tiana's Bayou Adventure is New Orleans, which is a flat city, the attraction's elevation is explained by having it be on a

salt dome A salt dome is a type of structural dome formed when salt (or other evaporite minerals) intrudes into overlying rocks in a process known as diapirism. Salt domes can have unique surface and subsurface structures, and they can be discovered us ...

. The Imagineers took inspiration from Avery Island in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. In addition, the new characters for the ride were designed by Imagineer Laura West, while Eric Goldberg, who animated Louis in the film, was consulted for the character's inclusion. Besides the animal musicians, the ride also includes new characters Gloria and Delores the

frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough skin texture due to ...

and Lari the

nine-banded armadillo The nine-banded armadillo (''Dasypus novemcinctus''), also called the nine-banded long-nosed armadillo or common long-nosed armadillo, is a species of armadillo native to North America, North, Central America, Central, and South America, making ...

. To prepare for the attraction, the Imagineering team took several research trips to Louisiana, visiting locations such as the

French Market The French Market () is a market and series of commercial buildings spanning six blocks in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as a Native American trading post predating European colonization, the market is the oldest of its k ...

and

bayou In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

s, consulted with cultural institutions, chefs, academics, musicians, and experienced

Mardi Gras in New Orleans The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated in southern Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans. Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (the start of lent in the Wester ...

. The Imagineers also commissioned New Orleans artist Sharika Mahdi to create four paintings, each with a different theme, to serve as inspiration for the attraction. The attraction's music was provided by Grammy award-winning New Orleans musicians

PJ Morton P.J. Morton (born Paul Sylvester Morton Jr.; March 29, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Since 2012, he has been the keyboardist for the pop band Maroon 5. Morton originally joined the band as a touring mem ...

and

Terence Blanchard Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American jazz trumpeter and composer. He has also written two operas and more than 80 film and television scores. Blanchard has been nominated for two Academy Awards for Original Score for ''B ...

. Morton wrote a song, "Special Spice", while Blanchard provided the queue music. Blanchard previously provided Louis' trumpet playing in the film. Morton and Blanchard also utilized music from the film, composed by

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

. The attraction's queue includes a mural designed by Louisiana artist

Malaika Favorite Malaika Favorite (born 1949) is an American visual artist and writer whose art work can be found in major collections in the U.S. She works mainly in oil, acrylic, and watercolor and has carried out experiments with folded canvas and the written ...

. In addition, the exterior of the attraction includes a weathervane crafted by Louisiana blacksmiths Darryl Reeves and Karina Roca. On May 12, 2024, during Disney Night on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'', it was announced that Tiana's Bayou Adventure would open at Magic Kingdom on June 28, 2024. In June 2024, on the subject of the ride's final drop, Carter stated: "this particular flume configuration has always been a rite-of-passage type attraction for young kids, ..when you think about Tiana ..she's inviting and welcoming and wanting everyone to participate, we thought by celebrating he dropand making it a fun challenge, we were opening it up to a wider audience." Smith stated that they wanted park guests to feel a sense of celebration with the drop instead of apprehension; "It is a rite of passage, but you're going to this moment, to this place, to be at a party." During D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in August 2024, it was announced that Tiana's Bayou Adventure would open at Disneyland on November 15, 2024. To coincide with the opening of the attraction, Critter Country (the area at Disneyland where Splash Mountain was located) was renamed Bayou Country.

Attraction

The attraction is set a year after the events of ''

''. To help her community, Tiana has created an employee-owned

food cooperative A food cooperative or food co-op is a food distribution outlet organized as a cooperative, rather than a private or public company. Food cooperatives are usually consumer cooperatives, where the decisions regarding the production and distribution o ...

called Tiana's Foods, built on a

that she has purchased. On the day that guests visit, it is

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

season and Tiana is hosting a celebration for the people of

. She realizes that due to a mix-up, her celebration is missing a band and needs the guests' help to find one, as they join her and Louis on a trip to the

to search for critter musicians. In the attraction's queue Tiana, Naveen, and Louis can occasionally be heard over the

PA system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

, discussing plans for Tiana and Louis to go out into the bayou with guests to search for musicians for their party.

Ride experience

Both versions of the ride feature the same scenes and a similar layout. After walking through the offices of Tiana's Foods, guests board a log-shaped vehicle. At

, passengers are seated side-by-side, while at

, passengers are seated single-file. The vehicle departs the loading area and proceeds up a lift hill before floating through scenery designed to evoke the feeling of a Louisiana bayou while " Down in New Orleans" plays. The vehicle ascends up a second lift hill inside of a mill-house where Tiana greets riders and tells them to meet up with Louis to help find musicians for their celebration. The vehicle passes through the Tiana's Foods gardens while " Almost There" plays. Louis can be seen in some stalks searching for musicians, before riders come upon a waterfall. Mama Odie can be heard from inside her home saying to riders "If you're looking for musicians, you don't have far to go!" before they drop down. After the short drop down the waterfall, riders enter the indoor portion of the attraction, a nighttime bayou where Tiana and Louis find a

Zydeco Zydeco ( ; ) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by French speaking, Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends African and Caribbean rhythms, blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana ...

band consisting of Byhalia the

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

, Gritty the

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

, Beau the

opossum Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 126 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North A ...

, Apollo the

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

, Rufus the

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

, and Timoléon the

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

playing an instrumental version of "Gonna Take You There". After this, Tiana and Louis find a

Rara Rara or RARA may refer to: * Rara music, a form of festival music originating in Haiti * Rara festival, a Lent carnival in Haiti * Rara Lake, lake in Nepal * Rara, Nepal, a village in Karnali Zone * Rara National Park, a protected area in Nepa ...

band consisting of Phina the

gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener (biology), congener, the diminutive island fox ...

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...

family Pawpaw and Octavia, and black bear family Claude, Bernadette, and Sebastián playing an instrumental version of "Gonna Take You There" as well. Mama Odie then uses her magic to shrink the riders down to a tiny size. The vehicle reaches a dark tunnel with a beam of light shooting different colors followed by a dip-drop before becoming tiny. Dropping into the "Ranitas Verdes Club", riders find an

Afro-Cuban jazz Afro-Cuban jazz is the earliest form of Latin jazz. It mixes Afro-Cuban clave-based rhythms with jazz harmonies and techniques of improvisation. Afro-Cuban music has deep roots in African ritual and rhythm. The genre emerged in the early 1940s ...

band consisting of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

s Mondo, Mayra, Felipe, and Isabel playing "Dig a Little Deeper". Tiana and Louis observe them through a hole while bobbing their heads to the music, and

fireflies The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

are seen dancing. After this, Mama Odie returns the riders to their normal size as they begin their ascent up the final lift hill, and she tells them that they will be at the party in no time. The vehicle descends the 52-foot (16 m) drop at a 45-degree angle, reaching a maximum speed of 40 mph. After the drop, an instrumental version of "Almost There" plays as the vehicle travels through another outdoor flume segment, and riders then arrive at the party, where Tiana is singing "Special Spice". She is accompanied by Louis and all of the animal bands, as well as Naveen playing a ukulele and his little brother Ralphie playing the drums. Also in attendance are Eudora and Charlotte. The vehicle then passes by a view of the Tiana's Palace restaurant in the distance. Mama Odie, standing farther away from the others, comments to the riders; "Remember, this party wouldn't be what it is without you", and keeps Juju from trying to steal her

beignet Beignet ( , also , ; ) is a type of deep-fried pastry of French origin. It is commonly made from choux pastry, pâte à choux, but can also be made using rice flour (rice beignets) or yeast-leavened batters. Beignets can be served in a variety o ...

Voice cast

as Tiana *

as Mama Odie * Michael-Leon Wooley as Louis * Bruno Campos as Prince Naveen (preshow)

Soundtrack

Queue music

The following songs can be heard in the queue; * "

Basin Street Blues "Basin Street Blues" is a song often performed by Dixieland jazz bands, written by Spencer Williams in 1928 and recorded that year by Louis Armstrong. The verse with the lyric "Won't you come along with me / To the Mississippi..." was later added ...

" (

) * "The Second Line" (Julian Gosin) * " Down in New Orleans" (

Victor Goines Victor Louis Goines (born August 6, 1961) is a jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who has served as president and chief executive officer of Jazz St. Louis since September 2022. From 2000 to 2007, he was director of the jazz program at Juilliard. ...

) * "Tailgate Ramble" (

Charlie Gabriel Charlie Gabriel (born July 11, 1932) is an African American jazz musician who plays the saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, and flute. Gabriel has been a member of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band since 2006. Gabriel is the Preservation Hall Foundati ...

) * " St. James Infirmary" (Ronell Johnson, Mark Braud) * " Louisiana Fairytale" (Clinton Maegden) * " When We're Human" (Terence Blanchard) * " Bourbon Street Parade" (Mark Braud) * "El La Bas" (Ronell Johnson) * "

Big Chief "Big Chief" is a song recorded by Professor Longhair.Berry/Foose/Jones, ''Up from the Cradle of Jazz''. University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, 2009, p. 148. It was released as a single by Watch Records of New Orleans in February, 1965.

" ( Kyle Roussel,

Ivan Neville Ivan Neville (born August 19, 1959) is an American multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of Aaron Neville and nephew to the other members of The Neville Brothers. Career Neville has released four solo albums and ...

) * " Li'l Liza Jane" (

Herlin Riley Herlin Riley (born February 15, 1957) is an American jazz drummer and a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis. A native of New Orleans, Riley started on the drums when he was three. He played trumpet through high ...

) * "Gonna Take You There" ( Terrance Simien) * " Doctor Jazz" (Kyle Roussel, Mark Braud) * "They All Ask'd for You" (Gregory Davis) * "Ma Belle Evangeline" (Terence Blanchard) * "

Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans Do, DO or D.O. may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Music * ''Do'' (Do album), 2004 * ''Do'' (Psychostick album), 2018 * "Do", a song by the White Stripes from the 1999 album ''The White Stripes'' * C (musical note), or Do ** fixed do and ...

" (Leah Chase Kamata) * "It Ain't My Fault" (Tiana's Bayou Adventure Cast)

Ride music

The following songs are featured in the attraction; * " Down in New Orleans" (written by

) * " Almost There" (written by Randy Newman) * "Gonna Take You There" (written by Randy Newman) * "Dig a Little Deeper" (written by Randy Newman) * "Special Spice" (written by

) "Special Spice", the original song written for the attraction, was made available on streaming music platforms on May 31, 2024.

References

External links

Magic Kingdom attraction pageDisneyland attraction page
{{The Frog Prince Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Magic Kingdom Disneyland Dark rides Frontierland Bayou Country (Disneyland) Audio-Animatronic attractions Amusement rides introduced in 2024 The Princess and the Frog 2024 establishments in Florida 2024 establishments in California Louisiana in fiction Aftermath of the George Floyd protests Fiction about Louisiana Voodoo