Latest look at Tiana's Bayou Adventure construction at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom

Mar 09, 2023 in "Tiana's Bayou Adventure"

Tiana's Bayou Adventure construction - March 8 2023
Posted: Thursday March 9, 2023 9:41am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Here is the latest look at the progress on the former Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom as it is transformed into Tiana's Bayou Adventure.


Scaffolding is in position throughout the mountain for crews to access different areas of the structure.




As we have seen at the bottom of the main drop, sections of the mountain's rockwork are marked off, likely to be cut into.

The signage and characters have been removed at the former main entrance to Splash Mountain.


In the splash-down run-off, work continues on the guide track.



Tiana's Bayou Adventure will open at Magic Kingdom in late 2024.

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

View all comments →

Ismael FloresLess than a minute ago

The thing I hate the most about the change is the awful lighting package. Why do they think that everything needs to be saturated in colors that just make little sense to the setting. what is it about this bright purples and reds some of the night pictures of the outside of the salt dome or whatever it is seems overly done.

Ismael Flores7 minutes ago

I understand the reasoning for people hating on Song of the South because of some of its writing. It also kind of saddens me that at the same time people hate on it they are literally erasing the legacy of the actor that play Remus. Movies in that era had lots of issues when it came to race but in my opinion deleting them completely from history is not the right choice. When it comes to Song of the South people either forget or do not realize that it was the first time in history that an African America actor, the brilliant James Baskett was the first African American actor to be recognised for his work and given an Honorary Oscar. by basically deleting from history Disney and those against the movie have at the same time erased his accomplishment.

Homemade Imagineering7 minutes ago

To end on a more positive note, I am happy to see more constructive/civil discussions being held both on this site and elsewhere, following the release of the footage. The shortcomings of this attraction worry me for future discussions within the theme park community as it will inevitably hang over everyone’s heads as JII does to this day, with a far more political edge to it. It’s upsetting because the naysayers will only use it’s detriments as ammunition to parade their exaggerated agendas without giving any sensible reasons for doing so. Of course this only makes the rest of us look like a handful of pathetic crybabies in the eyes of the opposite extreme. Thus, making almost every conversation over splash inflammatory. At the end of the day SM is gone, it won’t ever come back and we have to accept it, so therefore this needed to have succeeded and it did not. Discussing the merits of SM and why it had to go only results in a deconstructive conversation, and I think more people need to instead focus on the fact that TBA has failed to meet the standards it absolutely needed to. If the conversation can remain skewed towards that idea, then I feel far more optimistic that positive change will come not only for this attraction, but also WDI.

WDWhopper11 minutes ago

As I watched the side by side POV of old Splash Mountain and the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, I kept thinking about the degraded masterpiece from the 1500’s that was “fixed” by a modern day artist.

Ismael Flores20 minutes ago

what is up with that ugly wall with painted foods. what a way to cheap out on some proper theming there.

WDWhopper32 minutes ago

The answer is (sadly) that Disney isn’t as good anymore, as the original designers of these rides were. They now design by committee and the finished products come out looking like exactly what they are, a hodgepodge of too many executives and board meetings and not enough artists making creative decisions. They had better stop messing with their core classic rides. They no longer have the ability to compete with their former selves.

MK-fan34 minutes ago

What I dont understand is the imagineers who worked on this ride. Are these Imagineers not fans of Disney’s best rides. Most of Disney’s best rides have an element of danger, it’s gives the ride a memorable trait. Is it just a job to them and they don’t know what makes a good Disney ride. It’s not like it’s a budget thing, the storyline is something you’d see on a Disney Jr kids tv show. Is it a Disney animation thing? There are no Disney thrill rides based on their animated films or Pixar movies. The only one that comes close but not by a lot is Seven Dwarfs Mine train or slinky coaster but those are mild thrills that The whole family can go on these but they have no storylines because they’re outdoor coasters for the most part. Frozen rides are also a mild thrill with the small drop part and the storyline is paper thin with no element of danger. The big fall in Tianas adventure qualifies it more as a thrill ride while the lift hill provides a tense buildup and its as though they wanted to kill the element of danger and make it more kid friendly. Does the big Disney brass not want to alienate young fans of their animated movie franchises and not buy their merchandise or something? I have no idea what the endgame here is. I don’t know where the issues are coming from. The big wigs? The imagineers?

brb100648 minutes ago

And the comments are still open!

brb100649 minutes ago

Its only a matter of time until Moist Crtical makes a short video discussing the POV reactions to this ride.

dreamfinding58 minutes ago

Moth1 hour ago

It's in flux. BBTHM Phase 2 is a decade off at best. You know Disney, lots can change.

Homemade Imagineering1 hour ago

Just gonna leave this here

dreamfinding1 hour ago

As DisTwitter has been saying today: AAs don’t make up for lack of story.

Incomudro1 hour ago

It's attractive looking. I knew it would be. But it's attractive without substance. Without humor, feeling, creativity...