Disney announced today during the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans, that the replacement for Splash Mountain will be called ‘Tiana’s Bayou Adventure’ and is coming to Magic Kingdom in Florida and Disneyland park in California in late 2024.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will take guests on a musical adventure inspired by the beloved story and characters from the film. Picking up where the film left off, guests will join Princess Tiana, Naveen and jazz-loving alligator Louis on an adventure through the bayou as they prepare to host a one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras celebration. Along the way, guests will encounter familiar faces, make new friends and travel through the bayou to original music inspired by songs from the film as they are brought into the next chapter of Tiana’s story.
The announcement follows criticism of the current theme for Splash Mountain, which is based on 1946 film “Song of the South.” The movie is based on the Uncle Remus stories of Joel Chandler Harris, a white Southern author who purported to have heard the stories from black Americans in the 19th century. Song of the South depicts what critics say is an overly idealized view of the Reconstruction-era South.
Last month, Actress Anika Noni Rose, who provided both the speaking and singing voices of Princess Tiana in Disney’s 2009 animated feature film, The Princess and the Frog, announced on “Live with Ryan and Kelly” that Disney plans to open the Splash Mountain replacement attraction at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom in 2024.