Disney has announced the opening date for the new ride that will replace its canceled Splash Mountain attraction. The Splash Mountain ride in the Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World and the Splash Mountain ride in California’s Disneyland were based on the Brer Rabbit stories and Disney’s old “Song of the South” movie. However, Disney decided to get rid of it because of accusations that the story, which involved an elderly slave named Uncle Remus, was “racist.” The new ride, called Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, is based on the Princess and the Frog.
As background, Disney CEO Bog Iger said during Disney’s annual shareholder meeting in 2020 that the Disney+ streaming service will not ever host the “Song of the South” movie, released in 1946, because that particular movie is “not appropriate in today’s world,” so it won’t be rereleased.
Then, in June of 2020, Disney announced that the ride based on the movie would be replaced with a new ride. “Today we are thrilled to share a first glimpse of a project Imagineers have been working on since last year. Splash Mountain – at both Disneyland park in California and Magic Kingdom park in Florida – will soon be completely reimagined. The theme is inspired by an all-time favorite animated Disney film, “The Princess and the Frog.” We pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance,” Disney said.
It continued, “Tiana is a modern, courageous, and empowered woman, who pursues her dreams and never loses sight of what’s really important. It’s a great story with a strong lead character, set against the backdrop of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou. In 1966, Walt himself opened New Orleans Square when it became the first new “land” added to Disneyland park, so it feels natural to link the story and the incredible music of “The Princess and the Frog” to our parks.”
Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World in Orlando then broke records on its last day of operation in January of 2023, when fans waited a whopping 220 minutes to ride it one more time. Since then, it has been closed and undergoing changes as it is transformed into the Princess and the Frog-themed ride.
Disney then announced in May of 2024 that the new ride would open in late June. A blog post on the subject provided, “Princess Tiana serves up delicious Louisiana favorites, and we’ve been serving you all kinds of news about her new ride. Your appetizer was a deep dive into the authenticity of the New Orleans inspiration. Your soup-and-salad course savored the profiles of critter bands and sweet moves of new Audio-Animatronics figures. And now, it’s time for the main course … Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens June 28 at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida!”
The Disneyland Park in California will be getting a similar “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” remake of its former Splash Mountain ride, though unlike the one in Orlando, the details as to when that one will open have not yet been announced.
Featured image credit: By Michael Gray from Wantagh NY, USA – Splash Mountain Magic Kingdom Walt Disney World December 2008Uploaded by themeparkgc, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20326540
"*" indicates required fields