Tiana’s Bayou Adventure looks better than Splash Mountain, see for yourself

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has finally replaced Splash Mountain at Disney World. The Disney Parks YouTube account celebrates the completion of this unprecedented transformation with a almost 10 minute 4K ride.

Our first impression? Holy moly, her Actually took this off!

The attraction’s designers had to walk a tightrope in reimagining – in terms of scale and popularity – one of the biggest attractions in Disney’s theme parks. They should maintain (or improve on) Splash Mountain’s plethora of animatronic characters, which represent the classic approach to Disney’s most iconic attractions. But they would also have to integrate modern technology (ultra-high resolution screens, custom 3D animation) to make Bayou Adventure fit in alongside the park’s other new features.E-ticket attractions”, such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Mickey’s Runaway Railroad.

In a decision that will please the most nostalgic among us, the design team has opted for the old-school approach, filling the ride with an astonishing number of animatronic characters. They used screens to complement the experience, such as the powdered sugar on a delicious fritter.

Just like at Splash Mountain, the ride starts relaxed. On a log flume, guests take a leisurely tour of Tiana’s garden and nearby bayou, before gathering animal instrumentalists to play a tune in the Disney Princess’ restaurant. First the riders meet a zydeco band with possums, beavers, bears and wolves. Then, voodoo priestess Mama Odie shrinks the riders to the size of a frog so they can tour a mini version of the bayou and befriend some musically gifted insect and amphibian friends.

The ride culminates, as promised by the premise, with a performance by Tiana in her restaurant, accompanied by her animal orchestra. By our count, this massive space features no fewer than 15 animatronics, a recreation of Tiana’s restaurant, and a wealth of high-resolution screens featuring additional characters from the film, reimagined from 2D to 3D.

Image: Walt Disney Animation Studios

Splash Mountain, based on the 1946 film Song of the South, which opened in 1992, despite Disney never releasing the film on home video in the United States due to its racist depiction of plantation life in the southern United States. In 2023, Scout Tafoya wrote about Disney’s long history of attempting to change or erase Disney history. Song of the South, treating the film as a cultural artifact made toxic by changing sensibilities. “But even at that time,” Tafoya writes, “Song of the South used to be dismissed as racist panderingand it faced a nationwide attempted boycott.

In 2020, Disney Parks announced that Splash Mountain would be replaced with a ride inspired by the one from 2009. Princess and the Frog.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens June 28 at Walt Disney World and later this year at Disneyland. Polygon will be touring the ride ahead of the opening, so stop by later this month for first-hand impressions and interviews!