UPDATE on Disney’s Splash Mountain Retheme Coming SOON

Did you know that Disney is re-theming Splash Mountain to give it a Princess and the Frog storyline? We first heard about the changes — coming to both Disney World and Disneyland — back in 2020, but news about the updates has been scarce since then.

Splash Mountain

We know that the ride will feature characters from the movie, with a storyline that takes place “after the final kiss” in Princess and the Frog. We also know that there will be a big Mardi Gras finale at the end. Beyond that, there haven’t been many updates from Disney. But now we finally know WHEN Disney will release more information about the changes!

Disney’s announcement in 2020 that Splash Mountain would get a re-theme was followed by a lot of radio silence. More updates about the changes didn’t come until over a YEAR later when we finally saw some concept art for the new version of the ride in August of 2021.

Splash Mountain Re-Theme Concept Art ©Disney

In early June of 2022, Anika Noni Rose (voice of Tiana from Princess and the Frog) was a guest on the Kelly and Ryan talk show, where she revealed that the ride’s updates would be finished in 2024. It didn’t take Disney long to correct this statement, as a spokesperson said that the timeline was not in fact finalized (according to Entertainment Weekly).

Princess and the Theme Re-Theme Concept Art for Splash Mountain ©Disney

So if that update wasn’t official, when can we expect to hear more news about the changes? Don’t worry — we won’t have to wait long. Disney has announced that they will share more information about the ride’s transformation at the Essence Festival of Culture, which takes place in New Orleans from June 30th to July 3rd, 2022!

©Disney | Artwork by Sharika Mahdi

This is an appropriate setting for the announcements, as Disney Imagineers have called the reimagined Splash Mountain a “love letter” to the city of New Orleans. The Essence Festival is one of the biggest festivals in the US, with more than 500,000 attendees. The company ESSENCE Communications, Inc. is “the leading media, technology, and commerce company serving Black women and communities” according to a Disney press release.

©Essence

At this festival, there will be a beauty carnival, a concert series, a tech summit, a film festival, and more. Guests can register to attend in person or virtually on the essence website. So if you’re hoping to hear Disney’s announcements about the Splash Mountain retheme live, you may want to register!