Disney’s brand-new ride, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, will be opening “sometime in 2024.” As for now, we’ll take all the sneak peeks we can get!
We’ve gotten several new updates about the ride and what we can expect, such as cool new bottle lanterns we found hanging from the ride! Disney has also shared some behind-the-scenes footage of the attraction. But now, we got even more, exciting news about what’s to come!
Ted Robledo is the executive creative director of Walt Disney Imagineering and has been keeping a close watch over the progress of the new ride. And recently he gave NOLA.com a quick tour behind the construction!
They started the tour where the old queue for Splash Mountain was, which will also serve as the queue for the new ride. It’s in the queue that your story will begin. We’ll see Tiana’s restaurant and be immersed in New Orleans’s classic music. And of course, you’ll smell the beignets in the air.
“One of the things that blew my mind (in New Orleans) is the amount of art all over,” Robledo shared, “This is our love letter to New Orleans, and in that spirit, art is everywhere.” He continued by sharing, “The city as a place is as important as a character. The story reacts to the place. We’re starting to hint at that in the queue, to try to craft that love letter to New Orleans in every way possible.”
Once the tour left the queue area, they made it to the loading zone where pallets of crates marked “Tiana’s Foods” were in place. The ride will use the same vehicles as Splash Mountain did and the same ride track. On the ride, native Louisiana flora has replaced the Splash Mountain faux vegetation. There are crafted cypress trees, marsh grasses, and more. It’s in that area that you’ll find ‘the critters.’ The critters will be the all-new animatronic band which will be made up of musical swamp animals.
Currently in place around the ride, are Tiana cutouts. These cutouts are placeholders for where the real Tiana animatronics will be placed. These animatronics will be the same high-tech versions that were used in the new World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland, and they will interact directly with the guests as she asks for their help to find the missing element (yet to be named) for her Mardi Gras celebration.
There will be several things re-used from Splash Mountain, including rocks, boulders, and more of the ride’s architecture. But the old tree trunk that we have seen removed made space for what’s coming. “We needed some real estate there to fit the added show magic,” Robledo said.
With a twinkle in his eye, Robledo said, right before you got to the old “Laughin’ Place” scene, “Kind of from this point on is the surprise.” He further expressed, “I’ll just say it’s got a lot to do with magic. It’s a magical moment that happens down there.”
Well, we can’t wait to see what kind of magic is happening! Until then, keep following AllEars!
Could Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Open Earlier Than We Thought in Disney World?
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If we’ll be smelling the aroma of beignets while in Tiana’s queue, I think there should be a nearby restaurant or snack cart to offer the same, delicious beignets as are found at the Port Orleans-French Quarter Resort. Perhaps they’ll be re-theming the Frontierland Pecos Bill to become a Tiana’s Palace, where beignets would be an ideal menu item!