Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disney’s Magic Kingdom | Opening & Details

Ever since it was announced that the new attraction “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” was coming to Disney’s Magic Kingdom and taking over the space formerly occupied by the classic ride Splash Mountain, we have been curious to know all the details.

The re-imagining of this attraction will be based on the classic Disney animated film: “The Princess and the Frog,” and it will feature Tiana, Louis, and all their friends on a captivating musical adventure.

Thankfully, Disney has now announced that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World is opening in Summer 2024 and at Disneyland, later in the year.

In this post, we are going to share with you everything we know so far about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disney’s Magic Kingdom and what to expect when it opens. As we get closer to the opening, there are also going to be plenty of updates to share with you, and we will share all of them with you here.

(UPDATE): Disney has released a near-full POV ride-through video of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. We also have the first reactions of the ride which are pretty mixed at this time. Read about the opening and ride procedure below.

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Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Overview

• Location: Frontierland in Disney’s Magic Kingdom (Walt Disney World) & Disneyland Park (Disneyland Resort)
• Status: Coming Soon
• Opening Date: June 28, 2024
• Ride Type: Dark Ride/Log Flume
• Thrill Level: High
• Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane: Genie+
• Ride Length: 10-11 Minutes
• Height Requirement: 40 inches
• Capacity: 1,200 riders per hour

A while back, Disney announced plans for a total re-theming of Splash Mountain and the re-imgineering of this attraction is based on the classic Disney animated film: “The Princess and the Frog.”

Guests on the new attraction will join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure and pick up in the story after the final kiss. Music has been an important feature in Splash Mountain and it will continue to be in this Princess and the Frog attraction.

The most popular songs from the film will be in the ride, including when our characters prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.

This is the first Disney attraction featuring Princess Tiana and any of the characters from the Princess and the Frog, something that has been long desired for by fans of the franchise.

If you have been to the Magic Kingdom before, you are likely familiar with this ride’s predecessor, Splash Mountain. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is essentially the same ride as before, but with a new theme, new show scenes, characters and audio-animatronic figures populating the attraction.

This is a huge deal for Disney’s Magic Kingdom, which even after opening TRON Lightcycle Run in 2023, is still in great need of attractions to occupy park guests.

Keep reading below for more info on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and when it’s opening…

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Opening

The question that everyone wants to know the answer to is: “When will Tiana’s Bayou Adventure open in Walt Disney World?” Thankfully after a few years of waiting, we finally have the answer!

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will finally open on June 28, 2024, at Disney’s Magic Kingdom.

That means no more waiting if you are going after that date, and some guests will even be able to attend the preview events earlier than the official debut.

Originally, it was announced that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure would open in “Late 2024,” but after this latest news, it appears the Imagineers are ahead of schedule with the construction, and they have made up ground in an impressive fashion. Now we will only have to wait a few weeks until the official opening.

Our original guess was that it would open around Memorial Day which is when the summer season officially kicks off at Walt Disney World and it’s the time crowds traditionally tend to increase as kids get out of school and families across the world start taking their summer vacations.

Memorial Day weekend would have been great, but June is fine too. Most of the month of June will be tied up for guest previews, and at least it will be ready to go by the 4th of July holiday.

There is no doubt Disney will want to have this attraction open for the summer crowds, and a June opening makes sense and was the most realistic option.

Full Ride Video and First Reactions

Ahead of the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure on June 28, Disney has released an almost-full ride-through POV video of the new attraction so guests can see what it’s like.

We warn you that the video shows all the show scenes from the ride, so if you prefer it to be a surprise then I recommend not watching.

As you probably know, previews have already started for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and the first impressions are in with guests giving mixed reviews about the experience.

In general, almost all guests feel that the technical aspects of the ride are incredible. All the work Disney Imagineers put into the audio-animatronics and special effects really shows and for the most part the visuals are an upgrade over Splash Mountain.

However, there is a lot of disappointment when it comes to the storytelling aspect with it not living up to the high expectations of fans. Though there were some controversial aspects to Splash Mountain, there is no denying that it was a masterclass in attraction storytelling with a fully immersive and cohesive story that was easy to follow and that was full of dramatic tension.

On the other hand, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure severely lacks here. The whole idea of Tiana searching for party musicians lacks the depth and cohesion you would expect from the Princess and the Frog IP. We think they should have included more of the story and scenes from the film and helped bring those to life instead of a storyline that quite frankly lacks any dramatic effect.

There also is no real antagonist in the ride as Dr Facilier who was the bad guy in the film, is surprisingly missing. Splash Mountain’s villains Brer Fox and Brer Bear were such a crucial part of what made the ride so great, and that is a huge missing piece now with Tiana’s.

Not to mention there is a lot of empty space and dead air that makes for some boring spots of the ride and that should have been better utilized.

We hate being prisoners of the moment and we usually like to give it some time with dozens of rides before we pass our final judgement on a new ride. That said, even though the technical aspects are stellar, overall, the lack of a compelling story keeps Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in the shadow of its predecessor for me and I don’t think it will pass Splash Mountain for most visitors.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Preview Events

Now that we have an opening date, we also know that there will be various rounds of preview events for Tiana’s like there is for almost ever attraction. Disney has set up previews first for Disney Cast Members, the Media, then Annual Passholders, along with Disney Vacation Club and Club 33 members.

Usually, these preview events start at least 1 month prior to the attraction opening, which is about the case here too.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has the following Preview Dates in 2024:

• Magic Kingdom Cast Members Only: June 2
• Cast Members: June 3-7, June 23-26
• Media Previews: June 10-11
• Club 33 Members: June 12
• Annual Passholders: June 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20
• DVC Members: June 12 (from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm), June 19 (from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm)

This is exactly what happened when TRON opened in 2023 and when Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opened in 2022. First, there were Cast Member previews about a month before the official opening. Then about 2 weeks before the opening, there were DVC and Annual Passholder previews.

That’s what is happening here too. It’s also nice that Disney is letting Magic Kingdom Cast Members be the first ones to ride Tiana’s as a way to reward them above all others.

Cast Member Previews

Registration for Cast Members opens on May 20, 2024 and closes two days before each preview date or when the capacity is reach. Cast Members can each bring up to 2 guests.

DVC Previews

Event registration opens on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at 10 AM Eastern Time. For access to the registration link, keep an eye on your inbox and the News & Alerts section on DisneyVacationClub.com. Pre-registration is required and space is first-come, first-served so don’t delay.

Eligibility – Only DVC members with Membership Extras benefits are eligible. The member must also hold a Disney Resort reservation using their membership. All guests must have a valid theme park admission for the day of your visit.

Party Size Limit – Members may only make one reservation for themselves and the number of guests on their resort reservation as of May 12, 2024 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

Annual Passholder Previews

Annual Passholder preview events will take place at Magic Kingdom Park on June 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20.

To ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Passholders must:

1. Make a park reservation for Magic Kingdom on the day of their visit
2. Join the Virtual Queue using My Disney Experience at either 7:00 am or 1:00 pm.

If you ever get to experience one of the preview events for a new attraction, it’s a great time to experience this new ride as the wait times will be minimal and you can soak up the atmosphere without being run over by mobs of people.

Genie+ and Lightning Lanes

If you are unfamiliar with Disney World’s Genie+ system, this is the old FastPass+ replacement which allows you to skip the standby queues of your favorite attractions.  Since arriving in 2021, it is now fully integrated into the majority of the attractions in each of the 4 theme parks.

As of this writing, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is included in the regular lineup of Genie+ attractions at Disney’s Magic Kingdom.

Prices for Genie+ at Disney’s Magic Kingdom currently range from $23 to $39 per person, per day. If you choose to purchase Genie+ during your visit, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure can be one of your selection.

It should probably be your #1 selection of the day since it is going to be the most popular attraction on the Magic Kingdom Genie+ for quite some time. We anticipate it being the first ride to sell out each day so make it a priority.  

We are also happy that they didn’t decide to make it one of the Individual Lightning Lane attraction like TRON and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train are. For the most part, Disney is limiting those selections to only 1 per park, and with Genie+’s high popularity at the Magic Kingdom it was a good move to include this in the Genie+ lineup to give guests more options.

In fact, at this time, the Magic Kingdom is the only WDW theme park to have 2 attractions using the Individual Lightning Lane, so they definitely couldn’t add a third ride to that list.

Read our post on How to Purchase Genie+ for more detailed info.

Virtual Queue

Another popular question is if Tiana’s Bayou Adventure uses boarding groups and the Virtual Queue. The answer is yes, it does, but it may not for long.

Using the Virtual Queue for new attractions has been the norm at Walt Disney World. This was the case with TRON Lightcycle Run, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, etc. Nowadays, it’s almost a guarantee that when a new E-Ticket attraction opens at Walt Disney World it will use the Virtual Queue and we’ve come to expect it.

Right now, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is using the Virtual Queue, but it doesn’t sound like Disney is planning to keep it that way for an extended period of time. In it’s press release it said: “While a standby queue will not be available during the attraction’s initial opening days, we expect to open a standby queue soon after the attraction’s opening.”

That sounds like they are only planning to keep it around for the first few days or weeks upon its opening, and not much after that. I don’t expect the Virtual Queue to stick around for a year or more, probably not even longer than a month.

In any case, the rules of riding are the same at Tiana’s as any Virtual Queue. You need to get a boarding pass in My Disney Experience to ride, and there will not be a standby queue for the moment.

Current Virtual Queue Distribution Times are:

• 7:00 am
• 1:00 pm

As always, getting into the Virtual Queue needs to be your #1 priority on the morning of your visit, so set your alarm clock and be ready to go before 7:00 am so you can reserve a spot. Otherwise, the Genie+ service is your only other option at the moment.

For more info, read our post on the Disney Virtual Queue which explains how to use it and the benefits of boarding groups.  We’ll update you when any more changes are made to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and when it starts using a standby queue.

Attraction Location

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is located in Frontierland, in the back of the park, just before getting to Big Thunder Mountain. It’s replacing Splash Mountain, so if you knew how to get there, you will know how to get here too.

It’s now included on the Magic Kingdom Park map in case you have trouble finding it:

Animatronic Figures for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Maybe the thing we look forward to the most in Disney dark rides is the incredible audio-animatronics Walt Disney Imagineering has come up with over the last 60+ years. So you can imagine how excited we were to see the new animatronic figures they have created for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

Recently, Disney Imagineers showed off these new figures with a behind-the-scenes first look at the attraction ahead of its Summer 2024 opening. I can say that after 40+ years of visiting the Disney parks, there isn’t much I get really blown away by, but these animatronics sure did exceed expectations and make me feel positive about the refurbishment.

Of the figures, Walt Disney Imagineering said: “You’ll be able to experience our most advanced Audio-Animatronics figures yet in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort. These figures build on our legacy with even more sophistication.”

And we aren’t only talking about a handful of animatronic figures, there will be 17 original character audio animatronics from The Princess and the Frog that have been specifically created for the attraction. In total, there will be up to 29 audio-animatronics.

All your favorites will be there including Louis the Alligator, Mama Odie, Prince Naveen, Eudora, Charlotte, Ralphie, as well as multiple instances of Princess Tiana in her many outfits.

Even if some of them are repurposed animatronics from Splash Mountain, some of the new ones they created are advanced audio animatronics that have a wide range of motion. The Louis the Alligator figures as well as Tiana were the standouts and their motion is very fluid, among the best we’ve seen in any Disney attraction.

Just wait until you see the way Louis can dance. You wouldn’t have thought it was possible to look that smooth for a figure of that size.

Honestly, Disney hasn’t been using nearly as many audio-animatronics in its new rides in recent years as it used to, and they have been shifting more toward screen effects and those terrible projected faces (like on Frozen Ever After and Micky & Minnie’s Runaway Railway).

So when we see all these animatronics being used on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, it really warms our hearts. We are glad they are getting back to their roots and we can’t wait to check them out in person!

For a full behind-the-scenes look at the animatronics from Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and other projects Walt Disney Imagineering is working on, check out the new YouTube series “We Call It Imagineering.”

Disney has excluded using animatronics in some of its most recent rides and seeing how many animatronics are in this attraction really warms my heart.

Neither TRON Lightcycle Run nor Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind have animatronic figures in the pre-show or during the ride. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway does have a limited number of figures, but they use the projection effect for the faces of the characters which takes away from the realism of the figures.

Now that the project is getting close to finished, we are super excited now to have Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opening at the Magic Kingdom.  Even with the TRON coaster up and running, the park really needed another E-Ticket attraction to sustain the ever growing crowds.

This is the first Disney attraction featuring Princess Tiana and any of the characters from the Princess and the Frog, something that many fans of the franchise have been waiting a long time for.

Also, having another new attraction will create at least some buzz for Walt Disney World which is being totally outshined by the new park coming to Universal. It doesn’t quite make the same headlines, but Disney fans will no doubt be more likely to visit wanting to see how Tiana’s Bayou Adventure stands up to the original Splash Mountain.

So far from everything we’ve seen, we expect Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to be an excellent attraction and a major drawing point for the Magic Kingdom as the park continues to evolve. Princess Tiana is definitely one of the most popular characters in the parks and we have no doubt it’s going to be high on everyone’s to-do list for years to come.

Even after the new expansion opens behind Frontierland, Tiana’s should remain one of the most popular rides in the park. I’m already thinking of where to put it in my rankings of the best Magic Kingdom attractions.

There is no doubt that it will be on most all lists of the best attractions in Disney World. Make sure you give it a ride on your next trip!

Make sure to read about all the new Disney World rides coming in the next few years, it’s gonna be insane!

Your Thoughts:

I want to know what you think about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure coming to Walt Disney World…

• Are you looking forward to this new ride?
• Which new attraction coming to Walt Disney World are you looking forward to most?

Let us know in the comments section below!

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