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) – First Look at Animatronics 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.”

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

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Opening

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 months until “Summer 2024.”

So when will Tiana’s Bayou Adventure actually open?

At this point, we don’t have an exact date. All we know is that it will be “Summer 2024.” That means it could literally be anytime from Memorial Day at the end of May until Labor Day on the first Monday of September.

Our best guess is that it will open on the earlier side rather than later. Memorial Day 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 be a perfect time to open Tiana’s, we just aren’t 100% that it will be ready by then. Even if it’s not late May, there is no doubt Disney will want to have this attraction open for the summer crowds, and a June opening may be more realistic. Again, we don’t have insider info about the opening, but it makes sense.

Whenever Disney does decide to open it, we are quite sure there will be various rounds of preview events like there is for almost ever attraction. Usually, there are previews first for Disney Cast Members, 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. So let’s say hypothetically we get a June 1st official opening, we would expect Cast Member previews to start no later than May 1st. We will update you with the preview event dates as soon as Disney announces them.

In addition to the opening timeline, Disney also shared a first-look at the dozens of new audio-animatronic figures that are being created for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Just hearing that warms our hearts as Disney has excluded using animatronics in some of its most recent rides.

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.

In Tiana’s Bayou Adventure the list of audio animatronic figures includes: Princess Tiana, Louis and Mama Odie, we will also see Eudora, Charlotte, Prince Ralphie, Prince Naveen, and others. The Tiana figure looks absolutely stunning, so if that is any clue to how the others will be, we are in for a treat.

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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