Surprise Twist: Tiana's Bayou Adventure Final 52-Foot Drop Hidden Behind Mist

May 09, 2024 in "Tiana's Bayou Adventure"

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Tiana's Bayou Adventure nighttime lighting test April 21 2024

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Posted: Thursday May 9, 2024 9:00am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Walt Disney Imagineering has started testing another effect at Tiana's Bayou Adventure, and this time, it's a significant change for the final 52ft plunge.

As we can see from this video shot last night by @caballero_ducky, the entrance to the ride's main drop is now concealed with a curtain of mist.

While we still don't know exactly what awaits riders at the peak of the lift hill, it will be a different experience from Splash Mountain, where riders had a clear view out into the park before the drop.

We still do not have an opening date for Tiana's Bayou Adventure, but as work wraps on the construction site, we expect an announcement very soon. The first previews are expected in June, with an official opening this summer.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure attraction poster

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Bocabear2 hours ago

the entire plotline of the ride is terrible... There is precedence with what they did with the Sinbad ride at Tokyo Disney Seas to completely re-write the book and come up with a better attraction...without scrapping the whole thing... Bring back Facilier who drags you to the "Other Side" and then you get rescued by Mama Odie... I thought it was going to be a Bayou tour in one of the posts very early on... Go back to that... Bring in the Villain and a happy ending. let the storyline have some tension and depth...Good conquers evil and a happy ending. Not a bunch of characters I don't know or care about doing a "Where's Waldo" plot with a party at the end filled with off-model characters we can barely recognize.

Brer Panther4 hours ago

Y'know, when they started showing off those animals and talking about their personalities and backstories and stuff, I actually began to think maybe, just maybe, this attraction could be good. Instead, they don't even say anything. Huzzah.

splah11 hours ago

that's a good comparison to looney tunes. The character designs didn't seem "disney" to me and i couldn't really figure out why. I think you especially see it with the fox (looks like sylvester). it has sharp points to the outline. they aren't as approachable as classic disney. if i stretch it further the design reminds me of the terrifying new monkeys in the jungle. there's such a focus on real/authentic that it misses out on the levity and make-believe. (i really don't like the monkeys)

WorldExplorer12 hours ago

They seem to really not like the idea of Tiana being in the log. All the merchandise I've seen opts for the animals (rarely including Louis) instead. It's also probably worth noting that all merchandise is nothing but smiling, happy faces for this thrill ride with a 50 foot drop. So Splash had funny and memorable merchandise and artwork featuring the main characters reacting to the giant drop. Tiana's has generic animals smiling while Tiana stands nearby grinning at nothing.

Speedy7113 hours ago

erasure fan121 hours ago

It's funny because I very much think the ride is a downgrade but I would definitely buy one if it was the characters of the film. Because I just love the film.

Bocabear21 hours ago

Exactly...If it were characters we knew, it would make a better souvenir... They look like Loony Tunes/Warner Brothers/ Six Flags characters... The funny thing is, if it were still Splash I would have bought a souvenir with the possums...the characters were cuter and made more sense... Maybe in time people will know who these character are...

LittleBuford22 hours ago

Whereas I would prefer this one purely because I think the animals are cute. Ironically, it’s their association with the ride (which I have no real fondness for in its rethemed state) that would prevent me from buying it.

erasure fan122 hours ago

True, but personally I wouldn't get one though. If it had Tiana, Louis and Naveen I'd be onboard. It does seem like a odd choice. Disney is all about that merch cash. And this seems like a missed opportunity. And if was Tiana and Naveen as frogs in front, then Ray then Louis, I'd probably buy 3.

BagOfGroceries23 hours ago

The point is that the rabbit head topper is gone. Not who the characters are.

Homemade Imagineering23 hours ago

Lifeformations (LF Studios) made the critter figures for this. For context, they’re the same company who built those animatronic bands for Ripley’s Believe it or Not back in the day

LittleBuford23 hours ago

I very much doubt the plan is for people to recognise these characters in the sense you're suggesting. They're meant as a general evocation of the ride's critter population; one doesn't have to know their names or backstories to get the point of the figure.

Bocabear23 hours ago

meaning I don't recognize the characters from the movie...or any other media I have seen....They are not plotline characters that everyone recognized from Splash... I don't know their names, whet they do or why they are important...or riding in the log...except you say they are in the ride. Aside from Louie, Tiana , Odie and her snake and a few characters in the last scene, I have no idea who any of those other characters are. And Tiana is so off model she doesn't look like the character we know either... Maybe in time people will recognize these characters...They could probably be sold in a Six Flags park that has a log flume and no one would know or care who they are...

LittleBuford23 hours ago

This is just silly. One can prefer Splash to Bayou Adventure (as I do) without pretending that people are going to be confused as to who these characters represent. The whole ride is about rounding up critter musicians. Seriously, where’s the confusion? Why play dumb when it’s perfectly clear what’s going on?