Everything We Know So Far About Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World
All photos ©Disney unless otherwise noted
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opened in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World on June 28th! The attraction was originally announced in 2020 as a reimagining of Splash Mountain at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort, with Walt Disney Imagineering beginning work on the project in 2019. Splash Mountain closed January 23rd, 2023 at Walt Disney World and May 31st, 2023 at Disneyland with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure slated to open in 2024 on both coasts.
Here at Extra Magic Minutes, we absolutely loved Tiana’s Bayou Adventure! The ride is so much fun with amazing animatronics, great music, and lots of cute critters! Check out our videos below for our experience on opening day and at a cast preview, and scroll down for all the details of the ride!
Last updated on July 6th, 2024
Walt Disney World Opening Day
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opened on June 28th at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World!
The ride is currently using a virtual queue with two daily opportunities to join the queue at 7am and 1pm. Virtual queues can be joined via the My Disney Experience app with each guest being able to join the virtual queue no more than once a day. The 7am virtual queue can be joined from outside Magic Kingdom, while the 1pm queue is only available if you are in Magic Kingdom at the time of reserving. Before requesting to join the virtual queue, guests must have valid admission to Magic Kingdom and a theme park reservation (when needed depending on the date and type of admission).
A standby queue will not be available when the attraction opens, but Disney Parks Blog states that the expectation is that the standby queue will be available soon after the attraction opens. If you’re unable to reserve a virtual queue, want to ride twice, or don’t want the hassle of virtual queue, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will also be included in the Disney Genie+ service as a Lightning Lane option when the ride opens. Pricing varies by the day and availability is limited. Lightning Lane purchase also includes digital downloads of select Disney PhotoPass attraction photos taken in the park on the day of purchase.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Attraction Previews - Details
Storyline & Ride Details
The story for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will pick up after Walt Disney Studios’ The Princess and the Frog (2009). It also takes place after Tiana has found success with Tiana’s Palace, the restaurant she owns. The ride will take guests on a musical adventure through the bayou while Tiana and friends prepare to host a one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras celebration as a thank-you for the community’s support for Tiana’s Foods, Tiana’s newest venture.
Tiana’s Foods is the next chapter of the story for Tiana as she continues to grow her businesses. The queue will display the story of Tiana’s Foods, an employee-owned cooperative located in an aging salt mine. Tiana purchased the salt mine and area surrounding a large salt dome and revived the salt mine and surrounding land with the help of her mother, Eudora, Prince Naveen, Louis, and fellow owners of the cooperative. The mine became a boutique farm and working / teaching kitchen where they grow vegetables, herbs, and spices for recipes, teach gardening and cooking, inspire women to run successful businesses of their own, and create new products, including a line of original hot sauces. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will invite guests into Tiana’s Foods to meet Tiana and help get ready for the party.
While Princess Tiana is getting ready to throw a big Mardi Gras party, there’s a mix-up between Louis and Prince Naveen that leaves Tiana without a band. Tiana and Louis will take guests into the bayou in a search of music for the party and find adorable bands of musical critters. For more information about these brand new characters, keep reading this post!
The ride will feature Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen, Louis, Eudora, Mama Odie, Charlotte “Lottie” La Bouff, Eli “Big Daddy” La Bouff, the King and Queen of Maldonia, Prince Ralphie, and more. New original characters with names and distinct personalities will join the familiar faces on the ride including a band of adorable critters featuring an otter, rabbit, raccoon, beaver, turtle, and others singing and playing Zydeco-style music with instruments made out of natural materials and human-made found objects. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will feature some music from the film and some original music inspired by the film composed for the attraction.
In addition to the queue sharing the story of Tiana’s Foods and everything Tiana has been up to since The Princess and the Frog, it will also share more backstory for Tiana’s father, James, a decorated World War I veteran. The queue features created photos of James during WWI and his time serving in the military. Disney Imagineers were inspired by real soldiers who served in the 369th Regiment, one of the first African American regiments to serve during World War I with the American Expeditionary Forces. Many members of the 369th were awarded the Croix de Guerre medal by the French government and were known for their bravery. Imagineers were also inspired by military family members, including project lead Charita Carter’s father and sister, both military members. Many photos can be found in the queue featuring Tiana’s family, her life experiences, creation of Tiana’s Foods, and more.
On April 2nd, Disney Parks Blog released the first attraction poster for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Walt Disney World, featuring Tiana, popular characters, new critters, and more! Check it out below.
On June 1st, Disney Parks shared a full ride through POV of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom prior to previews and opening day. Check it out below!
Design Details - Characters
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will feature dozens of new Audio-Animatronics figures including a stunning recently shared Tiana figure. As mentioned earlier in this post, the attraction will include many new and returning characters from Walt Disney Studios The Princess and the Frog.
Recently, Walt Disney Imagineering launched a new YouTube series, We Call It Imagineering. On the series viewers will be brought behind the scenes at Walt Disney Imagineering with the first episode focusing on Audio-Animatronics figures. Audio-Animatronics innovation has come a long way in the last 80 years and continues to advance with new technology and creative ideas. This can be seen with the new figures for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the most advanced Audio-Animatronics yet. For more details, including a sneak peek of Audio-Animatronics for Mama Odie, Louis, Tiana, and more coming to the ride, episode one of We Call It Imagineering is a must-watch!
As mentioned earlier in this post, bands of adorable critters will be some of the new characters on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The first band of Audio-Animatronics friends are musical critters who play Zydeco music on fiddle, accordion, washboard, and more with the makeshift instruments being constructed out of natural materials and human-made found objects.
The critters include:
Byhalia the Beaver – Strong-willed percussionist, natural designer, engineer; she builds dams and helps build the musical instruments for the band using natural bayou materials
Gritty the Rabbit – Plays the washboard, made from a found automobile license plate; she’s high-energy, overzealous, and digs when she’s anxious
Beau the Opossum – Plays the upright gourd bass with both her hands and tail; “all she knows is beauty, especially her own”
Apollo the Racoon – Plays the squeezebox; loves transforming abandoned objects into works of musical art, is full of energy loves telling stories about the objects he finds in the bayou; is close with Rufus and appreciates his calm demeanor
Rufus the Turtle – Plays the harmonica; he’s the first to join on a new adventure and is genuine and sincere but might come across as sarcastic sometimes because he sighs often; he loves going on adventures with Apollo
Timoléon the Otter – Plays the fiddle; eldest of the band; he’s famous for telling stories of his past explorations of every corner of the bayou
The second group of critter characters are musicians found further down the bayou. This group of critter musicians plays Rara music, a musical tradition from Haiti featured in street processions and marches. The genre features unique instruments including horns, bamboo instruments, and drums.
The critters include:
Octavia the Bobcat – Plays the vaksin, a single-note horn Rara music instrument; she’s an adventurous bobcat kitten, loves climbing and hanging out in trees, and almost never gets scared
Pawpaw the Bobcat – Plays the vaksin; Octavia’s grandfather, he taught her to play the vaksin and lives to make her smile; he believes everything has a way of working itself out
Phina the Gray Fox – Plays the drums; she’s imaginative and always thinking of new ideas with optimism and energy
Claude the Louisiana Black Bear – Plays the horn with his family members; he’s a “salt of the earth kind of bear” (or, “salt of the mound”) who loves to tinker and create with things he finds in the forest, and is often funny without meaning to be
Bernadette the Louisiana Black Bear – Plays the horn with her mate Claude and cub Sebastián; she’s a warm and supportive clear thinker who loves splashing in the bayou waters and eating plants
Sebastián the Louisiana Black Bear – Plays the drums; he’s a “mama’s cub” but charted his own musical course as a dummer and is happy to follow his friend Octavia’s lead as they explore and play, and loves all the small details in the bayou like insects and mushrooms
The third group of critter musicians are a band of frogs who play Afro-Cuban music. The frog band is called “Ranitas Verdes” and they perform at an exclusive bayou nightclub popular with local fireflies.
The critters include:
Felipe the Frog – Plays the piano; he’s the band leader and proprietor of the bayou nightclub; an old-school family guy, especially his band family
Mayra the Frog – Plays a flower blossom trumpet; she’s the most ambitious of the frogs and has been practicing since she was a tadpole
Mondo the Frog – Plays the conga drums; he started playing the drums when his favorite bottle cap got stuck on his second-favorite acorn; he’s steady, reliable, and copacetic, accepting what comes
Isabel the Green Tree Frog – Plays the conga drums; she’s the youngest member of the group and loves getting lost in her music and going with the flow
While many of the critters we’ll meet on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure are musicians, there are a few new non-musical friends on the ride. Gloria and Delores are frogs and best friends who enjoy relaxing and gossiping about everything they observe in the bayou.
My new personal favorite, Lari the nine-banded armadillo, is another critter you can spot on the ride. Lari is mischievous and quiet finder and fixer with a habit of “borrowing” things that aren’t his - but they eventually make it back to their rightful owner! He tells everyone a different story about how he lost his eye - and he also switches his eye patch from eye to eye. Lari can be spotted three times on the ride, once holding a Second Line umbrella, and also has a mailbox outside of Critter Co-Op.
Design Details - Exterior Transformation
The salt dome is decorated with cypress trees, water lilies, Spanish moss, and more. One of the decorative features of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is a tiara-topped water tower with the Tiana’s Foods logo. The water tower was installed at the start of the exterior transformation of Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Walt Disney World in June 2023.
Walt Disney Imagineering and local Central Florida small business, Icarus Exhibits, worked together to create the iconic water tower. The tower is 32 feet tall featuring the Tiana’s Foods co-op logo and a “larger-than-life” tiara with two stars representing fireflies Ray and Evangeline. Icarus Exhibits specializes in “intentional, themed designs that bring immersive environments to life” and have been working with Disney and Walt Disney Imagineering since the 1990s. Some of their other work around Walt Disney World includes the speeders, ships, and more at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Andy’s pals Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and more in Toy Story Land, EPCOT food booths, the Tangled tower at Magic Kingdom, and the Lightcycle in the exit area at TRON Lightcycle / Run.
A new mural by Louisiana artist Malaika Favorite arrived in October 2023 decorating the walls as part of the queue for the attraction. The collage of scenes is on two exterior buildings as you enter the indoor queue and can be seen currently near the Frontierland Station of the Walt Disney World Railroad. The mural highlights Tiana’s professional journey and the creation of Tiana’s Foods while reflecting on the themes of family, friends, food, music, art, and bringing folks together.
Disney also commissioned a handcrafted weathervane by Louisiana master blacksmith, Darryl Reeves, and his apprentice Karina Roca. Darryl Reeves is a third generation master blacksmith, a Vietnam veteran, and has 50 years of service to his craft as a blacksmith. The weathervane was crafted using centuries-old techniques with subtle African design flair. For more details, check out the video below and the Disney Parks Blog post here.
Creators, Contributors, and Development
Walt Disney Imagineering is hard at work on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure! The project is being led by senior creative producer Charita Carter with fellow Imagineers Carmen Smith, John Dennis, and Ted Robledo. The team is making frequent research trips to New Orleans and meeting with academics, musicians, artists, and more.
Anika Noni Rose will be returning to voice Princess Tiana for the attraction, as well as Bruno Campos (Prince Naveen), Michael-Leon Wooley (Louis), and Jenifer Lewis (Mama Odie).
Walt Disney Imagineering commissioned art from New Orleans artists Shakira Mahdi, for local inspiration and unique and authentic perspective on the essence of New Orleans. Mahdi was introduced to WDI through YAYA (Young Aspirations Young Artists) youth art program, where she is an alumnus. Her art style is colorful and free-flowing, as can be seen below in the commissioned inspirational pieces. For more information check out this Disney Parks Blog post.
Imagineer, lead concept designer, and critter creator Laura West discusses her creative process of designing the new musician critters in a short video below.
Costume designer Ida Muldrow and team from Disney Live Entertainment created a new look for Tiana for the attraction. The bayou adventure outfit will be based off 1920’s trends and show Tiana is equally at home in the bayou as she is at a banquet. Tiana will also have a newly developed hair style taking into consideration, “the versatility of Black women’s hair and its significance to … identity across geographies and generations”. Princess Tiana already has the most outfits of all the Disney Princesses so I can’t wait to see her new look!
Music
Music is integral to both New Orleans and The Princess and the Frog, and will be a central feature of the musical adventure on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The attraction includes music from the film, new renditions of fan-favorite songs, and new music in collaboration with PJ Morton and Terence Blanchard, New Orleans native musicians.
PJ Morton is a four time Grammy winner with six straight years of Grammy nominations as an independent artist. Morton wrote, arranged, and produced an original song for the attraction and creating new arrangements of The Princess and the Frog songs.
Terence Blanchard is a seven time Grammy winner for discography and trumpet expertise. He also played all the trumpet parts for Louis the alligator in The Princess and the Frog. Blanchard is creating musical arrangements for the queue and helping to select songs to use for the attraction from The Princess and the Frog.
The second episode of “We Call It Imagineering”, the YouTube series from Walt Disney Imagineering, gives a behind-the-scenes look at how music is created for Disney attractions and entertainment. The episode includes a first look at the finale of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure including the new original song written for the ride, “Special Spice”. The new original song is written by PJ Morton and features vocals by the original voice of Princess Tiana and Disney Legend, Anika Noni Rose. “Special Spice” is a lyrical love letter to New Orleans and was recorded along with new renditions of songs from The Princess and the Frog for the attraction.
“Special Spice” released on Walt Disney Records on Friday, May 31st and can be found across all music streaming platforms. Additional music heard on the ride includes “Down in New Orleans”, “Almost There”, “Gonna Take You There”, and “Dig a Little Deeper” from The Princess and the Frog with new arrangements for the attraction.
The attraction’s queue features a New Orleans radio station playing authentic jazz versions of popular songs from The Princess and the Frog including “Down in New Orleans”, “Ma Belle Evangeline”, and more. Helmed by Terence Blanchard, the music in the queue showcases New Orleans music. The queue also features a rendition of the Louis Armstrong song, “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans”, performed by Leah Chase Jr., legendary singer, teacher, and daughter of Chef Leah Chase (one of the inspirations for Tiana). The radio station also shares important messages about the search for musicians for Tiana’s big party.
The music from the queue of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was released by Walt Disney Records on streaming platforms on June 28th and features 18 songs. The songs include:
“Special Spice” - Anika Noni Rose; written and produced by PJ Morton
“Basin Street Blues” - Terence Blanchard; written by Spencer Williams, produced by Terence Blanchard
“The Second Line” - Julian Gosin; written by Paul Barbarin, produced by Terence Blanchard
“Down in New Orleans” - Victor Goines; written by Randy Newman, produced by Terence Blanchard
“Tailgate Ramble” - Charlie Gabriel; written by Joe Wingy Manone & Johnny Mercer; produced by Terence Blanchard
“St. James Infirmary” - Ronell Johnson, Mark Braud; written by Irving Mills; produced by Terence Blanchard
“Lousiana Fairytale” - Clinton Maegden; written by Haven Gillespie, J. Fred Coots, and Mitchell Parish; produced by Terence Blanchard
“When We’re Human” - Terence Blanchard; written by Randy Newman; produced by Terence Blanchard
“Bourbon Street Parade” - Mark Braud; written by Paul Barbarin; produced by Terence Blanchard
“Eh La Bas” - Ronell Johnson; Traditional song; produced by Terence Blanchard
“Big Chief” - Kyle Roussel; written by Earl King Johnson; produced by Terence Blanchard
“Li’l Liza Jane” - Herlin Riley; written by Herlin Riley from a Traditional song; produced by Terence Blanchard
“Gonna Take You There” - Terrance Simien; written by Randy Newman; produced by Terence Blanchard
“Doctor Jazz” - Kyle Roussel, Mark Braud; written by King Oliver & Walter Melrose; produced by Terence Blanchard
“They All Ask’d for You” - Gregory Davis; written by Arthur Lanon Neville, Cyril Neville, George Joseph Porter Jr., Joseph Modeliste Jr., and Leo Nocentelli; produced by Terence Blanchard
“Ma Belle Evangeline” - Terence Blanchard; written by Randy Newman; produced by Terence Blanchard
“Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?” (Vocal Version) - Leah Chase; written by Eddie DeLange & Louis Alter; produced by Terence Blanchard
“It Ain’t My Fault” - Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Cast; written by Smokey Robinson & Wardell Quezergue; produced by Terence Blanchard
More information including credits for the music production teams, musicians and vocalists, check out our more in-depth post on the music of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Food, Merchandise, & PhotoPass
Food
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Food Guide at Walt Disney World
Including Tiana’s Famous Beignets, Shrimp Gumbo, Tiana’s Chantilly Cake, a Princess Tiana Sipper, and more
Merchandise
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Merchandise Preview at Walt Disney World
Including apparel, ear headbands, a Loungefly mini backpack, plushes, home decor, an interactive shoulder firefly, food merchandise, and more
Disney The Princess and the Frog Louis Cuddleez Plush at Target ($39.99)
Critter Co-Op
The Critter Co-Op is the new merchandise location in Frontierland. The sign outside the shop features Apollo and Rufus and is a hang out location for the critter friends Tiana made in the bayou. In the shop you can spot some of their instruments constructed from human-made objects and natural materials, and in the windows you can see signage for upcoming shows, dance lessons, found tap shoes, and more. This new shop opened on June 29th, one day after the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Tiana’s Bayou General & PhotoPass
Tiana’s Bayou General opened on June 28th with the ride and is the home of special photo packages, photo print purchase, and photo-ops. To celebrate the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, there will be a commemorative print package ($32.50 plus tax) featuring an 8x10 print of your attraction photo, two recipe cards, a thank you note from Tiana, and two specialty prints of Tiana and her friends as well as a digital copy of the attraction photo in your My Disney Experience photo gallery. Standard attraction photo prints and Memory Maker will also be available for purchase.
The attraction photo for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will show you doing down the drop in your boat as well as some of Tiana’s critter friends. Some magic might show up, especially if your boat has empty rows.
Disney PhotoPass Service also has a new Magic Shot outside the ride and a prop photo inspired by the new critters on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. We checked out the new Magic Shot on opening day and they turned out very cute!
More Posts About Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Opening Day and Previews at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Storyline and Ride Details in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World
Audio-Animatronics Figures at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World
Meet the Critters of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and The Princess and the Frog Collections on Disney Store
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Merchandise Preview at Walt Disney World
Critter Co-Op - Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Merchandise Location in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World