Back in 2020, Disney announced that it would be reimagining their Splash Mountain ride into Princess and the Frog following last years racial justice protests. The ride in their Orlando park closed back in 2022 and the Anaheim version closed a few months later in may of 2023. Since then, construction has progressed for both versions of the ride, with the Orlando version already undergoing testing for a few weeks.
The Walt Disney Company has just released the new material through their new web series titled “We Call It Imagineering” which gives us some exciting new glimpses of this upcoming ride. The first episode focuses on audio-animatronics, and starts with a trip to Walt Disney’s office, where we get to see some of the inspiration that started a lot of what we have come to know and love at their theme parks. In this example, a mechanical bird, with very simple motion and sound, that gave Walt the idea to try and create something much more impressive.
We then move on to an impressive look at several of the new animatronic characters that are being made for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Featured are life size versions of Louis the Gator, Mama Odie, Tiana and her friend Charlotte, as well as a few new characters created for the ride. These are some of the most impressive animatronics that Disney has made to date, all using electric actuators giving them a much greater range of movement and fluidity. It’s also features animatronic faces with expressive features, unlike the “screen-projected” faces seen in some earlier attractions.
As Disney has stated, there are expected to be dozens of animatronics on this ride, and if this first look is any indication, then this is presumed to be quite a spectacular adventure. Fans have more to look forward to as more episodes will be published in the coming months on Disney’s YouTube channel Walt Disney Imagineering Youtube channel.
