The Disney Parks Blog has announced an official closing date for Splash Mountain at Disneyland (Anaheim, CA – U.S.A.). The famous logflume will close for a retheme on May 31st of this year. The news came with new concept artwork, as well as some more insight into what to expect from the upcoming Tiana’s Bayou Adventure that will be replacing Splash Mountain.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be based on the Disney animated film ‘The Princess and the Frog‘ (2009). One of the released artwork for the attraction features Mama Odie, the two-hundred-year-old Bayou Fairy Godmother depicted in a scene filled with plenty of colorful lights and other representations of “bayou magic”. Based on the blog entry, it seems like she may have multiple appearances throughout the ride, with this scene most likely represented by a full body audio animatronic. It has been confirmed that Jenifer Lewis, the actress who portrayed the character in the movie will be reprising her role for the attraction.
This comes after Disney had previously shown artwork depicting a different scene at the beginning of the ride where guests will meet a whole new cast of characters accompanied by a whole new soundtrack. The attraction will contain multiple familiar characters that are brought to life, as many of the original voice actors have been confirmed to reprise their roles.
Disney has stated there will be dozens of entirely new audio-animatronics figures in the attraction, that will lure in guests with a smell: the scent of beignets will be apparent throughout the queue. While no official date has been announced for the opening of this ride, it is currently scheduled to open some time in 2024.
