Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has opened at Disneyland in California on Friday November 15th, 2024. Back in 2020, Disney announced it would be closing one of it’s most popular rides, Splash Mountain, for a full retheme to the movie, The Princess and the Frog. Alongside this new ride, the whole land formerly known as Critter Country would also be getting a facelift and renamed to Bayou Country, including all new restaurants and shops themed to the same film.
Both the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom versions of Splash Mountain closed in early 2023 to prepare for the retheme and spent more than a year under construction. The version at Magic Kingdom opened earlier this year.
There were some known technical issues with the Magic Kingdom version that hopefully Disney has had plenty of time to iron out and address in this newest iteration.
The theme of both rides are the same, however there are a few subtle differences here and there. One of the most significant is that the Disneyland version is noticeably faster, helping to lessen the ‘dead spots’ between scenes and maintain the pacing of the story. There are also a few scenes with animatronics positioned in different locations, however the experience remains similar between the two.
The ride will open without a standby queue, using the Virtual Pass system guests have learned to expect with any major new ride opening. You will need to get there early in order to secure your spot in the virtual line, with some spots in the queue also opening up later in the day. Disney is also offering a free digital download of the ride ending photo as part of their 100th Celebration.
