It’s been nearly a year since Splash Mountain closed its gates for good at Disney World.
Splash Mountain
Now, we’ve been checking in a few times per week to check out the progress on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure! The upcoming Princess and the Frog-themed ride will share the same ride layout and mechanics (that we know of), but will feature theming straight from the bayou of Louisiana. We’ve seen some GREAT concept art and sneak peeks, and we can never resist seeing the construction take place for ourselves. This week, we checked in on the attraction’s progress and noticed something.
Over the past couple weeks, Imagineers have been adding foliage to the attraction to give it that bayou feel. The foliage now covers a lot of the shapes and coloration that made the attraction distinctly Splash Mountain, but now, it has a totally new look! Check it out!
Foliage
Except… we noticed that one part of the attraction that looked familiar. It’s a stump. However, it’s not just a stump! It looks a lot like the stump that you could see at the tip top of the Splash Mountain attraction. Could this be a nod to Splash?
Do you see it?
We did some research, and it seems that a lot of folks were thinking the same thing we were. The internet was battling over whether or not the exposed stump is actually a nod to the old attraction.
If you look closely through the construction at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, you’ll see a little nod to the former home of Br’er Rabbit and friends on Splash Mountain with a tree stump on the hill! 🐰💚 pic.twitter.com/iCCX20ldZL
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) January 3, 2024
So, we did what anyone else would do. We asked the Frontierland Cast Members and a Coordinator, which is what Disney likes to call managers.
The stump
The coordinator basically told us that by believing it’s a nod, Disney fans have a great story to tell and a fun way to reminisce on Splash Mountain. However, he didn’t confirm or deny whether or not it was an actual reference to the old attraction. Another Cast Member in the group made an excellent point that the stump has always been there — so why does it have to mean something?
Splash Mountain
We also asked the Guest Experience team under the blue umbrellas what they thought — just to gather some fun opinions. They seemed to think that the stump is only being left as-is for now, and that it will be made into another tree to be installed. There isn’t anything that resembles the Splash Mountain stump in the artist’s model, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
Model of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at the 2022 D23 Expo
We’ll continue to keep you updated on the Mystery of the Stump, so make sure to follow along for more Disney news.
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That’s a root people.