Could Tiana’s Bayou Adventure open SOON in Disney World?

Concept art of the new ride ©Disney

Disney has announced that the new Magic Kingdom ride will open this summer, and now that we’re in March, we’re getting close to that opening time! We recently spotted a huge clue that the ride might open sooner than we expected.

We’ve been keeping a close eye on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (which is currently surrounded by construction walls) in Frontierland, and a few weeks ago, we spotted some changes happening with the scaffolding.

Disney started to take down the scaffolding towards the top of the mountain, and now even MORE has come down! There’s practically no scaffolding at all on the top of the mountain and just a bit on either side.

Lots of the scaffolding is gone!

There is still quite a bit along the left-hand side of the mountain, so Disney might have moved from working around the top to focusing on the sides.

Scaffolding

Bit by bit, that scaffolding is being taken down as Disney gets ready for the grand opening this summer. All the greenery looks gorgeous on the mountain. We love the big trees around it and the flowers on the top!

We’re getting close!

Disney has also started testing the ride vehicles, which look very similar to the ones used for Splash Mountain. We’ve frequently seen water running through the ride.

Ride vehicles have been testing

The ride didn’t have water running through it this morning…

No water…

…but when we went back this afternoon, it was filled with water! We might see some ride testing later in the day!

Water!

The storyline of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure takes place after Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. The premise is that Tiana is hosting a big Mardi Gras party, but she’s missing an important ingredient! We’ll get to go on an adventure with Tiana and some of her pals to find that essential ingredient.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Concept Art ©Disney

We’ve already seen a sneak peek at the Tiana animatronic coming to this ride. Tiana, Prince Naveen, Louis, and Mama Odie will be joined by more characters from the original film. Disney notes that guests can expect to find some “familiar faces” on the ride including Eudora (Tiana’s mom), Charlotte, “Big Daddy,” the King and Queen of Maldonia, and Naveen’s brother Prince Ralphie.

©Disney Tiana’s Bayou Adventure concept art

One of our favorite things about the Princess and the Frog movie is the music! So of course, music is an important part of this ride, too. Disney said that the ride will have original music “inspired by the songs from the film.” It’s been confirmed that Jenifer Lewis (the voice of Mama Odie) will be featured in the new ride, so we’re hoping to hear “Dig a Little Deeper” when we ride!

©Disney

One of the things we’re MOST excited about is the queue! Normally a ride’s queue is the worst part of the experience (no one likes waiting in a long line), but Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will have the smell of fresh beignets pumped into the queue! OK, now that we’re thinking about it, that might make the wait even MORE torturous because then we’ll just be craving beignets the whole time.

Ooh, progress!

That’s why we’re hoping that the Tiana’s Beignets dish at Golden Oak Outpost sticks around (so we can grab some beignets right after we ride). The beignets are supposed to be a limited-time menu addition, but it seems like a no-brainer for Disney to keep them there full-time!

Tiana’s Famous Beignets

Some of the Splash Mountain elements are remaining for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The ride will still feature a thrilling, 5-story drop, and it’ll last about 11 or 12 minutes. Disney confirmed that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will feature a few “subtle nods” (also known as Easter Eggs) to Splash Mountain throughout the ride. 

©Disney

Stay tuned to DFB, and we’ll be sure to let you know about all the updates at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure!

Click here to learn more about the new ride.

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Are you excited to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? Let us know in the comments!