Some weeks at Disney World are just EXTRA exciting.
IT’S ALMOST TIME!
Now that spring is here, we’re looking ahead to SUMMER, when vacation season is in full swing. Plus, we have some extra exciting things happening this summer — with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opening! We don’t currently have an exact opening date, but we constantly have our eyes peeled for news on that. On the other hand, we have gotten all sorts of news on the attraction — especially this week. Let’s check it out, shall we?
We’ll start with what I personally find to be the MOST exciting: the CHARACTERS.
Critter Band names were revealed!
When Disney shared details on the Tiana animatronics that would be inside the Disney World attraction, we also learned about the “critter band” that would be there as well. The critter band is a group of bayou animals that we’ll see strummin’ some tunes in the ride. We didn’t have specifics on these little dudes, but now we DO!
We can’t wait!
Disney shared on Instagram a behind-the-scenes look at how the critters were designed to become animatronics. Here, we learned the exact animals that would be included as well as their NAMES! There will be Byalia the Beaver, Beau the Opossum, Gritty the Rabbit, Apollo the Raccoon, Rufus the Turtle, and Timoleon the Otter! West said that when choosing the names, she opted for names that were common throughout the New Orleans area in each of the cultures present there. Gritty is my personal favorite! As you can see from the concept art above, these are the same animals we saw in the original concept art.
Click here to read more about the characters!
There might be secrets hidden in the characters. 🤫
What’s hidden within that concept art is what caught our eye! First of all, we can’t get over how fun this group of swamp critters looks and we’re hoping for some seriously sweet tunes from them! But, pay close attention to Gritty the Rabbit over on the bottom left — see what’s in Gritty’s hand? Instead of playing the washboard, it looks like Gritty has taken up playing the license plate — a new one for us.
©Disney
It doesn’t look like any old license plate either — it appears to say “LA23 52872.” We don’t think Disney does things randomly — in fact, we’ve seen them do it before. Before TRON Lightcycle / Run opening in Magic Kingdom in 2023, Disney teased the opening date with a series of cryptic videos and numbers. In this scenario, we think the LA is obvious — it’s the state abbreviation for Louisiana, where New Orleans and this story take place. The 23 could be for 2023, the year this merry band of Critters was perhaps named?
©Disney
Now, stay with us. We think the 52872 could be for an opening date or preview announcement on 5/28 (May 28th) and even possibly an opening date of 7/2 (July 2nd). Of course, Disney hasn’t made any sort of announcements or confirmed that this even is a hidden detail, but it’s something to keep an eye on for sure!
Click here to learn more about the theory!
We saw construction walls start to come down!
Over by the entrance of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, some of the walls have been removed, and a few rolling hedges have gone up in their place. This is usually a sign that construction in a specific area is coming to a close!
Walls are down!
There’s also a section of concrete open that was covered before. Some landscaping and concrete work has been done in this area — maybe soon we’ll get more of the pathway reopened! From our latest visit, it looks as though Disney is still working on the exterior elements of the attraction, as well as the queue. No specific opening month or date has been revealed yet, and summer is a pretty broad season by Disney’s definition. Either way, we’re only a few months away!
Click here to see what else is new in Magic Kingdom
Plenty of other things happened at Disney World this week, though, and we shared everything we saw! Check it out by clicking through the links below.
WHAT'S NEW AT DISNEY?
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the WDW instagram posted a poster for the ride and someone in the comments said that the opening date will be announced tomorrow during a Disney shareholder event. (I really hope so) i’m planning my first trip to Disney World around this ride because Tiana is my favorite princess.