Disney's Splash Mountain Replacement's Story Revealed
Disney Parks shared more details of the story for Tiana's Bayou Adventure, which will replace Splash Mountain in Disneyland and Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom parks. The new ride is inspired by the characters of Disney's underrated 2009 film The Princess and the Frog, with the company's first African American princess front and center. Like many of Disney's best rides, visitors will be transported to the theme of the ride from the moment they enter the queue.
Tiana's Bayou Adventure will be set after the events of The Princess and the Frog. During the queue, visitors will learn more about the success of Princess Tiana's company, Tiana's Foods, before they get on the ride, according to a Feb. 3 Disney Parks Blog post. After the success of Tiana's Palace, Tiana launched Tiana's Foods, an employee-owned cooperative. The community turned an aging salt mine into a beloved brand, according to the new story Walt Disney Imagineering crafted.
Tiana bought the salt mine and the area surrounding it. With the help of her mother Eudora, Naveen, Louis, and other members of the co-op revived the salt mine and began using the land to grow vegetables, herbs, and spices that Tiana used for her recipes. Tiana and her friends also use the ingredients to craft new products and flavors to share.
The story really begins when Tiana decides to hold a big celebration for the friends, family, and community who helped bring her dreams to life during Mardi Gras. While preparing for the party, Tiana realizes there is a missing ingredient, so she asks visitors to help find it before the party. When visitors arrive at Tiana's Foods, we see everything spruced up and all the preparations for the party underway. We will meet new and familiar characters from the movie along the journey into the bayou with Tiana.
"Picking up where that story left off, Tiana continues bringing people together with Tiana's Foods, another treasured meeting place to spend time together and celebrate a diverse community," Disney's blog post notes. "Tiana is also working with cooperative members to teach gardening and cooking to children of all ages, and inspiring other women to run successful businesses as the brand grows nationwide."
Tiana's Bayou Adventure will open at both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom in 2024. Disney announced plans to re-theme Splash Mountain to The Princess and The Frog back in June 2020 and the company shared the new name for the ride at the ESSENCE Fest in New Orleans in July 2022. Disney also announced plans to open Tiana's Palace restaurant in New Orleans Square at Disneyland, and it will open with the ride.
Splash Mountain closed in Disney World on Jan. 23, but it is still open at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland. The ride was designed by Tony Baxter and originally themed to Song of the South (1946). Since that movie's portrayal of African Americans and plantation life is racist, Disney has never officially released it on home video in the U.S. and it has not been released theatrically since 1986.