Theme Park

Key Points 

– In January 2023, Splash Mountain at Disney World will shut down.

– Tiana's Bayou Adventure will take its place and debut in 2024.

– The story introduced in "The Princess and the Frog" will be continued in the new attraction.


Less than two months remain for Disney lovers who want to ride Splash Mountain one last time at Walt Disney World. A select group of media outlets, including USA TODAY, were informed this week by Disney World that the venerable attraction at Magic Kingdom will shut down on January 23.


The ride's replacement, Tiana's Bayou Adventure, which is scheduled to open in 2024 at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, was also further revealed by Disney Imagineers. The popular Disney animated film "The Princess and the Frog" will be continued in the new attraction.


How much longer will Splash Mountain be operational?

The attraction will stop running at Disney World on January 22. A closing date has not yet been disclosed by Disneyland.

The websites and apps for each resort offer daily availability checks for Splash Mountain.

Splash Mountain at Tokyo Disney Resort, owned by Oriental Land Company and licenced from Disney, is not currently set to undergo any changes.

When is the debut of Tiana's Bayou Adventure?

In a previous statement, Disney stated that the attraction would debut in late 2024 at both Disneyland and Disney World.

Has Splash Mountain changed its name to "The Princess and the Frog"?

According to Ted Robledo, executive creative director of Walt Disney Imagineering, "This is not a retelling of "The Princess and the Frog."

They added that Tiana's Bayou Adventure takes place a year after the conclusion of the animated picture.

Visitors will discover in the ride's queue that Tiana now wishes to support the success of her town after realising her own dream of owning her own restaurant. To do this, she establishes Tiana's Foods, an employee-owned cooperative housed inside a new Splash Mountain mountain.

Why is Splash Mountain changing?

The mountain will be transformed into a salt dome, just like the one imagineers saw when conducting research for Tiana's Bayou Adventure on Louisiana's Avery Island.

Robledo said, "It's a great opportunity for us to explain the elevation.

The executive creative producer for Walt Disney Imagineering, Charita Carter, emphasised the significance of maintaining realism while giving Tiana's world depth.

Carter stated, "She's fantastical, yet she came from a very genuine place. On Tiana's Bayou Adventure, she hopes that visitors from Louisiana will exclaim, "Yeah, this seems right."

Will the ride's characters be the same as those in the movie?

According to Carter, Tiana, Prince Naveen, Louis the alligator, and a number of other characters from "The Princess and the Frog" will appear in Tiana's Bayou Adventure with the help of their original voice actors.

New acquaintances that visitors will make include an otter, rabbit, raccoon, turtle, beaver, and opossum.

According to Robledo, imagineers searched for creatures that lived in the bayou and envisioned the kinds of materials they might utilise to craft instruments. Like in the movie and the history of New Orleans, music will play a significant role in the journey.


Splash Mountain is closing; why?

The present Br'er Rabbit tale at Splash Mountain is based on the 1946 Disney film "Song of the South," which has drawn criticism for its idealised depiction of plantation life.

At a shareholders meeting in March 2020, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated, "I've believed, as long as I've been CEO, that 'Song of the South' was - even with a disclaimer - was just not suitable in today's environment."

The following year, after a popular petition to alter Splash Mountain's theme gained traction, Disney made plans to do so, noting that the modification had been in the works since 2019.