ORLANDO, Fla. — Tiana's Bayou Adventure, the revamp of the ride formerly known as Splash Mountain, is officially open at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
At the attraction's grand opening on Friday, June 28, park guests experienced dozens of new animatronic characters and a toe-tapping New Orleans soundtrack as they were immersed into the world of "The Princess and the Frog."
And, don't worry — the familiar, thrilling log flume experience and 50-foot drop are still intact.
Guests aboard Magic Kingdom's latest attraction will join fan-favorites from the movie like Princess Tiana, Louis, Mama Odie and several musically-inclined animals on an entirely new adventure.
The ride picks up where the movie ends as Princess Tiana hosts a party during the Mardi Gras season of 1927. Riders are quickly recruited to help the princess once she realizes that Prince Naveen and Louis failed to book a band.
Disney describes Tiana's Bayou Adventure as "a celebration where everyone's welcome," reminding guests that "everyone has the potential to make their dreams a reality."
Magic Kingdom's newest attraction stars the first Black Disney princess — a fitting replacement for a ride based on a movie that contained racist tropes. The ride was previously themed to “Song of the South,” a 1946 Disney movie filled with offensive cliches about African Americans and plantation life.
Disney’s announcement that it would transform its longstanding Splash Mountain ride into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was made in June 2020 following the social justice protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. At the time, Disney said the change had already been in the works. But it came as companies across the U.S. were reconsidering or renaming decades-old brands amid worldwide protests.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.