Disneyland Renames Critter Country Ahead of Tiana's Bayou Adventure Opening

The reimagined Bayou Country opens this November.

By Cameron Bonomolo

Time for Critter Country to be movin' along. After revamping the land's signature ride — the Song of the South-themed Splash Mountain — Disneyland's Critter Country will be renamed Bayou Country when the area reopens with the new Tiana's Bayou Adventure ride on November 15. The name change was announced during Disney's D23 convention in Anaheim, where the company's theme parks division unveiled a new attraction poster for the California version of the classic log flume ride rethemed after the 2009 animated feature The Princess and the Frog.

Disney describes the reimagined land: "Bayou Country is situated on the edge of New Orleans Square with shady trees, mesmerizing music and a vast collection of enchanting surprises. Guests will discover a land filled with friendly woodland animals, from a trumpet-playing gator and an adorable bear who craves honey to a musical cast of bears, frogs, and other critters."

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The land first opened in 1956 as the Indian Village section of Frontierland. In 1972, a four-acre expansion of the park's northwest quadrant reimagined Indian Village as Bear Country — Disneyland's seventh themed land anchored by the since-shuttered Country Bears Jamboree (which has been rebooted at Disney World's Magic Kingdom). The area was renamed Critter Country in 1988 to coincide with the 1989 opening of Splash Mountain, which featured Br'er Rabbit and other animated characters from the 1946 film Song of the South.

Along with Tiana's Bayou Adventure, Bayou Country is home to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride, Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes, and the reimagined Hungry Bear restaurant (renamed Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree). Both of the land's retail stores will be rethemed to The Princess and the Frog: the left-hand side of Pooh Corner shop will become Louis' Critter Club, and The Briar Patch will reopen as Ray's Berets.

In 2023, Disneyland Park opened Tiana's Palace, its Princess and the Frog themed restaurant that offers Creole and Cajun cuisine in nearby New Orleans Square. Tiana's Bayou Adventure opened at the Frontierland section of Disney World's Magic Kingdom park in June and will kick off the holiday season at the Disneyland Resort when the California version opens in November.

Also coming to Disneyland Resort: two new Marvel-inspired rides for Avengers Campus, a boat ride themed to Pixar's Coco and an area based on Pandora from the Avatar films at Disney California Adventure Park, and on Disneyland's Main Street, the just-announced new show "Walt Disney – A Magical Life" featuring the first-ever Walt Disney audio-animatronic.

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