Time to be movin’ along! Guests dropped into Disneyland on Tuesday to ride Splash Mountain one last time before the log flume attraction closes to undergo its transformation into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, a re-theme inspired by The Princess and the Frog. May 30th marked the final day of operation for the ride with its current theme featuring characters and songs from Walt Disney’s Song of the South, the controversial 1946 movie which has faced criticism for its depiction of the Reconstruction Era and the post-Civil War South. (In 2020, Disney Parks announced that the iconic Critter Country ride would reopen at its California and Florida resorts as the all-new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in 2024.)
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Splash Mountain wait times reached as high as 220 minutes mid-day Tuesday, according to the Disneyland app. Florida’s version of the ride experienced similar wait times when Splash Mountain closed at the Walt Disney World Resort in January.
Opened in 1989, the current incarnation of Splash Mountain sees guests hop inside a hollow log to follow Br’er Rabbit on a hare-raising adventure from the briar patch to his “laughing place,” all while outwitting Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear. The ride, set to a soundtrack that includes the Oscar-winning song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” features over 100 Audio-Animatronics, 950,000 gallons of water, and a five-story drop down into the briar patch.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will mark Princess Tiana’s debut attraction, and will feature the voices of Princess and the Frog stars Anika Noni Rose as Tiana, Bruno Campos as Prince Naveen, Michael Leon Wooley as trumpet-playing alligator Louis, and Jenifer Lewis as the two-hundred-year-old Bayou Fairy Godmother Mama Odie.
Along with dozens of new talking and singing Audio-Animatronic figures, the re-imagined ride will boast new and original songs alongside music from the movie, a beignet-scented queue, and an original storyline set after the events of The Princess and the Frog. Disneyland’s New Orleans Square will also re-imagine the French Market Restaurant as Tiana’s Palace, a quick-service dining restaurant that will tie into the ride’s storyline.
Picking up where the 2009 Walt Disney Animation Studios movie left off, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure takes guests on a musical log ride through the bayou during Mardi Gras season as Princess Tiana and jazz-loving gator Louis prepare to host aone-of-a-kind celebration for the people of New Orleans.
“While we’ve explored many new themes in the past, [2019 is] when wereally began to hone in on Princess Tiana’s story,” Walt DisneyImagineering president Bob Weis told Disney’s D23 of the decision to move away from the animated characters seen in the 1946 film Song of the South. “That said, Splash Mountain hasbeen the subject of many conversations through the years. Its brilliantride platform and landscape create the potential for greatstorytelling.”
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From @splasharchive
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