Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Walt Disney World will be opening on June 28th! The log flume ride in Magic Kingdom that’s taking the place of Splash Mountain is themed to Princess and the Frog. Work has been ongoing for about 18 months and now there’s finally a date. In this post, we’ll share the news and give a few thoughts on the opening of the attraction and what that might entail. We’ll start with the news from Disney.

Goin’ Down the Bayou

Disney is now ready to share the next chapter in Tiana’s story with you! The ride will take guests on a musical adventure picking up after the events of the Walt Disney Animation Studios film, “The Princess and the Frog.” You’ll join Princess Tiana on an adventure through the bayou as she prepares to host a one-of-a-kind celebration during Mardi Gras season where everyone is welcome. Along the way, you will see some familiar faces, make new friends and travel through the bayou into the next chapter of Tiana’s story. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will also feature original music and some familiar tunes from the beloved movie, and so much more … including an incredibly thrilling 50-foot drop!

Now What’s That I Hear About Previews?

And if you’re wondering how Tiana will cater to her regulars, you might just hear some delightful details about preview opportunities ahead of the official grand opening for Florida-based Cast Members, Annual Passholders and eligible Disney Vacation Club Members soon… keep an eye out for more information coming to you starting May 14! 

More information on how to experience the attraction is coming soon. We can’t wait to have visitors “drop on in” Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom on June 28, and later this year at Disneyland Park in California.

Commentary

If that blip of news felt clunky, there’s a few reasons for it. About half of it had to do with American Idol, where they revealed the date. I have nothing against the show but “it ain’t for me, dawg.” Those paragraphs didn’t include much information about the attraction so I cut them. This was also Disney’s second announcement of the day on this topic as the first attempt was deleted. I’m thinking there was a mix up in AM and PM so Disney deleted the earlier version so that American Idol could have the ‘official’ announcement. Disregard all of the sites that saw the press release and ran with it! It’s all a bit comical but we’ll all probably forget about it in roughly 37 hours.

As for the actual news, the date is far from surprising. Earlier in the year, Disney World had announced summer as the opening season for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. June 28th certainly qualifies for that. Moreover, there’s been plenty of video circulating of cast members and executives getting ride throughs of the attraction. That would make it appear that the ride is ready for some soft openings and previews all before a grand opening in a month and a half.

June 28th is also early enough to bolster what is expected to be a relatively low attendance summer at WDW. Those on the fence about a July vacation still have a chance to book that and this announcement could push them over the edge. Having a brand new attraction open for the summer theme park 101 and I’m glad that they were able to complete this project in time for that.

I mentioned the clunky press release already but the most noticeable part is the lack of details. I’m guessing that there’s another news drop coming in the following days regarding the ride’s virtual queue, Genie+ status and all of the preview details. While I’ll update this post when all of that is announced, I’ll take my best guess at what will be offered starting with the latter.

For those that qualify for DVC and Annual Pass previews, the availability can be luck of the draw. I’ve been in both camps several times and never received an email about the offering. There have been plenty of times when I did receive an email too! I’m sure there’s a system but, from the outside looking in, there doesn’t appear to be much rhyme or reason to who gets to preview and who doesn’t. It would seem that the preview season will last at least a few weeks so that’s promising for those that want to get in on the action.

As far as soft openings to the general public, I wouldn’t count on any. Don’t take that as me saying there won’t be any, we just really don’t know. Years ago, guests could count on soft openings happening. Anymore it seems that previews have taken that space. If you already have a trip booked before June 28th and can’t move it back, there’s not much to do besides just hope for the best.

I do think Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open with both a virtual queue and as an Individual Lightning Lane. There hasn’t been a major ride opening at Walt Disney World that hasn’t used a virtual queue in 5 years. Even with the larger queue space to use, virtual queues seem to be Disney’s preferred mode of operation at this point. If there’s a ride that wouldn’t open with one, it would make sense for it to be this because it’s in an expansive part of Magic Kingdom and is a water ride.

Finally, an Individual Lightning Lane is as close to a sure thing as you can get, especially through the summer months. The demand for this ride will be high and that means many guests will pay whatever it takes to go on. I am very curious as to how this will all operate late at night, which used to be a sweet spot when going on Splash Mountain. People don’t like to get soaked after the sun goes down for some reason!

Like I said, I think more details will be released shortly. We’ll have them posted once they are. Until then, we’re excited that Disney World’s newest attraction is almost there!

Are you excited for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? Let us know, along with any questions you might have in the comments below! Planning a Disney trip? Check out our Travel Guides to help you along the way! We’ve also got discount tickets to both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort. Thank you for reading Wandering in Disney.  Please subscribe to the blog and like our social media pages, all of which you can do on the right side of the page. Have a wonderful day!