Disneyland Splash Mountain 'Princess and the Frog' Retheme: Everything Unveiled So Far

Tiana's Bayou Adventure is set in 1927.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor

Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.

Expertise News, mobile, broadband, 5G, home tech, streaming services, entertainment, AI, policy, business, politics Credentials

I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.

See full bio

Corinne Reichert

Sept. 20, 2022 4:01 p.m. PT

2 min read

Splash Mountain Tiana Bayou — A look at Tiana's Bayou Adventure.
Sean Keane/CNET

Disneyland is finally showing off more details of the long-awaited Princess and the Frog retheming of its iconic ride Splash Mountain. Tiana's Bayou Adventure is expected to open at Disneyland in late 2024, with imagineers speaking at Disney's D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, in September to describe the ride concept.

The ride will be set in 1927, when Tiana is hosting a party at her restaurant, Tiana's Palace, for the people of New Orleans. Tiana discovers her celebration is missing a "special ingredient," which sets her off on a journey through the bayou with Louis the alligator.

The original voices of Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen, Mama Odie and Louis will be used on the ride. Anika Noni Rose (Tiana) appeared live at D23 to sing the movie's iconic songs Almost There and Dig A Little Deeper. Missing from the ride plans is Dr. Facilier, the villain of Princess and the Frog, who perished at the end of the movie.

"Music is going to be a huge part of the experience," Disney Parks chair Josh D'Amaro said Sunday during the Parks and Experiences Panel at D23.

The exterior of the ride will be lit up and glowing at night, with what the imagineers called New Orleans and bayou magic.

During D23, Disney took the wraps off a scale model of its refurbishment plans. The scale model shows the briar patch removed from the bottom of Splash Mountain's 49-foot drop, a new water tower painted with a "Tiana's foods" logo and colored glass bottles -- like those in Mama Odie's boathouse -- hanging from the top of the drop. The tree stump crowning the top of the attraction has been replaced with a thicket of bayou trees, but the log boats look like they'll stay the same.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure looks so good. It’s designed to be “a love letter to New Orleans.” pic.twitter.com/ABxG3diDCy
— Sean Keane@D23 (@SpectacularSean) September 11, 2022

Disneyland could also be getting a Tiana's Palace restaurant, with Imagineers reportedly saying it's "a reimagined restaurant" -- possibly the current Blue Bayou located in the entrance of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.

Eudora's Chic Boutique -- named after Tiana's mother, who's a seamstress -- opened in Disneyland's New Orleans Square Sept. 20.

Also announced during the Disney Parks and Experiences Panel at D23 were the Avengers Campus multiverse expansion at Disneyland, the opening date for Tron Lightcycle Run at Disney World, the name of the next Disney cruise ship, San Fransokyo at California Adventure and a potential villains, Coco and Encanto area at Magic Kingdom.