Disney Executive Films Outside Tiana's Bayou Adventure, Major Announcement Rumored

Josh D’Amaro has been spotted filming outside Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom Park – which means we can most likely expect a major announcement about the ride any day now.

The Chairperson of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts was pictured outside the former site of Splash Mountain yesterday morning (February 29, 2024). Images shared by Reddit user CamG__ show D’Amaro alongside Walt Disney World ambassador Shannon Smith-Conrad, seemingly filming some kind of update about the highly-anticipated attraction.

Josh D’Amaro filming something at Tiana’s 👀
byu/CamG__ inDisneyWorld

As was revealed on Mardi Gras, the attraction is currently scheduled to open this summer. Considering we don’t have a more specific opening date, there’s every chance that whatever D’Amaro and Smith-Conrad are filming is a firm announcement of when guests will finally be able to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

Some have optimistically put the ride’s potential opening date as Memorial Day Weekend in late May.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure, which replaced Splash Mountain, at Disney World. — Credit: Disney

Alternatively, the pair could simply be filming an update on the ride’s progress. In recent weeks, Walt Disney World Resort guests have noticed that testing is well underway for the ride’s logs, while Walt Disney Imagineering also dropped a first look at the new animatronic of Princess Tiana (which some claimed was unfaithful to the character’s appearance in the animation) in February.

Whenever it does open, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will repurpose Splash Mountain’s log flume ride system to instead tell a story focused on the frog-turned-princess as she and her alligator friend Louis embark upon a bayou adventure to source a missing ingredient for a Carnival celebration in New Orleans.

A close-up of the Tiana's Bayou Adventure exterior model at night — Credit: Disney

Like Splash Mountain, the ride will eventually also be found at Disneyland Resort (although we’re currently awaiting even a rough opening date for the West Coast). The closure of both versions of Splash Mountain sparked backlash in 2023, with some disputing Disney’s reasoning of retheming the attraction due to its connection to the racially insensitive film Song of the South (1946).

Are you excited for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? Let us know in the comments!