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Credit: Inside the MagicBig news just broke about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure — but it won’t make everyone happy.
As Walt Disney World Resort gears up to start spending the $17 billion invested into its parks and resorts over the next decade, the next few years are sure to be full of exciting announcements and openings.
Even before it starts dipping into this money, we already have one exciting update this week — and that’s about the newest ride heading to Magic Kingdom, AKA Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Inspired by The Princess and the Frog (2009), the water ride replaces Splash Mountain, which closed in Frontierland (and over on the West Coast at Disneyland Resort) in 2023 over its ties to the controversial movie Song of the South (1946).
While we’ve been able to spot bits and pieces of progress in the past year, the last few weeks have seen a tidal wave of new information about Tiana’s first ever attraction. On Mother’s Day, Disney finally unveiled an opening date for the ride (June 28) and confirmed more details about its plot.
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!
But that’s not all. Today, we received even more information about the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Walt Disney World Resort has updated its official website to reveal how guests will be able to ride the attraction on June 28. As has been the case with other new additions to its parks in recent years – including TRON Lightcycle / Run and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind – Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will officially debut with a virtual queue.
As always, guests will be able to request to join the virtual queue via the My Disney Experience app. They’ll have two opportunities to do this throughout the day: once at 7 a.m. and again at 1 p.m.
Virtual queues aren’t the most popular feature at Disney World, so there’s sure to be plenty of guests who are disappointed by this announcement. However, the good news is that Disney has already said this queue won’t be around forever, instead noting that “we expect to open a standby queue soon after the attraction’s opening.”
On a stranger note, while a standby line won’t be available for the initial opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, guests will be able to ride the attraction using Genie+. That’s unlike other new attractions at Disney World theme parks which have been excluded from the Genie+ service and instead require guests to pay for an additional Individual Lightning Lane.
Also announced today was the opportunity for Walt Disney World Resort Annual Passholders to enjoy early previews of the attraction. However, they’ll need to move quick to make reservation; slots for the date of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure’s opening are already full, with anticipation running high for Magic Kingdom’s latest addition.
Are you a fan of virtual queues at Walt Disney World Resort? Let us know in the comments!