Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Line Practically Empty in Disney World Weeks After Opening

A shocking photo shows Disney World’s newest ride seemingly empty.

A bustling street scene at a theme park featuring people walking down the main street with the iconic castle in the background. Balloons, decorated shopfronts, and flags add to the festive atmosphere. The sky is partly cloudy, capturing a lively and vibrant moment. — Credit: Inside the Magic

While there’s a near-endless stream of classic dark rides and iconic thrill rides to be found at Magic Kingdom, none have proven to be as exciting or as controversial as Disney’s newest ride, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

This new attraction officially opened on June 28, 2024, marking a new chapter for The Walt Disney Company as a whole. The road to this point was certainly bumpy, with Disney encountering many issues in the weeks leading up to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure’s opening day.

The thrill ride faced numerous obstacles and technical difficulties during its preview period earlier this June, leading some to believe the attraction was not totally ready for its big debut.

Reliability has slowly improved on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, with guests now able to enjoy the new ride somewhat consistently.

However, Disney’s virtual Queue system has also affected the ride, with guests essentially having to play the lottery if they wish to experience Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Seen Empty

An animated scene featuring a woman in a yellow suit and red tie standing beside a large, friendly alligator. Both characters are smiling and appear to be in a forest setting with vibrant greenery and blue lighting. Another smaller character is in the scene as well. — Credit: Disney

Disney’s Virtual Queue system is used for most of the new rides and attractions that open in the parks. Instead of waiting in a traditional standby queue, guests use the My Disney Experience app to reserve a reservation for specific rides. Virtual Queues are pretty limited and are only given out twice per day.

This system cuts down on the time guests could potentially spend waiting in line, but it often makes new rides and attractions difficult to actually get on.

Disney’s Virtual Queue system also affects the number of guests that can be in line at one time, resulting in attractions being both empty and full at any given time.

This was shown in a recent photo of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure by Twitter/X user WDWDreamfinder.

This is why Bayou Adventure should never have a VQ. Evenings will always have empty logs cycling. Some guests will not be able to ride at all (or allow for repeat rides on the same day).

This is why Bayou Adventure should never have a VQ. Evenings will always have empty logs cycling. Some guests will not be able to ride at all (or allow for repeat rides on the same day). pic.twitter.com/2Mie6DuxEL

— WDWDreamfinder (@WDWDreamfinder) July 15, 2024

While new rides like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, TRON Lightcycle / Run, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind see great demand in the early hours, the Virtual Queue system practically ensures these new attractions will be less crowded as the day goes on.

Because Virtual Queue limits the number of guests who can experience an attraction at any given time, rides like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure can actually be sitting somewhat empty, cycling through ride vehicles and waiting for guests to return during their window.

Disney officially announced Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in 2020, revealing to the world that a new ride based on the iconic 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog would be built on both coasts and replace Disney’s once-legendary log flume experience, Splash Mountain.

This news sent shockwaves throughout the Disney theme park community, with Splash Mountain becoming one of history’s most iconic and popular rides.

The ride opened in 1989 at Disneyland, and two more versions were built in Disney World in Florida and Tokyo Disney in Japan.

Splash Mountain permanently closed at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts in 2023, with Tokyo’s version remaining open for the foreseeable future.

Do you enjoy Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? What’s your favorite Magic Kingdom ride?