Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (A Resorts Gal Ride Guide)
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is a log ride or flume-style attraction at Magic Kingdom. Formerly Splash Mountain, this attraction was reimagined and themed to characters from The Princess and the Frog. If you ever experienced Splash Mountain, it’s essential to note that the ride track did not change. So you can expect a familiar ride experience with fake drops, unique scenes, one pretty big splash toward the end, and a vibrant finale.
Below, we’ll discuss what you need to know to experience Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and discuss some of the ride’s backstory. We’ll also review height requirements, Lightning Lanes, and other need-to-know details.
Here is the quick reference chart for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
| Tiana’s Bayou Adventure | Magic Kingdom |
|---|---|
Location: | Frontierland |
Height Requirement: | 40″ |
Virtual Queue: | Check Status Here |
Lightning Lane: | Yes, with Multi Pass, Tier 1 Category |
Ride Type: | Thrill, Water Ride |
Seats Per Vehicle: | Generally, there are two per row in the log. Four rows per log. |
Rider Switch: | Yes |
Early Entry: | No |
Extended Theme Park Hours: | Check Status |
Good For: | Anyone who meets the height requirement. |
Scare Factor: | Medium |
Must-Do List: | High Priority |
Perfect For: | Kids, Tweens, Teens, Adults Mild Thrill Seekers |
Special Mention: | You will get wet. How wet? It depends. This attraction has an on-ride photo opportunity. |
Here are a few additional details:
- Guests in wheelchairs or ECVS must transfer to the ride vehicle. Details for those with mobility issues (e.g., wheelchairs or ECVs) can be found on Disney’s site.
- Know Your Disney Rules When Riding With Children: Any child under seven must be accompanied by an adult fourteen years of age or older.
Make sure to check our one-stop Lightning Lane Guide to plan your attractions.
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Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Backstory
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is set after the period of the animated film The Princess and the Frog. As you may remember, Tiana had married Prince Naveen and fulfilled her dream of opening Tiana’s Palace. She has since purchased an abandoned salt mine and transformed it into an employee-owned cooperative named Tiana’s Foods. Tiana, her family, friends, and fellow coop owners use the facility for multiple purposes, such as gardening, teaching, and creating new products. One of those products is a line of new hot sauces.
To celebrate Tiana’s Foods, she has decided to throw a big party during the Mardi Gras season. Tiana has a lot to do to prepare for the party and needs our help finding critters to perform in the band. As you make twists and turns through the bayou, you’ll encounter familiar faces from the movie and new faces in the form of cute country critters. They are all eager to perform in the band!
As you make your way to the queue, you’ll encounter warnings for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at the ride’s entrance. The sign below reads:
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
You May Get Wet: Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is a turbulent flume adventure with high speeds, heights, and sudden drops, and stops.
Warning: For safety, you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back, or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride.
Supervise children at all times. Children under age 7 years must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older.
Persons who do not meet the minimum height requirement may not ride.
Guests in a wheelchair must transfer.
Text from Sign Photographed Below
As mentioned above, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has a 40″ height requirement. Here is a photograph of a height checker near the ride’s entrance.
The initial queue is in an outdoor area.
This area resembles the former attraction but has some new theming elements. Here are a few photos.
As you approach the entrance to the former salt mines, you’ll see more signs warning you of the 50′ plunge ahead. The sign below shares boarding instructions: Pull down on a lap bar, stow items, and remain seated.
We have a few photos of the queue’s theming elements. The salt mines haven’t changed, but we saw some of Tiana’s Foods’ offices and kitchens as we wound through the queue.
Before you approach the loading area, you’ll see more warning signs and a couple of overhead screens reminding guests to store any loose items at their feet when they board the log.
We’ve finally reached the loading zone.
This is your last chance to exit. If you decide not to ride, you can take the chicken exit here and wait for your family nearby.
Each log has four rows and seats approximately two guests per row.
Once you board the log, you’re off with a small drop (barely noticeable) into the bayou. Here, you’ll make your first lap around the mountain. It appears as if you’re going straight up to the big drop. But that has always been the appeal of the ride for many. You keep thinking something will happen sooner rather than later, keeping guests on the edge of their seats.
A couple of logs zoom past as you enter the first lift of the ride.
Tiana is waiting inside to welcome you. Unfortunately, I was worried about my camera getting wet, so I opted to take pictures with my mobile phone. I’m unsure if these turned out better or worse because the ride is fairly dark.
After the first fake drop, we glimpse the gardens where vegetables are grown for Tiana’s Foods. This is a cheerful area.
As we go down the next small drop, we see the back side of the water tower, which is decorated with Tiana’s tiara from the movie. The back shares the same message we saw earlier, “Never, ever lose sight of what’s really important.”
Back inside, we run into Tiana and Louis. They are trying to form a band and need our help finding critters, I mean, band members.
Mama Odie then shrinks us down to the size of frogs. Suddenly, everything looks larger than life.
As you continue, you’ll see numerous critters and characters. By now, it’s time to get to the party, and there’s only one way there. Your log is transported up the final lift to an opening covered with hanging bottles. You’ll get a brief view of Magic Kingdom before the log tips over and shoots down the 50′ plunge.
We didn’t get too wet on the ride. Thankfully, the sprayers after the drop were off. If you’ve ridden Splash Mountain before, you might remember that the sprayers after the drop were usually where guests got soaked. However, the ride was backed up at this point, and it began to rain while we sat in our log. So we ended up getting wet.
When the ride finally began to move, we were taken inside to the finale scene. It’s a beautiful scene that I look forward to seeing again. We see Prince Naveen, Tiana, Louis, Prince Ralphie (Naveen’s little brother), and the band of critters. Eudora (Tiana’s mother) and Charlotte La Bouff (Lottie) are part of the scene on the opposite side of the log (not pictured).
Mama Odie stands near a plate of beignets just before you reach the unloading area.
Once you exit, you’ll notice the PhotoPass screens overhead, where you can preview your on-ride photo. Guests with the Memory Maker can access the photo in their My Disney Experience account.
After the exit, a few ride posters feature the Bayou Community Band. I guess they were a hit. We see Rufus, Beau, Felipe, and Byhalia.
This one features Sebastian, Octavia, Gritty, and Isabel, with Phina the Fox and Louis the Alligator.
Here are a few more photos taken outside of the attraction.
The Resorts Gal Spin on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
We give Tiana’s Bayou Adventure the green light with a word of caution. If you don’t want to get wet, you probably don’t want to ride. You can check outside the ride (from the first bridge) to see if the sprayers are on before you get in line. I haven’t seen them running lately, but that doesn’t mean they won’t. Part of the fun of the ride is that you will get wet.
Resorts Gal Traffic Signals
Green Light
We give an attraction the green light if we consider it a must-do, regardless of the posted wait. We also give the green light for attractions we deem suitable to experience anytime. For example, some attractions have high capacities. Therefore, the lines continuously move and you shouldn’t have a long wait unless the attraction experiences downtime.
Red Light
We recommend checking the posted wait times for red light attractions. Then, make a quick judgment call on whether to wait, skip it, or return later. We also red light some attractions that we feel might not be suitable based on our experience.
Final Thoughts
We hope you get to experience Tiana’s Bayou on your next visit. I am looking forward to riding it again to get a better look at some of the ride scenes and animatronics! For more on the park, you might enjoy our Magic Kingdom Planning Guide. You might also like the following:
- Magic Kingdom Ride Guide
- Meeting Characters at Magic Kingdom
- Touring Frontierland at Magic Kingdom
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Ride Guide
In the Comments
Are you excited to experience Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom? What are your thoughts? Do you have any questions we didn’t answer in our ride guide? If so, let us know in the comments below.
