Confirmed: Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to Contain Several Nods to Splash Mountain

Splash Mountain, which opened at Disneyland in 1989, was a mega-popular attraction. One adored by fans worldwide. It became so popular that it spurred copies of the attraction at both Magic Kingdom in Florida and Tokyo Disneyland.

In 2020, the first announcement of Disney’s intention to reimagine this fan-favorite into a ride themed after Disney’s first African-American princess, Tiana, was made.

In the proceeding few years, Disney would release tidbits of details of what to expect, but it wouldn’t be until the spring of 2023 where we finally received confirmation that Splash would take its final bow in May of the same year.

While most people (myself included) are excited for this new attraction to open, we can’t help but feel a bit melancholy about Splash Mountain’s demise. If you’re one of them, this news may cheer you up a bit.

Splash isn’t the first Disneyland attraction to receive a re-theme. In 2001, the Country Bear Jamboree closed to make way for what is now The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. In 1998, Submarine Voyage shuttered and reopened nine years later with a Finding Nemo theme. There are countless other examples.

As is tradition with Disney Imagineers, whenever they replace one attraction with another, they leave behind a few nods to the original attraction as a way to honor it. Many were wondering if they would do the same for the iconic Splash Mountain. Well, we finally have confirmation.

Recently, a representative from NOLA.com conducted an interview with some of the Imagineers working on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure during a walkthrough of the attraction in Florida.

During the walkthrough, Ted Robledo, Executive Creative Director of Walt Disney Imagineering, confirmed that Tiana’s WILL feature several nods to its beloved predecessor.

We already know that both the ride vehicle (logs) and the track itself will go untouched and Robledo did stop short of going into too much detail, he did mention these “subtle” nods included the architecture of the interior (rocks and boulders), as they’ve been retained.

Most of the original flora and fauna has been changed, though, as they work to transition it into a bayou/swamp environment.

I’m willing to bet that the rocks and boulders aren’t the only nods we’ll find within the attraction. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and Brer Fox hidden somewhere in the bayou (much like the Country Bears in the Winnie the Pooh attraction).

Until the attraction opens in late 2024, we can only speculate. Tiana’s is going to be a fantastic attraction regardless, but I do hope they go beyond just landscape to honor Splash Mountain.