New concept art and details unveiled for Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Walt Disney World

Apr 12, 2023 in "Tiana's Bayou Adventure"

Posted: Wednesday April 12, 2023 1:13pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has today announced more details on the upcoming Tiana's Bayou Adventure attraction coming to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in late 2024, including news on animatronics and the appearance of Mama Odie.

As depicted in this newly released rendering above, Mama Odie jokes with guests along their journey after a special display of her magic. The two-hundred-year-old Bayou Fairy Godmother, with her eccentric belongings and “seeing eye snake,” Juju, is comically eccentric, yet wise and all-knowing, throughout the adventure. Actress Jenifer Lewis, who starred as the voice of Mama Odie in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “The Princess and the Frog,” is once again returning to her role for the attraction.

Other new details announced for today for Tiana's Bayou Adventure include:

  • Brand-new cast of original Disney characters with distinct names and personalities
  • Dozens of entirely new Audio-Animatronics figures
  • Adorable critters with incredible talent, bringing the diverse flavors of musical gumbo found in New Orleans!
  • New, original music alongside favorite tunes from the film
  • Alluring scent of beignets being prepared for the party will be part of the attraction queue!
  • Additional talent voices from the film reprising their roles, including Bruno Campos as Prince Naveen, Michael Leon Wooley as Louis, and the one and only Anika Noni Rose as Princess Tiana
  • Familiar faces from the film such as Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen, Mama Odie, Louis, Eudora, Charlotte, “Big Daddy,” the King and Queen of Maldonia and Prince Ralphie

Disney also announced today that Splash Mountain at Disneyland park will be closed starting May 31, 2023.

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EagleScout61018 hours ago

Bocabear18 hours ago

in the first scene past "How Do You Do" we see the bear and fox watching Bre'r Rabbit standing out in front of his Briar Patch home that he has just closed because he has "Gotta Be Movin' Along"...he is leaving his home in search of something better....So yes, it is pretty clear that he lives in a Briar Patch and it leaving it for adventure... it is not a single line of dialogue...he is literally standing in front of the Briar patch leaving with a bg of his belongings... I think the bunnies mention something about that too...It is not hard to follow or a hidden story unless people pay absolutely no attention to what is going on around them...and I have seen plenty of people talk through the whole ride and are not aware of anything more than pretty colors and they are in a boat....

flynnibus20 hours ago

There is a lot of space between breadcrumbs... and 'plainly obvious'. Just because something was there - doesn't make it obvious or digestible to casual riders. Is a casual rider supposed to know when they pass that scene that these specific elements are key facts.. vs just environmental things? You gotta evaluate things through the lens of the audience - not a superfan with all the information laid out in front of you with full context and reference. I mean when people rely on a SINGLE line of dialogue... you're assuming someone could actually hear it, that the person wasn't distracted, and that the person was aware enough to focus in on that. Usually repetition is used to help solidify a key point like that when you are dealing with short exposures... or you may hear a song use chorus to repeat things.. vs a single verse. TLDR - don't take "I didn't follow the story" to just mean "the story wasn't told!!!" ... it means the audience wasn't able to pick up on all of it... even if the elements were there.

Mireille21 hours ago

Reynard the fox is another one from medieval French (and German/English/Dutch, but I know him from French) folklore. Hence, "sly as a fox."

MickeyLuv'r23 hours ago

YES! Anansi is another classic trickster character.

EricsBiscuit1 day ago

Yeah the screens look very sharp and well done. There’s also enough in the Laughing Place scene with the frogs and jumping water to where, if you don’t want to look at the screens, you don’t have to.

SilentWindODoom1 day ago

Wow! That really is a huge glitch in the system if animatronics from the Norway Pavillion are suddenly showing up! It's the prevalence of comments like this that make me feel like this may be true, not an attempt at goalpost-moving as the dismissive charge was levied. I only know the stories of Br'er Rabbit from this ride and learned the most about him from Defunctland's video on the original flume based on them. I don't know how often they're taught. My introduction to the term "trickster" and my frame of reference for the trope before meeting Loki was this book from childhood:

Brer Oswald1 day ago

He also sings the line "I've had enough of this old Briar Patch". The ride gave you more than enough to clue in to what was going on. The left was up to the rider.

BrerFoxesBayouAdventure1 day ago

That's interesting because he's shown living in the briar patch in the first scene.

MickeyLuv'r1 day ago

Apologies for discussing the old ride again, but that makes me a bit sad to hear. Every adult/most students should have known that Brer Rabbit is a classic Trickster character, and that he was using classic tricks to outwit the fox. I fault your teachers more than problems w/ the ride. Did you ever read the Cherokee Legend, How the Rabbit Lost His Tail? Or Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit stories? Or Bugs Bunny cartoons? Those should be stables of every child's education. sigh. If you - or anyone else participating in these forums is not well versed in the above, then I encourage you to seek them out now. Admittedly, many classic bugs cartoons are a bit dated, as many of the old Disney cartoons are dated, but still worthwhile. After that, make sure you know Homer's Odyssey! (One of the greatest tales ever told.) Every adult should know Odysseus is a classic trickster. And Loki, and ...

EricsBiscuit1 day ago

I got to ride it today! Overall, I enjoyed the experience. Starting with the queue, it is an improvement. The air conditioning upstairs being the highlight. I also appreciated the nod to WWI veterans, a war which is often forgotten. Onto the ride. I was surprised by how much rock work was left alone at the beginning. Most of the outdoor portion of the ride is an improvement, with the exception of no Brer Frog replacement. The bayou scenes are very well done but go by quickly. The scenes are much darker than on SM. To me this makes a lot of sense as it makes redoing all the set pieces from Splash much easier. The scenes are very detailed and have lots of kinetic energy, but there are a few stretches where I wish more was going on. The transition to the former Laughing Place is not as bad as I thought it would be based off the videos. The screens look much better in person. There is also much more going on than the videos relate. The animated figures are very well done and I like the Afro Cuban music. The lift hill is a little bland until you get to Mama Odie, who is very well done. The drop itself is mostly the same, minus the water cannons, an improvement in my book. I ducked so I didn’t get wet. The finale is also very detailed. I love the building facade and all the figures look great. I just wish that Tiana wore her princess dress. Like the other scenes, it does go by pretty quick. As for the ride system, the dispatches were quick! The line moved fast and everything looked like it was synced pretty well. Most if not all of the AAs were working. I think the 2nd Louis AA might have had issues with his mouth. Besides that, all looked good. In sum, a great experience. Is it as good as Splash? If it had just a little more in the bayou scenes, it would be as good as Splash. This coming from someone who has opposed this change from the beginning.

MickeyLuv'r1 day ago

The ghost of Brer Rabbit is still up to his old tricks?;)

lightningtap3471 day ago

Some observations from my ride this morning: It's pretty and the animatronics are cool. I unfortunately felt nothing in terms of emotion, and I think that has to do with the weak story and poor dialogue in the ride. There's no reason to feel anything because there's nothing to feel for. It was a bit harder to suspend disbelief than normal, and I feel that's because I don't believe Tiana would be doing any of this. They seemingly pigeonholed themselves with the structure, and it was hard to ever get invested in what was occurring. Something I found alarming was the guest discourse after my ride. I stayed by the picture booth for about 25 minutes after to listen to others as they got off the ride. Maybe it was just the environment (AP preview) but I not once heard a comment that wasn't essentially directly comparing against Splash. I also didn't hear a single comment that I would evaluate as anything beyond "light praise." It's concerning to me that no one appeared able to give the ride an honest shot, but in my personal attempt to do so I think I'd give it a 6.5/10. Unfortunately, Disney was seemingly unable to detach this attraction from its past, and in my opinion, this just isn't a good enough replacement, regardless of technological advancement. The ride will definitely pull a line, and probably sell merch so it will be deemed a success by those who define those metrics, but for replacing a top five attraction of all time (my opinion), this just wasn't the grand slam it needed to be.

Kristamouse2 days ago

We will be in MK on 6/25. We do no have AP’s. Does anyone have an idea on how we will attempt to ride? Just the typical GoG or RoR grab for VQ? Any idea on if LL will be avalible? Edited to be clear, we are between the AP preview and actual opening day. Yall are the smartest Disney Nerds I know any ideas?