Disney's recent updates point to a potential early opening for Tiana's Bayou Adventure

Nov 09, 2023 in "Tiana's Bayou Adventure"

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Posted: Thursday November 9, 2023 9:00am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

It is appearing more and more likely that Tiana's Bayou Adventure may open earlier than its originally announced late 2024 timeframe.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure concept model - D23 Expo exhibit

When the project to reimagine Splash Mountain into Tiana's Bayou Adventure was initially announced, Disney's messaging consistently suggested a "late 2024" opening.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure construction at Magic Kingdom

The message changed in an update from Carmen Smith, Senior Vice President, Creative Development - Product/Content & Inclusive Strategies, on the official Disney Parks Blog in mid-October, which referred to a "2024" opening.

Another announcement from Disney made during yesterday's Q4 2023 earnings report reiterated the "2024" opening. This mention was even more significant because Tiana's Bayou Adventure was included in a timeline with entries for "2024" and "Late 2024." Tiana's Bayou Adventure was placed in the "2024" list, with the DVC Polynesian Resort project being placed in the "Late 2024" list.

While the recent shift does seem to suggest Tiana's Bayou Adventure may open earlier than initially announced, the 2024 timeline does still give Disney the option of a late 2024 opening if needed.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure concept model - D23 Expo exhibit

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EagleScout6104 hours ago

I completely forgot they're planning on closing Big Thunder. That'll be disasterous for Frontierland if Bayou can't operate for a full day and BTMRR is down.

monothingie5 hours ago

BTM is planned to be closing for an extended refurbishment imminently. TBA as a new ride was unlikely to close this winter. Without TBA you have an entire land without a major attraction and a severe hit to capacity. They've painted themselves into a corner in terms of what they can do.

Mike S8 hours ago

Finally rode it myself. What a downgrade. Splash Mountain was a ride I could go on again and again every trip. This? Once is enough if I’m even feeling like it. Can’t wait to go to Tokyo one day just to see it again.

EagleScout6109 hours ago

The way I see it, they have two options - A. Shut down TBA less than a month after opening it to fix the bugs B. Wait until winter (when they would usually refurbish Splash) to take it down and fix it then. The issue becomes, do they admit their new ride can't function properly when the old one worked (admittedly less so at the end), or let it close multiple times a day for a good chunk of its debut season?

EricsBiscuit10 hours ago

IIRC it took them a while to fix FEA too. Within a couple months they’ll fine tune it.

monothingie13 hours ago

The problem with TBA is that they are unable or unwilling to fix it at this point. Unable because the problem can not be resolved without extended downtime. Unwilling because shutting it down for a month or more would be a tremendous embarrassment. Ironically I think more guests would be less critical of an unplanned refurbishment to get it working properly, than to have it breakdown for half the day on a constant basis. But I guess that would bruise some pretty inflated egos at the company.

EricsBiscuit21 hours ago

FEA is a very apt comparison. Both rides are enjoyable but had rough openings and are objectively not as good as what they replaced.

co1006421 hours ago

This attraction’s opening reminds me of FEA in so many ways. I wasn’t following the opening of FEA very closely, but I remember there being substantial downtime and ride evacs early on. I don’t know what changed to get the ride more reliable, but hopefully they can fix it soon! It’s very disappointing when you plan to experience a new attraction on a (very expensive) vacation but don’t get that opportunity.

MisterPenguin21 hours ago

BrerFoxesBayouAdventure21 hours ago

One can only hope DL's version isn't as pitiful in terms of operation.

lightningtap34723 hours ago

This is egregiously bad too as today's a day where we didn't have any rain. Today was the day NOT to have this happen.

monothingie23 hours ago

7 hours of total downtime today. Just the latest continuing example of a day in which the ride was down just as much as it was up. They can’t fix this thing and they can’t shut it down for an extended refurbishment so soon, so they’re just going to let it limp along and get progressively worse and downplay any vocal complaints about these problems. This was so predictable. Shame on the shills who gaslighted anyone critical of this mess. Congratulations Disney you built a mediocre attraction\