A journey that began over four years ago, when fans asked for Splash Mountain to be replaced, is now complete. On November 15, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open at Disneyland Resort. It will be the second version of the attraction to open, as Tiana made her debut at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom back in June. Having now ridden both versions, I actually have a favorite, which is weird since they’re supposed to be the same ride.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is essentially the same in both places. The story is the same. The amazing music, including the banger finale tune from PJ Morton, is the same. The incredible animatronics are the same. And yet, I think Disneyland’s version of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is just that little bit better.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Is A Great Attraction At Both Parks
To be clear, when I say Disneyland has the edge, that’s not due to anything that Walt Disney World did wrong. I’ve written about how much Tiana’s Bayou Adventure impressed me when I experienced it. I was expecting a simple re-theme of Splash Mountain. I thought the ride would be the same and just have a new coat of paint.
Instead, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is essentially a different ride. It’s a log flume, like Splash Mountain, but that’s all the two have in common.
Disneyland’s Tiana gives you all that, just like she does at Magic Kingdom. But Disneyland and Disney World’s two locations are slightly different, and that’s where Disneyland actually builds a better Bayou Adventure.
Bigger Isn’t Always Better
When it comes to theme park attractions, there’s a constant race to set records. The biggest, the tallest, the fastest; these are the things attractions want to be. After Disney built its first Splash Mountain at Disneyland, when it came time to build another, of course they made it bigger.
Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom has a longer track, and it includes additional drops that the Disneyland version doesn’t have. These are great if you’re riding for thrill or to get soaked on a hot day, but Magic Kingdom’s version of Tiana doesn’t really do anything with the extra space or extra drops when it comes to Tiana.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has a fun story. Guests are joining Tiana and Louis on a trip through the bayou to find musicians for a big party Tiana is throwing. Then you get shrunk down to the size of an animal by Mama Odie, before being returned to normal size after being sent down the massive drop. Then it’s off to the party.
That story is simply tighter at Disneyland. It starts as soon as you leave the loading area and you move steadily from one scene to the next, with no wasted effort. If it was a screenplay, parts of Disney World's ride would get cut due to being unnecessary, no matter how much fun they are.
Disneyland’s Faster Ride Enhances Some Effects
Disneyland’s version of Tiana is a couple of minutes shorter than the one you’ll find at Magic Kingdom. Part of the reason for that is the added length of the ride in Orlando, but there is also another factor: Disneyland’s log flume moves faster.
While both versions of the ride top out at about 45 MPH when you drop 52 and a half feet, the speed of the water the rest of the time is much faster at Disneyland. This also aids the story's focus, but additionally helps enhance the effects.
When I was in Orlando, the sequence where guests get “shrunk” by Mama Odie, while still fun, didn’t wow me the way it did in Anaheim. The animatronics, a massive frog playing drums, who had been normal size earlier in the ride, and a massive screen showing Tiana and Louis trying to find you, were cool, but I just didn’t connect with that part of the story.
At Disneyland, it was a very different story, as the shrinking element works better. Near as I can tell, this is due to the slightly faster speed of the boat at Disneyland. Because you’re moving faster, you never quite get your bearings. You can’t stop and think about the different story elements around you, you can’t “see through” it. The effect of feeling small comes through better.
If Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Is The Beginning, The Future Of Disneyland And Disney World Is Bright
A ride retheme is far from an unusual thing at Disneyland or Disney World. Numerous rides have seen their stories change without being replaced over the years. If there’s a downside to doing that, it’s that there are some core changes to an attraction that Walt Disney Imagineering simply can’t make. This means their creativity is inherently limited.
And yet, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, at both Disneyland and Disney World, might not be a revolution, but it is an evolution of the log flume attraction. It is once again one of the best, if not the best, versions of this type of ride.
And if that’s what Walt Disney Imagineering can do when one hand is tied behind their back, imagine what will be possible when the sky is the limit. Major expansion is currently planned at Disneyland, and major overhauls are also planned at Disney World. While not everybody loves what we’ll be losing at Magic Kingdom to make room for new attractions in Frontierland, the upcoming Villains Land is entirely an addition to the park.
Next year promises a Walt Disney animatronic that, based on the description, will make the ones in Tiana, that look amazing, look dated. It will also give us a brand new version of Test Track at Epcot, another attraction where the core of what it is won’t change, but that doesn’t mean we should expect something truly impressive to come.
I don’t know what’s coming, but my expectations are high because of what Imagineering was able to do to, in Walt Disney’s words “plus” this attraction. Splash Mountain was never a “must ride” for me when I visited either Disneyland or Magic Kingdom, but now it is at both parks, even if the former's is just that little bit better.
