Walt Disney Imagineering shared the first look inside the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attractions slated to open at Disneyland and Walt Disney World next year.
Scott Gustin, a member of the digital team at Nexstar Media Group Inc., the parent company of KTLA, shared some of the photos on X, formally known as Twitter.
The brief look inside the attraction showed Imagineers working on a scene that featured an old cabin, a magnolia tree and tall grassy fields all set against a night sky as the background.
The sneak peek inside the attraction aired during “Disney 100: A Century of Dreams” on ABC during a special edition of “20/20.”
The scene reminded some Disney fans of the beginning scene of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland. On that ride, guests can enjoy a leisure boat as they pass old cabins, boats and greenery before going down the waterfall.
It’s unclear if the “20/20” footage was filmed at Disneyland in Anaheim or the Magic Kingdom in Florida, but Disney officials previously announced that both attractions are expected to be nearly identical.
Disneyland and Disney World closed the Splash Mountain attractions earlier this year so Imagineers could transform the highly criticized ride into a “Princess and the Frog-themed attraction.
The storyline of “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” will pick up where the 2009 animated feature left off.
“Walt Disney Imagineering is creating an original, next-chapter story for Tiana. Within the attraction queue, guests will discover that she continues to grow her business with Tiana’s Foods – an employee-owned cooperative,” the Disney Parks Blog announced in February.
“Combining her talents with those of the local community, Tiana has transformed an aging salt mine and built a beloved brand.”
Splash Mountain has been criticized in recent years due to the fact that it featured characters and music from the 1946 animated feature “Song of the South,” a movie that has been criticized for its stereotypes of black men and its romanticized view of the post-Civil War South.
Fans called for Disney to redo the theme of Splash Mountain in 2020 amid a racial reckoning across the U.S.
Along with the ride closure, Disneyland has removed other nods to Splash Mountain throughout the resort. In March, Lyrics from “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” were quietly removed from the set list of Disneyland’s Magic Happens parade.
The song also originated from the 1946 feature. Disneyland officials replaced the music with another song from the 1953 feature, “Peter Pan.”
Along with the new ride, Princess Tiana fans can dine at Tiana’s Palace, the restaurant the character fought to open throughout the animated feature, or shop at Eudora’s Chic Boutique.
