Disney World's Splash Mountain officially has a new name, inspired by Walt Disney Animation Studios' The Princess and the Frog.
It was announced by Disney Parks during ESSENCE Fest in New Orleans that Splash Mountain will be renamed Tiana's Bayou Adventure, inspired by the 2009 Walt Disney Animation Studios film The Princess and the Frog. According to a Disney Parks blog post, the revamped rides will be coming to Florida's Magic Kingdom and California's Disneyland Park in late 2024.
"In many ways, Tiana's Bayou Adventure is a love letter to New Orleans," said Charita Carter, executive producer of relevancy activations at Walt Disney Imagineering. "Like the musical city that inspired this attraction, Tiana's second act is about a community working in harmony to achieve something extraordinary. She reminds us of an immutable truth we can all relate to: 'if you do your best each and every day, good things are sure to come your way.' And that’s a melody we can all sing along to!"
Executive creative director Ted Robledo added, "The joie de vivre that animates this region so brilliantly not only inspired Tiana's journey, but also our team at Walt Disney Imagineering." It was announced in June 2020 that Splash Mountain would be redesigned to instead feature characters from 2009's The Princess and the Frog. Splash Mountain opened in 1989 in Disneyland and in 1992 in Walt Disney World and was designed after the controversial 1946 film, Song of the South, which has been heavily criticized for its portrayal of the post-Civil War South and racist stereotypes reflected in the characters.
"With this longstanding history of updating attractions and adding new magic, the retheming of Splash Mountain is of particular importance today," Disney said in a statement regarding the redesign of Splash Mountain. "The new concept is inclusive -- one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year."
Splash Mountain is not the only ride getting a redesign as part of Disney Parks' efforts towards inclusivity and diversity, as it was revealed in July 2021 that the ride Jungle Cruise had received significant updates as well. First introduced to the park in 1955, the updates and redesigns to Disneyland's Jungle Cruise began earlier in 2021, after decades of complaints about the ride's racist caricatures of Indigenous people. Concept art of the possible redesigns was released in January 2021, which is reflected in Disney Parks' recent BTS video.
Tiana's Bayou Adventure debuts in Walt Disney World and Disneyland Park in 2024.
Source: Disney Parks