Splash Mountain at Disney's Magic Kingdom officially closed at the end of the day on Sunday, January 22, 2023 in order to begin its extensive transformation to Tiana's Bayou Adventure which is slated to open late 2024. In a new video construction update from 4K WDW we get to see footage from July 26, of the construction site of the reimagining of Tiana Bayou Adventure at the Magic Kingdom.
It appears that although the mountain is covered in scaffolding, progress on the exterior seems fairly minimal. It looks like the former entrance/queue area is being worked on and the barn is also looking a little different with the Br'er Rabbit weather vane continuing to sit on the top of it. There looks to be some green splattered areas on parts of the mountain, and also on the bottom of the water tower which is suggested could be for moss to be added as has been the case at Disneyland Park.
We will continue to follow the progress of this somewhat contentious reimagining of the iconic Splash Mountain here at Theme Park Tourist.
At the beginning of July, Disney revealed a first look at Tiana's new costume at the ESSENCE Fest in New Orleans which will be used in the upcoming Tiana's Bayou Adventure attraction.
NEW: Disney has shared a first look at Tiana's new costume - which matches Tiana's look that will be featured in the upcoming Tiana's Bayou Adventure attraction opening at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Park in 2024.
The costume was revealed at ESSENCE Fest in New Orleans. pic.twitter.com/mJxYeCmr7W— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) June 30, 2023
Here is a reminder of the original concept art.
Here is a full length look at Tiana's new costume.
Although this new costume has been officially revealed, according to an Instagram post it still looks like Tiana will continue to wear her royal gown in the Disney parks at the moment.
We have also seen this week that the new Tiana's Foods water tower had been successfully installed, topped with a golden tiara.
Overnight, the "tiara-topped" Tiana's Foods water tower was installed at Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Walt Disney World. The attraction will open in 2024. https://t.co/iQWDnbeOAC pic.twitter.com/46wmzgHAXy
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) June 27, 2023
In mid-October 2022 we saw reports online that a notice of commencement has been filed for Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Disney's Magic Kingdom. The decision made by Disney to close the iconic Splash Mountain at both the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Park has certainly been a contentious one with some Disney fans very happy with the upcoming change and others the complete opposite.
Disney has filed a permit to begin construction on Bayou Adventure in Walt Disney World. It is listed as “Project CY1899”. The contractor Disney has chosen is Balfour Beatty Construction. Permit expires June 30, 2024 (All info coming from WDWMAGIC) #SplashMountain #Disneyland pic.twitter.com/Mc6cYp44OB
— SplashMountainArchives (@SplashMtn1989) October 14, 2022
We are bringing you a construction update from current reports online of the progress so far. The video footage posted to YouTube by Attractions Plus was filmed on May 21. You can see a range of views of what Splash Mountain currently looks like including more scaffolding which has been erected around the mountain and the tree has gone from the outside theme. New rockwork is now in place near the splash down lane and paint testing is being done.
The plain brown construction walls have a couple of small Tiana's Foods posters in places. The water has been completely drained and there doesn't seem to be a lot of work going on in the outside sections of the ride at the moment. The large hole which was at the bottom of the drop has been completely filled back up and repainted. The queue area currently appears untouched.
Tiana's Bayou Adventure is slated to open in late 2024. To check out all of the latest announcements which were made during the D23 Expo regarding Tiana's Bayou Adventure head to our news article, More Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Details Revealed At Disney’s D23 Expo and Everything We Know About Tiana'a Bayou Adventure.
Are you sad that Splash Mountain has permanently closed at Disney's Magic Kingdom and is set to close for good at Disneyland Park at the end of the day on May 30? If you are feeling nostalgic about Splash Mountain, be sure to check out our featured article, YOU MAY GET WET: An Ode To Splash Mountain.
Let us know your thoughts by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page. We will keep you up to date on all the latest news on the reimagining of Splash Mountain into Tiana's Bayou Adventure here at Theme Park Tourist.
Comments
This is the worst decision Disney could have ever made. Splash is iconic, and the ride will always be called Splash Mountain by fans that have loved this ride for over 30 years. Once it opens with the new theming and dumb story, that 1% of people who asked for this change will regret it.
We scheduled our next visit to Disney World in March 2023 to be sure to take part in the 50th Anniversary celebration. I'm sure that many other folks have the same plans. We are heartbroken to learn that Disney has decided to close Splash Mountain (which is of course our favorite ride!) in the midst of the 50th Anniversary festivities! We should start a petition or letter-writing campaign to beg Disney to hold off on the ride closure until the 50th Anniversary celebration concludes at the end of March 2023!!! Please join us in trying to ensure that Splash Mountain remains open during the entire 50th Anniversary celebration!
Nobody wants this damn re-theme. Why is it that the crazy twitter crazies call the shots? All this started because of one idiot cast men that was crying about the ride. This ride is iconic. Why they hell does Disney pander to 1% Cancel Culture that doesn’t even go to Disney parks? This is absolutely ridiculous. Wait for Cancel Culture to target other rides like Haunted Mansion and so on unless Disney wakes up. Splash Mountain doesn’t need a re-theme. Disney leadership needs a re-theme. Leave Splash Mountain alone.
Wish you would put a "Hopefully Never" option up there and see what the results are, since that is what the majority of people actually want.
Truth. Nobody wants it removed. It makes no sense to change it in WDW. It makes sense to retheme it in California only as there is already a New Orleans theme there. In Orlando it will be out of place. Tiana should have her own ride in fantasyland. I truly hope Disney will only update it in California only and leave splash alone in the magic kingdom. The woke nonsense behind all of this is ridiculous. Disney is ruining its parks by taking classic rides out of the parks. They screwed up hollywood studios.