The Festival of Fantasy parade returned to Disney's Magic Kingdom on March 9 having been canceled for nearly two years due to COVID-19. Yesterday afternoon the parade began slightly differently to normal as it wasn't Beauty and the Beast waving to guests from the first float, it was Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen.

Now whilst it is not completely unusual for characters to be changed if needed in parades, some may speculate that this may hint that a proposed large change may finally be coming to the Magic Kingdom. This change to the Festival of Fantasy parade was spotted by a number of guests including by this Instagram user.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Liz (@sureasliz)

Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen are from the popular 'Princess and the Frog' film and most Disney fans will be aware that Disney announced back in June 2020 that they plan to bring a brand new theme to the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Classic - Splash Mountain which will feature Princess Tiana from Princess and the Frog.

We are not sure if the change of characters from Beauty and the Beast to Princess Tiana and Prince Haveen in the Festival of Fantasy parade on Monday will be a temporary change or will become permanent. Nothing has been confirmed by Disney as of yet.

But it does leave us to ask the question, does this change hint at there being news in the very near future of the reimagining of Splash Moutain? Things have been very quiet regarding this project over the last year with some fans speculating that it won't take place whilst others are still certain that it will.

The news that Splash Mountain is to be reimagined has certainly been a controversial one amongst Disney fans. We will inform you of any further announcements regarding the planned reimagining of Splash Mountain on our news and Facebook page.