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After riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland and Disney World, one is clearly better. Here’s why.

Umito November 14, 2024

A journey that began over four years ago, when fans called for Splash Mountain to be replaced, is now over. On November 15, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open its doors at Disneyland Resort. This will be the second version of the attraction to open, since Tiana made her debut at Walt Disney The Magic Kingdom of the World in June. Having now driven both versions, I actually have a favorite, which is weird since they’re supposed to be the same vehicle.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is essentially the same in both locations. The story is the same. Amazing music including final banger track by PJ Morton, it’s the same. THE amazing animatronic are the same. And yet, I think the Disneyland version of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is just a little better.

Animatronic Tiana in Tiana's Bayou Adventure — (Image credit: Disneyland Resort/Sean Teegarden)

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is a big attraction at both parks

To be clear, when I say that Disneyland has the advantage, it is not due to anything wrong that Walt Disney World did. I wrote about how Tiana’s Bayou Adventure impressed me when I experienced it. I was expecting a simple Splash Mountain re-theme. 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 adventure. It’s a log flume, like Splash Mountain, but that’s all the two have in common.

Disneyland’s Tiana gives you all of that, just like she does at the Magic Kingdom. But the two locations of Disneyland and Disney World are slightly different, and that’s where Disneyland is building a better Bayou Adventure.

Tiana's Foods Water Tower in Tiana's Bayou Adventure

(Image credit: Disneyland Resort/Christian Thompson)

Bigger is not 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 one, of course they made it bigger.

Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom has a longer track and includes additional drops that the Disneyland version does not have. These are great if you’re riding for thrills or to get drenched on a hot day, but Magic Kingdom’s version of Tiana really doesn’t do anything with the extra space or extra drops when it comes to Tiana .

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has a fun story. The guests join Tiana and Louis on a trip through the bayou to find musicians for a big party thrown by Tiana. Next, Mama Odie shrinks you to the size of an animal, before returning to normal size after being sent down the massive fall. Then it’s off to the party.

This story is just tighter at Disneyland. It starts as soon as you leave the loading area and you move steadily from one scene to the next without wasted effort. If this were a storyline, parts of the Disney World ride would be removed as unnecessary, no matter how fun they were.

bongo playing frog in Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Disneyland

(Image credit: Disneyland Resort/Christian Thompson)

Disneyland’s faster ride improves some effects

Tiana’s version at Disneyland is a few minutes shorter than the one you’ll find at the Magic Kingdom. Part of the reason for this is the extra length of the ride in Orlando, but there’s also another factor: Disneyland’s log flume moves faster.

While both versions of the ride top out at around 45 MPH when you descend 52 and a half feet, the water speed the rest of the time is much faster at Disneyland. This also makes it easier to focus the story, but also helps enhance the effects.

When I was in Orlando, the sequence in which the guests get “shrunk” by Mama Odie, while still funny, didn’t blow me away like it did in Anaheim. The animatronics, a huge frog playing drums that had been normal size earlier in the ride, and a giant screen showing Tiana and Louis trying to find you, were cool, but I just didn’t get that part of history.

At Disneyland it was a very different story, as the shrinking element works better. From what I can tell, this is due to the slightly faster speed of the boat at Disneyland. Because you move faster, you never manage to get your bearings. You can’t stop and think about the different elements of the story around you, you can’t “see through”. The effect of feeling small is felt better.

Concept art of Walt Disney's animatronic leaning against a desk

(Image credit: Disney)

If Tiana’s Bayou adventure is just the beginning, the future of Disneyland and Disney World is bright

A The wrinkle retheme is far from an unusual thing at Disneyland or Disney World. Many rides have seen their history evolve without being replaced over the years. If there’s a downside to this, it’s that there are fundamental changes to an attraction that Walt Disney Imagineering simply can’t make. This means that their creativity is inherently limited.

And yet, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, at Disneyland and Disney World, may not be a revolution, but it is an evolution of the log flume attraction. This is once again one of the best, if not the best, version of this type of attraction.

And if this is what Walt Disney Imagineering can do when one hand is tied behind his back, imagine what will be possible when the sky is the limit. Major an expansion is currently planned at Disneylandand major overhauls are also planned at Disney World. Even if not everyone likes what we will lose at Magic Kingdom To make way for new attractions in Frontierland, the upcoming Villains Land is entirely an addition to the park.

Next year’s promises a Walt Disney animatronic which, according to the description, will make Tiana’s ones, which look amazing, look old-fashioned. This will also give us a mark new version of Test Track at Epcot, another attraction whose essentials won’t change, but that doesn’t mean we should expect anything truly impressive.

I don’t know what’s coming, but my expectations are high because of what Imagineering was able to make, in the words of Walt Disney, “more” this attraction. Splash Mountain was never a must-see for me when I visited Disneyland or Magic Kingdom, but it is now at both parks, although the former is just a little better.

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After riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland and Disney World, one is clearly better. Here’s why.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is a big attraction at both parks

Umito

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After riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland and Disney World, one is clearly better. Here’s why.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is a big attraction at both parks

Umito

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