Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Problems Continue Over a Month Later
Over a month after its grand opening, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure still doesn’t run properly. The ride – a replacement for Splash Mountain, the most popular theme park attraction in the world – is based on the main character from the Disney film The Princess and the Frog, and specifically her upcoming return in the Disney+ TV series, Tiana. During its preview period at the beginning of June, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure regularly broke down and featured malfunctioning animatronics, generating bad press in the weeks leading up to its grand opening. It got so bad that Disney created a new status for the ride on the app for Annual Passholders called “boarding paused” so people who had queued up for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure would know that it had broken down yet again, and nobody was allowed to board. When the attraction officially opened, these issues weren’t fixed, with the ride breaking down and, in the days following the grand opening, merchandise sales hitting a brick wall and parkgoers being evacuated from the ride. (Thankfully, Park Hoppin’ didn’t have many issues when they tried it out, although the animatronics still had problems.)
A couple of reports from this past weekend show that conditions haven’t improved for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The first comes from Mickey Central, a website with news and guides about Disney Parks. Mickey Central posted a video on X on Friday, August 2, showing that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure had broken down again.
BREAKING: Tiana’a Bayou Adventure.pic.twitter.com/XoD2q4GmeX
— Mickey Central (@Mickey_Central) August 3, 2024
In the comments below the video, Mickey Central talked with Drew Smith, a Disney Parks enthusiast who makes YouTube videos and posts on social media about the various rides and attractions. Smith commented that on the same day, he encountered nine problems on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, including “issues I’ve never seen before.”
I just got off of it, and there were *NINE* issues in a 10-minute long ride. It was so bad I couldn’t even enjoy it.
— Drew Smith (@DrewDisneyDude) August 3, 2024
Animatronics and issues I’ve never seen before personally. It was bad.
— Drew Smith (@DrewDisneyDude) August 3, 2024
The next day, August 3, Drew Smith was compelled to make a long post on X about his experience with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which was his 26th time riding the attraction. In the post, Smith stresses that he loves the ride, calling his first experience with it “one of the happiest moments of [his] life.” And a look at his YouTube channel shows how positive he is about Disney World. However, even someone as enamored with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure as Smith can’t overlook the many glaring issues with the ride, which is now preventing him from enjoying it. He has an accompanying video as well, demonstrating that the entire animatronic musical set was not functioning on Smith’s visit.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure continues to suffer from the heaviest technical difficulties yet.
I went on the attraction for the first time 2 months ago today, and it was one of the happiest moments of my life, yet these issues can’t be ignored.
My 26th ride last night was the worst… pic.twitter.com/E71oyvR9x1
— Drew Smith (@DrewDisneyDude) August 4, 2024
Drew Smith’s frustration is important because it means even people who love Tiana’s Bayou Adventure have had enough of the ride’s failure to operate properly. And it’s hard to blame them; if a video game has glitches that ultimately ruin the experience, eventually, you’re going to stop playing, no matter how much you like it. And keep in mind how difficult it is to get onto Tiana’s Bayou Adventure; you have to wait in a virtual queue, which is often suspended because the ride continuously breaks down, so you could go all day without getting to ride it no matter how responsibly you booked your place. And that’s on top of the ridiculous costs of going to Disney World in the first place. You can’t charge that much money, make people go through that much hassle, and then not have the ride working like it’s supposed to work. Considering how big a downturn Disney’s park attendance has taken over the summer, I’ll bet Disney regrets getting rid of Splash Mountain now. (Deadpool certainly thinks they should, to the delight of parkgoers; you’d think they would take a new approach and try taking their business cues from their customers for a change.)
Have you ridden Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? Let us know your thoughts below, and check out Park Hoppin’ for more on Disney World, Universal Studios, and other theme parks!
