Work has picked up on the landscaping of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which is replacing Splash Mountain in Magic Kingdom.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Flume
Construction work began here at the bottom of the attraction, around a curve of the flume, but seemingly stalled for the past several weeks. Work picked back up in this area in the past few days, when trees were removed from the peninsula in the flume.
The trees had been marked for removal and are now officially gone. It looks like the sod and grass has also been replaced.
Metal and wood planks have been placed over the flume. This probably made removing the trees from the area safer for crew members, plus kept debris out of the flume.
One crew member was patrolling the area during our recent visit.
On the right side of the curve, several poles stick out of the metal planks.
You may also notice that several fake rocks were removed from the peninsula, too, exposing two black boxes.
These are speakers that were previously hidden from guest view.
New landscaping will hide the speakers again if they aren’t removed/replaced entirely.
We may see the rocks, trees, and grass across the flume removed for new landscaping, as well.
There are gaps in the metal planks before the tunnels under the Frontierland bridge, but more plywood covers the flume inside. Some of the rockwork has been cut away within a red circle to the left of this tunnel entrance.
There were already scaffolding platforms in the flume to make it easier for crew members to cross.
From this angle, we could see another spray-painted circle where more rockwork has been cut up.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Mountain
The Tiana’s Foods water tower was installed a week ago.
Most of the “mountain” is covered in scaffolding.
Through the scaffolding, we can see where crew members have cut out, rebuilt, and repainted some parts of the façade.
A piece of plywood is up in front of one tunnel of the ride.
Other than trees being removed, we haven’t seen many changes to the mountain’s landscaping.
The same fake grass is across these plateaus.
On the other side of the mountain, we noticed a streak of gray on the façade below the remaining tree.
This looks like new concrete altering the façade’s shape. This area was marked with letters during our last construction update.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Side
Around the side of the attraction, we noticed the gift shop windows haven’t changed.
Over here, more concrete has been placed to continue shaping the rockwork.
It’s not clear if this tree will stay or be removed like the others.
A fan was up over a section of fresh concrete to help it dry.
The scaffolding and scrim extends right up to the Frontierland train station.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Queue
More concrete has been broken and torn up from the attraction queue.
A pile of concrete debris is near the construction walls.
Trees have also been removed from this area.
We previously noted many fence posts had been removed, too.
Blue scrim is wrapped around some of the more dangerous construction areas.
Pieces of concrete and rocks hold up the scrim.
This square of the queue’s sidewalk is just a pile of dirt now.
It’s a similar story on the other side of the queue, visible from the Walt Disney World Railroad.
Construction vehicles were parked near the train station.
Green and blue pipes were stacked near the dirt sites.
White pipe connecters were also piled nearby.
Several poles are marked with red or blue tape.
More materials sit further back in the queue.
The barn is blocked with a black tarp, blue fence, and blue scrim.
We saw several strips of green tape cordoning off sections of the queue in the back.
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Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure picks up after the events of “The Princess and the Frog.” In 1927, Tiana founded the Tiana’s Foods co-ops, which is located in a salt mine, where cultivators grow crops along the waters. During Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Tiana and alligator Louis venture into the bayou to find animal friends. They’re preparing a special Mardi Gras celebration for the people of New Orleans.
The scene depicted in the above concept art is “the thrilling moment you first drop into the bayou and encounter some friends both new and familiar.” Louis and a band of animals will be playing zydeco music, a blend of rhythm and blues that was created in Louisiana. The band of animal friends includes an otter, a rabbit, a raccoon, a beaver, and a turtle playing instruments made from natural bayou elements.
The ride will feature 17 new characters, including Prince Naveen’s younger brother, Ralphie. The Splash Mountain track will remain, but the attraction will get new set dressing and audio-animatronics. There will be multiple Tiana audio-animatronics, and she will have a new adventuring outfit.
The exterior landscaping is being made to look more like the Louisiana bayou, and a Tiana’s Foods water tower will be installed soon.
The queue and attraction music is being arranged by award-winning artists PJ Morton and Terence Blanchard, who will mix classic songs from the movie with New Orleans classics and original compositions. The scent of beignets is also set to be pumped throughout the queue.
Some of the original cast will be providing their voices to the attraction, including Anika Noni Rose (Tiana), Bruno Campos (Naveen), Michael Leon Wooley (Louis), and Jennifer Lewis (Mama Odie). Concept art (above) shows Mama Odie in the crow’s nest of her crashed ship home, with bottle lights hanging around her.
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