Over a year after its highly anticipated debut, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure continues battling persistent technical difficulties that have plagued the Frontierland attraction since before it officially welcomed its first Disney Park guests. The rethemed log flume experience at Magic Kingdom Park was launched during the summer of 2024, with Disneyland Resort following suit in November.
From Splash Mountain to Princess Tiana
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure represents a complete reimagining of the former Splash Mountain log flume attraction. Walt Disney Imagineering built the new experience around characters and settings from The Princess and the Frog, the 2009 animated feature film.
The original Splash Mountain had generated significant controversy due to its connection with The Song of the South, a 1946 film that’s been widely condemned and essentially banned for its problematic and racist portrayal of Black American life following the Civil War.
The reimagined Disney Park attraction now follows Princess Tiana, voiced by Anika Noni Rose, alongside Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), and Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis) as they hunt for musicians to perform at a New Orleans celebration.
Troubled Launch and Ongoing Issues
Unfortunately, problems emerged before Tiana’s Bayou Adventure even opened to the general public. Several preview events scheduled for Disney cast members and Annual Passholders faced cancellation hours before Magic Kingdom Park closed for the evening. Complex technical malfunctions forced these last-minute changes, foreshadowing the difficulties that would persist well beyond opening day.
The months following the attraction’s grand opening saw Tiana’s Bayou Adventure experiencing extended closures with alarming frequency—multiple times weekly, the ride would shut down for hours at a stretch. Guests repeatedly reported encounters with motionless audio-animatronic figures that continued to deliver their programmed dialogue and audio despite remaining completely still.
By the time Disneyland Resort unveiled its version of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in November 2024, Walt Disney Imagineering appeared to have addressed many of the technical gremlins plaguing the Florida iteration. Magic Kingdom Park guests reported noticeably reduced downtime for the Frontierland attraction during this period.
However, the sophisticated audio-animatronic technology continued to present challenges. Eventually, it seemed Walt Disney World Resort had resigned itself to accepting that the figures wouldn’t consistently appear show-ready for every guest riding through the experience.
December Issues on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Recent video evidence shared on December 16 by X (formerly Twitter) user @kdodgers74 reveals the attraction remains far from fully operational. The social media post included three separate clips documenting serious technical failures throughout Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom Park.
Tianas is in rough shape once again. Periods of darkness with broken projections and tiana and mama odie AAs not moving well at all
Tianas is in rough shape once again. Periods of darkness with broken projections and tiana and mama odie AAs not moving well at all pic.twitter.com/VQw6FiqFqK
— Kdodgers24 (@Kdodgers24) December 16, 2025
The first video captures an interior segment of the ride plunged into such complete darkness that guests traveling through couldn’t visually distinguish any of the elaborate set pieces Walt Disney Imagineering had installed. The blackout essentially eliminated the themed environment that Disney Park guests pay premium prices to experience.
The second clip documents a Princess Tiana audio-animatronic figure exhibiting extremely limited movement. Most disturbingly, the character’s neck tilts backward at an angle that appears completely unnatural.
The final video focuses on the Mama Odie figure positioned along the ride’s concluding lift hill. While the character’s mouth movements synchronized properly with her pre-recorded audio track, the rest of the animatronic remained entirely motionless.
Disney’s Silence on Persistent Problems
Walt Disney World Resort hasn’t released any public statement addressing these documented technical issues with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Whether the specific malfunctions captured in the December videos have since been corrected also remains unclear, as the resort typically doesn’t provide updates on attraction maintenance unless closures extend for significant periods.
Follow Disney Dining for updates on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and other attractions at Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
Have you ever been on a broken ride at Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort? Disney Dining would love to hear from you in the comments!
“Widely condemned and racist” my ass you made that up.