The “joyful celebration” promised by Disneyland’s newest E-ticket attraction took a terrifying turn this week when a ride vehicle aboard Tiana’s Bayou Adventure began to sink, forcing an emergency evacuation of guests. The incident, which occurred in early January 2026, is the latest—and perhaps most alarming—in a long string of operational failures that have plagued the attraction since it officially replaced the legendary Splash Mountain in late 2024.
While no injuries were reported, the sight of a submerged log flume boat has reignited a fierce debate within the Disney community. For many, this isn’t just a mechanical glitch; it’s a sign that the highly anticipated reimagining of a classic thrill ride is struggling to stay afloat.
The Incident: “We Thought We Were Going Under”
According to eyewitness reports and social media footage, the sinking occurred during the attraction’s standard operating hours on January 7, 2026. A log vehicle, carrying a whole load of guests, began taking on significant amounts of water near the base of the final drop. Within moments, the front of the vehicle was visibly submerged, with murky bayou water flooding the footwells and soaking the passengers.
Disneyland Cast Members acted quickly, executing a “ride stop” that halted all other vehicles on the track. Guests in the sinking log were assisted by emergency staff and evacuated onto the maintenance catwalks. The attraction remained closed for the duration of the day as maintenance teams worked to drain the flume and retrieve the compromised vehicle.
“It started as a normal splash, but then the water just didn’t stop coming over the front,” one guest shared on X (formerly Twitter). “We were stuck there for about ten minutes with the water rising around our ankles. It was freezing and honestly pretty scary. We definitely didn’t expect to actually sink.”
A Year of “Bayou Blues”: The Technical Struggles of 2025
While a sinking boat is a dramatic escalation, it is only the tip of the iceberg for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Since its grand opening at Disneyland in November 2024, the ride has been notoriously unreliable.
Industry data from late 2025 indicated that the attraction suffered more “downtime” than almost any other ride in the park, including notoriously complex attractions like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. On average, the ride would break down or close for “technical adjustments” at least once a day, often for hours at a time.
The Problem with “New Tech in Old Bones”
The root of the issue, according to some former Imagineers and theme park analysts, is the ride’s aging infrastructure. While Disney spent millions on a complete thematic overhaul—including state-of-the-art Audio-Animatronics and new projection mapping—the fundamental ride system remains the same one used by Splash Mountain since its 1989 opening. debut
Fitting high-tech robotics into a 35-year-old concrete flume has proven difficult. Throughout 2025, guests frequently reported:
- Frozen Animatronics: Iconic figures of Tiana and Louis the Alligator often appeared “static” or completely powered down.
- Audio Desync: The music and dialogue often fell out of alignment with the ride vehicles, ruining the narrative flow.
- Sensor Failures: The “stop-and-start” nature of the ride suggests that the underwater sensors—intended to prevent boat collisions—are overly sensitive or prone to error in the Anaheim version.
The Ghost of Splash Mountain
The shadow of Splash Mountain looms large over this controversy. When Disney announced the closure of the classic attraction in 2020, it sparked a massive divide in the fan base. To justify the removal of a “mountain” that many considered the heart of the park, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure needed to be a flawless technical masterpiece.
Instead, the persistent breakdowns have given critics more ammunition. “Splash Mountain had its share of issues toward the end, but I never felt like the ride was fundamentally broken,” noted one Reddit user in the r/Disneyland community. “With Tiana’s, it feels like every other day there’s a new reason why you can’t ride it. At a certain point, ‘new ride jitters’ isn’t an excuse anymore.”
Impact on the Guest Experience and Virtual Queues
The reliability issues have also wreaked havoc on Disneyland’s logistical systems. Throughout 2025, Disney struggled to transition the ride from a Virtual Queue to a standard Standby Line. Every time the ride breaks down or experiences technical issues, thousands of guests with Lightning Lane reservations or Virtual Queue spots are “dumped” back into the park with multi-experience passes, causing massive spikes in wait times at nearby attractions, such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Pirates of the Caribbean.
For families who plan their entire vacation around riding the newest attraction, these technical “plagues” have led to significant frustration and a perceived decline in the value of a Disneyland ticket.
Looking Forward: Can the Bayou Be Saved?
As of January 8, 2026, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is listed as “Temporarily Closed” on the Disneyland App. It is unclear if Disney will take this opportunity to begin an unscheduled “preventative maintenance” refurbishment to address the sinking issue and the ongoing animatronic failures.
For Disney, the stakes couldn’t be higher. With the 70th Anniversary of Disneyland approaching and competition from other Southern California theme parks heating up, the resort cannot afford to have its headline attraction become a punchline for mechanical failure.
To secure the legacy of Princess Tiana in the parks, the “Disney Magic” needs to extend beyond the storytelling and finally fix the hardware beneath the water. Until then, guests might want to pack a poncho—not for the splash, but for the potential of a sinking ship.
