Today we are thrilled to share a first glimpse of a project Imagineers have been working on since last year. Splash Mountain – at both Disneyland park in California and Magic Kingdom park in Florida – will soon be completely reimagined. The theme is inspired by an all-time favorite animated Disney film, “The Princess and the Frog.” We pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.
Tiana is a modern, courageous, and empowered woman, who pursues her dreams and never loses sight of what’s really important. It’s a great story with a strong lead character, set against the backdrop of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou. In 1966, Walt himself opened New Orleans Square when it became the first new “land” added to Disneyland park, so it feels natural to link the story and the incredible music of “The Princess and the Frog” to our parks.
The voice of Princess Tiana and Tony Award-winning actress, Anika Noni Rose, shared, “It is really exciting to know that Princess Tiana’s presence in both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom will finally be fully realized! As passionate as I am about what we created, I know the fans are going to be over the moon. The Imagineers are giving us ‘The Princess and the Frog’ Mardi Gras celebration we’ve been waiting for, and I’m here for it!”
The approach to retheming or “plussing” attractions (as Walt Disney referred to it) begins with Imagineers asking the question, how can we build upon or elevate the experience and tell a fresh, relevant story? It’s a continuous process that Imagineers are deeply passionate about. And with this longstanding history of updating attractions and adding new magic, the retheming of Splash Mountain is of particular importance today. The new concept is inclusive – one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year.
Charita Carter, the senior creative producer leading the project at Walt Disney Imagineering shared, “Like Princess Tiana, I believe that courage and love are the key ingredients for wonderful adventures. I am delighted to be a part of bringing this fun-filled experience to our guests.”
For Imagineers, change is rooted in a tradition set by Walt Disney who encouraged new innovations, new ideas, new scenes and current storytelling. And the experiences they create can be enjoyed by guests who visit our parks from all over the world.
As part of the creative development process, conceptual design work is well underway and Imagineers will soon be able to conduct preliminary reviews and develop a timeline for when the transformation can start to take shape.
Stay tuned for more!
Comments
Splash Mountain is my favorite ride in Disney, but The Princess and the Frog is one of my favorite movies, so I am kind sad, but excited to see Tiana
Sad to see Splash Mountain going, however it is a new opportunity for a reimagining of the ride, Princess and the frog was a great choice for this ride. Please keep something to help the generation who grew up on song of the south and the original splash mountain remember what it was, We will miss the story.
This is exciting news! Finally a Black princess story to come to Disneyland and Disneyworld!!
Please don’t do this! So disappointing! One of my favorite rides!
What a mistake….I went to Disney about 10 times when i was young and now with my kids…99% of the peoples that take this ride have no clue about the origins of the ride …Probably one of my favorite ride at Disney…
I am so excited to see Disney Imagineers bring _Princess and the Frog_ to life. I can not wait! Thank you so much Walt Disney Company.
When is the date of opening of the princess and the frog ride in Disneyland CA
I am so excited to bring my family to experience the new and improved Splash Mountain featuring the Princess and the Frog. Disney please consider giving us a character dining Tiana’s Place with live music and New Orleans cuisine. We will happily patronize.
👎
Are you sure the new adventures with princess tiana Will open 2021?
This is horrible! I remember growing up in watching Ernest present splash Mountain to the world on TV! This is been one of my favorite rides my whole life. It is both of my daughters favorite ride and it is truly one of the most happy go lucky experiences in the Magic Kingdom. Brer Rabbit is so cute, those adorable turtles and bees, don’t do it! So disappointed at the re-theming. How in the world can kids have fun if there is no laughing place?! Please reconsider!
I’m almost 40 years old and my daughter is 5. Neither of us watched Song of the South growing up so there really was no “Disney” feeling to Splash Mountain. With a Princess and the Frog retheme, it will finally feel like a Disney ride to my daughter, just like the Frozen retheme at Norway Pavilion.
i’m sure dr facilier will be there in the ride!
im so excited about this i always thought splash mountain needed something new and princess and the frog is the perfect match its one of my favorite disney movies and it has really good songs and i can already picture it being lit up inside with the firefly scene! i think this will be my new favorite ride. also i hope they stop adding like marvel avengers and starwars stuff it wont seem like disneyland anymore if theres just a bunch of superhero related things around they should make marvel land somewhere else not at disneyland.
No more SPLASH MOUNTAIN!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!!! DISNEY IS OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE WITH IT’S FANS(CUSTOMERS)! What a huge disappointment! This ride is loved by everyone and consistently has long wait times to ride it. Disneyland has recently made a lot of changes and not for the better. Unfortunate this is the last straw. Disneyland is going in a direction we don’t like.
It really hurts to say it, but we won’t be going back.
If there’s no changing your mind at least let me go on it one last time. With the COVID-19 closure of Disneyland, none of us have been able to go. Don’t tear it down before. Please.
Star Tours (the original), Tower of Terror, and now Splash Mountain? I understand, and things change but allow us the time to greive.
“Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future.”
Just… don’t forget about us who have fond memories of the past.
This is going to be the biggest downfall of Disney world. It will never be the same. Its really sad…
SAVE SPLASH MOUNTAIN! DON’T CHANGE IT.
This is the most stupid idea ever. This is a classic ride and an icon to the magic kingdom. This is going to be the biggest regret ever if you change it. Please create a poll to see what the people want. I’m 100% sure that there will be more votes to keep it the same then to change it. I know this post won’t be able to make you guys change you mind but maybe all of the negative comments on this idea will. Please don’t change the ride.
This is heartbreaking news! Splash Mountain is my favourite ride ever and has been ever since I first went on it 20 years ago. I love the upbeat song and all the animals. Give Princess and the Frog its own new ride in an area that makes sense, and keep Splash Mountain as it is please!
I wouldn’t get my hopes too high with this revamp. I’m sure they will use a lot of screens and not enough animatronics. Probably similar to the river journey ride in Pandora at Animal Kingdom, bunch of screens, one animatronic at the end.
Yay!!! We are so excited to see this ride reimagined!!! It’s always been fun, and I love how long it is, but honestly, Song of the South is old and done. This is such a great change!!! And Princess and the Frog is our favorite Disney film!! The music will be so fun!! Just imagine Ray bouncing around and showing us the way!!
I just learned about this change to Splash Mountain today and I’m so excited! I now have all the music from Princess and the Frog running through my head. Tiana was the first princess my daughter was able to connect to because she was so goal driven. I really tried all the other princesses on her. Belle was my favorite, but that was a no go for my daughter. It would be so nice to be able to purchase beignets and listen to NOLA jazz. It would be awesome to see a huge Louie pop out of nowhere playing his trumpet. Thanks for doing this. Yay!
What is the date the splash mountain of the princess and the frog open?
I’m personally excited to see this change. I can already hear the upbeat music. It would be nice to also have some sort of quick service restaurant or stand selling Mickey shaped beignets, gumbo, jambalaya, Po-boys, and other creole dishes. One of our favorite foods to get from Disneyland’s New Orleans Square is the gumbo served in the bread bowl. Yum!
They should have made it a Moana Ride, They could have transformed the tree into a volcano
To everyone that is upset about this change and say they aren’t coming back:
Good!
I love this idea! Splash Mountain is one of my all-time favorite Disney World rides and I’m so glad it will finally be re-themed to a recognizable Disney movie! And Princess and the Frog?? Great movie! Perfect choice for the type of ride that Splash Mountain is? Does this mean that the name will change too? I’m all about the nostalgia of Splash Mountain and will probably call it that forever so will the name still be incorporated into the update? Also, I don’t understand the backlash with this decision- I get that it is a Disney World classic and family favorite but it’s changing for the better! Most Disney rides get updated after they’ve been around for a while and it’s Splash Mountain’s turn so I really don’t think the hate is justified.
This is not exciting at all so depressing!
Disney, I beg you please rethink it and don’t change my and many others favorite ride of all time!
Yay! My favorite movie is receiving one of Disney’s greatest honors!!! 🤩🤩🤩 It’s time for refreshing, positive change, and representation of people of color. I can’t wait to go on this ride and see Princess Tiana, Ray, Louis, Charlotte and please don’t forget The Shadow Man!!! Being so close to New Orleans square and Haunted Mansion, this is a phenomenal choice. Way to take action Disney! Please update us, so I can plan my next trip.
Also, any plans of Coco getting a ride?? 🙂
Love this!!!!!! Thank you!!!!! Can’t wait to take my girls!!!! 😍😍😍😍😍
When I heard the news about Splash Mountain being re-imagined, I was not happy. This is very depressing news for me, with everything else going on in the world, Disney, can’t you just leave this classic ride alone? When i think of Disneyland, this is one of the main attractions that always comes to mind. If you “re-imagine”it, I’m seriously wondering if I will ever bother coming back to the park again, much less getting another annual passport. Please listen to the people who want to keep it! If you want a Tiana ride, then start fresh with a completely new ride!
Absolutely gutted. Splash Mountain is why I became a Disneyland regular and the very heart of the park for me. It’s one of the greatest rides ever made. Understandably based on a problematic film but it’s distanced itself so far from it that it’s become it’s own iconic world.
Princess and the frog is great but Tiana deserves her own ride or at least replace something not as beloved and cherished. Pooh is next door with very little activity. Replace that instead. Tiana and Brer Rabbit can co-exist!
Not looking forward to the new ride. I loved the happy and joyous themed zippity do da music with all of the animals. My and my families favorite ride of all time!
Please rethink this Disney! Tiara, or whatever her name is, deserves her own ride.
This is so sad to me. Splash mountain was my favorite ride and the music and characters were 90% of this. Goodbye Disney.
I can’t hardly wait to take my granddaughter to Disney World and hopefully this attraction will be our first ride! 🙂 It’ll be nice to have a ride with a Disney Princess that she loves so much. I hope Disney will have a well stocked gift shop attached to the attraction with lots of Princess Tiana items because it’s almost impossible to find anything related to Princess Tiana and the movie at any of the Disney Parks and Disney Springs. I’m so excited! This just might make me renew my annual passes again.
This is so exciting!!! (I agree 100% with Elise!) Fireflies, happiness, love….you can’t get better than that! Thank you, Disney Imagineers for bringing SUCH a beloved movie to life and then now to “live” at the park! Ray, Louis, Tiana, Naveen, Charlotte, Mama Odie, can’t wait to see everybody!!! :DD Thank you! Thank you!
Please don’t get rid of Pooh corner.
I am so happy about this! I like Splash Mountain but it will be way better with characters my kids actually know. Tiana is such a great character, I literally cried the first time I saw her in the park. So so soooo excited about this change!
I’m so excited to see the update to this ride. I was initially on the fence, but when I learned more about the song at the ride’s big finish, and the history behind the Brer Rabbit story, I’m glad to see them go.
Thank you for sharing this news, giving many of us hope that large companies can take real action to change. I’ll be getting my FastPass as soon as this reimagineering is complete!
And folks that love Splash Mountain as is, just go to Tokyo Disneyland. They have not said anything about them changing the ride, so they are keeping theirs original!!
Please Put it dr facilier in the ride?
Deeply deeply opposed! Love this ride
Please Disney save splash mountain!!!! We’re soooo sad!!!!
We don’t want it to be re themed because we truly love Disney!!!!
Please!!!
I do not like the fact that Splash Mountain is going to be revamped. If there are enough new and futuristic rides as it is. I enjoy singing along with my grandchildren as we float by the scenes of the past. At least pick a change that fits with the country theme.
Please keep Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and Brer Bear in the parks for meet and greets.
How are they gonna tie this in to the theme of frontier land in Walt Disney World? Because Thunder Mountain is more subtle with a country theme to it… and if I understand then splash mountain will become more party Mardi Gras and that doesnt match. So whats gonna happen?
Call me crazy, but I’ve never loved the theming of Splash Mountain. I never found an emotional connection to it. The ride itself is awesome, but the theming I tolerated for the sake of the fun parts. But now? Princess and the Frog is going to make this ride incredible! I feel like this ride and movie were meant to be together! I can already imagine the overwhelming beauty of the dark portions with thousands of fire flies paired with the fun of Ray singing Gonna Take You There. My brain is on fire with all the possibilities of Splash Mountain taking on a Princess and the Frog skin.
This is crazy I hate this change Splash Mountain is one of my favorite rides!!!!!
Very happy to see that Disney is replacing some of its’ problematic histories with new, even better stories that will continue to inspire generations. That being said, would like to see some completely new attractions as well!
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