What’s old is new again. Many diehard Disney enthusiasts frowned when it was announced that the popular Splash Mountain ride at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom ( disneyworld.ca ) was being phased out.
But not to fret, it’s just got a new look and theme, Cajun style. The space Splash Mountain once inhabited at the theme park is now home to a brand new attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, based on characters from the 2009 Disney animated feature The Princess and the Frog . The ride itself picks up one year after the movie’s events and tells the story of Tiana’s life after opening her dream restaurant, with the princess working with members of the community to open a new venture, Tiana’s Foods.
Throughout the journey through the bayou, riders see Tiana, Louis the alligator and other characters as they prepare for a Mardi Gras celebration while original music and songs inspired by the film play. For Dustin Eshenroder, production designer at Walt Disney Imagineering, a lot of planning went into converting the old Splash Mountain space into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. One such aspect involved repurposing the existing mountain structure, which included using force perspective — an optical illusion used at Disney Parks to create height — but in reverse.
“Really it’s about transformation,” says Eshenroder. “We looked at the top of the mountain and used slightly larger scale flowers than down at the bottom just to minimize the scale and focus down into the ba.