Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Disney World’s new ride, faces early delays

It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Disney World’s new ride this week.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the water log ride that replaced Splash Mountain, has reportedly been delayed and shut down early with issues during cast member previews.

Some people were stuck in line for more than three hours waiting for the ride to reopen so they could be among the first to ride it, according to social media posts and Walt Disney World News Today, a blog that covers news at the parks.

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether the ride will be ready when it officially opens June 28 to the general public.

Water rides can be notoriously difficult to run. Add in high-tech audio-animatronics, lots of sensors and technology — all exposed to water — and problems can arise.

In 2018, an Orlando Sentinel investigation found Frozen Ever After — another water ride — claimed the title for the most evacuated ride at Disney World.

For Disney, these next few weeks are practice before June 28.

Disney is getting the kinks out for the refitted, new ride before it needs to be running regularly at the world’s busiest theme park.

Sometimes it doesn’t feel like there’s a slow season at Disney World — another demand on the rides. Disney is also adding a premium and charging guests to skip the lines, which only adds to the pressure for the company that rides are functioning without any shutdowns that could hurt the company bottom line.

Disney recently released a full ride-through video of Tiana’s to reveal to fans what the ride looks like. Nearly half a million people watched the park’s YouTube video in two days. Instead of Br’er Bear, there’s Louis the alligator. Just as Disney advertised, music is another key element in the ride, set in 1920s New Orleans.

The ride is based off Disney’s animated “The Princess and the Frog” and features Disney’s first Black princess.

After opening in 1989, Splash Mountain was beloved for its daring plunge, catchy music and cute animatronics. Disney announced it was changing the ride’s theme in 2020 during a time of civil rights protests. Splash Mountain was based on “Song of the South” that Disney CEO Bob Iger once said he would never release on Disney+.

“I felt as long as I’ve been CEO that ‘Song of the South,’ even with a disclaimer, was just not appropriate in today’s world,” Iger said in March 2020 during the company’s annual shareholders meeting.