Disney’s new attraction inspired by The Princess and the Frog is set to open at Walt Disney World and Disneyland in 2024, according to Tiana voice actress Anika Noni Rose.
The Tiana-themed attraction will replace Splash Mountain at both Magic Kingdom in Florida and Disneyland in California.
Rose is working alongside Disney’s creative team on the reimagined ride, which will remove elements from 1946’s Song of the South. The film has been accused of perpetuating racist stereotypes.
“They are making a ride – it’ll be out in 2024,” Rose confirmed on Live With Kelly and Ryan (via Entertainment Weekly).
“I’ve been involved in the beginning, just talking about how we want it to be, what we want it to do, but, if I were to tell you anything else, I would be sucked into the ground and you’d never see me again.”
Tiana-themed ride to replace Splash Mountain
Disney revealed plans to overhaul the log flume ride in 2020. Last year, the company said the story for the new attraction will take place after the final kiss as Naveen and Louis join Tiana to host a Mardi Gras celebration.
“I am so happy to say that we are taking the beautiful, wonderful character of Tiana and we’re bringing her to an immersive space so that our guests can have an experience and an adventure with her,” said Charita Carter, senior producer for Walt Disney Imagineering.
“Tiana actually invites us as the guests to go on an adventure with her in the bayou, and the fun thing about it is, we as the guests, we are active participants in this adventure,” Carter added.
“She takes us through this amazing journey where we get to discover not only characters that we know and love from the film, but this is an opportunity to be introduced to some new characters.”
According to a Disney spokesperson, the “timing has not been determined” for opening the ride (via Spectrum News). “We look forward to sharing more details during Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans in July,” the spokesperson said.
Images: Disney
