Massive changes have been hitting Disney World left and right.

Cinderella Castle has changed now that the 50th Anniversary celebration is over, a hotel restaurant has reopened, and another hotel restaurant has gone through a big menu change. But now we’ve spotted some massive updates at an important Magic Kingdom construction project.

Splash Mountain permanently closed in Disney World earlier in 2023, and it is currently in the process of being transformed into a rethemed attraction — Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The ride will be themed to the characters and stories from The Princess and the Frog and is expected to open in late 2024 at both Disney World and Disneyland (though Disneyland’s Splash Mountain remains open at the moment).

In mid-March, Disney announced that a major change would hit Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in the summer of 2023 at Disney World. This summer, fans will want to stop by the site to check out the tiara-topped water tower with the “Tiana’s Foods” logo that will be making its way to Magic Kingdom. 

While the water tower hasn’t appeared yet, during a recent trip to Magic Kingdom we did notice a BIG change here. Notice anything unique about the concept art below on the top of the mountain (above the drop point).

The old Splash Mountain featured a tree stump on top of the mountain, but you’ll notice that the stump is missing from the concept art above. And it looks like Disney has already taken some big steps to make that change happen.

During recent trips, we saw LOTS of construction work happening around the tree stump area.

And on a later trip, we saw that the tree stump had essentially been REMOVED.

The top of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is looking VERY different this morning! 👀 pic.twitter.com/sXYgNjsQaF

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) April 11, 2023

 

It looks like the stump is mostly GONE now as Disney works to retheme this space to fit the Princess and the Frog vibe.

Here’s another look at the construction and what it’s like without that tree stump portion on top.

Disney really isn’t wasting any time on construction here it seems.

In terms of other work around the ride, there are lots of construction walls up around the ride and you can see workers actively making changes within.

At another portion of the ride, you can see more construction workers getting things spruced up.

The boat path remains drained of water as work continues.

Other areas are a bit quieter in terms of construction, but you can still see equipment around.

And in the queue, we spotted some construction workers, a tarp covering one section near where the queue goes into the building, and some items under covers in the middle/back.

Things are really moving along here.

Of course, the ride has a long way to go before it’ll be ready for guests to experience. It isn’t expected to open until late 2024. So we expect there will be lots more changes to spot in the future.

To learn more about the ride, its story, the characters you’ll see while on the ride, and more — click here!

If you want to say “farewell” to Splash Mountain, we’ve got a Briar Patch Band Tee online that you can pick up!

Or if you’re looking to celebrate Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, there is also the Tiana Tee online now!

Stay tuned to DFB for more!

Will you be visiting Disney World soon? Tell us in the comments!