Disney is in the midst of transforming Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at both Disney World and Disneyland, and we just can’t get enough of every update and piece of info we come across!

©Disney

We know that the new ride will reopen sometime in 2024 at both parks, and we’ve even seen a model of what it’ll look like when it’s finished. Now, we have more details about the inspiration behind the transformation!

During a recent media event in New Orleans about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Disney shared quite a bit of inside info about the story behind the new ride! Not only did we learn about some new characters and elements in the ride, but we got to see some of the inspiration behind it too.

©Disney

We already knew that the story of the attraction begins in the ride queue, where you’ll discover that Tiana wants to bring the community together more. She starts an employee-owned company called Tiana’s Foods, where she and her employees work together to make food products and help the community become business people.

Tiana’s Foods

Tiana also purchased a salt dome for the company to build her land — and we found out a little more about where they got that idea.

©Disney

You see, Louisiana is known for its cuisine, and even its hot sauce. In fact, the famous Tabasco Sauce is from here and it’s actually the inspiration behind the elevation of the “mountain” of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Tabasco was founded on Avery Island — a large salt dome in Louisiana, and that’s where Imagineers drew inspiration for Tiana’s Foods and the salt dome on which it operates.

Avery Island Salt Dome Model via TripAdvisor

The new ride will be inspired by Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, with the storyline picking up “after the final kiss.” Guests will “join Princess Tiana and jazz-loving alligator Louis during carnival season as they prepare to host a one-of-a-kind celebration for the people of New Orleans.” That’s right: the ride’s finale is going to be a huge Mardi Gras celebration!

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Concept Art ©Disney

There are going to be characters from the movie as well as some “unexpected new friends” in the ride, and Disney has said that guests will be “active participants coming along with Tiana” on the adventure.

Be sure to stay tuned to DFB as we bring you additional news about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and all things Disney!

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Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney to attend their Tiana’s Bayou Adventure media event. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ