Disneyland's Splash Mountain Closes as Tiana's Bayou Adventure Makes Progress

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Disneyland's Splash Mountain closed for good yesterday evening after sporting waits that hit around 4 hours long, at least according to the park's app.  The ride went out without any sort of big fanfare from the theme park, as the focus is on the future of the attraction, not the past.  That future is Tiana's Bayou Adventure, a total retheme of the ride which is slated to open in both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom in late 2024.  The ride closed in Florida earlier this year, and Imagineering is already hard at work on the changes.

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Splash Mountain was a beloved attraction that maybe, probably, never should have had the theme it did, and it didn't age well.  But that's not the point of this post, the point is more to look at some new news that Disney has put out about Tiana's Bayou Adventure... and to saw farewell to Splash Mountain.  Many of us have happy memories of the ride for various reasons, whether on a family vacation to Orlando or with friends in California.

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Tiana's Bayou Adventure will see visitors enter the word of The Princess And The Frog, and be led through the ride by Tiana and her friendly alligator pal Louis.  The pair will be planning a special Mardi Gras celebration and we're invited, of course!  Since the plot of the feature movie, Tiana has started her own food company, aptly named Tiana's Foods, and purchased a salt mine and brought it and the surrounding area back to life.  There's a boutique farm and a professional kitchen area, I'm assuming all of which will be seen in the ride.  Overflowing with success, Tiana is now ready to throw that big celebration for us all as we visit her bustling salt mine food company combination.

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This recent video from Disney gives am idea of how the exterior of the attraction will look, which includes a tiara-topped water tower up on the hill.  According to Disney that water tower will be lifted into place on the Florida ride sometime this summer.  The ride is taking on a more New Orleans feel, obviously, but generally we're not going to see anything super dramatic that will change how the ride looks from the midway.

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Lastly, and most recently, Disney has revealed that the ride will also feature Mama Odie during the ride, and the character will be voiced by Jenifer Lewis as she was in the movie.  The above concept art was released depicting guests seeing some magic performed by Mama Odie after meeting her for the first time.  Disney is also stressing that Tiana's Bayou Adventure will feature brand new characters that park fans can fall in love with, "dozens" of new audio-animatronics, new music along with familiar songs from the movie, the scent of baking beignets in the ride's queue and much of the cast of the original movie reprising their character roles for the ride.

RipQurl Blaster Water Coaster to Open Soon at Six Flags America

* Had to get a new computer, back in business now!

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One of the last 'surprise' announcements that Six Flags made earlier this year that I haven't covered was for Six Flags America's new water roller coaster addition.  Joining the park's Hurricane Harbor area, RipQurl Blaster is being billed as the largest part of the park's biggest investment in the water park in over a decade.  The water coaster itself will be the "regions tallest master blaster water coaster" though I am not sure what is considered the region.  The ride itself is a long way from one of the largest of its kind to be built, but still an exciting addition for the property.

 

© Six Flags America

RipQurl Blaster's layout is seen above, and it features "three powerful uphill rip currents" that rafts will encounter.  There is a total of 550 feet of twist and turns, and there will be three separate drops.  Special features in the layout also include "AquaLucent hairpin turns, a pitch-black wallhugging helix and of course a big splashdown" at the end of the ride.

© Six Flags America

“We are excited to debut RipQurl Blaster, which will be both a thrilling and refreshing experience for guests visiting this summer,” said General Manager Ramar Vaughan. “This is just one of many investments we’re making to be the DMV’s most convenient and enjoyable out-of-home experience for the whole family."  The new attraction is expected to be built next to the park's wave pool and will replace the floor drop slides that were previously there.

Six Flags America has a new general manger who is committed to making a lot of changes to the park.  The changes include more special events such a Viva La Fiesta, Pride Week, Thrill-A-Thon and more, plus a ton of cosmetic changes.  This year the park will see updated restrooms, new shade structures, restored decorative fountains, new paint and theming all over, expanded seating areas, new midway games, additional landscaping and plenty more.