After hopping on board our Doombuggy to find a new lighting effect in The Haunted Mansion, we made our way from Liberty Square to Frontierland where work continues on transforming Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. It looks like crews have made some progress in the splashdown section of the ride that allows the vehicle to decelerate from the attraction’s main drop before turning back toward the finale scene. As you can see in our photos below, some of the rockwork has been rebuilt, not only in the deceleration zone at the bottom of the drop but also in a section that was previously torn open next to the main drop. Here’s a look at what we’re talking about.
It’s easy to see what portion has been rebuilt because crews have not repainted the rocks just yet. Crews had previously torn open the entire area, likely to access sensors or the like beneath the rockwork. It looks like an area has been carved out for new, repaired, or upgraded sensors.
Here’s a look at some of the artistry of creating believable rockwork before any of the paint has been applied.
Elsewhere, the giant hole that was to the right of the main drop has also been rebuilt.
A detailed look at the work.
Because Disney is creating new rockwork along the ride path, they will also need to ensure that the newly added theming won’t interfere with ride operations. While walking around, we noticed that a ride envelope test device was present. This clearance template would show crews what the ride vehicle shape would be, along with an attachment that would simulate the reach of a guest. Using this envelope gauge, crews will be able to ensure that any new or rebuilt areas of the ride will not interfere with the safe operation of the ride when guests are present.
For a full look at everything we know about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, check out our article below!
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