Disney World continues to make wonderful progress on the upcoming Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction in Magic Kingdom. Splash Mountain closed in January 2023, and work has pretty much been full steam ahead since then to reimagine the attraction into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. As part of the latest work, crews have been testing and adjusting the nighttime lighting package for the ride.
In our previous nighttime lighting update, we saw a glow added to the bayou pool in front of the attraction’s iconic 52.5′ drop. Last night, we made it out to Magic Kingdom and found that lighting had been added to the top of the ride in addition to the bald cypress trees in the bayou pool.
We arrived at Magic Kingdom at dusk, and started snapping photos as the sun continued to set behind the attraction. We’ll start with a look across the Rivers of America toward Frontierland from Liberty Square. The top of the attraction facade is lit with purple lighting, while the facade turns to a cool blue the closer you get to the bottom of the drop. The facade stands out a bit when compared to the warm yellow lighting found around Frontierland and the Rivers of America waterfront.
The far left side of the facade was not lit last night, but that may be by design. By only lighting the facade from the Millhouse to the bayou pool, guests are drawn to the prettiest portions of the attraction.
From the side of the attraction near the Peco’s Bill seating area/walkway to Pirates of the Caribbean, there are noticeably dark portions of the facade, even with some ambient light still around at dusk.
Here’s a look at the left side of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure after the sun had set properly.
Like our previous update, we’re editing the photos to show more of the colors and details than you’ll see with the naked eye. Essentially, this is similar to how photographers capture and edit photos of Pandora – The World of Avatar. In person, it still glows, but not as much as what a camera (or even a modern camera phone) will capture.
The photo below is the same photo as seen above but edited to reflect a better representation of the lighting as seen by the naked eye. Actually, it might be a bit darker than what you will see when the ride opens, depending on your screen brightness and other environmental conditions. The bottom line is that the lighting package is actually quite beautiful and an amazing upgrade over the Splash Mountain nighttime lighting.
Back on track, here are some more photos from last night’s visit to Magic Kingdom.
As we’ve been saying for weeks (and as has been obvious to many causal observers), the infrastructure that was previously exposed near the drop has been covered by grasses. This has always been the plan (as seen in both concept art and the D23 model), and it was covered recently.
Another noteworthy thing from last night is that Mama Odie’s bottles were illuminated by the lighting from within the lift hill. Here’s a closer look at that.
For a full look at everything we know about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, check out our article below!
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!