Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is Better at Disneyland

Sometimes it’s a special spice that can make the magic in a recipe. Other times, two different chefs can take the same ingredients and produce dramatically different dishes. The latter is the story of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Walt Disney World versus Disneyland.

Walt Disney World fans probably get sick of how Disneyland has the superior version of various rides, from Pirates of the Caribbean to Space Mountain. Most recently, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway saw a nice plussing when added to Toontown, to the point that it’s also the superior version of the new-ish attraction.

Although Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is largely a coast-to-coast clone in most meaningful senses of the word, the incarnation in Bayou Country now joins this seemingly ever-growing list of rides where Disneyland is home to the definitive version. This attraction takes mostly the same core components, but produces a much better result. Like the difference between Chef Remy from Ratatouille cooking with the same ingredients as Chef Mickey or some random rat.

Before we get going, I want to start by acknowledging our Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Ride Review: Failure, Flawed or Fantastic? My goal is for this post about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to be less than half that length, so I’m not going to fixate on anything that is unchanged. For better or worse, that includes the following:

• Music – All songs are the same
• Audio Animatronics – There are the same quality and quantity of AAs in both; staging is different in some cases
• Story – The plot is the same, as are the storytelling conceits
• Vibe – Still a suspense-free, joyous celebration
• Weirdness – The Mushroom Cavern makes a reprise, as do Lari and Mondo (thankfully)

If your praise or complaints about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure hinged around any of the foregoing, this review isn’t for you. Those fundamentals are more or less unchanged, so the degree to which you love or hate the clone of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is only going to shift a bit at the margins.

But those of you who–and I’m not pointing any fingers–might’ve spent a few thousand words nitpicking other things about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom are in luck. There are a bunch of other little ‘recipe substitutions’ that actually make a big difference. (It’s sort of like when Sarah switches out the butter and sugar in a dessert she’s making and tells me it’ll taste “almost the same.” Sure thing, almost.)

Let’s start with one of the biggest differences, which is the single-file seating at Disneyland. This has not changed during the reimagining from Splash Mountain to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. As was the case in Florida, the track layout and ride profile remain the same. If you were familiar with the flume ride before, it’s still the same idea–just new music to hear and different adorable animals (and now people) to see along the way.

It’s nevertheless important to underscore this, because the fundamental nature of this attraction is a bit different between Walt Disney World and Disneyland. I would argue that the Magic Kingdom version is mostly a traditional dark ride with a few drops in between and a big drop at the end. The show scenes are the cake, the drops are the icing.

As a veritable tidal wave crashed into our log and totally drenched the guest in the front row on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, I was reminded of why I did Splash Mountain so much less at Disneyland. Here, the drops and characters are both cake–or on more equivalent footing. This was and is very much an old school water ride–one of those, “you will get wet, you may get soaked” kinda deals. Even in the back of the boats, both Sarah and I went home with soaked shoes and wet butts.

I’m not sure whether this framing is important to you. Even for me, the distinction matters only a little bit. This attraction is not like Kali River Rapids or Grizzly River Run–the show scenes still were and are the main emphasis. Anyone suggesting that themed design doesn’t matter and only ride profile does (usually as a facile means of “defending” this reimagining) should consider becoming fans of Six Flags instead of Disney. But I digress.

Backtracking a bit, there are differences throughout the respective queues.

Again, this is an instance of nothing structurally changing in the conversion from Splash Mountain to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Meaning that the physical queue is almost entirely the same in terms of layout, there’s just some stuff that has been added.

There’s a lot for guests to discover in the queue, which primarily revolves around Tiana’s Foods, an employee-owned cooperative that (more or less) explains the exterior portions of the attraction. Combining her talents with those of the local community, Tiana has transformed an aging salt mine and built a beloved brand.

Many of the major props and visuals in the respective queues are the same. There are newspaper clippings, accolades, historical photos of Tiana, and that type of thing. There most important element is Tiana’s kitchen, which does a bit of storytelling that sets the stage of the attraction. There’s actually a lot of detail and worldbuilding in the queue, some of which is even integral if you want to understand the convoluted story.

Unlike the last big cloned attraction between the two coasts, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, there are no enhancements for the queue at Disneyland. To the contrary, the queue in the Walt Disney World version is the better of the two. I don’t think it’s even debatable. There is much more outdoor queue at Walt Disney World, and it’s beautiful. I also think the indoor queue is better at Walt Disney World, with a few sections that are longer.

The one advantage, and it’s not really pertinent from a review perspective (but is important to me from a strategic one, and to a large chunk of Disneyland’s key demo) is that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure still has a Single Rider line. Phew.

Let’s move along to the substance of the attraction itself. The biggest complaints we had about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom were pacing and dead space. Neither of these issues really exist in the Disneyland version. Unlike the Florida original, you are not floating towards Audio Animatronics, waiting for them to arrive, without much on the sides of the log along the way.

The flume for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland is “faster” and winds around more. You’re coming around the bend, seeing the reveal of an Audio Animatronics figure (or cluster of them) and then your eye is almost immediately guided to the next scene. As the logs zoom through, your eye is pulled through from one scene to the next. The pacing is appropriate and works well for the attraction!

The bends themselves also help, as the Audio Animatronics in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure are staged not in flat spots you float towards and then past, but at points where the logs float around them. This means that, even though the logs are speeding through the opening acts, you’re pivoting around major show scenes that contain multiple animal AAs for a 180-degree (or thereabouts) view of them.

The one exception to this, appropriately enough, is the finale. Disneyland’s logs move much slower past (spoiler alert) the Mardi Gras celebration at Tiana’s house, allowing guests more time to savor this incredibly jam-packed scene. This is a huge win–I’ve done the Magic Kingdom version over a dozen times, and I’m still spotting new things. Plus, more time to enjoy “Special Spice” is a win in my book.

One of my nitpicks with the Florida version is that, even there’s so much emptiness, the animals are crammed together to the point that you don’t always get a clean view of some of the ones in the back. This is definitely less of an issue at Disneyland given the way you float around the scenes.

If anything, I’d say you’re still left wanting more because of the speed with which the logs float through the scenes, but that’s a better “problem” to have, and not a design shortcoming. I do think some of the animals could’ve been angled better or had instruments chosen more thoughtfully, though.

Once again, the character design on all of these little fellas is fantastic. It’s nice to move around them and get better angles (in some cases) on the emotive animals. Given their thoughtful designs, I also (still) wish more were done to develop the critters. Looks aside, they’re kinda one-note.

It’s the exact same critter bands that are jam-packed with adorable animals, albeit some shuffled around–Tiana and Louis are by bears instead of bobcats in one spot, for example. The best example of this is that there’s a scene with Tiana sitting on the same log that Louis is stuck in, which is separated and spread out at Walt Disney World (probably to fill space!). This condensed version at Disneyland is slightly better because it becomes a cute gag.

I’d still like to see more details and world-building, a la Splash Mountain, but I don’t have an issue with dead space or staging, per se. There’s definitely less than what was here before, but Splash Mountain was jam-packed with Audio Animatronics and scenery. It was in rarified company, even by old school standards.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland is as densely-staged Disneyland attraction as we’ve seen since then, meeting even modern classics like Indiana Jones Adventure or Radiator Springs Racers. (This isn’t to say it’s as good as either of those, overall; just that it’s as thoughtful and detailed.)

Lighting levels have been improved in some scenes of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, but should still be raised across the board. Leave the dark and ominous vibes that mansion next door. I realize that it’s a bayou at night, but it could just as easily be a bayou at dusk. And in fact, the screens with the fireflies do reflect this.

I’m honestly surprised by this, as Imagineering’s newest marquee attractions at Tokyo Disney Resort are arguably over illuminated. I’ve assumed this was to meet modern audiences where they are, enabling current camera phones to easily capture photos and video for sharing on social media. For whatever reason, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure goes the exact opposite direction and is practically hostile towards photography.

While I question the wisdom in dim lighting, I can accept it as a creative decision. I’m less forgiving of show lighting that’s uneven in many places. Some scenes and AAs have really bad color casts for no discernible reason–it’s gotta be a mistake. This is especially notable in the finale, where several characters have hard shadows on their faces. I would hope this is corrected during Cast and Passholder previews, as it’s an obvious issue.

There are also firefly effects throughout Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland, accomplished via both practical effects and multimedia, that feel like a modern day opening act to Pirates of the Caribbean. Some of these are in different locations than at Walt Disney World, and the first and last are more ‘consequential’ as they command your attention as you enter and prepare to exit the show scene portion.

I would like to think the juxtaposition–with small vs. big–fireflies makes the story a bit easier to ascertain, but honestly, I’m not sure. I’ve done this ride a dozen-plus times at this point, so I’m not exactly coming in cold off the street.

Speaking of story, my take is that it’s slightly more comprehensible now.

This isn’t a new-for-Disneyland change, but more a tweak that’s been made since opening at Walt Disney World. The audio levels have been adjusted and dialogue is more clear–for all I know, new lines have even been added, as there are things I couldn’t hear during my preview rides at Walt Disney World that are now audible in Florida and at Disneyland.

As with the Magic Kingdom version, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at once has too much story and not enough story. The backstory is overly abundant and contrived, whereas the plot is threadbare and dialogue is almost nonsensical. Ironically, it feels like there were too many cooks in the kitchen all with competing visions for TBA, and instead of settling on one, they threw all the ingredients into the pot.

At its core, the story is simple: there’s a Mardi Gras celebration at Tiana’s house, and she needs to find a band for the party. The problem is that the resolution is almost immediate, so part of the complaint about there being no tension is actually that there are no narrative stakes. The story is over in the first act, aside from the “getting there” part. But then that’s resolved via the drop, without much meaningful explanation as to why.

Some proponents of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure have chosen to hand wave this all away by claiming it’s a cocktail party attraction (it isn’t) or is just about the atmosphere than the story. In the end, I guess they’re right–by default–because the story itself is superfluous. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has a lot of plot, but it ends up being about the vibes. Again, this is more forgivable with the Disneyland version because the logs zoom through the first and second acts, anyway.

Or, as Sarah put it in her two word review when I asked her what she thought: “it’s cute.” (No, she did not elaborate.) She’s right. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is cute and the vibes are good.

Ultimately, my immediate reaction after riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in California was basically: “Well, that makes sense–they designed the ride reimagining for Disneyland and then shoehorned it into Magic Kingdom.” I’m not saying with certainty that this is true, but I don’t know how it could possibly be untrue.

This might sound like clever insight on my part, but only if you haven’t experienced both versions of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Once you have, I don’t know how you could possibly not think this. It’s evident in the clusters of Audio Animatronics and staging. It’s almost shocking what colossal differences the condescended show scenes, variations in flume layout, and ‘faster’ logs make.

The runtime of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland isn’t that much shorter, but it’s amazing how different this feels. Dead space and pacing are two of my biggest criticisms with the Magic Kingdom version, and they’re total non-issues here. Sure, I’d like more–I’d always like more–given the detail of Splash Mountain.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland doesn’t feel lacking by the standards of modern attractions. The show scenes are meaty, and it’s going to have a lot of re-ridability because there’s so much guests will miss on their first float through the bayou.

There’s also the fact that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is a better fit in the grander context of Disneyland. The attraction is on the outskirts of New Orleans Square, nestled into the renamed Bayou Country (previously Critter Country). It’s still more critters than it is bayou, but I could see why Disney would want to avoid referring to a land headlined by Princess Tiana as Critter Country.

Regardless of the land’s name, the placement of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure makes much more sense at Disneyland. In a few years, or even today to a guest visiting Disneyland for the first time, it’ll fit like a glove–like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure bridges the gap between the urban New Orleans Square and the rugid Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

It’s really like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure started as a reimagining exclusively for Disneyland, and then someone decided last minute to make more or less the same overlay for Walt Disney World. That’s unfortunate for the ‘be fair to Florida’ crowd, because it’s now clearer than ever that Magic Kingdom should’ve gotten its own, unique attraction. The clone just doesn’t work nearly as well there.

My conclusion about the Magic Kingdom version was that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is flawed-but-fantastic. The Walt Disney World version is not a 10/10 ride, but it’s still very good. With the most glaring flaws fixed in the Disneyland version, it’s almost there.

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YOUR THOUGHTS

What do you think of the Disneyland version of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? Surprised that the California version is better? Should Disney ‘be fair to Florida’ and plus the reimagined ride there during a future winter refurbishment? Are you excited for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!