Splash Mountain vs. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is an obvious comparison that every lifelong Walt Disney World fan or Disneyland diehard is going to make upon riding the new Princess and the Frog attraction. Most people will do so with one ride fresh in their mind and the other through the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia, which is not apples to apples.
I was in a unique position to do Splash Mountain and both versions of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in the same week. How is that possible? Time travel, of course. Kidding, I didn’t gain access to a time machine and use it for the dumbest possible purpose. Rather, I was at Walt Disney World where I did TBA on departure day before heading home to Disneyland where we visited the park the next day and rode there, too. The original idea for this post was riding back-to-back and comparing the two versions, but there’s really nothing to say that isn’t said in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is Better at Disneyland.
We left directly from Disneyland for LAX that same evening. Splash Mountain still exists at Tokyo Disneyland, and we rode that there as part of a holiday trip before returning home. We technically landed before we left–so either time travel is real, or the international dateline is. At some point, some dedicated fan will be able to ride Splash Mountain and both versions of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in the same day thanks to time travel, but we cannot be the first to claim that crown. Still, the same week is pretty good, right?!
This follows up our Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Ride Review: Failure, Flawed or Fantastic?, which starts by acknowledging that reviewing Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is a fool’s errand. Same sentiment applies here. Most Disney fans already have their minds made up one way or the other and are entrenched in their wholly negative or positive opinions. It’s a no-win proposition.
Frankly, about 90% of the reactions I’ve seen to the new ride have been predictable based on people’s priors. Those who went in wanting to love Tiana’s Bayou Adventure did love it. Those who went in wanting to hate it did hate it. Maybe I just follow the wrong people on social media, but it sure seems lot a lot of confirmation bias at play. Very few people have had changes of heart or mind in one direction or the other.
For whatever it’s worth, my perspective on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has been one that I’d call wishful thinking–not quite cautious optimism. By that, I’ve hoped that Disney would dedicate the time, talent, budget, and other resources to ensure that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure would be an iconic attraction–a worthy addition to the Magic Kingdom Mountain Range and the legacy of its predecessor. To that point, I also loved Splash Mountain. It made the list of Sarah & Tom Bricker’s Top 10 Disney Attractions, coming in at #8.
Against that backdrop, I have a few caveats. The first is that it’s the Tokyo Disneyland version of Splash Mountain that made that list. Going from the domestic versions of attractions to their clones at Tokyo Disneyland is like going from standard definition to 4K OLED televisions due to superior maintenance and upkeep. With Splash Mountain, it’s not just that. Tokyo’s has always been the definitive version of the ride, plussed up from its U.S. counterparts and built with its own mini-land around it.
To be fair, I also loved Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, but both were in rather sad shape when I last rode them. Entire scenes were dark, Audio Animatronics were broken, sets were grimy–the list goes on and on. Disney had clearly stopped maintaining the ride in the years leading up to the reimagining, and it was painfully obvious. My glasses for the U.S. version are hardly rose-colored as a result.
Suffice to say, this isn’t an apples to apples comparison. I’m comparing Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom and Disneyland (two apples) to the version of Splash Mountain I just rode at Tokyo Disneyland (an orange, I guess).
Finally, this is solely an attraction comparison. Obviously, this reimagining has socio-political context that underpins all of this. That’s undeniable. You’ll find no shortage of people who will passionately argue that Splash Mountain didn’t need to be replaced, and others who assert that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was necessary to right past wrongs.
This post’s purpose is not to persuade you about any of this. You’ve undoubtedly formed your own opinions on all of that, so it’d be a lost cause. (Though I would say that the cultural context of Splash Mountain is a lot different in Japan, where it’s essentially the ‘kawaii critters’ attraction and another step removed from its source material. Whether that matters to you is your call.)
The goal of this post, simply and exclusively, is to compare two attractions that exist at the Disney parks on the self-contained merits of the respective attractions. As I’ve shared before, my perspective is that it’s riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure or nothing if you’re visiting the U.S. parks now.
What’s done is done–you cannot ride any alternative attractions in this space. Likewise, at Tokyo Disneyland, it’s Splash Mountain or nothing. There it’s a matter of–what’s not done is not done.
All a long-winded way of saying this evaluates these two theme park attractions in a vacuum, removed from the real world realities swirling around them. If you’d prefer not to judge them divorced of real world context, I completely understand–there’s often good reason for that (after all, we do view theme parks as art), but this comparison is not for you.
So against that backdrop, let’s dig a little deeper, comparing and contrasting Tiana’s Bayou Adventure vs. Splash Mountain…
Audio Animatronics (Quality): Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
The Audio Animatronics in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure are amazing. This goes for all of them, even the simpler supporting cast of adorable animals that play in the band, which might lack in range of motion but more than make up for that in detail and emotive design. The marquee figures of film characters are the highlight, using Imagineering’s newest A-1000 Audio Animatronics generation.
“Lifelike” isn’t the right word, but they’re basically animated characters jumping out of the screen and into the dimensional sets of the attraction. They’re stunning, perfectly melding old and new technology to create something with wow-factor that will probably stand the test of time. Just like the Audio Animatronics from classic dark rides still look great today.
For the attraction as a whole, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has the highest quality Audio Animatronics at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. There’s a reason it makes our List of the Best Audio Animatronics. (Shaman of Songs is still #1, but that’s a single AA.)
The core character Audio Animatronics in TBA are every bit as good as those in the international parks. Only Anna & Elsa’s Frozen Journey comes to mind as an attraction as a whole that surpasses it on a quality level. That’s saying something, because the new Frozen ride is one of Disney’s best ever.
The Audio Animatronics do the heavy lifting of the attraction, especially in the jam-packed grand finale, and are arguably what makes Tiana’s Bayou Adventure very re-rideable. Well, that plus the catchy music and the big drop at the end. But regardless of all that, I’ve done TBA repeatedly just to take in that finale.
Audio Animatronics (Quantity): Splash Mountain
The quantity and density of Audio Animatronics in Splash Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland is mind-boggling. There are well over 100 AAs, starting with an owl in the queue and ending with the ride’s own jam-packed final scenes.
Beyond telling the story of the attraction and achieving proper pacing (see below), the quantity of Audio Animatronics in Splash Mountain makes the ride and its settings feel like a lived-in place. A place with a bunch of adorable singing animals, but nevertheless a “real” one that’s fully populated where you wouldn’t mind getting lost for a while and hanging out with the guitar-playing dog or fishing birds. They seem chill.
This is an underrated accomplishment of Splash Mountain and a sharp contrast to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, where there are no superfluous Audio Animatronics. The people and animals only exist where the primary story is being told, and otherwise, the environment is a dark bayou. Why do all these bands perform in the dark? Why is Tiana in a strange world without a flash light? Nobody knows.
I would also add here that, seeing both in quick succession, I’ll take quantity over quality when it comes to Audio Animatronics on this attraction. Never once did I feel like the AAs in Splash Mountain weren’t advanced enough. That they needed more range of motion or whatever.
All of the AAs in Splash Mountain are exactly what they need to be to serve their purpose. (A lesson also applied in the brand-new Anna & Elsa’s Frozen Journey, where not all of the AAs are next-gen…because they don’t need to be.) I do, however, feel like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure needs a lot more AAs (or something) to fill out its dead space.
Story: Splash Mountain
The story of Splash Mountain is a classic Hero’s Journey. Guests are called to adventure by a reckless and rascally rabbit, and so they go. The narrative itself signals that this is foolish, but Brer Rabbit refuses to heed these warnings. The attraction parallels this from a guest-facing perspective, with plenty of signposting that danger lies ahead. Everything from the visible briar patch to literal warning signs and animal admonishments in the queue indicates as much.
The story of Splash Mountain from there is simple. You’re introduced to the attraction’s antagonists, Brer Fox and Brer Bear, who are blunty signaled as such both by their dialogue and not-so-subtle details, like the How to Catch a Rabbit book. From there, it’s a cat-and-mouse game, albeit with different animals at play.
This culminates in the ride’s climax of Brer Rabbit being caught, and–along with you–being thrown home in a clever twist that spares him from a tragic fate. And thus completes the Hero’s Journey: Brer Rabbit goes on an adventure, confronts obstacles and enemies, outsmarts and overcomes then, and comes home changed or having learned a lesson.
What makes this story arguably more compelling is that guests are active participants in it rather than being passive observers. Guests saw that briar patch while approaching the ride, failed to heed obvious warnings, were similarly caught and ‘tossed’ down a huge drop, and enjoyed a triumphant welcome home.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure likewise has a simple premise, so long as you don’t get bogged down in backstory. The narrative of the ride is that a Mardi Gras celebration at Tiana’s house, she needs to find a band for the party, and get home before the party.
There’s no problem, per se, with the story. The issue is that the resolution of the story is almost immediate. The ride doesn’t take time to develop the story or let it unfold. It just happens. There is no antagonist, causing some fans to complain about the obvious omission of Dr. Facilier, but the real issue is that there are no stakes. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure lacks a central conflict, tension, or obstacle to overcome because the pacing front loads the narrative.
Of course, the ride isn’t over once you find the critter bands, so there’s additional action that unfolds long before the finale. There’s no real (story) reason for any of this, but rationale is made up on the fly. Stuff just continues to happen, largely because this is a reimagined ride and there’s still flume left to fill. I’ve said before that I don’t think the ride needs Dr. Facilier or a villain, but it definitely needs more than what’s there. After riding it many times over the last six months, I’ll agree that Dr. Facilier would’ve been the best and most logical solution.
Paradoxically, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at once has too much story and not enough story–meaning that the story exists in the wrong spots. 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. It feels like rather than taking the path of least resistance (a conflict with Dr. Facilier culminating in the climactic drop), they went out of their way to do something different.
To its credit, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure also makes guests active participants in its story. This occurs through the search for musicians and other action that unfolds, as well as the general vibe of the attraction. Unlike Splash Mountain where this is one of adventure and conflict, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure centers this around a joyful celebration.
Splash Mountain wins because it takes a simple narrative archetype and tells a concise and coherent story that is engaging, easy to understand, and emotionally resonate. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure brews up some good ideas, but it doesn’t give the best ones enough time to marinate–and adds an extra ingredient or two beyond what’s necessary.
Music: Impossible to Say
Disney diehards are going to scoff at this answer, but I think it’s premature to declare a victor here. The thing is, so many of us have spent decades riding Splash Mountain. We love the music, and know it by heart. That’s precisely the problem. My whole goal with this comparison was approaching both attractions with a fresh perspective, not colored by the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia.
I can do that in every regard except the music. There’s too much baked-in sentimentality, and it is literally impossible for me to separate that out. I don’t think anyone could. It would require some hypothetical rider who is coming in cold, never having experienced either and thus having no prior attachments to the music. Or I guess maybe a music expert? But I’m neither of those things.
What I can tell you is that I love the music in Splash Mountain. It has one of the all-time best attraction soundtracks. There’s a reason that “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” practically became the unofficial anthem of Disney Parks, making its way into countless background music loops, parades, stage shows, and so much more.
There’s also a reason music from Princess and the Frog has made its way into countless parades, stage shows, and nighttime spectaculars–it also has a fantastic soundtrack that often brings the house down in entertainment. I don’t think anyone can say, without bias, that one is clearly better than the other when it comes to music.
What I can also say is that the music in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure immediately made me tap my feet and bounce around in the boat. By my sixth ride, “Special Spice” was stuck in my head–in a good way. I cannot conceivably say how my opinion of the music will evolve over the coming decades, much less my nostalgia for it.
Worldbuilding: Splash Mountain
There’s an elite tier of attractions when it comes to worldbuilding, with Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion being the two that every fan can agree upon. I’d add Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones Adventure, and a few others. High on that list would be Splash Mountain, especially the Tokyo Disneyland version that invents a lot, whole cloth.
As soon as you step foot into Critter Country, you see the signs of the kawaii critters that live (and work, I guess?) in the land. It’s unlike Bayou Country in California, as the whole land is built around Splash Mountain. The land exists to extend the story of the attraction, and it’s basically a Splash Mountain mini-land.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in Grandma Sara’s Kitchen, which is a restaurant that’s essentially inside Splash Mountain, and is one of the best themed restaurants anywhere in the world. (We always make a point of doing an early lunch or late dinner and just soaking up the atmosphere of Grandma Sara’s–it’s incredible.)
Splash Mountain itself is brimming with detail. Before you spot a single animal animatronics, you’re introduced to the expanded cast of critter characters thanks to adorable animal adobes and myriad little details. Everything you look, there’s something.
A welcome mat outside a doorway with paw prints; elaborate birdhouses; a clothesline drying tiny critter clothes. There’s a whisky still labeled “Muskrat Moonshine” and a medicine show wagon pitching “Critter Elixir.” Signposts point in the direction of various places within the attraction’s universe.
All of this is before you even get inside the mountain itself. Once you arrive at the show scenes, Splash Mountain takes a page out of the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean playbook. Rather than being satisfied directing guests’ attention at the Audio Animatronics staged to tell the story, there’s stuff everywhere.
A superfluous amount of detail that exists to immerse you in the world of the brer critters and add to re-rideability. Mission accomplished, as Splash Mountain is truly an attraction with infinite repeatability, and you could notice a new little detail no matter how many dozens of times you’d done it. That’s a big part of why it’s developed a fan-following almost on par with Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean.
Without question, this is Tiana’s Bayou Adventure’s biggest stumble. There are several expansives of untouched bayou, and then big show scenes packed with action. Unlike Splash Mountain, it’s an attraction where your eye is expected to be drawn to the staged scenes, and pulled through the attraction from one big set piece to the next. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this–many great attractions do it.
The issue is the contrast between Splash Mountain and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, that both occupy generally the same attraction layout. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure could’ve pulled from the same playbook, but elected against it for reasons that will always confound me.
Both of these attractions have expanded universes of cute critters. There’s no reason why Tiana’s Bayou Adventure couldn’t have recycled some of this worldbuilding and scenery, or created its version of the same.
The animal musicians in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure have fantastic character design, they are emotive and expressive, each with unique personalities and charm. Some are young and carefree, just jammin’ with the band, and others are haggard and have seen some things. You can tell just with fleeting glances at their faces.
Unlike the characters from the film, you go in knowing nothing about them. And that’s exactly how you leave, as these characters are undeveloped and exist in a void. There’s an obvious ‘two birds with one stone’ solution to the issues with dead space and pacing. Create little animal adobes, critter caves, or other little details leading up to the discovery of the animal musicians themselves.
As it stands, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure only builds out the world of its human characters and not the cute critters, despite the ride spending at least 75% of its time in the supposed homes of the latter. This is a massive miss, and it’s painfully obvious when comparing Splash Mountain and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure back-to-back.
Verdict: Why Not Both?
This may seem like a cop out after Splash Mountain handily wins the majority of categories. However, the verdict as to which attraction is better is not an “it depends” dodge. Splash Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland is one of Imagineering’s all-time greatest accomplishments, and one of the best attractions in the entire world.
Splash Mountain is a perfect ‘no notes’ ride. If you rode 5 years ago and gave it a 10/10 or even ranked it in the top 10 worldwide attractions, no one would’ve batted an eye or needed an explanation. Other fans might’ve quibbled with the score or ranking, but they generally would’ve “gotten it” without a lengthy dissertation.
By contrast, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is very much a “warts and all” attraction. It’s uneven, poorly-paced, makes questionable storytelling decisions–the list goes on and on. It’s not in the same league as Splash Mountain. It’s also a ride that I very much enjoy.
I love that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is not a book report attraction. I love that it takes risks, gets weird, and does things differently. But unlike Splash Mountain, loving TBA does require explanation, even among reasonable fans predisposed to acceptance of the reimagining.
Even when I don’t agree with all of the creative decisions, I appreciate that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure actually is creative, and isn’t just a paint-by-numbers exercise. I love the cute critters that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure introduces, even if it doesn’t do enough with them. I like the music a lot, and the vibe of the ride even more.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is an attraction I’ll do again and again at Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, albeit less at the latter (despite that being the better version) because it soaks you. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has must-do status for us at Walt Disney World, which matters as much from a practical perspective as anything about how I evaluate it as art.
From a practical perspective, I would also rather have both Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Splash Mountain as opposed to three versions of the latter. Personally, I would’ve preferred doing the reimagining just at Disneyland, where I think Tiana’s Bayou Adventure makes infinitely more sense thematically and is the better ride, but I understand why Disney opted against that for ‘real world’ reasons.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you a fan of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? If you’ve experienced the reimagined ride (in person, not via YouTube), what did you think of it? How does it compare to Splash Mountain (any version, not just the TDL one) for you? Where does TBA rank for you among the Magic Kingdom Mountain Range, and other recent additions? Do you agree or disagree with our comparison? 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!
