As anticipation grows for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure launch at Magic Kingdom, let’s compile the latest updates that Disney has shared about the revamped ride. The grand opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is set for June 28th. Furthermore, Disney has revealed that the ride will operate with virtual queues, a system now familiar to park goers. Interestingly, Tiana’s attraction will be included in the Genie+ service rather than the Individual Lightning Lane selections. This is a welcomed deviation, and we hope that Disney will eventually phase out the Individual Lightning Lane system, even though it continues to be a significant source of revenue. As always subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see video uploads to compliment these articles!
Know Before You Drop In
From Disney:
1. Drop on in-to virtual queue…
When Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens on June 28, it will use a virtual queue. Guests can request to join the virtual queue via the My Disney Experience app at one of two times: 7 a.m. or 1 p.m. While a standby queue will not be available during the attraction’s initial opening days, we expect to open a standby queue soon after the attraction’s opening.
2. … or use Disney Genie+ service.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will also be included as a Lightning Lane entrance in Disney Genie+ service*. Purchasing this service on the My Disney Experience app helps you get to some of your favorite attractions faster through Lightning Lane entrances and includes digital downloads of select Disney PhotoPass attraction photos taken in the park on the day of your purchase at no additional charge. Guests may check the app on the day of their visit for pricing and availability.
3. Smile for the camera!
No party is complete without pictures. As you make your way through the bayou to get to Tiana’s party, Disney PhotoPass Service will serve up a special photo when you’re almost there.
Want to download this attraction photo and your other magical moments? Try Memory Maker – with this all-inclusive photo package, you can download all of your Disney PhotoPass photos taken during your vacation.
4. Be prepared to get wet!
At some point when you drop on in to Tiana’s party, there’s a strong chance riders may get wet. While most guests will appreciate the refreshing cool down, others may want to bring their rain gear.
Celebrate Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opening across Magic Kingdom
5. Shop new attraction merchandise
After riding the new attraction, we can bet you’ll want to take a piece of the bayou home with you.
Starting June 28, you can find the collections for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and “The Princess and the Frog”-inspired merchandise at the Emporium at Magic Kingdom. And, shortly after the attraction debuts, the merchandise will hop over to Critter Co-Op in Frontierland.
6. Try some of Tiana’s Famous Beignets!
A trip to the bayou is never complete without some good eats and sweet treats. Among the food and beverage offerings we look forward to sharing soon will be Tiana’s Famous Beignets, of course.
Beginning opening day, Golden Oak Outpost and The Friar’s Nook will be serving up these light, sweet and fluffy beignets drizzled with honey and powdered sugar. These will be available for a limited time only so let the good times roll. Check back to Disney Parks Blog and @DisneyEats for all the delicious details celebrating Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Genie+ which includes Lightning Lane
In order to utilize Lightning Lane, you need a cell phone with the “My Disney Experience” app, and also, purchase Genie+. To purchase Genie+ is to do it daily starting at midnight, and before 7am EST on the day of your visit to the parks. Very important that you purchase this before 7am or you will miss out on attractions that are fully booked at 7am.
To complicate things more, certain rides aren’t even included in the purchase of Genie+. You actually have five attractions, that you have to purchase separately. These are called “Individual Lightning Lane”, or Lightning Lane a la carte. These attractions are currently: Please note Disney opted to leave Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as a ILL making this the first park with two of those.
- Magic Kingdom: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train & TRON Lightcycle /Run
- EPCOT: Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Avatar Flight of Passage
Each Individual Lightning Lane can be purchased at 7am by guests staying on property for any of the attractions above. Guests not staying on property can purchase them at each park’s respective opening times, however be warned, most of the attractions above are gone within the first couple minutes or even seconds in the case of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and we are sure TRON will even be faster for a while.
Also, one more point of contention, if you are managing Genie + and also Individual Lightning Lane, you have a choice to make at 7am on what to do first. At Magic Kingdom you will want to grab the Virtual queue, or ILL for TRON Lightcycle /Run first at 7am. After that is secured, you can go back in for another Lightning Lane reservation. TRON is the first major addition at Magic Kingdom since Seven Dwarfs, and it is sure to be extremely popular for a long time. Your Magic Kingdom days should revolve around TRON strategies. If we were making a plan we would grab the free virtual queue at 7am for TRON and then go back into Genie + to reserve attractions. For Seven Dwarfs you can read our strategy here, but we would not purchase ILL for that.
Also worthy of note as of this writing TRON is still presumed to operate with Virtual Queue, although we have a sneaking suspicion that may change before June 28th.
Conclusion on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
While we surely miss Splash Mountain we can hardly wait to see how Disney re-imagined this attraction into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. What are your thoughts are you excited to see this transformation and eat all the beignets while going down the bayou?