Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Opening Date Announced for Disney World – UPDATED!

If you were watching American Idol on Sunday night, you were one of the first to hear Disney’s official announcement that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open at June 28, 2024 at Disney World. (If you were watching social media all day, you might have already known it as Disney leaked and then deleted the story earlier in the day.) We’ve got details below about whether Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will use a Virtual Queue, Lightning Lane access, and Previews for select groups before the ride officially opens. (Last updated May 14, 2024). 

Just in time for the doldrums of summer, Tiana will welcome guests on a musical adventure as she prepares to host a party for the ages during the Mardi Gras season. You’ll find familiar faces, new critters, many latest-generation Audio-Animatronics, and both original music and some favorites from the film. And of course, you’ll once again have a chance to experience the iconic 50-foot drop that brings a little thrill and splash to the otherwise sedate flume ride.

Along with the announcement, Disney teased the possibility of previews for Cast Members, Annual Passholders, and Disney Vacation Club members. A few days later, we have more details, including info on how the ride will operate when it’s open to the public.

Virtual Queue

When it opens, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will use a Virtual Queue, with drops at 7 am and 1 pm. This is similar to the Virtual Queues already in place for TRON Lightcycle/Run and Cosmic Rewind: Guardians of the Galaxy. There’s no word yet on how it will work with two attractions using Virtual Queue in the same park, and Disney has said that they hope to open standby for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure shortly after it opens. So maybe that won’t even be a question for very long.

Lightning Lane Access

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will offer Lightning Lane access through the Genie+ service. This means that absent any changes, the Individual Lightning Lane rides in Magic Kingdom will continue to be TRON Lightcycle/Run and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

Annual Passholder Previews for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Annual Passholder Previews will be held on June 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, and 20. Unlike past previews where you made an appointment, these previews will use a Virtual Queue. Now, pay close attention because the details are not the same as regular Virtual Queue operations.

• Only Annual Passholders are eligible, and your pass must not be blocked out on the date you are trying to join the Virtual Queue
• Queue times are at 7 am and 1 pm
• You are eligible for the 7 am drop if you have a theme park reservation for Magic Kingdom on that date
• You are eligible for the 1 pm drop if you have a theme park reservation for any park on that date
• You do not need to have entered the park to join the Virtual Queue, for either drop
• You can only join once per day (but you can join if you have previously ridden on a different date)
• You can have a Boarding Group for the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure preview at the same time as a Boarding Group for Cosmic Rewind or TRON Lightcycle / Run.
• As always with Virtual Queues, being in a Boarding Group does not guarantee that you will ride.

Disney Vacation Club Member Previews for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Disney Vacation Club Members can attend special preview events for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Eligibility is very limited, please read carefully below. These events will be held on

• Wednesday, June 12, 2024
  • 1 PM to 4 PM Eastern Time
• Wednesday, June 19, 2024
  • 9 AM to 12 PM Eastern Time

Registration opens Thursday, May 16, 2024 at 10 AM Eastern Time, and the link will be posted on the DVC site as registration nears in the News and Alerts section; you may also receive an email with the link.

Members must be eligible for Membership Extras benefits to register for and attend an event, and must hold a qualifying resort reservation made using their Membership. Members may only make one reservation for themselves and the number of guests on their resort reservation as of May 12, 2024 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time — so reservations made today will not (according to the announcement) make you eligible for these events. See more details at the Disney Vacation Club site.

Stay tuned here for more details as we have them!

Are you excited for the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? Will you make a trip this summer to ride it? Let us know in the comments!

Originally published May 12, 2024