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A shocking incident led to a temporary shutdown of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom Park on May 12, 2025, just months after the attraction’s debut. The reimagined Splash Mountain was halted after a guest jumped into a restricted area and searched the water for a lost item.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opened at Walt Disney World Resort in June 2024. This rethemed log flume ride takes guests on a musical adventure with characters from The Princess and the Frog (2009). Guests follow Princess Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), and Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis) as they journey through the bayou, looking for musicians for a New Orleans-style celebration.
Credit: Disney
According to Reddit user u/Legitimate_Try148, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure shut down around 8:00 p.m. on Monday, May 12. The user described how Disney cast members escorted the man away from the ride before evacuating other guests aboard the attraction.
A second witness, u/ugahairydawgs, provided a more detailed account, saying they saw the man near the bottom of the ride’s drop, looking for his hat. The witness speculated that the man must have jumped the fence after completing the ride and was seen digging in the water for a while before the ride was eventually shut down.
Credit: Disney
“Assuming he jumped the fence after riding,” the Disney Park guest wrote. “He was down there for a couple of the logs coming down before they got the ride shut down. He was walking along the walkway and kept digging in the water for the hat and never found it.”
The witness continued, saying that the man ignored Disney cast members’ instructions to leave the restricted area, which prompted additional interventions: “They had people yelling at him to get out and a CM on the intercom telling him to stop moving, but he just ignored it all.”
Eventually, a Disney cast member reached the man and escorted him out of the area. Then, everyone else on board Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was evacuated.
Credit: Allen Castillo, Flickr
The ride was closed for much of the evening following the incident. It briefly reopened later but was closed again before the After-Hours park access for Deluxe Disney Resort guests began. One guest, u/FileExpensive6135, expressed frustration about the ride’s closure, stating: “I walked all the way over there since it’s not open for after hours and then it was closed, I was pissed. Then after the fireworks they opened it but I was already standing in line for Tron and couldn’t get out of the line and then they closed Tiana’s. People are beyond stupid and entitled.”
Despite the disruption, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure reopened on Tuesday, May 13, and resumed normal operations.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen at Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park? Share your story with Disney Tips in the comments!
By the way just so you know Tiana’s Bayou Adventure takes place during the 1927 Mississippi river flood disaster which over 500 people drowned and over one hundred thousand African American were stranded on the levee hills in red cross tent camps. I hope Disneyland and Disney world will address the 1927 flood disaster issue and also that the first talking film the jazz singer 1927 features black face scenes and Oswald the lucky rabbit was very popular Disney cartoon in 1927.