After a quick break for the center of the vacations, Walt Disney World’s laborious ticket occasion ‘season’ is as soon as once more underway with 2025 After Hours at Magic Kingdom. And in a shock twist, the park’s latest attraction is not going to be open in the course of the occasion. This covers how Tiana’s Bayou Journey has been faraway from the trip roster, potential explanation why, and impacts on technique.
Walt Disney World initially introduced that Tiana’s Bayou Journey could be open and supplied through a standby queue throughout After Hours. This was highlighted in each the authentic announcement and on the official After Hours at Magic Kingdom webpage. Nevertheless, a stealth edit was made to each to take away Tiana’s Bayou Journey from the lists–and the trip didn’t function in the course of the first After Hours at Magic Kingdom, confirming that the edit wasn’t in error.
Frankly, that is irritating. Driving Tiana’s Bayou Journey with out hassling with the digital queue was a promoting level of the occasion, and other people undoubtedly bought tickets on that foundation. Positive, Magic Kingdom consists of the boilerplate authorized CYA that choices are topic to vary with out discover (and many others), however that doesn’t make quietly eradicating rides the proper factor to do for a corporation that prides itself in distinctive visitor service. This isn’t even the primary time we’ve seen this occur! Tiana’s Bayou Journey ping-ponged on and off the attraction lists for Prolonged Night Hours and the Halloween/Christmas events final 12 months earlier than finally being faraway from the previous and added to the latter.
The elimination of Tiana’s Bayou Journey from the After Hours lineup can also be notable as a result of it basically takes Frontierland out of play. With Large Thunder Mountain Railroad now closed till 2026, the one operational attraction in Frontierland throughout After Hours at Magic Kingdom in 2025 is Nation Bear Musical Jamboree. As a lot as I really like the Bear Band, even I wouldn’t waste treasured After Hours time doing CBMJ.
That’s going to be the response of most company, and there’ll not be an incentive to enterprise again into Frontierland. Relying upon the capability cap, this might have implications for seems like crowds all through Magic Kingdom throughout After Hours. Tiana’s Bayou Journey being down may additionally imply greater wait occasions for the opposite high-profile headliners, together with Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare and TRON Lightcycle Run.
As for why Walt Disney World eliminated Tiana’s Bayou Journey from After Hours at Magic Kingdom, there are a number of prospects.
The primary is that it’s on a short lived foundation, attributable to climate. A chilly entrance is passing by way of Central Florida and temperatures started to tank in a single day–proper as the primary After Hours started–with one of many coldest-feeling nights of your entire winter. In truth, a Chilly Climate Advisory has been issued by the Nationwide Climate Service for Orange County, as wind chills are anticipated to be 25 to 30 levels on January 7, 2025.
Tuesday temperatures will likely be sharply cooler, with afternoon highs solely reaching the higher 50s, which is about 15 levels beneath regular. At night time, it’ll be cool within the mid to higher 30s by way of midweek, leading to some frost in elements of Central Florida. Though the dreaded Polar Vortex will miss Walt Disney World, the prolonged forecast nonetheless options days with lows within the 40s and highs struggling to interrupt out of the 50s. That’s exactly why we warned about Blizzard Seashore being closed a lot of the month.
Because it’s a water trip that may get you moist, demand for Tiana’s Bayou Journey drops precipitously with temperatures–particularly at night time. And After Hours is at night time, and on chilly ones for the rest of this month–in all probability a lot of February, too. So this might be a short lived measure, with Walt Disney World realizing TBA shouldn’t be an precise promoting level of After Hours proper now and wanting to avoid wasting the working bills.
One other risk is that trip reliability and downtime are plaguing Tiana’s Bayou Journey to the purpose that Walt Disney World feels it’s higher to take care of complaints about it closed than complaints about company getting caught in line or on the trip if/when it breaks down.
We reported that uptime was up significantly within the early fall of final 12 months, however my anecdotal experiences in November and December had been far much less constructive. It’s potential I simply acquired unfortunate, however that’s loads of dangerous luck. (I must dig into the info to see which is the case.)
A closing risk is a mix of the above. That the dangerous climate has introduced Walt Disney World with a chance to take Tiana’s Bayou Journey down and do after hours (not capitalized) upkeep in the course of the in a single day hours to try to enhance its reliability and uptime.
Actually, I’d be completely high quality with this. I hoped that Tiana’s Bayou Journey would obtain a winter refurbishment. It could’ve been good if Walt Disney World would’ve snuck one in earlier than Large Thunder Mountain Railroad’s year-plus refurbishment. And even performed them concurrently! A little bit of short-term ache (refurbishment) could be price it for the long-term achieve (reliability).
I’m not even certain that’s the right phrasing. Personally, I’d fairly have TBA taken off the desk utterly than get caught in that queue but once more. Whether or not Tiana’s Bayou Journey is a web constructive for the park proper now’s debatable, and relies upon upon whether or not you don’t have any points with downtime and expertise it in flawless type, or if in case you have complications with breakdowns or trip with AAs on the fritz.
If Walt Disney World is taking Tiana’s Bayou Journey out of play for After Hours as a way to have extra time for upkeep, I’ve zero problem with that call. On the contrary, I’d really applaud it! My drawback is that they didn’t talk this to company, and as a substitute made a stealth edit to web sites as a substitute of providing an precise replace that Tiana’s Bayou Journey will not be obtainable in the course of the occasion.
Past this After Hours replace, the closure of Large Thunder Mountain Railroad plus Tiana’s Bayou Journey plus TRON Lightcycle Run nonetheless not being open (no less than formally and persistently) for Early Entry leaves us in a tricky spot with Magic Kingdom touring recommendation. I’ve been ready till issues “settled down” earlier than making main updates, however who is aware of when that’ll be.
Walt Disney World initially indicated that Tiana’s Bayou Journey would solely use a digital queue for the attraction’s preliminary opening days earlier than switching to standby. And precisely that has already occurred at Disneyland, the place the identical trip opened a number of months later, and ditched its digital queue after lower than a month.
Fortunately for Walt Disney World, the attraction’s “preliminary opening days” is imprecise and open to interpretation. Whereas I could contend that window has already handed, they may however argue that they at all times meant the digital queue would final till, I dunno, September 2025. That this was the plan all alongside! I wouldn’t purchase that, but it surely’s definitely an argument they may make.
My view is that the “preliminary opening days” assertion was made on the idea of anticipated demand fairly than downtime. Disney figured opening week could be very busy and didn’t need an awesome line clogging up Frontierland or getting in the best way of the parade route. Bear in mind, this was introduced earlier than previews even began, so Disney was in all probability assuming that Tiana’s Bayou Journey could be no less than as dependable as Splash Mountain.
Clearly, it isn’t. Whereas the downtime scenario had seemingly been bettering, the progress hasn’t been with out setbacks. So one thing continues to be incorrect. It is likely to be a two steps ahead, one backwards sort of deal–however regardless, the trip shouldn’t be persistently dependable.
This is able to additionally clarify why the Disneyland model already dropped its digital queue. It could appear that classes had been realized from the Walt Disney World model, and the additional 5 months to arrange for the California model’s opening gave Imagineering and upkeep groups time to implement fixes earlier than opening the attraction. That has clearly paid off, and is another excuse why Tiana’s Bayou Journey at Magic Kingdom would profit from a winter refurbishment.
At this level, the protected prediction is that Tiana’s Bayou Journey will use a digital queue for as lengthy at it’s suffering from downtime woes. Digital queues supply a method of pulsing demand and are the imperfect resolution to operational woes. That’s exactly why Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance debuted the trip VQ again in 2019. (Additionally notable is that Rise of the Resistance equally acquired loads of in a single day upkeep to enhance its reliability.)
Finally, I nonetheless haven’t any clue how lengthy the digital queue will final for Tiana’s Bayou Journey. What I can say is that I used to be beginning to lean in the direction of “any day now” attributable to an bettering uptime streak. That was doubly true with Large Thunder Mountain Railroad taking place, because the standby line would assist soak up crowds.
Switching to standby is contingent upon the present issues plaguing the attraction being fastened, although. I suppose we’ll see what occurs–possibly this After Hours elimination will find yourself being a web constructive, and Tiana’s Bayou Journey will go lacking from the occasion for the subsequent couple of months to perform in a single day upkeep and implement fixes, and return to the lineup in March when it’s extra dependable.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about inns on our Walt Disney World Resorts Evaluations web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Evaluations. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Ideas for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys submit takes a singular take a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Journey Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the very best place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for every little thing you want to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Ideas on Tiana’s Bayou Journey being faraway from the After Hours at Magic Kingdom trip roster? What’s your plan of assault for minimizing issues with Tiana’s Bayou Journey–will you purchase making an attempt for the digital queue, shopping for Lightning Lane entry, or each? Are you excited to trip Tiana’s Bayou Journey or nervous in regards to the day by day downtime and different points? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we might help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
