A family's Tiana's Bayou Adventure ride ended with an unexpected evacuation through a backstage area on Wednesday after their log ride vehicle began taking on water — and the video they posted online is drawing fresh attention to a ride that has been struggling with mechanical issues all summer.
The Boat That Started Sinking
Instagram user @mamamouseclubhouse shared a video of her family's experience on July 29, capturing the moment Disney cast members shut down Tiana's Bayou Adventure and guided her family along a backstage evacuation route after their ride vehicle began to sink. The footage is the latest in a growing collection of guest-captured evidence suggesting that the former Splash Mountain attraction at Magic Kingdom Park is experiencing persistent, unresolved technical problems.
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At the time of this report, the My Disney Experience app had listed Tiana's Bayou Adventure as “temporarily closed” for several hours — though it's unclear whether that specific closure was directly connected to the sinking incident, which had occurred at least a day prior.
The Instagram comments beneath @mamamouseclubhouse's video quickly filled with other Central Florida Disney Park guests sharing their own negative experiences on the ride. @kelsooooo30 described a particularly frightening moment involving her child:
“When we went it stopped, and my daughter hit her head on the bar really hard. I was really worried, but she's fine thankfully…@waltdisneyworld please don't open it and let people get lightning lanes. It's been doing this all summer. It needs to be properly fixed. We don't care if you need a month.”
@morganacrews expressed exasperation with a problem that apparently predates the Princess and the Frog (2009) retheme:
“I thought they would of fixed the sinking problem after the retheme.”
A Troubled Summer For Tiana's Bayou Adventure
The sinking log incident is the latest in a string of problems that have followed Tiana's Bayou Adventure throughout 2026. Reports of frequent breakdowns, audio-animatronic malfunctions, and components allegedly held together with duct tape have circulated among Disney Parks fans all summer. Despite the volume of reported issues, no refurbishment closure has been scheduled for the Magic Kingdom Park attraction.
The Disneyland Resort version of Tiana's Bayou Adventure also drew national media attention last month after two separate children exited their ride vehicles at the top of the attraction's over-50-foot drop on different occasions. The first incident was captured on video and spread widely online. Both times, the Disneyland Park ride reopened relatively quickly and is currently operating normally.
Walt Disney World Resort has not issued any statement about the sinking log incident or the broader pattern of technical issues reported at Tiana's Bayou Adventure this summer.
Have you ever evacuated a ride at Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney's Hollywood Studios, or Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park? Tell Disney Fanatic about your experience in the comments!
