Disney Parks Syndication

Alligator Dies in Front of Disney World Guests

Black and white image of a group of people in casual attire standing and blocking a walkway in a park-like setting with trees and Disney-style wooden buildings in the background. — Credit: @ericthomaschu

Louis the alligator experienced a shudder-inducing malfunction in front of riders on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Walt Disney World Resort. Videos of the incidents were posted on social media amid concerns about ongoing maintenance issues on the Magic Kingdom Park attraction.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opened on June 28, 2024, months before its counterpart in Critter Country at Disneyland Park. Disneyland Resort has yet to announce the opening date of its Princess and the Frog (2009) themed ride.

Princess Tiana posing in front of Tiana's Bayou Adventure. — Credit: Disney

The Frontierland ride takes guests back to the Bayou after the events of the Disney Princess film. Join Princess Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), Louis (Michael Leon-Wooley), and Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis) as they gather a band for the party of a lifetime. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure features a mix of original music and fan-favorite tunes!

Still, it’s not all smiles down in New Orleans. The Splash Mountain retheme delighted tens of thousands of Walt Disney World Resort guests but also experienced unprecedented downtime. Multiple times each week, guests who purchased Disney Genie+ or woke up to join the Virtual Queue miss out on riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

An animated scene featuring a woman in a yellow suit and red tie standing beside a large, friendly alligator. Both characters are smiling and appear to be in a forest setting with vibrant greenery and blue lighting on Tiana's Bayou Adventure. — Credit: Disney

Last weekend, two Disney Park guests shared videos of the Louis animatronic malfunctioning in front of guests. From Redditor u/SwaggySwagster_:

“Louis was feeling abit stiff in magic kingdom (my first ever animatronic malfunction!)”

Louis was feeling abit stiff in magic kingdom (my first ever animatronic malfunction!)
byu/SwaggySwagster_ indisneyparks

The clips seem to have been taken within moments of one another, as they show the same technical issue. The entire audio-animatronic appears motionless and “dead.” Only Louis’s neck swings back and forth, his mouth moving slightly.

An image of a lush, green landscape with a tall water tower labeled "Tiana's Foods" prominently standing amidst the foliage. The sky is clear with a few scattered clouds, adding to the vibrant and scenic environment. — Credit: Disney

“Louis was broken today,” u/Senor_Arcturus wrote.

Louis was broken today
byu/Senor_Arcturus inWaltDisneyWorld

One day this week, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure closed unexpectedly two hours before the rest of Magic Kingdom Park. The log flume ride never reopened, and thousands of guests missed their return times.

When Walt Disney Imagineering rethemed Splash Mountain, they visibly redid much of the ride’s track. It’s unclear if Tiana’s Bayou Adventure’s current maintenance issues are comparable to Splash Mountain’s in its final years or if errors with the advanced audio-animatronics are behind frequent closures.