New attractions in 2024: Tiana ride, Penguin Trek, DreamWorks land, ‘Life’

Orlando’s theme parks and attractions will be welcoming new things to do in 2024, and we know some of the plans.

Exact dates? Not so much. At this point, we’re lucky to get an opening season out of the powers that be. It would be foolhardy for them to announce a grand opening at this juncture because someone — maybe me, maybe you — would start an online countdown clock and then howl as that date flew past.

So, for now, we’ll share what the parks are saying about this year’s coming attractions.

Walt Disney World has found two more ways to lean into princess mania. At Magic Kingdom, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be a reimagining and remodeling of Splash Mountain’s structure with New Orleans flair and a storyline that picks up after the events of “The Princess and the Frog” film. Released artist concepts show musical critters and that Tiana will wear pants, it appears. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was announced in June 2020, although Splash Mountain has been closed for just a year. The revamped ride is scheduled to open in “late” 2024. (Insert your own “Debut is TBA” quip here.)

Meanwhile, at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Ariel will be back on stage in a new show called “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure.” This will replace “Voyage of the Little Mermaid,” which closed with the pandemic times of 2020 and never returned. Disney calls this an “all-new” production and points to the “Kiss the Girl” scene not seen in the previous show. The replacement was announced in December, with an opening anticipated in fall 2024.

Will “adventure” be the “immersive” of 2024? Stay tuned.

Even less definite on the Disney calendar for 2024: a revamped Country Bear Jamboree and a new tavern in the Pirates of the Caribbean area of Magic Kingdom; the opening of CommuniCore Hall and a re-imagined Test Track at Epcot; and a “Zootopia” Tree of Life show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Under construction at SeaWorld Orlando is an indoor-outdoor roller coaster dubbed Penguin Trek. It’s said to be a family-friendly attraction with two launches and a snowmobile-inspired ride vehicle. The finale includes real penguins in their habitat. Penguin Trek incorporates parts of the former Empire of the Penguin, another attraction that did not reappear after the pandemic. The coaster was announced in September (although visible work had already begun), and SeaWorld says it will debut this spring.

In December, Aquatica, SeaWorld’s water park, announced a new waterslide named Tassie’s Underwater Twist, a ride with a synchronized video display, orchestral score, projections and an Australia-based theme. It’s set for a spring opening.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, SeaWorld’s sister park, will introduce Phoenix Rising. It’s to be a suspended coaster that travels above the park’s Serengeti Plain and Pantopia section. It was announced in October and will be rolling in spring, the park says.

Universal Studios theme park is preparing a DreamWorks land where KidZone stood until a year ago. It will involve characters from “Shrek,” “Trolls,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “Gabby’s Dollhouse.” This was confirmed in July, and the area will open at some point in 2024.

Legoland Florida is getting a new neighbor in the form of Sea Life Florida Aquarium, an attraction similar to one at Orlando’s Icon Park. (All three are owned by Merlin Entertainments.) The Winter Haven aquarium will not be Lego-themed, but it will have a theme of “theme park under the sea.” Coming inside the Legoland park is Lego Ferrari Build and Race, an automotive-themed exhibit set to open in the spring. Both projects were announced in November; Sea Life is expected to debut in the fall.

Orlando Science Center’s new nature exhibit, dubbed “Life,” is built around three ecosystems (ocean, swamp, rainforest) and 300 up-close-and-personal animals. The groundbreaking for the project was in June 2022, and it’s set to open in the spring.

There may be fewer birthday celebrations in 2024, although Disney’s Hollywood Studios (birth name: Disney-MGM Studios) arrived 35 years ago. Gatorland marks its 75th anniversary this year. (Bubba and Cooter’s Diamond Jubilee, anyone?)

On the operational side of things, the Disney Dining Plan is returning this month, and “all-day” park hopping will resume at Walt Disney World for annual passholders. They’ll still have to make reservations unless it’s one of the new Good-to-Go Days, designated dates when passholders can just get up and go in. (The first batch of those dates will be revealed on Jan. 11.)

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