ORLANDO, Florida — “Almost there.”

Fans of Disney’s New Orleans-set “The Princess and the Frog” will recognize those two words, sung by Princess Tiana as part of an inspirational anthem expressing her dreams of opening her own South Louisiana restaurant.

Ted Robledo can relate.

He’s no restaurateur, but as executive creative director of Walt Disney Imagineering, he’s guiding the closely watched retheming of Walt Disney World and Disneyland’s Splash Mountain attractions into the New Orleans-flavored Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

It’s a big project with big stakes. And although it’s still too early to offer an opening date any more specific than “some time in 2024,” an early January tour of the in-progress attraction — the first such peek offered by the Mouse — shows that it is, indeed, almost there in many respects.

It also offered tantalizing hints at what is to come.

“You ready to take a look?,” a smiling, hardhatted Robledo asked, welcoming a reporter behind the brown construction walls encircling the work zone.

Where the storytelling begins

He was in the Frontierland courtyard that formerly served as a ride queue area for the Magic Kingdom’s iconic but racially problematic log flume ride. The courtyard, he explained, will serve the same purpose for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure — but it will be more than that, too.

Like the rest of the attraction, it is at the moment very much an active construction zone, but it isn’t just where the line will begin. It’s also where the storytelling will start, Robledo said.

“Like a movie, this is the setting,” he said. “We’ve got to know where we’re at.”

One of the most conspicuous additions to the courtyard so far is a mural designed by Baton Rouge-area artist Malaika Favorite adorning the side of the two-story barn in which Splash Mountain guests entered the attraction building.

According to Robledo, the first floor of that barn, now painted a vibrant yellow, will house the main offices for the bustling Tiana’s Foods, a sprawling food production operation that — according to lore invented for the attraction — Tiana founded after the events of the 2009 film.

(The complex, for the record, includes a salt dome, Imagineers’ explanation for the existence of a “mountain” in Southern Louisiana — and for the guest-drenching plummet with which the whole thing culminates.)

A NOLA soundscape

Just outside the barn, multiple poles will sport loudspeakers hooked to a PA system, “like at the beginning of ‘Grease,’” Robledo said. They will broadcast an old-timey radio show featuring reimagined New Orleans classics performed by an assortment of local musicians gathered by multiple Grammy winner Terence Blanchard.

As previously announced, the scent of beignets will waft through the air to further set the scene.

Favorite and Blanchard are just two of the New Orleans creatives invited to help shape the feel of the attraction. Just a few hours before Robledo’s tour, an intricate metal weather vane crafted by New Orleans master blacksmith Darryl Reeves was installed on the ride’s exterior. Musician P.J. Morton and the culinary Chase family have also been brought on board to ensure a level of authenticity.

“One of the things that blew my mind (in New Orleans) is the amount of art all over,” said Robledo, who has accompanied other Imagineers on multiple research trips to the city. “This is our love letter to New Orleans, and in that spirit, art is everywhere.”

Vital touches

As such, those touches from New Orleans artists and artisans are vital, Robledo said.

“The city as a place is as important as a character,” Robledo said. “The story reacts to the place. We’re starting to hint at that in the queue, to try to craft that love letter to New Orleans in every way possible.”

Once guests pass through the ride queue area and wind through the ride structure, they’ll arrive at the loading area. It will largely resemble that of Splash Mountain, but not exactly.

Already in place over the loading area, for example, are cranes hoisting pallets of crates marked “Tiana’s Foods” — one of many indications that it is a working food operation.

In addition to using the same ride vehicles as its predecessor, the new attraction will also use the same ride track, so guests will start their ride with a brief outdoor float marked by a few not-so-intense drops.

From there, they’ll enter the main part of the attraction, which is where the biggest changes will take place.

“You OK climbing down a ladder?” Robledo asked, descending into the temporarily drained flume through which guests will float.

Native plant initiative?

Walking through the channel, he explained, provides a viewpoint similar to that which guests will experience. It also revealed that every bit of Splash Mountain’s faux vegetation has been stripped out and replaced with flora native to Louisiana.

That includes carefully crafted cypress trees, marsh grasses and the like. In one scene, a 3-foot-square box filled with Spanish moss awaited use by the design team.

“This will be where we first see ‘the critters,’ as we’re calling them,” Robledo said, referencing the all-new animatronic band — made up of tuneful swamp animals — to be featured in the ride.

Rounding a gentle bend, a large, detailed two-dimensional cutout of Louis the Alligator — a fan favorite from the movie — comes into view. Eventually, it will be replaced with an animatronic figure, but until then the cutout helps place the figure into the scene so designers can make sure it fits into its surroundings both physically and artistically.

Rounding another bend, a similar cutout of Tiana appears. It is a placeholder for one of several Tiana animatronics to appear throughout the ride. Along the way, she will repeatedly address guests directly, seeking their help to find a yet-to-be-named missing element for a Mardi Gras celebration she’s planning.

“She’s always connecting,” Robledo said.

The latest and greatest

Although he hinted there might be a few subtle nods to the old Splash Mountain, the animatronics in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be the latest and greatest, the same high-tech versions used in Hong Kong Disneyland’s recently opened World of Frozen area.

Much of the interior ride architecture — the rocks, boulders and whatnot — have been retained from Splash, although there will be additions. A pair of stone arches spanning the flume were among those spotted on Robledo’s tour.

One element not being held over from the old Splash Mountain is the tree trunk that once crowned the attraction. It has already been removed to make room for whatever awaits guests just before their plummet.

“We needed some real estate there to fit the added show magic,” Robledo said.

Just before the old ride’s “Laughin’ Place” scene, Robledo stops. The tour ends there.

“Kind of from this point on is the surprise,” he said, a twinkle in his eye.

Pressed for details, he responded: “I’ll just say it’s got a lot to do with magic. It’s a magical moment that happens down there.”

Mike Scott can be reached at moviegoermike@gmail.com.