Disney: For more Tiana ride news, watch ‘American Idol’ tonight
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Disney will be sharing more information about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the new ride at Magic Kingdom, very soon. (UPDATE: Disney announced during “American Idol” that the opening date of the attraction is June 28.)
The company’s social media accounts have advised people to watch tonight’s episode of “American Idol,” the posts read, for a special announcement as “we gear up to celebrate the opening” of the ride at Walt Disney World.
The posts include images with the animated version of Tiana, one of the royals in “The Princess and the Frog,” plus Louis the trumpet-playing alligator and a trio of animals riding a log down a watery slope.
It’s Disney Night on Sunday’s episode of “American Idol,” and it reportedly will include a guest performance by Jenifer Lewis signing “Dig a Little Deeper,” an upbeat, inspirational tune from the 2009 movie. Lewis gave voice to Mama Odie in the animated film.
Disney has shared many details about the attraction since it was announced in June 2020. What Disney hasn’t said yet: Its opening date. (UPDATE: After the social media posts were up Sunday morning, an official Disney World site posted that opening day will be June 28. But it was soon taken down. Stay tuned.)
Previous announcements broadly indicated a launch time of sometime this summer. (The version planned for Disneyland in California is said to be opening “later this year.”)
We know the ride’s story will take place after the events of the movie, that New Orleans music and culture play a role, there will be advanced animatronics in action and some new characters. The voices of some actors from the film (including Lewis) will be heard.
Greenery and other effects have been added to the exterior of the retired Splash Mountain attraction to form Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and a new tiara-topped water tower that was constructed there advertises the princess’s company.
Jack Blocker, Abi Carter, Triston Harper, Will Moseley and Emmy Russell are the five singers left in the competition, and they’ll all sing two Disney-oriented songs on Sunday. Harper will sing “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog.”
Other films represented in the program include “Cars,” “Cars 2,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Toy Story 4,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Onward,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “D3: The Mighty Ducks” and “Hannah Montana: The Movie.”
The two-hour episode of “American Idol” starts at 8 p.m. on Disney-owned ABC. Viewers will determine the three performers who advance to the finale on May 19.
