Why We're Excited About the Opening of Tiana's Bayou Adventure

New Orleans' rich Black culture is at the center of the upcoming Disney attraction.

The bayou is a very special place. It’s where alligators, with their short arms and big teeth, are actually as friendly as Louis from Disney's The Princess and the Frog. Many lily pads, moss, cypress, and magnolia trees are in the calm yet murky waters, with deep dark sections sparse throughout the freshwater system. The soundtrack is a harmony of cicadas, bullfrogs, and dragonflies, with special guest appearances by playful yet curious raccoons, turtles, and large birds swooning in for afternoon snacks.

All of these components were deeply considered as Disney Imagineers made multiple immersion trips to New Orleans and surrounding areas researching the perfect elements to bring its forthcoming attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, to life.

Set in 1927, Tiana’s entrepreneurial spirit has grown, and not only has she opened her long sought-after restaurant Tiana’s Place, based on the real-life Dooky Chase’s in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, she’s now creating opportunities for others with employee-owned food co-op Tiana’s Foods. She’s also got a new bayou-inspired outfit, a hip roaring 20s hairdo, and the spirit of New Orleans, which shines through in period and cultural authenticity. These things were incredibly important to the three primary Imagineers, all people of color, who researched to craft the attraction—Ted Robledo, Executive Creative Director; Charita Carter, Executive Creative Producer; and Carmen Smith, SVP & Executive Creative Development Product/Content & Inclusive Strategies.

Slated to open at Disney World and Disneyland in late 2024, the attraction will feature a bayou-esque ride that lasts approximately 8-10 minutes, with the experience starting in the queue. The scent of beignets and the harmonies of the Crescent City will fill the air, all while showcasing a continued storyline for the company’s first Black princess. Similar to Splash Mountain, it’s a log flume water ride culminating with a 52-foot drop.

Unlike its predecessor, New Orleans has no mountains, so to keep things realistic, Disney Imagineers were tasked with reinventing the mountain into something visible in the city. After looking through dozens of period-specific maps, they found salt mines and domes. Then the magic began to take shape.

Honoring Tiana's Blackness

The first time Tiana went down the bayou, she was very much a frog. This time, however, she’s a thriving businesswoman with a wardrobe to match. Throughout the film, the character in human form had many outfit changes, so it’s only fitting the continuing story would dress her appropriately.

Her new look includes knickers, boots, and a jacket, all inspired by period trends. “She's a princess, but she's not going to go into the bayou in a gown,” Robledo says.

Imagineers also emphasized the significance of changing Tiana’s hair to honor her culture as a Black woman. “One of the things with our cosmetology that we wanted to be very particular about is how when it comes to African American hair, as I've learned, ‘cause obviously, I'm not an African American person, is the versatility of one's hair—[it can be] worn up and down in lots of different ways,” Robledo says.

A Research-Informed Imagining

The Historic New Orleans Collection and the New Orleans Jazz Museum, each boasting outstanding record-keeping and city artifacts, helped Imagineers authentically represent the time period.

The Imagineers said that they arm themselves with the knowledge to approach stories with authenticity. “We left nothing to necessarily imagination. We wanted everything to be invented with a sense of authenticity,” Smith says.

Some scenes from the attraction are inspired by visual artist Sharika Mahdi, who was commissioned to paint pieces allowing Imagineers a local New Orleanian perspective on the story.

“I felt like we've talked about how such an important part of the community is having that family support for [Tiana] because she was a dreamer like many of us,” Mahdi says. “She represented many of us little girls and women, and having a strong mother there and father that encouraged her to pursue her dreams despite whatever obstacles.”

Accurately representing Blackness and the cultural melting pot that is New Orleans was a special note for the Imagineers, two of whom are Black women.

“We learned about the diversity of the people that make up the culture here. We learned about the role of women in this particular town, which we thought was really special as we're telling Tiana's next chapter story.” Carter says.

The Soundtrack of New Orleans

To understand the music, you need to understand the culture. “New Orleans, as a city and a culture, predates the United States,” Robledo says. “They were on a head start to this idea of a melting pot before there was even a United States—these things coming together from Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, and South America. Some of these cultural things that were brought here, of course, were traditions like food and music. And in this attraction, we want to give guests a taste of all the different flavors of music.”

Handmade instruments are a historical element of the city. Even today, you’ll see musicians line the streets of New Orleans, banging on buckets or strumming washboards. Naturally, Imagineers gave the animatronic critters at the attraction handmade instruments to mimic the natural sounds of the bayou.

“A lot of the inspiration for rhythm comes from nature,” Carter says.

The other part of the inspiration is homegrown musicianship. John Dennis, Executive Creative Director, Music, serves as the music supervisor for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, a task for which he tapped renowned New Orleans musicians Terence Blanchard and PJ Morton.

Blanchard is the original trumpet in the film, giving life to Louis the alligator’s horn. He will return to provide music for the attraction. Morton, a new addition to the project, had the opportunity to reimagine some of the original songs and craft new music for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

“[It] felt like a big responsibility, honestly, because the story's been told through the song, through the music,” Morton says. “I just wanted to [ensure] that it fit right in with those amazing [existing] songs. The fun part for me was [imagining] Tiana now, what she's doing, and how her dreams are coming true. And that's the kid part of me, so I get to be a kid through the music and remember [how] those songs made me feel and how I connected to them.”

The actual opening date for the attraction has yet to be made available. According to Imagineers, Disney previously announced that Tiana’s story would continue on screen in some form in the future.

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