9 things to know about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Step into a world brimming with Southern charm and lively music at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the newest attraction at Magic Kingdom, scheduled to open to the public on June 28.
This thrilling boat ride picks up after the events of “The Princess and the Frog,” following Tiana’s success with her dream restaurant, Tiana’s Palace. Now, she’s expanding her culinary empire with Tiana’s Foods, a bustling marketplace.
But the real adventure begins when you join Tiana’s Mardi Gras celebration when you board a log flume to go down the bayou and help Tiana prepare for her party.
Here are 9 things to know about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure:
1. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure picks up after the events of the Walt Disney Animation Studios film “The Princess and the Frog.” You’ll see first-hand where Tiana’s life has taken her following the success of Tiana’s Palace, a restaurant she dreamed up and worked hard to make into a reality.
2. Expanding her successful business, Tiana purchased an aging salt mine as well as the surrounding land to create Tiana’s Foods. You’ll see vibrant art from local artists and sprawling gardens of vegetables, herbs and spices for her recipes.
3. Be sure to explore all the details in the attraction queue – smell the sweet scent of beignets cooking, see newspaper clippings detailing Tiana’s story and find photos of Tiana’s friends and loved ones … you’ll even see the original gumbo recipe from Tiana’s great grandmother!
4. At Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, you are ready to celebrate Tiana’s community at her Mardi Gras season party. When it’s revealed that Louis and Naveen forgot to book a band, you do your part and help find the “missing ingredient” – a band to play at the party! You search high and low – so low, in fact, Mama Odie shrinks riders down to the size of frogs to enjoy the stylings of amphibian musicians.
5. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has some of the most advanced Audio-Animatronic figures ever seen on an attraction, with new and familiar faces like Princess Tiana, Mama Odie, Louis, Naveen, and three whole bands of musical critters.
6. All-new Disney characters were created for the attraction – the critters. Depicted as Audio-Animatronic figures, these talented critters play instruments made out of natural materials and found objects around the bayou. You’ll hear Zydeco, Rara and Afro-Cuban music – all genres popular in New Orleans! – from all kinds of animals, including raccoons, rabbits, otters, bears, foxes, frogs, and more.
7. Top talent from different fields came together to bring the attraction to life! Many voice actors from the film reprise their roles including Anika Noni Rose as Princess Tiana, Michael-Leon Wooley as Louis and Jenifer Lewis as Mama Odie. Terence Blanchard, an original musical contributor to “The Princess and the Frog” soundtrack, returned to create new music. Award-winning musician PJ Morton wrote, produced and performed in the finale song, “Special Spice,” along with vocalist Anika Noni Rose. Artisans from New Orleans like Sharika Mahdi, Malaika Favorite, and Darryl Reeves contributed to the art and inspiration behind the look of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
8. Riders should also know that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure uses a virtual queue. You’ll be able to request to join the queue through the My Disney Experience app at either 7 a.m. or 1 p.m. While a standby queue will not be available during the attraction’s initial opening days, we expect to open a standby queue soon after the attraction’s opening.
9. For an extra bit of spice, wear your MagicBand+ on your journey into the bayou – it will light up, vibrate and interact with elements of your ride, creating a truly connected experience filled with the magic of bayou fireflies!
