Disney World Tiana's Bayou Adventure is New Orleans magic, from beignets to Mardi Gras celebrations

In 2009, Disney finally gave the world the first Black Disney Princess with the release of The Princess and the Frog and the character Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose). Now Tiana is moving from the screen to the theme parks with Walt Disney World's newest attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, replacing Splash Mountain at the Orlando, Florida, resort.

Described as a "love letter" to New Orleans, Louisiana, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom is an immersive and detailed representation of Tiana's story. From detailed artwork to new animatronics and merchandise, there's a lot to see when the attraction opens on June 28. Experiencing the attraction first-hand, it's one of the most detailed rides at Disney World.

"Tiana is everybody's princess," Charita Carter, who led the development of the attraction as executive creative producer for Walt Disney Imagineering, said at a presentation for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure earlier this month. "She comes from a real place in America. She wasn't born into royalty. She has a working mom. She has military ties and there's so much about her life that is relatable."

"Everyone can find any aspect of Tiana's story in their own story and so many people are inspired by her. ... Tiana is a dreamer and a doer."

It's easy to find examples of the impact of bringing Tiana's story to Disney Parks, even within the Imagineering team.

Corey Clancey, a project coordinator with Walt Disney Imagineering, started working at Disney World as a part-time food and beverage worker on the boardwalk, then a balloon vendor and then a VIP tour guide. Clancey eventually got the dream job, joining the Imagineering team, starting as an intern. But it's the fact that Tiana and Tiana's Bayou Adventure is really a world for anyone to feel welcomed in that is particularly impactful for Clancey.

"This ride is for everybody, and everyone can come here and feel welcome and be part of the Mardi Gras party," Clancey said. "Princess Tiana is my favourite Disney character, she's the reason I love Disney, and as a personal note, the person that I consider my motherly figure is very well represented by Tiana."

"Tiana is a princess for all people. She works hard. She's relatable. She found it within herself to find her dream, which is something that we can all learn from. ... Just being able to bring this story to life and give back what the story has given to me is something I am completely indebted to."

The story of Tiana's Bayou Adventure

One thing that riders should know before heading to the attraction is that the story of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure begins after the movie The Princess and the Frog, where we see her open Tiana's Palace restaurant in New Orleans. Now she's grown her business with an employee-owned cooperative, Tiana's Foods.

"When you enter the garden area at the start the queue, you're going to hear a radio broadcast of a performance by New Orleans musical acts, and the announcer of this radio program shares that Tiana is hosting a celebration during Mardi Gras season this very night, and everyone is invited," Ted Robledo, executive creative director for Walt Disney Imagineering, explained.

"It ain't a party in New Orleans without music or a band. In fact, as you walk into Tiana's office, you're going to see a to-do list on the wall, and everything is checked off, except for hiring a band. That's what we're here to help her with. So we're going to join Tiana and Louis for a fun and magic trip through the bayou in search of musicians."

After you leave Tiana's office you head to the kitchen, with the smell of fresh beignets. You're also going to see photos and special mementos from Tiana's friends and family, including her family's famous gumbo recipe. This is an attraction where it actually might be better to have a bit of a wait in the queue, so you can see all the little details featured on your approach to the ride.

"After we board our boats and then pass through this beautiful, lush lagoon filled with trees, plants and flowers of the bayou, we're going to join Tiana and the jazz-loving alligator, trumpet player Louis on an adventure down the river and we're going to be searching for that essential missing ingredient, which you know is musicians," Robledo said. "Along the way we're going to meet bands of critters sharing all of the diverse and rich sounds of New Orleans, playing their own renditions of these Tiana songs."

"With the help of Mama Odie's special magic we're going to dig a little deeper in the bayou and find all the musicians we're looking for, as she shrinks us down to the size of a frog for a perspective in the bayou that you could not ever get, unless it was with Mama Odie. As the journey and the talent search concludes, it's Mama Odie again who brings us back to our big, bold, beautiful selves and gets us to that joyful Mardi Gras celebration at the magnificent home of Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen."

'They captured the magic that is in New Orleans'

It's become expected at this point for Disney, but it's still incredibly breathtaking to see all the detail in Tiana's Bayou Adventure, including how much the team behind the attraction worked to ensure that it was very specifically an authentic representation of not just Tiana's story, but New Orleans as a whole.

At the entrance of the attraction, Tiana's Foods, there's a brilliant mural created by Louisiana artist Malaika Favorite, instantly giving you that feeling that you're being transported to New Orleans.

"I had no idea what they wanted and the whole process, the meetings that we had, was going through what their vision was and how could I interpret their vision," Favorite explained. "I'm doing the sketches first, and then they had to decide, well this one works, not that one, ... they guided me with what direction they wanted to go in and what they wanted to portray on the building."

"When you go to New Orleans, you're already in magic. ... They captured the magic that is in New Orleans."

Art from New Orleans artist Sharika Mahdi was also an inspiration for the creation of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, with Disney commissioning four pieces from the artist. Mahdi stressed that a highlight was how collaborative the Disney team was in the development of these paintings that showcase the food, music and vibrancy of New Orleans.

"They were very open to me making sure that I kept my integrity towards my style and what I had to offer as an artist when trying to reinterpret how I would do certain aspects of the ride, visually," Mahdi told Yahoo Canada.

For Mahdi, being able to see New Orleans represented in a Disney attraction is "awe-inspiring" and "an honour."

"To be a part of something, such a big stage, and to apply our talent to that is ... very inspirational, but it's also uplifting," Mahdi said.

Why is Splash Mountain being replaced?

Disney's move to replace Splash Mountain with Tiana's Bayou Adventure goes far beyond just a theme change at Walt Disney World.

Splash Mountain was inspired by Disney's most controversial movie, the 1946 film Song of the South, which has now been completely pulled from circulation. The racist film has been slammed for having an idyllic portrayal of slavery, set at the end of the U.S. Civil War.

"We're constantly listening to our guests," Javier Moreno, senior vice president of sales, services and events at Disney Destinations, told Yahoo Canada last year when asked about the upcoming change to Splash Mountain.

"This is a critical part of who we are and ... it comes down to the DNA of the company. ... This is a live destination, it evolves, it updates."

For anyone who was a fan of the construction of Splash Mountain, Tiana's Bayou Adventure doesn't change the core of the setup for the attraction. It really just adds far more appealing, detailed and elaborate theming. A real improvement and welcomed update, and the "splash" part of the attraction remains.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure Facts

While Tiana's Bayou Adventure is opening June 28 at Walt Disney World in Florida, the attraction will make its way to Disneyland in California later this year.

The attraction features a 50-foot drop through the water, which means guests should expect to get a little wet on the ride, but definitely not completely soaked. We wouldn't say you need to pack a bathing suit for this experience.

Guests must be 40 inches (102 centimetres) or taller to experience the attraction and Tiana's Bayou Adventure is actually a relatively long ride, about 11 minutes in duration for the full experience.

All guests who wear a MagicBand+ on the attraction will see it light up, vibrate and interact with various elements throughout the ride.

The merchandise for Tiana's Bayou Adventure is also extensive, ranging from an adorable backpack to tasty snacks. Something to particularly look out for is the spice blend from Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in New Orleans, whose owner, the late Leah Chase, was the inspiration for The Princess and the Frog. It will be the first place, outside of Dooky Chase’s, to sell the spices.

Overall, Tiana's Bayou Adventure is absolutely our next must-stop attraction at Disney World. It's a perfect pairing of compelling visuals, and a little bit of a thrill with the drop, making it a particularly well-rounded experience.