How The Spirit of New Orleans Helped Bring Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to Life
With Tiana’s Bayou Adventure set to open at Magic Kingdom in just three days, Disney is reflecting back on how the attraction came together.
While the Splash Mountain replacement has been in the works for a couple of years, the genesis of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure actually took place two decades ago when a team from the Walt Disney Animation Studios traveled from Burbank, California, to New Orleans, Louisiana, to find inspiration for the upcoming film The Princesses and the Frog.
They eventually found just the spark they needed when they were introduced to local legend Leah Chase, the “Queen of Creole Cuisine” and the owner of Dooky Chase’s restaurant.
According to Carmen Smith, the executive creative producer of Tiana’s Baoyu Adventure, Princess Tiana would never have been possible if not for Leah Chase.
“She was a dreamer and a doer, a working mom of four who followed her dream to run a restaurant. She and her husband, Dooky, ran Dooky Chase’s in New Orleans, but it wasn’t just a restaurant; it was a gathering place that inspired so many.”
Reuniting With the Chase Family
When Walt Disney Imagineering set out to develop a new attraction based on The Princess and the Frog, they knew they had to reunite with the Chase family.
“While Leah and Dooky are gone, their legacy lives on through the future generations who have been a huge part of this process,” Smith explained. “Their children were our guides… and we even made their daughter, Stella Chase, an honorary Imagineer.”
Just like the original filmmakers, Imagineers wanted to capture the spirit of New Orleans in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. To ensure they did so, they made multiple trips to Louisiana, visiting everywhere from the French Market to the bayou.
“Our company’s ties to New Orleans actually go back beyond this project,” said Charita Carter, the executive creative producer of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. “They go back to Walt Disney and the opening of New Orleans Square, which was one of the first major expansions of Disneyland Park… We had an opportunity [for this attraction], so we actually sought out local artists and artisans that we wanted to collaborate with and be inspired by.”
The Artists of New Orleans
To help bring the attraction to life, the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure once again turned to New Orleans. Local artist Sharika Mahdi’s artwork inspired the attraction’s look from the start, and she even painted a mural displayed in the queue.
Artwork from Louisiana artist Malaika Favorite is also featured throughout the queue.
“Disney reached out to me in 2020 and said they liked my artwork and my style,” Favorite recalled. “They told me a little bit about the story, and they asked me to do some concept sketches so that Imagineering could further develop the attraction. They wanted to see how I interpreted the theme—which was cool, because I’d never done anything like that. Then they commissioned me to do four original paintings inspired by my sketch work.”
Creating the Soundtrack
Speaking of the queue, when guests walk through the attraction’s line, they can hear Leeah and Dooky’s daughter, Leah Chase-Kamata, singing “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans.” The arrangement of the Louis Armstrong classic was done by Grammy-winner and New Orleans native Terance Blanchard.
“The most emotional part was working with Leah,” Blanchard said. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the studio. She did one take and that’s all we needed. When you hear it in the queue, there is so much history, emotion, and experience in her vocals. To me, it just typified everything that we’re so proud of with this attraction.”
Joining Blanchard in working on the attraction’s music was PJ Morton, who wrote, arranged, and produced “Special Spice.” The original song is performed by Anika Noni Rose in the attraction’s finale. He also wrote arrangements of The Princess and the Frog songs that are performed throughout Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
“I didn’t want [the music] to be a caricature of New Orleans. I said, ‘Let’s just make it authentic. Let’s make a great song that can live forever. It’s a combination: It’s New Orleans, it’s me, it’s Disney. All those things came very organically and very naturally,” Morton explained.
“It Makes You Feel Right at Home
After getting a chance to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees gave the attraction his stamp of approval.
“It makes you feel right at home,” Brees said. “It’s a great representation of our city, of our community, and of all of Louisiana.”
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