Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is gearing up for a big Mardi Gras season celebration. So grab your friends, family, and beignets because it’s time to share what you need to know before riding when the attraction opens on June 28!
This is bound to be the biggest soirée on this side of the Mississippi, which includes an exhilarating 50-foot drop. However, you should also know about the attraction’s story, Audio-Animatronics figures, music, and more. Here’s a special look at it all.
From the minute you step into the attraction queue, the story begins!
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure takes place about a year after the events of the Walt Disney Animation Studios film, “The Princess and the Frog.” This is where you’ll see first-hand where Princess Tiana’s life has taken her following the success of Tiana’s Palace, a restaurant she had dreamed up and worked hard to make a reality. In the queue, you discover that Tiana has expanded her business with Tiana’s Foods. She’s combined her talents with those of the local community to transform an aging salt mine and has built a beloved brand of original hot sauces, seasonings, and other food products.
When you enter the garden area at the start of the queue, you’ll be treated to a broadcast of performances by New Orleans musical acts. The radio host shares that Tiana is hosting a celebration this very night, and everyone is invited! He also mentions that Tiana needs your help with a very important task. There’s been a mix-up with the party preparations between Prince Naveen and Louis — nobody booked a band! Because it’s Mardi Gras season, a last-minute search for a band is proving tricky. So, Tiana needs help finding musicians for tonight’s party!
Guests riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will join Princess Tiana and jazz-loving alligator Louis on an adventure through the bayou to help find the essential missing ingredient to a successful Mardi Gras celebration: good New Orleans music! After all, Louis is from the bayou, and he’s one of the best musicians around. In the bayou, you see familiar faces and make new friends in the next chapter of Tiana’s story – including musical critter playing tunes from “The Princess and the Frog” in the styles of Zydeco, Rara, and Afro-Cuban music. With the help of Mama Odie’s magic, you dig a little deeper into the bayou as she shrinks you down to an itty-bitty size for a new perspective to search for bayou musicians. When the talent search concludes, it’s Mama Odie who makes you big again and gets you to the joyful Mardi Gras season celebration at the home of Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure features some of Disney’s most advanced Audio-Animatronics figures, and with this new, advanced technology it makes you feel like you’re really interacting with them in the attraction. Oh, and you can’t miss Louis. He’s one of the largest and most dynamic figures Imagineering has ever built – created with new materials that bring him to life like never before and in a way that only Disney can do.
As you may have seen in the “We Call It Imagineering” YouTube series, the attraction’s amazing Audio-Animatronics figures were created by first looking at the attraction’s story to determine each character’s role. Then, Imagineers used technology in support of the story in true Imagineering fashion. In total, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure includes dozens of Audio-Animatronics figures!
Disney attractions are known for incredible Audio-Animatronics figures, but it’s not every day that NEW original Disney characters debut. These new friends play an important role in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Creating original characters for guests to interact with has long been a part of Walt Disney Imagineering’s legacy. In Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, there are 19 new critters – some are big, some are small, some are older, and some are younger. Each has a distinct name and personality, and the hope is that every guest has at least one they can make a connection with!
Music is at the heart of the attraction, and you’ll be tapping your toes throughout Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, with a mix of both new and familiar sounds. The music comes to a joyful crescendo as you approach the party at Tiana and Naveen’s home, where Louis is conducting a jazz band filled with all the critters you’ve met on your journey and more. They play an all-new, original song, “Special Spice,” with vocals by Anika Noni Rose, the original voice of Princess Tiana.
Imagineers worked with award-winning artists PJ Morton and Terence Blanchard on the music you’ll hear at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. A priority for creating Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has been to represent all aspects of the New Orleans culture throughout the attraction, with an emphasis on the power of the city’s music.
Riders should also know that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will utilize a virtual queue. You’ll be able to request to join the queue through the My Disney Experience app at either 7am or 1pm. While a standby queue will not be available during the attraction’s initial opening days, a standby queue is expected to open soon after the attraction’s opening.
You can visit disneyworld.com/virtualqueue for more details about how virtual queues at Disney World work and what you need to know before visiting Magic Kingdom.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will also be included as a Lightning Lane entrance with the Disney Genie+ service. Purchasing this service on the My Disney Experience app helps you get to some of your favorite attractions faster through Lightning Lane entrances and includes digital downloads of select Disney PhotoPass attraction photos taken in the park on the day of your purchase at no additional charge. You can check the app on the day of your visit for pricing and availability.
Tiana and friends can’t wait for you to drop into the bayou at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opening June 28 at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
No opening date has been set for Disneyland’s Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Stay tuned to Daps Magic for more information once the opening date is announced.
