First look: Tiana's Bayou Adventure ride at Disney World
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A preview of Disney's new ride this week drew content creators, international media and the Chase family. Photo: Jeff Weiner/Axios
When her raft splashed down from the 50-foot drop, the cascade of water was a relief to Tracie Griffin, granddaughter of New Orleans culinary legend Leah Chase.
- "I'm glad I got wet, because it wiped my tears away," Griffin told Axios. "It's a beautiful ride. It's a love letter, not just to the Chase family, but to the city of New Orleans."
Why it matters: Griffin and dozens of her relatives got an early look this week at Tiana's Bayou Adventure, a new Walt Disney World ride celebrating New Orleans' cultural history.
Catch up quick: Tiana's Bayou Adventure replaces Splash Mountain this year at Disney's U.S. parks.
- The ride opens June 28 at Disney World in Florida and later this fall at Disneyland in California.
- It's based on the 2009 movie "The Princess and the Frog."
- As Imagineers brought the film to life, they were guided by the family behind Dooky Chase's Restaurant, whose matriarch inspired Disney's first Black princess.
The vibe: Set a year after the film's happy ending, riders enter the Bayou Adventure through our restaurateur's new business, Tiana's Foods.
- The walls are lined with mementos of Tiana's life with Prince Naveen and, if you look and listen closely, homages to the Chase family's New Orleans legacy.
🎶 Case in point: That voice you'll hear covering the Louis Armstrong classic "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" is none other than Leah Chase Jr.
All aboard: The ride sends guests on a quest through the bayou, guided by Tiana and alligator trumpeter Louis, in search of musicians for a Mardi Gras party.
- Along the way, you'll meet several cuddly new critter musicians. (Yes, plushes are for sale in the gift shop.)
- The action ramps up when kindly voodoo priestess Mama Odie shrinks the riders down to bug-sized so we can scout talent among Ray the firefly's brethren.
- When Mama Odie reverses her magic, get ready for that 50-foot splash — followed by an animatronic New Orleans celebration. Here's a video from the rider perspective.
The intrigue: The ride features an all-new song, "Special Spice," performed by Tiana voice actress Anika Noni Rose and written by New Orleans native PJ Morton.
What they're saying: Disney executive and Imagineer Carmen Smith said working with the Chase family to continue Tiana's story was "an honor and a blessing."
- "Tiana would not be possible if were not for Leah Chase. She was a dreamer and a doer, a working mom of four who followed her dream to run a restaurant."
If you go: The ride is in Disney's Magic Kingdom and will have a virtual queue and paid option called a Lightning Lane to skip the line through Disney's Genie+ service.
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