Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom opens the doors to its latest attraction this June with “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” featuring Disney’s first Black princess “Tiana” from the 2009 animated film “The Princess and the Frog.”
The ride replaces the water ride Splash Mountain, which featured a 52-foot drop that had been a staple to the theme park since 1992. The attraction was closed in 2023 for a makeover featuring a more familiar and relevant character.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure invites guests to see characters from “The Princess and the Frog,” including Mama Odie and Louis, a trumpet-playing alligator, with the backdrop and flavors of New Orleans, where the film takes place. The ride features dozens of audio animatronics figures and a story about what happened to Tiana after the film.
“We talked about how beautiful Tiana is and the fact that she comes from a real place that exists and a real culture,” the ride’s executive producer Charita Carter told the AmNews. “We had an opportunity while we were expanding her story to showcase the culture from which she came. We want to expose guests to something new in some aspects, because not everyone has experienced Southern or New Orleans culture.”
“The Princess and the Frog” is a retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “The Frog Prince,” set in the Big Easy in the 1920s. The film’s protagonist, Tiana, has dreams of opening her own restaurant and works as a waitress to save money. After kissing Prince Naveen, who has been turned into a frog by a voodoo witch doctor, Tiana becomes a frog herself and the two must find a way to turn human again.
The story on the log flume ride takes place after the final kiss in the film as Naveen and Tiana, both human again, embark on her latest adventure of hosting a Mardi Gras celebration. Now the owner of her own food production business, Tiana asks riders to find musicians in the Louisiana Bayou for the celebration. The attraction features the same 52-foot drop as the former Splash Mountain where riders are sure to get soaked.
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Voices and sounds familiar to guests include various styles of New Orleans music and voice talents from the film, including Jenifer Lewis as voodoo priestess Mama Odie, and Anika Noni Rose as Princess Tiana. Music on the ride includes a new song by Rose and music from New Orlans natives PJ Morton and Terence Blanchard.
“This ride just isn’t about Black culture, but it’s about something different in America,” Blanchard said. “One of the things I loved about this place is that they call it Disney World and there are a lot of different influences from all different parts of the globe here, so why not have our culture here too? This should be the turnkey for other things to come in as well.”
In an effort to keep the ride authentically Orleanian, the attraction is christened with artistry from the Crescent City. Works include pieces from Louisiana artists Malaika Favorite and Sharika Mahdi and an original metalwork weathervane from third-generation master blacksmith Darryl Reeves and his apprentice, Karina Roca.
The concept for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure arose after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd as many companies strived to do away with what was perceived as racist imagery. Splash Mountain, the former ride, featured characters from the 1946 live-action animated film “Song of the South.” The film featured an elderly Black plantation worker and storyteller named Uncle Remus, who is presumed to have once been enslaved. Uncle Remus was played by James Franklin Baskett. The film also features Black actress and Oscar winner Hattie McDaniels, known for her role as Mammy in “Gone With the Wind.”
The film, set after the Civil War during Reconstruction, has been blacklisted by Disney for its stereotypical portrayal of African Americans at the time and is not available for purchase or on Disney’s streaming service. Baskett and McDaniels were not mentioned or seen on Splash Mountain; however, there had been calls to change the ride because of its ties and unfamiliar characters.
Dr. Howard Robinson, Black historian and archivist at Alabama State University, said that while Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is a ride, it is a step in the right direction for Disney and its diversity and inclusion efforts to appeal to a wider audience.
“I would argue that some of the exhibits, the more outdated exhibits, or the older exhibits at a place like Disney World, reflect a point of view in the American experience in time,” Robinson told the AmNews. “One of the things that I think is valuable about this idea of diversity and inclusion is to look at our experience, look at the shared experience, not just from one lens.”
Disney Executive and Imagineer Carmen Smith told the AmNews that the ride will be inspiring to all children, but that it’s an opportunity for Black children to be able to see themselves when visiting Walt Disney World.
“Young girls, young boys, their moms and dads, and their grandparents are going to have the opportunity to be on an experience where they can say, ‘They see me, they hear me.’” Smith said. “The richness of New Orleans allows us to go deeper into the story, which is layered in music and art, cooking and family and community. We are just excited that families will see themselves in every aspect of this ride.”
Disclosure: The Walt Disney Company paid for the travel and accommodations for several media outlets, including the AmNews, to cover the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Disney did not review or approve any of our coverage.