Ciara Takes A Journey On Disneyland’s New Tiana-Themed Ride

Grammy-winning artist Ciara took a visit to Disneyland to be among the many first to expertise the park’s newest attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Journey.

The experience, impressed by the 2009 Disney movie “The Princess and the Frog,” changed the enduring Splash Mountain at each Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The newly reimagined attraction transports guests into the vigorous world of Princess Tiana, taking them on her journey from New Orleans to the bayou and past.

That includes enhanced storytelling, dynamic music, and cutting-edge visuals, the experience honors the cultural vibrancy of New Orleans and its deep connection to Tiana’s story.

Followers of Disney and “The Princess and the Frog” are thrilled concerning the new attraction, together with Ciara.

Disney Parks shared a video of Ciara having fun with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, clapping alongside to the music, waving to Tiana, and donning traditional Mickey ears and an outsized shirt as she plunged into the bayou alongside beloved characters from “The Princess and the Frog.”

Tiana’s Bayou Journey is a reimagined attraction at Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida. The experience continues the story of Princess Tiana, following her success in opening Tiana’s Palace restaurant. Friends be part of Tiana, Louis, and different beloved characters as they put together for a novel Mardi Gras celebration, exploring the colourful tradition, music, and magic of New Orleans and the bayou.

“We needed to ensure that, since New Orleans is an actual place and has this actually thrilling and attention-grabbing historical past, that we be genuine to that,” Ted Robledo, one in all Disney’s artistic executives on the attraction, advised USA TODAY.

Tiana’s Bayou Journey is located in Bayou Nation, the realm beforehand often called Critter Nation, which now additionally options the newly reimagined Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree.

Splash Mountain initially opened within the late Eighties and was primarily based on characters and themes from Disney’s 1946 movie “Tune of the South.” The movie has lengthy been criticized for its outdated and racially insensitive portrayal of the post-Civil Battle South. Whereas the experience itself centered on characters like Br’er Rabbit and Br’er Fox, many felt the attraction was tied to problematic themes.

In June 2020, amid heightened social consciousness and requires inclusivity, Disney introduced plans to overtake Splash Mountain. The corporate emphasised its want to create sights that mirror a range of tales and resonate with trendy audiences.

Tiana, Disney’s first Black princess, was seen as a pure match for the reimagining attributable to her cultural significance and inspirational story.

Alongside the brand new experience, Disneyland reimagined the encompassing space to totally immerse company in Tiana’s world.

This contains Eudora’s Stylish Boutique, a merchandise store impressed by Princess Tiana’s mom’s Nineteen Twenties atelier, and Tiana’s Palace, a brand new restaurant providing a wide range of New Orleans-inspired dishes. Friends can savor flavorful gumbo, a hearty quick rib sandwich, creamy macaroni and cheese, and indulgent beignets full of strawberry and lemon custard.

Robledo defined that Imagineers aimed to inform the identical story on each coasts, that includes the identical key moments and characters created by lead idea designer Laura West for the experience. Nevertheless, some changes had been made to suit every park.

For instance, the model at Magic Kingdom is barely longer, permitting for extra respiration room and alternatives to work together with the pure environment.

“However then .. there’s these stunning moments that we solely get to expertise right here, like with the ability to see Tiana’s Palace within the distance, which is tremendous cool,” Robledo advised USA At present. “After we enter into the bayou, it lights up dramatically right here at Disneyland with the fireflies.”

On Wednesday, November 13, Anika Noni Rose, the unique voice of Princess Tiana, enchanted the gang at Disneyland with a dwell efficiency from a steamboat as fireworks lit up the sky above her.

The new attraction is rich with subtle nods to African American history, akin to mementos honoring Tiana’s father’s army service and references to her New Orleans meals firm as a “worker-owned cooperative.” Moreover, the experience delights followers with “two new appears to be like for Tiana,” the lead Disney Imagineer on Tiana’s Bayou Journey, Charita Carter, shared throughout a Disney fan occasion this summer season.

Tiana’s Bayou Journey is now open at each Disneyland and Walt Disney World.