Family of Real-Life Inspiration For Princess Tiana Headed to Disney World For New Ride Opening
Anticipation is building for the grand opening of Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Disney World this summer as Disney has been sharing a look at some of the impressive animatronics coming to the attraction as well as more characters that were announced for the ride and new song and storyline details. The exterior of the attraction is taking shape, and we're excited to see the final product!
Disney has been dropping details and building up anticipation for the attraction as summer draws closer. Ahead of Tiana's Bayou Adventure opening soon (we still don't have the Tiana's Bayou Adventure opening date), the family of the real-life inspiration behind the character of Princess Tiana has been surprised with a vacation to Disney World to celebrate the opening of the attraction.
Keep reading for more details about this surprise and the real-life chef who served as inspiration for the character! You can see everything you need to know about Tiana's Bayou Adventure in our full guide.
Family of Real-Life Inspiration Behind Princess Tiana Surprised With Vacation
The inspiration behind Princess Tiana was real-life chef Leah Chase, known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine. Her restaurant Dooky Chase has become one of the most iconic destinations in New Orleans and a meeting place for for music and entertainment, civil rights, and culture in the city.
As part of a trip to New Orleans with Walt Disney Imagineering to learn about the inspiration behind the city that inspired Disney's Princess and the Frog film and the upcoming Tiana's Bayou Adventure attraction, our site's founder Gavin Doyle had the opportunity to meet members of Leah Chase's family. You can read about his full experience and the inspiration behind the attraction in the full article detailing his visit to New Orleans!
Now, Disney continues to honor and celebrate Leah Chase as they have surprised her family with a trip to Disney World to ride the new attraction. “The surprise is we are going to bring the Chase family to Disney World to experience Tiana’s Bayou Adventure for the first time,” Ted Robledo, Executive Creator for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, said according to WGNO.
In addition to the surprise vacation, Leah's family was also given an official attraction poster, and her daughter Stella Chase was named an honorary Imagineer. Stella has worked closely with Walt Disney Imagineering throughout the development of the attraction and consistently on research trips. Another one of Leah's daughters, Leah, will have her voice featured in the new ride as well.
Leah Chase passed in 2019, but her legacy still lives on, and her family will get the opportunity to celebrate her impact as they experience the opening of this highly-anticipated attraction. Stella Chase said, “My humble mother would say why are you doing this for me, now I’ll have to live forever and ever and ever to pay you back.”
The below artwork was created by the director of “The Princess and the Frog”, John Musker, as thanks for the support of the family and currently hangs in the Dooky Chase restaurant in New Orleans.
As Disney continues sharing exciting bits of news on the road to the opening of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, we are looking forward to hopefully hearing an opening date soon.
You can see this TikTok video Disney shared below with Stella Chase on continuing the legacy of her mother:
@disneyparks Continuing the legacy of Leah Chase 🥺✨ #Disney #DisneyParks #DisneyWorld #Disneyland #TianasBayouAdventure #Imagineering #Tiana #NewOrleans #Chef ♬ original sound – Disney Parks
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