Disney just opened Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom. The new ride is the rethemed version of Splash Mountain and it opens at Disneyland later this year also.
The ride is a love letter to New Orleans, Louisiana and there are tons of references throughout the attraction queue and the ride itself to this special city. Disney took great care to bring a ton of authenticity into the ride creation process. The Walt Disney Imagineers that led the creative on the ride visited New Orleans multiple times and one time we even got to tag along.
All of that work created a beautiful backdrop for the attraction and actually led to what I regard as the most authentic and potentially best part of the ride. Now, we have a far better look at all of that work.
Disney Created Entire World of Music For New Attraction
Disney created a full soundtrack of new music and new recordings for this attraction. In addition to the “Special Spice” song that is prominent in the attraction's finale, there are also new recordings of classic songs from the movie and New Orleans favorites.
A full album of the attraction's music is now live on Spotify and features a who's who of New Orleans performers. I've been listening to the album all day and am blown away by the quality and breadth of the music. I love listening to jazz background music and also theme park scores. This combines the two.
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Included on the album are songs recorded by Grammy-Award winners, PJ Morton and Terence Blanchard, along with New Orleans talent ranging from Jon Batiste to Trombone Shorty, Jon Clearly and more. One of the daughters of Leah Chase who inspired Princess Tiana, Leah Chase Kamata even sings a touching song on this album.
This is a very real New Orleans jazz album that also happens to also be featured in a Disney theme park.
This music sets the realistic background for the world of Princess Tiana. While I rode the new attraction at Walt Disney World during the preview, there was so much to take in that I didn't even get to pause and appreciate the scoring.
Now, sitting here with the music pumping into my ears as I work on our content planning for the site, it is standing out to me as the key representation of New Orleans in the attraction. Yes, the Audio-Animatronics are stunning and the ride itself is lots of fun, but this music provides the soul for the attraction.
When I was in New Orleans with the creative team, the Imagineering music team was also in town recording some of these songs. We heard that the recording sessions were causing a bit of a panic because so many unexpected musical artists were dropping by or being called in to also jam on the new music with their friends working on it.
Disney needed to get the proper approvals for further song participants but the New Orleans music scene is way more casual than that. These artists wanted to drop in and so Disney made it happen. So many great artists jumped in and believed in Disney's efforts to bring the New Orleans music scene to life in the attraction.
Congratulations to the Walt Disney Imagineering music team and communications teams that got this effort over the finish line. This album is a crowning achievement after a couple of years of incredible musical work. Earlier we heaped praise on the touching “Wondrous Journeys” song from the Disneyland fireworks show. Keep it up!
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As I read into more of the details on this new music, it just confirms how much work went into delivering an authentic collection of songs to inhabit this attraction. If I have any complaint it's that the music isn't featured even more in the ride though I know much of it is represented in the queue.
Disney shared that all of the following musicians are involved plus many more that are members of the bigger bands listed on the album.
Anika Noni Rose – The beloved voice of Princess Tiana and Disney Legend returns to the role once again, singing vocals on “Special Spice”!
Jon Batiste, Jon Cleary and Trombone Shorty — The Grammy-award winning and multi-hyphenate musicians performed on songs throughout the attraction!
Tarriona “Tank” Ball – A New Orleans native and singer performed a new rendition of “Dig A Little Deeper” for the attraction.
Dirty Dozen Brass Band — The group played and sang the song “They All Asked for You,” a song familiar to many of the residents of New Orleans.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band — The group played with an all-star rhythm section assembled by Terence Blanchard, including Louisiana Fairytale, Tailgate Ramble and Bourbon Street Parade.
Leah Chase Kamata – The daughter of Dooky and Leah Chase, the NOLA staple and accomplished singer lent her voice for the queue song, “Do you Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans.”
Charlie Gabriel — An icon in the New Orleans music community, the 91-year-old musician sang lead vocal and played clarinet on “Tailgate Ramble.”
Terrance Simien – The two-time Grammy winner and phenomenal Zydeco artist performed the queue version of “Gonna Take You There.”
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