Music on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
All photos ©Disney unless otherwise noted
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is opening in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World on June 28th! The new attraction is a musical adventure through the bayou with some music from the film and some original music inspired by the film composed for the attraction. Music is essential to the plot of the ride, which features musical critters and various styles of music popular in New Orleans. For more details, check out this post!
Everything We Know So Far About Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World
Music
Music is integral to both New Orleans and The Princess and the Frog, and will be a central feature of the musical adventure on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The attraction includes music from the film, new renditions of fan-favorite songs, and new music in collaboration with PJ Morton and Terence Blanchard, New Orleans native musicians. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure also features 16 new musical critters playing Zydeco, Rara, and Afro-Cuban music on makeshift instruments being constructed out of natural materials and human-made found objects.
PJ Morton is a four time Grammy winner with six straight years of Grammy nominations as an independent artist. Morton wrote, arranged, and produced an original song for the attraction and creating new arrangements of The Princess and the Frog songs.
Terence Blanchard is a seven time Grammy winner for discography and trumpet expertise. He also played all the trumpet parts for Louis the alligator in The Princess and the Frog. Blanchard is creating musical arrangements for the queue and helping to select songs to use for the attraction from The Princess and the Frog.
Recently, Walt Disney Imagineering launched a new YouTube series, We Call It Imagineering. On the series viewers will be brought behind the scenes at Walt Disney Imagineering with the second episode giving a behind-the-scenes look at how music is created for Disney attractions and entertainment. The episode includes a first look at the finale of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure including the new original song written for the ride, “Special Spice”. The new original song is written by PJ Morton and features vocals by the original voice of Princess Tiana and Disney Legend, Anika Noni Rose. “Special Spice” is a lyrical love letter to New Orleans and was recorded along with new renditions of songs from The Princess and the Frog for the attraction.
“Special Spice” released on Walt Disney Records on Friday, May 31st and can be found across all music streaming platforms.
The attraction’s queue features a New Orleans radio station playing authentic jazz versions of popular songs from The Princess and the Frog including “Down in New Orleans”, “Ma Belle Evangeline”, and more. Helmed by Terence Blanchard, the music in the queue showcases New Orleans music. The queue also features a rendition of the Louis Armstrong song, “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans”, performed by Leah Chase Jr., legendary singer, teacher, and daughter of Chef Leah Chase (one of the inspirations for Tiana). The radio station also shares important messages about the search for musicians for Tiana’s big party.
We will update this post with a full track list once we ride the full ride!