As crews continue toward a 2024 opening for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, more theming is now visible to guests visiting Magic Kingdom.
Back at the 2022 D23 Expo, it was hinted that Mama Odie would play an important role in the climactic drop for the attraction. As you can see in our photo of the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure model below, it looked like Imagineers had modeled the bottle lanterns from the “Dig a Little Deeper” scene from the Princess and the Frog movie.
Of course, Mama Odie previously had a far more prominant spot in the attraction, with the original concept art showing her boat-turned-treehouse perched atop the mountain.
Disney would eventually confirm the 2022 speculation by sharing concept art of a Mama Odie audio-animatronic below in April 2023.
Now, guests visiting Magic Kingdom can spot the first bottle lanterns installed at the top of the final lift Hill before the climactic drop. While visiting Magic Kingdom, we got a close look at the multiple bottle lanterns recently installed!
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Backstory
Princess Tiana is the proud daughter of Eudora and James. Eudora influenced Tiana’s entrepreneurial spirit, while James instilled a deep passion for cooking. With its mouthwatering menu, exceptional entertainment, and warmhearted hospitality, Tiana’s Palace quickly became a treasured meeting place in New Orleans. Princess Tiana used her newfound success to support surrounding neighborhoods, which led to her role as a community leader.
From the success of her restaurant, Tiana expanded her business into an empire thanks to the entrepreneurial drive she got from her mother. Tiana opened Tiana’s Foods – an employee-owned cooperative. The endeavor began when Tiana purchased the salt mine and the area surrounding the large salt dome it operated from. With the help of her mother Eudora, Naveen, Louis and fellow owners of the cooperative, Tiana revived the old salt mine and the surrounding land, growing a wide array of vegetables, herbs and spices for her recipes.
This multi-faceted enterprise has turned the aging salt mine into a space that has come alive. Complete with a boutique farm and both a working and teaching kitchen, Tiana’s Foods is where Tiana and her colleagues create all sorts of new products that they are bringing to the world, including a line of original hot sauces.
With Tiana’s Foods established, the story of the attraction will take place after the final kiss as Naveen and Louis join Tiana on her latest adventure, hosting a one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras celebration where everyone is welcome.
Tiana wants to give a big thanks to her family and friends and the entire community for all the support they’ve given her by throwing an amazing party during Mardi Gras season. When it turns out there’s been a bit of a mix-up with the party preparations, Tiana invites us to meet her at Tiana’s Foods to help with the missing ingredient for the party.
When we arrive, we may see that Tiana spruced up the company’s facilities with vibrant art from local artists. Food for the party is being prepared and beignets are being loaded into crates for the celebration. All kinds of preparations are underway for the journey into the bayou with Tiana, along with new and familiar friends from the animated film.
For a full look at everything we know about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, check out our article below!
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