We had reported a while back that Splash Mountain is being reimagined as “Princess and the Frog”, however there have been no new updates on this for a while and many fans have been wondering if the project is still moving forward, and if so when they can expect to say good-bye to the original Splash Mountain forever.
Now because Princess Week Celebration has officially kicked off, the Disney Parks Blog is sharing the latest developments in this exciting new chapter for Tiana and her friends! Per their blog, it looks like the story in the attraction will be a sequel to the movie:
As seen in this latest rendering of the attraction, the story 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 – during which some original music inspired by songs from the film will bring guests into the story. Tiana is leading the way and fans will be able to encounter old friends and make new ones along the way as well!
Imagineers often do in-depth research to help inspire their work. For this “Princess and the Frog” project, that involved digging deep into the culture of New Orleans to tell a story that’s as authentic to the region as it is to the characters’ stories. New Orleans is the PERFECT place to draw inspiration from when it comes to the food, music, art and architecture to the diversity of its people and their traditions (plus the film does take place in New Orleans!). The Imagineering team has done virtual research trips through Zoom and this was their first of many in-person research trips to come and get the story right.
The Imagineering team recently gathered at Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in New Orleans. Founder Leah Chase was one of the inspirations for Princess Tiana, and they wanted to talk about Tiana’s impact over the past decade and the creative process behind the upcoming attraction, including the next-level technology Imagineers are employing to bring it to life.
You can watch Kenneth Moton, National Correspondent for ABC News as he joins Stella Chase Reese, Owner of Dooky Chase’s Restaurant and daughter of Leah Chase; Carmen Smith, Creative Executive, Vice President, Inclusive Strategies for Walt Disney Imagineering; Charita Carter, Senior Producer for Walt Disney Imagineering; and Marlon West, VFX Supervisor for Walt Disney Animation Studios to hear more:
Per the Disney Parks Blog, “Tying to Leah Chase’s love of art, one of the early sources of inspiration has come from Sharika Mahdi — a visual artist, art educator, and alumna of the renowned YAYA (Young Aspirations Young Artists) Arts Center located in New Orleans — who was commissioned to create a series of four original paintings to inspire Imagineers, one of which was revealed today.
To celebrate all of these developments, our love and appreciation for New Orleans, and our commitment to arts education, Disney announced a $50,000 donation to the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), a regional, pre-professional arts training center that offers students intensive instruction in culinary arts, dance, media arts, classical instrumental music, jazz instrumental music, classical vocal music, drama, musical theatre, theatre design, visual arts and creative writing.” How amazing is that?!
So while we still don’t have a definitive date on when Splash Mountain will officially be reimagined as “Princess and the Frog” we now know that Disney Imagineers are hard at work with researching and making sure they bring us something authentic and exciting. While it will be sad to say good-bye to the original, we know Disney will give us a new attraction that will finally give Princess Tiana her very own spotlight.
If you are looking for other ways to celebrate “Princess and the Frog”, the Disney Wish will be setting sail next year featuring an all-new inspired lounge entitled The Bayou, and through the upcoming Walt Disney Animation Studios original series “Tiana” coming to Disney+.
Stay tuned for more updates as work progresses on this exciting new attraction!
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