Disney has formally confirmed that Tiana’s Palace Restaurant is coming to New Orleans Square in Disneyland forward of the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure trip reimagining of Splash Mountain. This submit shares dates, particulars, idea artwork and commentary for the upcoming addition, plus ideas on whether or not one thing related may–or ought to–come to Walt Disney World.
Tiana’s Palace Restaurant would be the second location in New Orleans Square to be given an overhaul impressed by the Princess and the Frog. Last fall, Eudora’s Chic Boutique Featuring Tiana’s Gourmet Secrets arrange store within the former Le Bat en Rouge store. In case you’re unfamiliar with it, that is nestled into the present New Orleans Squares alleyways, close to Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s separated from Splash Mountain by quite a few places, together with Haunted Mansion.
Honestly, Eudora’s Chic Boutique isn’t actually a lot. If you weren’t actively in search of the main points impressed by the Princess and the Frog, you would possibly miss them completely. There’s a nook of the situation showcasing a interval present scene with a stitching machine, stitching model, and aprons. There are additionally music lyrics and different nods to the film I’m most likely forgetting. It’s very delicate and straightforward to overlook.
Eudora’s Chic Boutique Featuring Tiana’s Gourmet Secrets was first revealed on the D23 Expo. During that very same occasion, a mannequin of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (Disneyland model) was additionally shared in “Wonderful World of Dreams” Disney Parks sales space. That revealed new particulars concerning the reimagined trip, and a few of what to anticipate along with the attraction at Disneyland.
At Disneyland, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will turn out to be a part of an expanded New Orleans Square, annexing space from the present Critter Country. According to Disney, this permits for the chance to inform much more of Tiana’s tales. That sales space and the Imagineers in it additionally shared that Tiana’s Palace Restaurant could be coming to Disneyland. Now, we now extra about what form it’ll take and the place it’ll be positioned…
Tiana’s Palace Restaurant can be positioned on Orleans Street in Disneyland, changing French Market Restaurant. Disney has not but shared specifics about what sort of eating location it’ll be, simply that Tiana’s Palace Restaurant shouldn’t be a personality eating expertise.
Within the peach-colored partitions and fancy inexperienced wrought-iron balconies of Tiana’s Palace Restaurant, you’ll discover elegant fixtures and appointments paying homage to Tiana’s life and friendships. The new Tiana’s Palace can have a lot of the identical pinch of pizzazz and aptitude because the restaurant from the movie, providing genuine New Orleans flavors impressed by Tiana’s pals and adventures on this quick-service fashion restaurant.
According to Disney, the menu at Tiana’s Palace will increase on lots of the present favorites served within the location, discover seasonal flavors and provide New Orleans classics. In all chance, this implies Tiana’s Palace Restaurant will proceed to be a buffeteria-style counter service restaurant.
Tiana’s Palace is certain to be a gathering place for family and friends to get pleasure from nice meals and have fun collectively, similar to Tiana and her father James dreamed. It’ll be attention-grabbing to see what adjustments to perform this.
Disney Imagineers are partnering with Disney Animation artists from the unique movie to convey this story to life at Disneyland. In reality, the movie designers took inspiration from the outside of the unique French Market Restaurant in New Orleans Square when designing Tiana’s Palace for the film, so it is a long-dreamt homecoming.
To start this work, French Market Restaurant (and Mint Julep Bar) can be closed starting February 17, 2023, and can reopen as Tiana’s Palace (alongside Mint Julep Bar with its well-known mint juleps and Mickey beignets) later within the yr.
Our Commentary
It was a foregone conclusion that Tiana’s Palace Restaurant could be coming to Disneyland even earlier than Imagineers prematurely spilled the beans on the D23 Expo. Honestly, this most likely ought to’ve occurred a couple of decade in the past when the film first got here out. It has all the time been such a logical match with New Orleans Square.
There undoubtedly would’ve been backlash from Disneyland followers then, simply as I’m positive would be the case now. That’s as a result of New Orleans Square is the head of themed design and among the best theme park lands on the planet. It can be one which has been largely unspoilt since its unique development, which means that characters and Disney mental property for probably the most half haven’t encroached the land. (Both Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean have turn out to be IP outdoors the parks, although!)
Back final fall when Imagineers revealed that Tiana’s Palace Restaurant could be a reimagining of an current eating location at Disneyland, it wasn’t clear whether or not the restaurant would annex extra of Critter Country, or change a location in New Orleans Square.
Our guess was that it’d both be Cafe Orleans, a desk service restaurant, or Hungry Bear Restaurant, one other quick-service possibility. Although we might’ve been unhappy to see the final remnants of the Country Bears disappear from Disneyland, changing Hungry Bear Restaurant was been the best possibility. That’s the extra formidable transfer and fewer controversial route, too.
Our hope was that Disney would go massive, making all of Critter Country a part of New Orleans Square—or a brand new bayou growth to it. That would’ve left New Orleans Square thematically intact, whereas additionally tying up unfastened ends, so to talk, and making this a bigger scale growth. Disney may’ve even marketed Tiana’s Bayou Adventure as a part of a brand new themed bayou space at Disneyland.
Things may come full circle, with Audio Animatronics from Splash Mountain shifting over to the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. That may turn out to be a musical revue—New Orleans Sings! or Bayou Critter Jamboree each sound nice to me.
Sadly, that isn’t what’s going to occur. Not solely that, however Disneyland isn’t even changing the desk service Cafe Orleans. Instead, they’re utilizing the buffeteria-style French Market as the idea for the reimagined Tiana’s Palace Restaurant. This is unquestionably the trail of least resistance, and the simplest possibility–which is why a turnaround time of lower than one yr is possible for this venture.
Whatever your expectations are for Tiana’s Palace Restaurant, dial them down. It’s potential that Disney will intestine French Market to make the inside much less cramped, however I wouldn’t depend on that. More doubtless, this can be corresponding to the Eudora’s Chic Boutique reimagining–most likely a bit extra formidable than that.
Expect to see new props inside which might be nods to the Princess and the Frog, a brand new marquee, and a facade that evokes the look of Tiana’s Palace from the film. Other than that, I wouldn’t anticipate to see main substantive adjustments to French Market. My guess is that it’ll proceed to be buffeteria service with the identical inside from a substantive perspective.
Personally, I’m probably not averse to the transfer–however I’m additionally not excited for it. While I believe French Market is a beautiful location, the identical needs to be true for Tiana’s Palace Restaurant. I can’t think about them being materially totally different from each other. More than the rest, I’m disenchanted that Disney isn’t going larger. Closing Hungry Bear Restaurant for an 18-month overhaul that creates a brand new desk service restaurant would’ve been nice. That spot is nothing particular, however may very well be.
By distinction, the change from French Market to Tiana’s Palace Restaurant is more likely to be a lateral transfer. There’s merely far much less potential upside and room for enchancment. On that word, I’ll reiterate what I’ve written earlier than, which is that Disney actually must swing for the fences with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, as this addition goes to be below a microscope. Opting to clean up French Market with a superficial replace as an alternative of changing Hungry Bear outright shouldn’t be proof that the trip reimagining can be unambitious, but it surely’s actually not a constructive sign, both.
While Tiana’s Palace Restaurant shouldn’t be at present a part of the plans for Magic Kingdom, we’re nonetheless holding out hope that it’ll be introduced as an addition outdoors the park. You would possibly recall {that a} restaurant based mostly on The Princess and the Frog was introduced for Walt Disney World a number of years in the past.
If you don’t keep in mind, that’s most likely as a result of it was very forgettable. It was going to be a mixed-use waterfront restaurant positioned on the shore of Bay Lake at Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge. (It was doubtless going to be a personality breakfast that includes Tiana, Prince Naveen, Louie the Alligator, and Dr. Facilier and a Signature Restaurant for dinner–very like Topolino’s Terrace.)
Honestly, it’s most likely for one of the best that restaurant isn’t coming to fruition. Disney by no means launched idea artwork on-line, however what was flashed on-stage on the D23 Expo took actually no visible cues from the film. This leaves the door open for a well-done Tiana’s Place Restaurant at Walt Disney World.
Tiana’s Place Restaurant on Disney Cruise Line is superior, and the idea looks as if a slam dunk for Walt Disney World. Even if it doesn’t make sense in Frontierland, hopefully it involves fruition in Florida. Perhaps it may very well be constructed within the unused eating area that already exists at Port Orleans French Quarter, the place it might truly make sense?
Regardless of what’s introduced (or not) for Walt Disney World, it’s not shocking that Disney is doing extra than simply the trip at Disneyland. For the final year-plus, Imagineers have been discussing their analysis journeys to New Orleans.
Last summer time, Imagineers gathered at Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in New Orleans – founder Leah Chase was one of many inspirations for Princess Tiana – to speak about Tiana’s influence over the previous decade and the inventive course of behind the upcoming attraction, together with the know-how Imagineers are utilizing to convey it to life.
In the ~30 minute roundtable video above, the proprietor of Dooky Chase’s Restaurant is joined by numerous Imagineers and ABC News correspondents.
Generations of the Chase household welcomed Imagineers whereas Chef Dook cooked up a few of their well-known gumbo. The group sat down with Leah’s daughter, Stella Chase Reese who shared that “the two coming together, music and food, brings joy and happiness to all.”
According to Disney, Imagineers are researching New Orleans to inform a narrative that’s as genuine to the area as it’s to the characters’ tales. From the meals, music, artwork and structure to the variety of its folks and their traditions, there’s a lot from which to attract inspiration. The workforce has executed digital analysis journeys by Zoom and this was their first of many in-person analysis journeys to get the story proper.
As Charita Carter shared that “in many ways, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is a love letter to New Orleans.” Carter continued, “like the musical city that inspired this attraction, Tiana’s second act is about a community working in harmony to achieve something extraordinary. She reminds us of an immutable truth we can all relate to: ‘if you do your best each and every day, good things are sure to come your way.’ And that’s a melody we can all sing along to!”
Ultimately, we’re trying ahead to seeing the ways in which New Orleans Square expands and evolves at Disneyland to accommodate Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and extra from The Princess and the Frog. There’s lots that Imagineering is ready to do in California that merely isn’t potential at Walt Disney World by advantage of the reimagined trip being adjoining to New Orleans Square as an alternative of Frontierland.
Personally, I hope that Critter Country goes extinct, turning into a bayou-based addition to New Orleans Square. It could be attention-grabbing to see if Imagineering can pull off a bifurcated land, a lot in the identical approach that Port Orleans Riverside Resort has each the white-column mansions of Magnolia Bend and Alligator Bayou’s quaint backwoods cottages.
Planning a Southern California trip? For park admission offers, learn Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site motels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For the place to eat, try our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For distinctive concepts of issues that’ll enhance your journey, try What to Pack for Disney. For complete recommendation, seek the advice of our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides past Disney, try our Southern California Itineraries for day journeys to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of different locations!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on Tiana’s Palace Restaurant changing French Market in New Orleans Square? Do you would like a complete bayou miniland have been coming to Disneyland together with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? Do you agree or disagree with our take that Critter Country needs to be taken over by Princess and the Frog, and turn out to be the bayou-based subland? Any questions? Hearing your suggestions—even while you disagree with us—is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!