NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” is set to open at the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World this summer, and on Wednesday, April 17, The Queen of Creole Cuisine, Leah Chase’s family was surprised with a vacation to Disney World.
“Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” has ties to New Orleans, since the new attraction is based on the Disney movie, “The Princess & the Frog” which took place in The Big Easy.
Here in The Big Easy is a restaurant we all know and love, Dooky Chase. Its legendary owner, Leah Chase, who was a champion for civil rights, is who Princess Tiana is based on.
“The surprise is we are going to bring the Chase family to Disney World to experience Tiana’s Bayou Adventure for the first time,” Ted Robledo, Executive Creator for “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” said.
“It is our honor and privilege to witness how the family is committed to Leah’s legacy,” Charita Carter, executive producer for “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” said.
To honor Leah, who died at 96-years-old in 2019, Disney visited Dooky Chase to surprise the Chase family, including Leah’s daughter, Stella Chase.
In addition to the vacation, Disney also gave them an official attraction poster and made Stella Chase an honorary Imagineer. Another daughter of Leah Chase, named Leah, will also have her voice featured on the new ride. On Wednesday, she was presented with a picture from the recording sessions.
“We are overjoyed and thankful. This is the greatest blessing that we could have, one of the many. Disney has come into our lives and transformed me,” she said.
She went on to say, “My humble mother would say why are you doing this for me, now I’ll have to live forever and ever and ever to pay you back.”
Now that’s a surprise fit for a princess and even a frog!
To top it all off, Disney also collaborated with New Orleans music legends and Grammy-award winners, PJ Morton and Terrence Blanchard for original songs that you didn’t hear in the movie, that will now be part of the ride.
“Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens this summer at Walt Disney World, and then later this year at Disneyland.
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