The Tiana’s Palace restaurant will open next month in New Orleans Square at Disneyland park. The grand opening will be on September 7, 2023.
Tiana’s Palace is a re-theme of French Market Restaurant, which closed permanently in February. Mint Julep Bar has also been closed for construction but will reopen with the same name — presumably around the same time Tiana’s Palace opens.
The real-life Tiana’s Palace is based on Tiana’s restaurant from “The Princess and the Frog.” Tiana originally intended to name it Tiana’s Place, but changed the name at the end of the film, effectively making the restaurant her princess castle.
A restaurant called Tiana’s Place is on the Disney Wonder cruise ship.
Read the official Tiana’s Palace announcement below:
The Tiana’s Palace restaurant opening will mark the next step in bringing more of Princess Tiana’s stories to life in New Orleans Square, which began with Eudora’s Chic Boutique featuring Tiana’s Gourmet Secrets last year and will continue with the opening of the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction in 2024.
There will be so many elegant yet subtle details throughout the restaurant that offer fun hints at Tiana’s rich past in New Orleans. Below the lit marquee that reads “Tiana’s Palace” hanging above a metallic gold balcony, is an emerald green wrought iron railing and awnings dyed in yellow and green, reminiscent of Tiana’s beautiful formal ball gown. You will be surrounded by the colors of Mardi Gras as you sit at yellow tabletops, on warm vanilla-colored chairs with green seats, in the shade of yellow and green umbrellas.
Disney Imagineers also took inspiration from the film for the interior of the restaurant, which includes a large mural of the bayou. You will also see other references to Tiana’s story – lilies represented on numerous signs, plaques and light fixtures, frog porcelains, cookbooks Tiana has collected on little shelves, and her father’s favorite gumbo spoon proudly on display. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for the letters from her father and neighbors on display, alongside a childhood photo of Tiana.
Did you know? The design of Tiana’s Palace from the Disney Animation film “The Princess and the Frog” was actually inspired by the French Market Restaurant – the former restaurant in this space – in New Orleans Square at Disneyland park. In the film, Disney Animation artists added a wheelhouse and two smokestacks to give Tiana’s restaurant an iconic silhouette, so when the time came to bring Tiana’s Palace to life at Disneyland, Disney Imagineers made those same additions to create the real Tiana’s Palace, making this a full circle moment!
We are so excited to welcome you soon to see this exciting transformation, as well as mark the return of the Mint Julep Bar! At Tiana’s Palace, you can enjoy new menu items that represent Tiana’s story and honor the flavors and flair of New Orleans, with an effort to source some ingredients directly from the state of Louisiana when possible. Plus, you’ll now be able to mobile order these new dishes on the Disneyland app* when the location opens.
Stay tuned for more Tiana’s Palace information as we near the opening date.
More Tiana in Disneyland
Tiana’s Palace is just one element of a Tiana takeover in New Orleans Square. Eudora’s Chic Boutique featuring Tiana’s Gourmet Secrets is already open. The shop occupies the former Le Bat en Rouge location and is a collaboration between Tiana and her dressmaker mother, Eudora, selling clothing, accessories, cooking supplies, and more. Eagle-eared visitors may hear Tiana and Eudora talking in a back room.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, a reimagining of Splash Mountain, will open next year. Splash Mountain closed permanently in May. The tree that topped the mountain was recently completely removed.
According to the new ride’s backstory, Tiana founded the Tiana’s Foods co-op in 1927. The co-op is located in a salt mine, where cultivators grow crops along the waters. During the events of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Tiana and alligator Louis venture into the bayou to find animal friends to help throw a Mardi Gras celebration.
This ride will feature 17 new characters, including Prince Naveen’s younger brother, Ralphie. There will be multiple Tiana audio-animatronics, and she will sport a new adventuring outfit.
Original voice actors returning include Anika Noni Rose (Tiana), Bruno Campos (Naveen), Michael Leon Wooley (Louis), and Jennifer Lewis (Mama Odie).
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