Arturo Hilario
El Observador
Although it can be seen as simply a theme park, Disneyland could also be likened or compared to the evolution of American society and social progress. It is ever-changing and evolving.
Take for instance this quote from Walt Disney himself from a 1956 interview:
“I wanted something live, something that could grow, something I could keep plussing with ideas, you see? The park is that. Not only can I add things but even the trees will keep growing; the thing will get more beautiful every year. And as I find what the public likes—and when a picture’s finished and I put it out—I find out what they like, or they don’t like, and I have to apply that to some other thing; I can’t change that picture, so that’s why I wanted that park.”
Walt Disney always wanted his theme park, located in what was once orange groves as far as the eyes could see, a magical place that transported guests from the present time to various lands of wonder and fascination.
One other quote distills his vision and the ethos of the Disney company more than anything:
“Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”
With the renovation of one of its most popular rides, Splash Mountain, Disneyland again proves that ethos that its founder preached about since the parks inception, always moving forward, to always add and innovate the park.
Opened on November 15, 2024, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and the surrounding retheming of what was once Critter County, and before that Bear Country, is now a slice of the Southern Bayou, brimming with lush vegetation, Jazz music and the lively notes of Louisiana culture.
It makes a lot of sense to turn the area from a non-specific whimsical woods setting into a continuation of the Southern charm that you see as you walk from either Frontierland or Adventureland and enter New Orleans Square, which already has the French Quarter vibe from its namesake. Across from this is the Rivers of America, a tribute to what was once the frontier for Americans traversing through the West.
Now, as you move on from New Orleans Square and into the dilapidated but beautiful architecture of The Haunted Mansion you will enter Bayou Country, where critters once roamed are more critters, but these are specific to the film The Princess and the Frog, the 2009 Disney Animation movie known as the final hand drawn film from the studio.
As detailed as a hand drawn animated film must be to capture the audience, so must a land that is based on that film do so in real life to capture the senses of people walking through it. The scale, the aesthetics, the scents, the flavors, they should all work together to effectively transport guests into another time and another world.
Not only [do] the characters created represent the diversity of the flora and the fauna of the bayou, but the sounds are so diverse and they had diverse origins and so we wanted to find ways to kind of introduce that to people, not in the history lesson, but in a way that made it fun, you know. And maybe makes people curious.
– Ted Robledo, Portfolio Executive Creative Director for Walt Disney Imagineering
As Bayou Country proves, the idea of ‘Disneyland magic’ exists and continues Walt’s legacy because of the very real dedication of its engineers, artists, culinary experts and historians.
By renovating into the picturesque qualities of the Bayou and exploring the African-American experience, along with the many other cultures that have lent their hand in creating the identity of New Orleans, they have created a time and place that is full of joy and has given a voice to the region and the people.
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah
Splash Mountain opened up in 1989 to fanfare and excitement, and later opened versions in Tokyo Disneyland and Orlando’s Magic Kingdom in 1992. Ever since it has continued to deliver excitement to millions who have come to the parks and braved the log flume ride until it’s final descent, into prickly thorn bush (which was perfectly safe, it was just perspective that made it seem to be what the riders ran into at the bottom of the drop) and the opportunity to become soaked with this final splash.
For years, it was known that the ride was, like many rides at Disneyland properties now, based on a film or Disney IP, such as many of the rides in Fantasyland like Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, or more recent entire lands like Cars Land or Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
With Splash Mountain, the theme of the ride was based on the 1946 Disney film Song of the South. The film follows Johnny, a boy who goes to his grandmother’s plantation in Reconstruction Era Georgia and befriends Uncle Remus, a storyteller based on a character created in 1881 as a narrator of traditional African-American folktales. The stories Uncle Remus tells are shown in animated segments and follow the adventures of Br’er Rabbit.
It should be said though that controversy has followed the film since its production and subsequent release. Although Splash Mountain is based only on the animated segments, the film has been criticized for decades for its racist portrayals of African-Americans.
This is why there has never been American releases of the film on any video format, and cannot be found on any streaming service. When Splash Mountain was being designed, Uncle Remus was not included, although much has been written about the tropes of the animated characters who make up the narrative of the ride, who have been seen as characteristics of a minstrel show, the 19th century stage entertainment meant to parody Black culture in that time.
Birth of the Bayou
With the uncomfortable legacy of the film attached to the ride, it was only a matter of time before Disney made the decision to retheme the ride to one of its more appropriate and modern day creations.
Their 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog fit like a glove, with its entertaining story, positive portrayals of African-American culture, the first every African-American princess, the second American Disney Princess after Pocahontas, and it’s lively vision of the Southern Bayou regions of the United States. It celebrates a slice of America that is very diverse and is best seen in its cooking and music.
Its cooking, like the literal melting pot of Gumbo and its Indigenous, African-American, African, and French cooking origins. And in its music, The Princess and the Frog has an incredible Jazz-centric score. All of these elements, coming together from Black, Indigenous, Spanish and French inspirations to name a few, come together to weave the sights, sounds and traditions that are still practiced in the region.
With that in mind, the task of transforming Critter County into a land based on The Princess and the Frog and a ride that channeled the world of the film came down to the staff at Disney and the Imagineers who turned the blueprints into real life.
A Melting Pot of History
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has made the park better by its addition, and made the ride so much more than it was before with its narrative, songs, aesthetics and effects. From the artistic details and history that came together to the Imagineers that worked on constructing and revamping Splash Mountain, it is a labor of love for the employees and designers who worked bringing a new soul to the ride that far outpaces its original narrative.
Ted Robledo, a Portfolio Executive Creative Director for Walt Disney Imagineering, is one of the Imagineers who oversaw the work on the land and the ride, and he told a story of discovery and how it connected him to the ride because of his Filipino heritage.
When first migrating from the Philippines, Robledo’s family were struck by the big new intimidating place.
One thing he did was research with his family and show his mother that Filipinos had been in the region far earlier than they had assumed, that they had connections to this land they could be proud of.
“We learn from doing our research from New Orleans, turns out the first Filipinos came north from South America and settled here in Louisiana, when it was a Spanish colony, predating the United States because they were part of working ships for the Spanish Empire, and they got off there in Louisiana.”
“I thought, you know what that memory that I have about my mom being so excited about [learning] that, there would have been folks like us here in that time, so there’s one guest in the party who’s dancing, who’s in that traditional Filipino dress. She’s having a great time.”
These details that connect to the Imagineers and those working on the ride can be traced by history and that amount of realism is on display in the magical world of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Even Latinos can trace Louisiana traditions back to their ancestors. Robledo was keen on talking about how the traditions of the brass bands iconic to New Orleans and used in various musical styles there came from Mexico.
“We came to learn that a lot of the tradition of the brass bands came from a military ban from Mexico and that person who was part of that military band ended up settling in New Orleans and was sort of the introduction of these brass instruments, which then became incorporated there into what we think about jazz and all the different styles of music from Orleans.”
“But in all of that learning you realize it’s not just French-speaking, it’s not just African American, it’s not just, you know, European colonists, it’s not just you know, Latinos from Mexico or Cuba, we started to really realize that wow, this is an amazing melting pot. I have to imagine it’s probably the first melting pot in the United States, and even the music of New Orleans has that Spanish influence in rhythm.”
An original song created for the ride written by composer PJ Morton, “Special Spice,” and recorded by Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana from the film, has the elements of big band, jazz and contemporary music. It transmits the big, celebratory melting pot nature of the city and region and is coursing within the ride.
Robledo adds, “And that’s why in the ride we have these different styles of music, because not only [do] the characters created represent the diversity of the flora and the fauna of the bayou, but the sounds are so diverse and they had diverse origins and so we wanted to find ways to kind of introduce that to people, not in the history lesson, but in a way that made it fun, you know. And maybe makes people curious.”
In fact, speaking of history, Leah Chase was a famous American chef from Louisiana who started off as a waitress in the French Quarter and worked her way up with her husband to start an iconic restaurant called Dooky Chase, which showcased her Creole family recipes. It also was a beacon during the civil rights movement, where it hosted voter registration and political meetings between Civil Rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr.
Her life was the inspiration for Tiana from The Princess and the Frog.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and the entire world of Bayou Country is now open at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
