In 2009, Walt Disney Animation Studios released its first animated film featuring a black princess, The Princess and the Frog. The Princess and the Frog tells the story of Tiana, a young woman working her hardest to save up money and open her own restaurant. While catering her friend’s party, Tiana reluctantly kisses a talking frog who promises that he is a prince, only she turns into a frog as well. They must then journey down the bayou and figure out how to become human again.
The Princess and the Frog was an absolute hit, receiving multiple Oscar and Grammy nominations. And even though it’s been 15 years since its premiere, fans still can’t get enough.
In 2020, Disney announced that its iconic Splash Mountain attraction would be closing at Disneyland Park and the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort. The ride would be getting a complete retheme and would reopen as a Princess and the Frog ride. Two years later, Disney announced that the ride would be called Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and would take place after the events of the film.
On June 28, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure officially opened at the Magic Kingdom. While the attraction itself has many people talking, the ride queue actually reveals some astounding information.
In fact, this information actually breaks almost 100 years of Disney tradition!
In the queue, guests will see a photo of Tiana’s father in his military uniform. In the movie, Tiana’s father dies when she is a young girl, which is part of the reason she works so hard — owning a restaurant was his dream. Sadly, we learn that Tiana’s father, James Rogers, was killed while fighting in World War I.
Related: Disney Is Celebrating Tiana’s Bayou Adventure With Scrumptious New Food!
The photo (which is in French) says that James was killed “during a battle to repel a German offensive.” He was part of the 369th regiment, which would make him one of the iconic Harlem Hellfighters. He was so brave that he even received the French Medal of Valor, called the Croix de Guerre.
While this is the first time we have heard about James and what happened to him. It is actually another photo in the queue that breaks with Disney tradition.
This was some interesting details in the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure queue
This was some interesting details in the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure queue pic.twitter.com/ZBjvdgW2U4
— SHAWN’S BAYOU ADVENTURE (@ShawnNOrlando) June 29, 2024
Related: Guests Riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Get Once in a Lifetime Experience!
In 1925, the Ladies International Cookery named Tiana its “Chef of the Year” for Tiana’s Palace and Tiana’s Foods (her co-op). The award was given to Tiana Rogers.
See what Disney did there?
By 1925, Tiana was married to Prince Naveen and had opened her own restaurant, Tiana’s Palace. However, Tiana decided NOT to take Naveen’s last name (which we don’t know) and kept her married name. This was incredibly uncommon, especially back in the 1920s.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Breaks 87 Years of a Weird Disney Princess Canonhttps://t.co/BtHnyCZEAF pic.twitter.com/E5fay0Zfmm
— io9 (@io9) July 3, 2024
Princess Tiana is also the only Disney princess to have an official last name canonized by Disney. Rapunzel married Flynn Rider (AKA Eugene Fitzherbert), but it is never confirmed that she took his last name. Cinderella marries Prince Charming, but is that actually his last name? And we also don’t know if she takes his name as well.
What’s even more exciting is that Princess Tiana’s story is not coming to an end with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Disney is currently working on a show titled Tiana. It will tell the story of Tiana traveling across the world to Naveen’s home country so she can take her place as the Princess of Maldonia.
Related: Did Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Mess Up Disney’s New Show?
According to Disney Imagineer Ted Robledo, Walt Disney Imagineering worked closely with Disney storytellers to make sure that the story in Tiana’s Bayou Adventure would seamlessly fit into the new series.
We do not yet have a release date for Tiana.
What do you think of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure breaking tradition and revealing more about her father? Let us know in the comments!
