Tiana’s Palace: Sampling the Food and Previewing the Design

As part of the ongoing transformation of New Orleans Square and addition of the nearby Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Walt Disney Imagineers were tasked with transforming French Market into Tiana’s Palace. Beginning September 7th, 2023, the quick-service restaurant's new menu will bring the authentic flavors of New Orleans cuisine within a location true to Tiana’s dream.

Authenticity is once again at the heart of the project. Fortunately, the team who brought Princess and the Frog to life laid a solid foundation through their efforts to bring the culture of New Orleans into the animated feature.

From its inception, Disneyland’s New Orleans Square has sought to bring an authentic Louisiana experience to guests. If you could look through the Walt Disney Archives, you could find the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of photos taken throughout New Orleans by the original Imagineers long ago, explained Kim Irvine, Executive Creative Director Walt Disney Imagineering. This goes down to the details of door knobs or even a street cobble. In fact, the New Orleans Mayor was on hand when Walt Disney originally dedicated the area back in 1966.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Design Preview

According to Walt Disney Animation Visual Development Artist James Finch, during the creation of Princess and the Frog, the creative team took inspiration from their experiences touring the New Orleans region – the Garden District, the French Quarter, the Ninth Ward and everything in between. Interestingly, some of The Princess and the Frog aesthetic of Tiana’s Palace was inspired by the art designs of Herb Ryman and Dorothea Redmond as they helped bring New Orleans Square to life. And now the film is inspiring the New Orleans Square restaurant transformation.

In addition to the decor changes, such as this large mural of the bayou with Evangeline and Raymond shining in the night sky, the restaurant’s sitting area has been enlarged increasing capacity. The stage remains and will continue to feature live entertainment as it has in the past. The location will also feature mobile ordering.

Near the end of The Princess and the Frog, animators included an homage to Firehouse Five plus 2 a Dixieland jazz band comprised of several legendary Disney animators and Imagineers. Now, that homage has made its way into Disneyland.

The Food of Tiana’s Palace

But the heart of the restaurant and the main reason guests will stop by Tiana’s Palace is the food. As Tiana’s father James said, “good food…brings folks together from all walks of life. It warms them right up and it puts little smiles on their faces.” I was sampling some of the dishes coming to the new menu and definitely had a smile on my face.

We were guided through the tastings by Lindell Skinner, a New Orleans native who has been with Disney for 23 years and is currently Operations Manager, Food and Beverage, Disneyland Resort along with Chef John State, Culinary Director, Food and Beverage,

Disneyland Resort. In addition to his role in Food and Beverage, Lindell serves as Co-Chair of PULSE Employee Resource Group, which is a Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGS) at Disneyland Resort. He explained PULSE stands for People United to Lead, Serve and Excel with the mission to enhance the experience for cast and guests of African & Caribbean descent. And we quickly discovered these dishes found their way to the menu through a highly collaborative process.

Our tasting journey began with a beignet. Tiana’s Palace invites you to start with dessert as a display kitchen will showcase the location’s signature item – filled beignets being created. While initially launching with a lemon filling, inspired by the Southern favorite Icebox pie they expect to have, various flavors will be offered season to season. The Mickey beignets will remain available at the adjacent Mint Julep Bar as will the Mint Juleps themselves.

On a hot summer day, this tart and tangy dessert will hit the spot. Somehow even without the powdered sugar I still made quite a mess thanks to the generous filling but I didn’t mind.

If you’ve been following our coverage on the development of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, you’ll recall the in-depth study the film’s artists and Disney Imagineers have made into the history and culture of the New Orleans area including the inspiration for Tiana, Leah Chase the chef who founded Dooky Chase’s restaurant. Disney chefs have crafted an homage to her Gumbo Z’Herbes, a dish served the Thursday before Easter (Holy Thursday). Their rendition relies on a white bean puree at the base of the roux with the expected trinity of Creole/Cajun cooking— sauteed celery, peppers, and onions along with a heavy amount of garlic and the seven greens – mustard greens, collard greens, parsley, watercress, spinach and swiss chard along with a house spice blend before being finished off with some roasted yams, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted okra and a bit of the traditional long-grain Carolina rice. The result is Disney’s  7 greens gumbo ($14.49).

As you may have noticed reading through the process, this dish is plant-based. I found it full of flavor including a healthy dose of garlic along with just a hit of heat. I’d probably toss a bit of Crystal hot sauce on it, but there’s a nice earthiness coupled with the sweetness of the roasted veggies. It was a dish that reminded me of extended family gatherings and I appreciated Lindell sharing the memory of gathering okra from his grandmother’s garden. I’m a big fan of okra but hadn’t had it roasted. That brings out some different flavors in it I’d not had and now I’m eager to roast some myself.

You can also order the House Gumbo with braised chicken and andouille sausage ($16.99) if you prefer. It has a unique blend of Worcheshire and Crystal hot sauce, and is finished with a portion of the traditional long-grain Carolina rice. The Andouille sausage is among several menu items sourced directly from New Orleans. I skipped this dish but many commented on their surprise at the amount of heat it offered. None of them spoke about it as if it was too much for their palate, just that they weren’t accustomed to such an offering at Disneyland.

The slow-cooked beef Po-boy ($15.99) is served with red beans & rice and house pickles. The red beans are cooked with ham hocks and Andouille sausage. Lindell shared that red beans & rice were a Monday staple in his home. The bread was perfectly soft and let the flavors of the beef shine. There’s a bit of mayo, a few tomato slices, and just a small crunch of lettuce. The house pickles were also incredible. They were reminiscent of bread & butter pickles with that sweet & vinegar blend and made a great side to that incredibly tender beef.

The lightly sweet buttermilk cornbread ($3.99) was so delightfully soft and moist that I didn’t initially notice there wasn’t butter available until the Chef mentioned their discussions on how to serve the item.

Another ingredient sourced from New Orleans is the sesame bread for the Muffaletta ($14.99 — and an item not offered at the sampling). And, rather than simply offering shrimp & grits ($17.49), they have opted for Gulf Shrimp & Grits, which I did not try.

For the Cajun Spiced Half-Chicken ($19.49 and another item not offered at the sampling), over a dozen spices are featured in their housemade spice blend that is rubbed over the half-chicken before roasting. Throughout the cooking process, a housemade barbecue sauce with cloves, coriander, molasses, Joffrey’s chicory cold brew and tomatoes is used. And I’m so happy to see the cole slaw is prepared in a way that the dressing doesn’t start running into all my other dishes. Apparently, that was a topic of discussion and debate among those aiding in the menu development.

The other side here is baked macaroni and cheese, served up as a square. According to Lindell, 15 or 16 varieties of macaroni and cheese were evaluated by the team before settling on the one here. It will be featured as an entree for the kids menu for $7.99. Other items on the kids menu include a roasted BBQ drumstick with Carolina rice ($8.49) and a toasted ham & cheese sandwich ($8.49).

Another refreshing item on the new menu is a Cold Brew Chicory Blend ($5.99( from Joffreys with cream sweetened with sugar cane syrup sourced from New Orleans. During my husband’s recent trip to New Orleans, my one request was chicory coffee from Cafe Du Monde. Chicory is a very strong flavor and I really like the way this blend cuts that back without totally masking it. I don’t need as much of the sweetened cream but I know many of my friends prefer creamy, sweet coffee beverages. Remembering that Tiana’s dream restaurant was in an abandoned sugar mill provides a deeper connection to the New Orleans-sourced cane syrup.

Also at Tiana’s Palace, you’ll be able to purchase a Firefly Ray glow cube ($5.69).

Bringing embraceable regional comfort food to life can be challenging as each family has their own unique recipes – as I discovered today, even down to the choice between which hot sauce Tabasco or Crystal is on the family table. They are different! But many items I sampled today brought me back to the years I lived near New Orleans, and sparked a few memories. Everything I had the opportunity to sample was full of flavor and well-balanced. With a nod to Tiana’s father – I’d say the menu at Tiana’s Palace offers good food that will bring folks together from all walks of life.