A musical group of beavers, opossums, racoons, bobcats and other Audio-Animatronic bayou critters will play songs from the 2009 “Princess and the Frog” animated film when the transformation of Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is complete.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open this summer in the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World resort in Florida. Disneyland’s version of the revamped attraction will debut in the fall or winter of 2024.
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Walt Disney Imagineering has revealed 19 critters in three bands that will play Zydeco, Rara-style and Afro-Cuban music on makeshift instruments and populate the bayou in the revamped Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attractions.
The first musical group of six animatronic bayou critters will play Zydeco-style music with the “Gonna Take You There” song from the film. The musicians will include:
Byhalia — The strong-willed beaver plays percussion.
Gritty — The high-energy rabbit plays on a washboard made from an automobile license plate.
Beau — The opossum uses her tail to play an upright gourd bass.
Apollo — The energetic squeezebox-playing raccoon is a natural-born storyteller.
Rufus — The harmonica-playing turtle can be both sincere and sarcastic. Rufus and Apollo are best friends who love to go on adventures.
Timoleon — The fiddle-playing otter is the elder statesman of the band.
The second musical group of six animatronic bayou critters will play Rara-style music imported from Haiti and often performed during New Orleans festivals and street processions. The band members will include:
Octavia — The adventurous daredevil bobcat kitten plays the Vaksin single-note horn that is part of the Rara music tradition.
Pawpaw — Octavia’s bobcat grandfather also plays the Vaksin horn.
Claude — The unintentionally funny horn player is the patriarch of a Louisiana Black Bear family that all play in the…
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