We’re a little less than a month away from the grand opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Walt Disney World. The revamped Splash Mountain is sure to be exciting for a lot of fans who are looking to the return of a log flume ride during a hot Orlando summer, and for all the fans who called for the re-theming of Splash Mountain, in just this way. But it’s also exciting for the people who helped bring the attraction to life, including Maroon 5’s PJ Morton.
One of the cool Tiana's Bayou Adventure details we've learned is that New Orleans native, musician and songwriter PJ Morton wrote a new song that will be part of the big finale sequence of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. In the newest episode of the We Call It Imagineering series on YouTube, Morton got to actually ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure himself and experience his song as guests will experience it starting in late June. After going on the ride, he said…
Of course, the icing on the cake for me is that my song is playing and it went from writing a song at the piano to an attraction with all these things going on. That was the feeling I got, a dream come true. People say that all the time, but this is literally a dream come true to be at Disney.
Morton seems to be truly touched hearing his song, as sung by the voice of Tiana, Anika Noni Rose, inside the attraction. Elsewhere in the video, he talked more about just what being part of Disney meant to him, and how being part of an attraction was something special compared to other ways his songs have existed. He explained…
As a kid, I’ve always been inspired by the big songs of Disney. For me and my sister, it started with The Little Mermaid, singing those songs. It’s always been a part of our lives. I always felt they were so well written, you know, timeless. So as a young songwriter, I always said ‘I want to write timeless things.’ Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would happen this way. An attraction is just such a different thing, a physical thing that lives.
Morton echoes comments that I’ve heard before from others who have seen something they made brought to life in the Disney Parks. The creators of Phineas and Ferb got emotional talking about what it meant to see their animated characters walking around Disney Parks. The team that worked on Bo Peep in Toy Story 4 really helped define how the character would act in the parks which was special to them.
Check out the full new video below.
There does seem to be something different about creating something that will live in a theme park. Millions will visit and experience PJ Morton’s music for decades to come. Long after a movie has left theaters or an album has gone back on the shelf, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will continue delighting new and returning guests alike. The rest of us are "Almost There." Tiana's Bayou Adventure opens at Magic Kingdom June 28 and later this year at Disneyland.
