Princess Tiana Officially Inducted in Magic Kingdom Ceremony; Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee

Hi everyone!

Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee soft opened at the Magic Kingdom on October 25th!  However, the official debut of the show was October 26th, which included a media event and a ceremony that brought Tiana into the princess fold.

Thanks to Jeff for taking photos as I was shooting the video of Princess Tiana’s welcome as princess!

Here is our video of Princess Tiana being inducted as princess.

The performers from “Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee” were a major part of the ceremony, which featured Princess Tiana in a horse-drawn carriage and other Disney princesses (and other characters) on stage.

“Today, we of this Magic Kingdom do hereby officially celebrate and welcome the arrival of Princess Tiana.”

After being welcomed, the performers lead Princess Tiana back down Main Street:

After the induction of Princess Tiana, we were escorted to the bridge to view Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee. Dana Trujillo, Merchandise Manager for the Walt Disney World Resort was there to show some of the items from The Princess and the Frog line.  The Princess Tiana dress has been available for about 2 weeks now.

Girls made up like Princess Tiana (from the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique):

A special showing of Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee was performed around 10:30am:

Bruce Smith is supervising animator for Dr. Facilier.  He has had a 20 year career in animation, including working on “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “Space Jam”.  I asked him what it was like to be part of the first Disney animated film in a number of years (he does both hand drawn and computer animation), and Smith said, “I think all of the artists in the studio silently put out a big yeah…this is the style we gravitate to the best”.  About Dr. Facilier, “He fits right in the mode of a Disney villain”.

Tara Anderson is  Show Director for Creative Entertainment at Walt Disney Parks.  I asked her what song she likes best from the show and she replied “I’m torn, because I love ‘Dig a Little Deeper’, but I also love ‘Down in New Orleans’.  And they are so different from each other that I feel like I can love both of them equally”.

Dana Trujillo poses with her favorite item from the Princess and the Frog line, kissing magnetic frogs (Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen).  The merchandise had been in development for nearly 2 years:

I have enjoyed Tiana’s Showboat Jubillee and I can’t wait for “The Princess and the Frog”!