Though Disneyland is in sunny Southern California, Walt Disney’s original theme park has prominent ties to New Orleans. The park has an entire land called New Orleans Square, inspired by Walt’s travels to the city in the years leading up to Disneyland’s opening in 1955. The mayor of New Orleans was even on hand to make Walt an honorary citizen of the city when the land was added to Disneyland in 1966.
Everything from the architecture and greenery to the shops and restaurants feels straight out of the Big Easy. You can dine on Cajun- and Creole-inspired dishes like shrimp and grits, gumbo and po’boy sandwiches at the newly opened Tiana’s Palace restaurant or pick up an order of freshly made Mickey-shaped beignets and a nonalcoholic mint julep next to Tiana’s Palace at the Mint Julep Bar.
Aside from the food, it’s the toe-tapping jazz that really makes you feel like you are in New Orleans. You can hear it playing daily as you stroll down the streets of New Orleans Square, around attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. Soon, the spirited sound of New Orleans jazz will play its way into an all-new nighttime show across from New Orleans Square on the Rivers of America: “The Heartbeat of New Orleans — A Living Mural.”
“The Heartbeat of New Orleans — A Living Mural” will expand upon an entertainment offering already available on the Rivers of America featuring Queenie and the Jambalaya Jazz Band. The current show features 20 minutes of live music played aboard a colorfully decorated barge floating along the river.
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Queenie and the band play popular New Orleans songs like “Jambalaya on the Bayou” and “When the Saints Go Marching In,” including a few classics that were included on “The Princess and the Frog” soundtrack, such as “Down in New Orleans” and “Gonna Take You There.”
The new nighttime show will take place between Queenie and the Jambalaya Jazz Band’s sets and will feature colorful projections on the Rivers of America. The projections will tell the story of a “mischievous little frog from the bayou that leaps into the lively city of New Orleans when he is lured by the jazzy sounds he hears in the distance,” according to the Disneyland website.
Disney is billing “The Heartbeat of New Orleans — A Living Mural” as an “art installation” that will bring to life original artwork by Disney Live Entertainment graphic designer Marcella “Marci” Swett, who is known for her live chalk art demonstrations at Downtown Disney District.
Queenie and the Jambalaya Jazz Band and, soon, “The Heartbeat of New Orleans — A Living Mural” will serve as exciting new replacements for “Fantasmic!” which was put on hold after the show’s larger-than-life dragon caught fire earlier this year. “Fantasmic!” is set to return in the spring of 2024, according to the Disneyland website, so the newly announced offering may only be temporary.
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This new nighttime show will kick off on Sept. 29, running select evenings this fall and nightly during the holiday season. Queenie and the Jambalaya Jazz Band currently play sets at 8:15 p.m. and 9:05 p.m. If those times stay the same, “The Heartbeat of New Orleans — A Living Mural” will take place between those two sets.
Related: Every new land and attraction coming to Disneyland and Disney World in 2023 and beyond
If that isn’t enough Big Easy excitement for you, you’ll be able to visit New Orleans with Tiana and her friends in late 2024 when the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction opens at Disneyland. The ride will replace Splash Mountain, utilizing the same layout and mechanics but featuring an all-new storyline, characters and, of course, jazz music.
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