1st look at the new Tiana's Palace restaurant in Disneyland

07.09.2023 - 14:59 / thepointsguy.com

A new themed restaurant, Tiana's Palace, is opening Thursday at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California.

The restaurant's opening is just one of several steps in bringing Princess Tiana from 2009's "The Princess and the Frog" film into the Disney parks permanently. This multiyear process will culminate in the opening of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, a reimagining of the attraction formerly known as Splash Mountain, in 2024.

I had the opportunity to take a sneak peek inside Tiana's Palace on the eve of its grand opening, taste some of the new dishes and see what Disney Imagineers and chefs have done to transform the restaurant space.

Here's a first look at what Disneyland guests can expect when dining at Tiana's Palace.

Tiana's Palace is a new counter-service restaurant offering lunch and dinner in New Orleans Square in Disneyland Park. It occupies the same restaurant space formerly occupied by French Market, by the New Orleans Square train station just beyond Cafe Orleans.

Tiana herself won't be present, so this won't be a Disneyland character meal. But she often can be spotted strolling around the square nearby.

In the film, Tiana opened her own restaurant, Tiana's Place, serving dishes from her native New Orleans. Giving her a companion eatery in Disneyland's New Orleans Square surely seems like a natural fit. She's had a restaurant of her own aboard the Disney Wonder cruise ship for the better part of a decade now.

Related: The best restaurants at Disneyland

When the restaurant was first announced, it was met with some criticism because French Market was already one of the more popular Disneyland quick-service eateries. Of all the restaurants in Disneyland Park, it was probably less in need of an overhaul than a few others. But the location and size of the restaurant, not to mention the obvious synergy, likely made the change compelling.

Tiana's Palace is exclusive to Disneyland Resort. While both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland will get their own versions of Tiana's Bayou Adventure in 2024, only California will have an eatery along with the ride.

The restaurant space at Tiana's Palace has been entirely transformed, with new exterior signage and interior decor. The color scheme features Tiana's signature light green, and it has yellow accents and pops of purple blended in to evoke a Mardi Gras-like atmosphere.

There are several Easter eggs on the walls mixed into the restaurant's decor. The restaurant's lamps are inverted flowers on a lily pad. By the restaurant's side entrance is a rack where the coats of several key characters from the movie hang. There are nods to New Orleans jazz in multiple locations.

Food is served on an indoor buffet; there is outdoor seating, mostly under the shade