Went to Disneyland this last Tuesday. I was able to catch a performance of "Tiana's Showboat Jubilee", which premiered at Disneyland last Friday. They still seem to be testing things out with the show, as the show coordinator stood right in front of me with headphones on and a script. There were also other high-level managers gathered around her, probably just to make sure the show is going well and to catch crowd reactions.

To my surprise, the show is a lot of fun. I'm never one for shows or parades at the park, but the energy and scale of the show brought a lot of excitement. The show is really just a way to market the upcoming movie, The Princess and the Frog. It's also the first time that I can remember that they did something so large for a movie that hasn't been released yet. Well...there WAS the fact that they built Sleeping Beauty's castle BEFORE the movie came out, but that was a long time ago.

The show starts with a large group of unsuspecting guests being picked an hour or so beforehand. These guests are escorted into the Mark Twain loading area, and giving a crash course on the show and what their roles will be. Once the Jubilee begins, Princess Tiana, the prince, a jazz wailing alligator, and a band parade from New Orleans Square making their way onto the Mark Twain. The Mark Twain pulls out of the dock, and makes a stop in front of the entrance to New Orleans Square - which is pretty much centered with where Fantasmic is performed.



Through the songs they sing, we learn that the central theme behind the story is that of "dreams". Tiana has a dream to come to someday own her own restaurant in Louisiana.





The handpicked guests come out every few songs and are given props to dance with. It makes for hilarity seeing uncoordinated children, or old men REALLY getting into the performance.




With a burst of flame, the villain appears and interrupts the show. He makes a deal too good to be true with the prince, promising him things beyond his wildest dreams.



The villain is a voodoo practitioner, and offers the prince to pick 3 cards. The prince does as he says, and each card is turned to reveal black ghosts. Too bad, the prince chose poorly, or did he...as all of the cards turn to show that he had no chance to begin with. Ghosts swarm the ship as the villain sings the coolest song of the show.



The prince wasn't turned into a frog THIS time, and the villain leaves. The performers put on one last finale. This time, the selected guests come out with tambourines and yellow robes.



The show ends with a giant burst of streamers, which left the ground covered. Disney janitors quickly appeared on the scene to pick them up, but they were too slow. Kids everywhere ran up, grabbed the streamers, and decorated themselves with it. The janitors stood off to the side and shrugged, "maybe we won't have that much to pick up."



Tiana's Showboat Jubilee left me feeling very excited to see a movie that I was slightly looking forward to. If the songs and atmosphere of the show were any indication, The Princess & the Frog might be the best animated Disney movie since The Hunchback of Notre Dame. We shall see. Bye for now Tiana!


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Around the park, it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas...