Authenticity is key
Here’s the original 1920s-era drum set Imagineers used for reference.
Carmen Smith, SVP & Executive Creative Development Product/Content & Inclusive Strategies on Tiana’s Bayou, was excited to have her team work in close collaboration with institutions like the Historic New Orleans Collection/Williams Research Center of historical artifacts and the New Orleans Jazz Museum. “When I think about Walt Disney Imagineering, [I think about] how we create ways that the world has an opportunity to experience new backgrounds,” she said, explaining the importance of every department of her team exploring the city so they could bring a piece of that through their medium on the attraction. “We walk the museum, walk the streets [to] better understand [New Orleans]. It breaks down barriers when you think about culture and race, the lifestyle and language. We had a whole team just understanding how dialect changes from ward to ward, how even music changes and art changes.”
