Ever since I was a young girl, I’ve had an obsessive fascination with Disney. I watched every classic movie, sang along to all the songs, learned all the random trivia and knew each of the parks like the back of my hand. Yet, out of the whole Disney universe, I had a special attachment to the Disney princesses. This was difficult for me to admit growing up, because it was typical of little girls to say they wanted to be a Disney princess, and I was a certified tomboy in my own right. But at the end of the day, it was just the truth; I had a soft spot for the Disney princesses, and I wanted to be one badly.
So, reader, you can only imagine the excitement I felt as a little Black girl when Princess and the Frog was first released on Dec. 11, 2009. I felt special that the first Black Disney princess movie was released on my birthday. Almost instantly, Princess Tiana became my favorite from the moment I first laid eyes on her in that movie. She was like me in so many ways; she didn’t want a man to take care of her. She wanted to work hard on her own to reach her dreams. She didn’t take no for an answer, and just beneath her strong exterior was a woman who fiercely loved those she kept close to her heart. I loved her, which also made me want to love her city: New Orleans, the home of jazz and voodoo, of good cooking and the bayou. I wanted to see it all, and I wanted to be in the middle of it all.
It wouldn’t be for another 12 years that this dream of mine would become a reality. In March 2022, my roommate and I decided to take a road trip to New Orleans for spring break. As we drove through the city to our Airbnb, I felt as if I had been transported to a different world entirely. The architecture, the scenery, the smells and the people in New Orleans all have such a unique aura that, whenever you step out into the streets and take a deep breath in, there’s a palpable sense of culture that can’t be explained. There wasn’t much on our itinerary for the trip, because we decided that we’d let the city lead us to our own adventures.
The first night there, we walked down the infamous Bourbon Street, which felt like a rite of passage for me being 21. The street was lined with plastic beads, spilled drinks everywhere and clouds of smoke so heavy your lungs choked to get a breath, hung over the street like a canopy shading us from the moonlight. I still found this scene absolutely beautiful, because there was music at every turn. Clubs blasted all the hottest tunes from every genre you could think of, and live bands playing jazz and blues poured out of every bar. People were dancing inside and outside, all full of daiquiris and living in the moment as if the night would go on forever. Even the street performers had a certain credibility about them playing on Bourbon Street. Music seemed to live here, and it was all so beautiful.
Our second day was spent doing a well-needed amount of shopping and eating. I was desperate to try all the foods I had heard of in Princess and the Frog. I wanted gumbo, beignets and other classics, like jambalaya and red beans and rice. I had a chance to try all those amazing foods, and I found myself longing to know what Tiana’s Place would taste like in real life. When the evening rolled around, my roommate and I got changed and ready for the highlight of our trip, a jazz cruise down the Mississippi River. I wanted to feel fancy and beautiful and live out my princess fantasies, so I opted for a beautiful baby blue dress that gave me Cinderella vibes. It was a moment that’ll live forever in my mind as a core memory, spent sipping on cocktails and floating down the river on a classic riverboat with a live jazz band to set the scene as the sunset. Looking at all the buildings and houses from the water, I realized that I had fallen in love with this city, wishing I didn’t have to return home the next day.
Every fairytale has to end somewhere, though. Mine just happened to end at 11 a.m. the next morning, rushing out of an Airbnb so I wouldn’t be charged a late checkout fee. But, as we drove back and I reflected on our trip, I felt like I was a Disney princess. Even though I didn’t have a prince and I was far from having my life together in any sense, I internalized that feeling and believed it, and truly, I think that’s all I ever needed.
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