7 Easter Eggs Hidden on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, According to Disney World Imagineers

The final splash on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure may already be familiar to Disney World fans, but the ride is filled with surprising new details to discover — including several only the Imagineers know about.

The former Splash Mountain, which has been re-themed to continue the story of the beloved heroine of the 2009 animated classic The Princess and the Frog and Disney’s first African American princess, Tiana, opens to the public on June 28. But PEOPLE got an early look at — and ride on — the attraction at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom during a media preview on Monday, June 10.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR TIANA’S BAYOU ADVENTURE!

The basic components of the flume ride remain, including its famous 50-foot drop. But the journey into the briar patch has been replaced with one through the magical landscape of the bayou at night, populated by familiar faces and new critters, and accompanied by raucous tunes from the movie and new original music.

From the moment guests enter the line, every element has been carefully crafted to immerse them in Tiana’s world. Some details, however, are so small or subtle, even lifelong fans might miss them.

Here are some of the easter eggs to keep an eye out for, as revealed to PEOPLE by the Disney Imagineers who helped create them!

The Voice of the “Real” Tiana

A special fictional radio station plays throughout Bayou Adventure’s winding queue. At one point, the voice of Leah Chase, the late legendary New Orleans restauranteur, on whom Tiana is reportedly based, wafts through the speakers singing “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?”

The Chase family’s line of spices and gumbo base — used in their iconic Nola eatery Dooky Chase — are also available to purchase exclusively in the ride’s gift shop.

A Rabbit Playing a License Plate

Keep an eye out for one critter in particular in the Mardi Gras party scene at the end of the ride, an imagineer tells PEOPLE. One of the original animal characters is a rabbit playing a license plate as if it’s a washboard. He acquired the unlikely instrument from the vintage car parked outside in the queue, which upon closer inspection is missing its plates.

The Next Chapter of Tiana’s Story

The story of the ride is set a few years after the events of the movie. Tiana has grown her business, Tiana’s Palace, into Tiana’s Foods, a successful co-op with a range of products. As guests enter the ground level of the interior queue, they’ll come upon her office, complete with a typewriter and her personal effects.

On the table sits a copy of the New Orleans Business Journal newspaper proclaiming that she’s throwing a Mardi Gras party for the whole city. A smaller headline notes that the city’s bands are all booked up for the date.

On the opposite wall, there’s a to-do list for Tiana and her cohorts to prepare for the party. The band booking has been left to Louis, the jazz-loving alligator, and it soon becomes clear, he’s dropped the ball as the ride’s story is about rounding up unlikely musicians to perform at the fête.

Unseen Family Photos

One hallway in the queue is lined with black-and-white photos and framed, handwritten letters. On the right, riders can see Tiana’s father in uniform. (He served in World War I in the film.) And on the right, there are articles and accolades documenting her mom’s successful dress-making business.

An imagineer explained to press visiting the ride on Monday that since so many fans relate to the American princess’s family — a working mom who owns a small business, a family member in the military, etc. — they wanted to draw out that connection as visitors delve deeper into her world.

The Beignet Smell

Rumors began swirling a few weeks ago that Disney would be pumping the sweet scent of fresh beignets into the queue. Well it’s true! But it’s not just a ploy to sell the quintessential New Orleans baked good — though you can pick some up for a limited time at Golden Oak Outpost and The Friar’s Nook.

The smell wafts through one particular part of the line: Tiana’s kitchen, where a fresh batch are being prepared on the counter, bringing the scene to life.

Tiana’s Secret Recipe is in Plain View

Another treat in the kitchen, is a recipe card for her famous beignets left out on the counter so passersby can easily snap a photo. There’s also a jar of honey nearby, a nod to the princess’s secret ingredient.

Both Tiana’s and Leah Chases’s cookbooks are also available to buy on site.

The Gumbo Pot

Under the kitchen island is a collection of innocuous-seeming cookware, but the big brown pot, a Disney imagineer revealed to PEOPLE, is the crock Tiana and her father make gumbo in at the beginning of the movie.

There are surely many more nods to Tiana, the real Chase family and the wider Princess and the Frog universe. The only way to find them will be for eagle-eyed fans to visit and ride!

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens to the public June 28 at Walt Disney World. It will open at Disneyland in California later this year.