Disney Dreamlight Valley’s August update adds Tiana and her iconic restaurant

Disney Dreamlight ValleyThe August update adds The Princess and the FrogTiana’s coming to the valley — and with her, a new restaurant called Tiana’s Palace. That’s right, Ratatouille‘s Remy is no longer the only chef in town. On Tuesday, Disney Dreamlight Valley Developer Gameloft Montreal announced its next update, which will feature Tiana, her restaurant, and a new restaurant stall selling ready-made meals. She will also come with a 1920s-style decor to Dreamlight Valley a touch of New Orleans.

Disney has just replaced the controversial Splash Mountain attraction with a new one, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, making it a perfect time to bring the princess into the game. Disney Dreamlight Valley Creative director Josh Labelle told Polygon that players can expect to see plenty of new, fun interactions between Tiana and the Valley cohort. “I’m especially excited to see Tiana swap recipes with Remy as they compare the intricacies of Cajun and Parisian cuisine, clash with Mother Gothel (of course), and share her culinary talents and New Orleans traditions with the Valley,” he said in an email interview.

In addition to Tiana’s appearance, developer Gameloft Montreal is closing out the August update, the timing of which will be determined later. A rupture in time expansion with the addition of Agrabah Palace of Aladdin.

Ahead of the announcement, Polygon spoke with Labelle about Tiana, the end of A rupture in timeand the future of Disney Dream Light Valley.

(Editor’s note: This interview has been shortened and clarified.)

Polygon: Does Tiana’s palace work differently than Remy’s palace?

Josh Labelle: Tiana’s Palace is indeed a new restaurant for the Valley, and it will share some of the same functionality as Chez Remy, namely a place for villagers to gather and enjoy meals served by the player. I want to give a shout-out to the artists on the team who have done an incredible job bringing Tiana’s Palace to life, with direct inspiration from the beautiful visual style of Disney’s The Princess and the Frog.

What sets Tiana apart from Chez Remy is the new stall that accompanies her restaurant. At Chez Remy, players can buy ingredients, but they’ve never been able to buy a full meal. Tiana will offer players a daily rotation of food, including meals uniquely inspired by New Orleans.

Thanks to this addition, even players who don’t like cooking can enjoy 5-star meals every day or stock up on gifts for their villagers.

Do you have any favorite moments or interactions — even little things! — from the upcoming new content?

Tiana is such a fun character; the team has done a great job creating interesting interactions between her and the rest of the Villagers. I especially love watching Tiana swap recipes with Remy as they compare the intricacies of Cajun and Parisian cuisine, clash with Mother Gothel (of course), and share her New Orleans culinary talents and traditions with the Valley.

Meanwhile, at the end of our expansion pass, Disney Dreamlight Valley: A Rift in TimeThe team has done a fantastic job creating Jafar’s crazy version of Agrabah Palace for our players to explore, and they’ve also added a few surprises based on Disney history, creating special moments with a certain classic character.

What have you learned about what players want from their team? Disney Dreamlight Valley? Has that changed in the last two years?

We learn more about our players with every update, and that direct relationship with the players and the community is something I love about working on Disney Dreamlight ValleyWe are constantly working to improve ourselves and respond better to our players.

In terms of big insights, this year has reaffirmed for us the importance of dedicating resources to improving our existing features and making the game a smoother experience. In the coming updates, we’ll be focusing on quality of life improvements while addressing some of our top player requests, like overhauling how our wardrobe and furniture catalogs work and making it easier to sort these items.

We have also seen players use different aspects of Disney Dreamlight Valley. Some players are here to adventure with their favorite Disney characters, while others love the customization and scenery. We try to offer something exciting for every type of player in every update.

Can you talk about the features coming in 2025 that will provide more ways for people to play together? How important has that functionality been for Disney Dreamlight Valley players?

In terms of multiplayer, we currently have two ways for players to play together: Valley Visits and weekly DreamSnaps competitions. Valley Visits are a great addition to our game for players who want to share their designs, see what Scrooge McDuck has in stock in other Valleys, or show off their creativity and get inspiration from each other. We’ve improved that experience since launch, with the ability to do more activities in the Valley while visiting each other.

On the other hand, DreamSnaps lets players share photos and vote in weekly challenges to earn rewards, which has inspired a lot of creativity from our players. When we’ve talked to our players about multiplayer features, we’ve heard a few recurring things: First, some players are very interested in multiplayer and would love to have more ways to play together, but simply don’t know enough people playing the game at the same time, which limits our current Valley Visits feature. Some of these players are also a bit nervous about hosting people in their villages.

The new multiplayer features we are developing for 2025 are geared towards these types of players, allowing them to play together and work on goals without having to be online at the same time and without having to host other players in their Valley.

The other thing we’ve heard from players is that some of them just aren’t interested in multiplayer and are coming to our game for a fun solo experience. I think that’s completely fair and we want to respect those players and make sure they’re comfortable with how we integrate new multiplayer features in the future.

Taking into account A rupture in time is ending: What did you learn from the Expansion Pass and how do people experience storytelling in Disney Dreamlight Valley?

Of Disney Dreamlight Valley: A Rift in Timewe wanted to give players an exciting side story that would add new villagers, biomes, and optional features to the game.

As we work on future content for the game, we’ve learned a few lessons from the Expansion Pass. The first is the importance of pacing. Players were excited to have so much to do and so many new quests in A rupture in time. However, unlike our base game, the main story was very demanding on our players in terms of the effort required to unlock new areas, and the experience didn’t always feel as satisfying as it could have been. In the future, we want to give players more opportunities to stop, relax, and engage with the sandbox without feeling rushed to the next quest. We also want to offer even more interesting quests.

In terms of our level design, we wanted to create a unique world full of secrets to discover. In some cases, we heard from players that the world of Eternity Isle had a few too many twists and turns, and was difficult to navigate and customize. With future biomes, we want to maintain the excitement of exploration while making them simpler and easier to decorate, with better and more visible landmarks that are true to Disney storytelling. We also want the secrets and surprises players find to be more meaningful.

A great success of A rupture in time What we hope to build on is the approach to new characters like Gaston, Rapunzel, and EVE. Staying true to their respective Disney and Pixar stories, and to the core of our game, the team created hilarious moments with Gaston, like him building a replacement LeFou out of coconuts, and an emotionally moving friendship with Rapunzel and a chance to reunite EVE and WALL-E.

A rupture in time confirmed for us the core of the game that we want to preserve and expand: magical moments with beloved characters, set in a beautiful world that players can customize and personalize.

Can you share the current number of active players?

We currently have a healthy and stable player base, and see that many of our players continue to be excited to return to the game when we add a new character that they love. With that in mind, we’re currently very focused on building a strong roadmap for 2025, filled with Disney favorites. We’re excited to share more of this roadmap with players soon.