What to Expect From Disney’s New Princess and the Frog Ride, According to Star Anika Noni Rose

Once the ride is complete, Rose says she's right there with the fans about wanting to see a real-life incarnation of the film's Tiana's Palace restaurant realized.

"I've been looking forward to a Tiana's Palace for years," she says. "I agree with the fans that it would be great. I have dreams of them partnering with [New Orleans'] Café du Monde on some real deal beignets, having some fantastic shrimp and grits and king cake during Mardi Gras season. And the occasional second line through the joint … Basically all the things I love!"

Though she doesn't know quite yet what her role will be in the ride, Rose thinks it is a "glorious thing not just for the legacy of the film, but also for the fans."

"They have been wanting something like this for so long," she says. "So it's really exciting."

In the meantime, Roses's fans can check out her weekly series, Bedtime Stories For The Littles, which she started as a way to give back to families amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The series appears on her IGTV every Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

"I love children's books, and I thought, 'We're all going through so much,'" Rose says. "There's so much stress in little kids. They may not know exactly what's going on, but they feel everything. They feel their parents' distress, and they feel the energy in the air. I was like, 'How can I assist in giving them something soft, something that's a relief, something to look forward to at the end of the week and also give the parents a little bit of a break?' I thought, 'Well, my family members who are babies and my god-babies, they love for me to read them bedtime stories.'"

Thus, the idea for Bedtime Stories For The Littles was born.

"It was just another way I hoped to be able to give something," Rose says. "People have enjoyed it, and it makes me really happy to see the comments and that people come back weekly to watch and to listen. I think that it's very important to push and inspire literacy in children and to make them excited about reading."

For more from Anika Noni Rose on Princess Tiana's legacy, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

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