Splash Mountain re-theme announced

[TwilightZone]

It's been mentioned in this thread several times. You should read it, it's fascinating!

I'd rather explode into pieces alien - encounter style than reread this thread.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I never really put Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square - I always considered it off on its own in the corner doing it's own thing....

Spookyland!

 

[jaxonp]

Remember when Disney built attractions that fit the land they were in? Those were the days. Splash Mountain has less to do with the SotS than FOP does with Avatar.

 

[WDWmazprty]

The privilege to whitewash the history of this period, presenting it as a happy-go-lucky time when we all got along and yearned for the old days, has everything to do with why some feel the movie, and by extension the ride, are racist.

As to the rest of your post, I understand exactly what you mean. Of course a fictional movie is not "about reality." I don't think all "problematic" art should just be washed away, and I actually think Disney could've avoided a lot of this trouble had SotS been "out of the vault" and demystified over the years. I've watched dozens of movies from the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50, 60s, etc. I understand that they're in part expressions of values we no longer hold. I believe that they have considerable value beyond that. I wish, genuinely, that I could show the world some of these films and talk about them. I think they're amazing, both at the surface and unpacked, in different ways.

However, the cat having been let out of the bag, as it were, perhaps you can understand why many feel a theme park is not an appropriate catalyst for some of these discussions, that bad feelings would out in too many cases, etc. If anything, I would've preferred a small contextualization of some kind, like the one I understand HBO is inserting at the beginning of "Gone with the Wind." That could have been fair middle ground to please most people, since the ride is pretty divorced from the film, but perhaps Disney was thinking of threads like this when they considered the potential for extreme reactions on either side to any change or acknowledgment.

I agree with you mostly. I just think anyone with a bit of common sense would KNOW that times back then were actually not HAPPY GO LUCKY.....that it is a MOVIE. I'm not saying YOU think this way...but do you get what I mean?

 

[EricsBiscuit]

Well, yeah: again, the bulk of America's wealth was built on a race-based labor system and genocide of the native population. So yeah, racism seeps through the pores of the entire culture.

That said, there's a world of difference between simply existing as part of a complicated legacy and being something that comes across as almost celebrating the negative aspects of that history. I don't think Walt had malicious intent in mind when he and the company made Song of the South, but it doesn't change that the depiction of sharecropping and Reconstruction are heavily skewed towards that "Lost Cause" mythology that warped a lot of writing about the era during that point in American history, so it was shaped by racist forces.

Again, whether that's enough for me to want to see the ride changed is another discussion, but it's not an unreasonable criticism, so long as we're not trying to divide everything into overly simplistic dichotomies.

That’s just simply not true. Slavery actually held the South’s economy back and in any case the south was totaled during the Civil War.

 

[Bairstow]

Erasing history will only make things worse.
and I'm still wondering why this retheme suddenly became a political thing.

Who's erasing history?

 

[rnese]

I’m not consumed with race or racism. I am more focused on it in the last few months, though.

If you watched it and saw nothing but a sweet, kind, elderly gentleman...

 

[Bob Harlem]

Erasing history will only make things worse.
and I'm still wondering why this retheme suddenly became a political thing.

Timing... (Summer before election)

 

[the.dreamfinder]

I'm getting this from Iger's quarterly talks. He mentioned the problem with guest satisfaction with MK being too crowded and how the surge pricing and off-peak discounting is purposely done so as to reduce MK crowds during peak times.

The yield is a nice benefit.

I agree they want to move crowds around the calendar year so there is no slow season, but their MO since Eisner moved them to PGRS is to keep that figure up.

Iger’s P&R goals are Franchises for new adds/rethemes, increase prices as much as the market will allow, minimize spend on new capacity, and maximize utilization of the parks year round.

 

[SoFloMagic]

Pretty fast. Maybe even faster than the gator thread?

yeah 1,600 in 5 hours is pretty nuts

 

[rnese]

Well, yeah: again, the bulk of America's wealth was built on a race-based labor system and genocide of the native population. So yeah, racism seeps through the pores of the entire culture.

That said, there's a world of difference between simply existing as part of a complicated legacy and being something that comes across as almost celebrating the negative aspects of that history. I don't think Walt had malicious intent in mind when he and the company made Song of the South, but it doesn't change that the depiction of sharecropping and Reconstruction are heavily skewed towards that "Lost Cause" mythology that warped a lot of writing about the era during that point in American history, so it was shaped by racist forces.

Again, whether that's enough for me to want to see the ride changed is another discussion, but it's not an unreasonable criticism, so long as we're not trying to divide everything into overly simplistic dichotomies.
Incredibly miseducated.

 

[davis_unoxx]

Timing...

View attachment 479237

What happened in 2016 with splash mountain?

 

[MisterPenguin]

Oddly enough, in my experience, the racists really are white people who think that they own the thoughts, feelings, and experience of minorities like me. There's one in this thread discounting my whole family's experience because it doesn't match what he believes to be true. It's sad, really.

You're not the only oppressed minority here, honey.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

Splash Mountain is one of my least favorite attractions at WDW because I don't like getting wet while in the parks. However, I recognize its popularity and I also recognize that almost every time Disney takes a beloved attraction and re-conceptualizes it (or updates it, or alters it), they make it worse. Inevitably, a large portion of the fanbase always winds up frustrated and upset. I assume this change will cause a large portion of the fanbase to be upset, as well. They will rush it and cut the budget at some point and it will wind up being disappointing.

 

[J_Carioca]

All rides need to grow and change.

No, they don't. The best Disney rides are akin to art. Actually, they ARE art. Think HM as an example, with its own music created for the ride, the intricate stories and of course the imagineering. Art doesn't have to "grow and change". It exists and people react to it in their own personal way, and changing it to erase problematic realities of the past is ridiculous.

 

[noodles]

Honest question. Was sharecropping worse than working as a lower rung CM for Disney?
Who's worse? The mega corporations or the plantation owners. Both will burn in hell, I suppose.

 

[Parker in NYC]

yeah 1,600 in 5 hours is pretty nuts

And it isn't even COVID related! Er, yet.

 

[noodles]

No, they don't. The best Disney rides are akin to art. Actually, they ARE art. Think HM as an example, with its own music created for the ride, the intricate stories and of course the imagineering. Art doesn't have to "grow and change". It exists and people react to it in their own personal way, and changing it to erase problematic realities of the past is ridiculous.

Black people are underrepresented in HM. Is this fair? Did they not die, too?

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I saw an article that the Hamilton creator was actually responding to the haters, because he allowed some things to be censored so it could be shown on Disney+. I’ve never seen it, so I’m not sure what they are talking about

It’s nothing compared to what’s currently on Disney+ like guardians of the galaxies. There are a couple of F words which are being muted.

It’s an amazing show, I was lucky enough to see it in nyc in October. I’m looking forward to seeing the original cast.

 

[Bairstow]

What history has been "erased?"

I said before that I'm a US history teacher, and I'm happy to say that we actually get more in-depth on a lot of previously under-discussed aspects of that history now than we did when I was in high school. Looking through my textbooks and sources, at least here in New Jersey, I can pretty safely tell you that nothing's been "erased"; if anything, the books have only gotten more complex and in-depth.

There's apparently a contingent of Americans who are only able to learn history through statues and theme park log flume rides.