Splash Mountain re-theme announced

[MisterPenguin]

The media certainly banged that drum until people believed it.

I’ve seen people on these boards call out IASW because they equate cartoon versions of “historical cultural diversity” with “racism.” “It’s so racist because they’re dressed in historical stereotypes no one wears anymore!” All right, let’s put all the kids in the same clothes. Which ones do you approve? Twenty-first century American versions? Hypocrites.

I wonder what these people would say if you showed them that people from the very same countires represented in IaSW were at the opening dressed in these “offensive costumes” willingly to represent their cultures. Their heads might explode.

I don't know who these people are. I've never seen someone say IaSW is racist because of traditional national/cultural/tribal garb.

 

[Overlordkitty]

When will it end!!!! We need to stop giving in. This our history and if people don't like it don't ride it!!! Move on, get a job and leave history the way it is. Without the history, you wouldn't even be here!!!! I'm done!! Walt Disney will never be the same and it hasn't been for sometime. I hate change. You know the saying: If it's not broken, don't fix it!!

This is part of the problem we have in the U.S. if you think changing a ride theme is erasing our history. The Song of the South is a false representation of the post Civil War South, not historical. Confederate statues were built in the height of Jim Crow, many in a different century from the Civil War, the intent of their construction was not to honor but to instill fear in a community. That we are finally talking about history in a larger context, and not just one side is a good thing, even if it challenges some previously held notions.

 

[J_Carioca]

SotS was actually available for quite some time in Japan. Thats how I got a laser disc of it.

Interesting. It's one of the few Disney movies I've never seen and I would like to. I find Disney's attempt to pretend that this movie doesn't exist (by making it unavailable in North America) is worse than openly acknowledging it and using it as a learning opportunity.

 

[Beacon Joe]

Did.
I think they've all been laid off.

But I agree that there's some weird fetishization of foreign poverty going on in those lands.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Visit the post for more.

www.rollercoasterphilosophy.com

I find Harambe Market extremely offensive. It must be removed now.

 

[BigDlover]

Bad argument. That’s like saying we shouldn’t criticize Stitch’s Great Escape because the system stayed Identical to Alien Encounter. The sensory overload was still there but the theme was worse, much worse.

Bad argument - The overlay hasn't even happened yet so there's nothing to critique yet. You can be sad that a ride is changing but this thread is taking it beyond just that it's changing.

 

[NateD1226]

Some of y'all are being very hyperbolic...

 

[MisterPenguin]

Sorry, you are wrong.

Well then Disney is wrong, too. And has been for decades since Disney put the movie permanently in its vault because it's racist.

 

[hoke2007]

This thread is, how to put it, concerning.

How are we arguing about IF Song of the South is racist? It is, plain and simple.

You can be disappointed that your favorite attraction is closing without defending the source material.

I have my doubts about Disney giving this reimagined attraction the budget it deserves, but we can at least be aware that the current version is offensive to some. If the Princess and the Frog version keeps the bones of the attraction intact but improves upon the AAs and projection technology, then everybody wins.

 

[Bairstow]

Bob Weis: "It has been a year or more since we started talking about this particular concept. While we’ve explored many new themes in the past, that’s when we really began to hone in on Princess Tiana’s story."

For those in the know, is this true?

@marni1971

Also said by BW: "From a timing perspective, guests will see Princess Tiana throughout the experience (hint—after “the kiss”). She and Louis are bringing friends together for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance, alongside many of our other favorite characters from this instant classic."

Would this just be a "we need to find the band!" throughout the entire attraction with it ending with the band playing at the current boat?

Also BW: "We are working with our operations partners now to determine timing for this project to get under way. For now, we know that both Magic Kingdom and Disneyland parks will re-open with the existing Splash Mountain attraction."

My interpretation was this was a super hastily thrown together blue-sky concept art, but on the other hand, the uncertainty could be caused by the ongoing pandemic.

Any clarity on what is said above would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Not Martin, but I just wanted to point out that if the backlash to this announcement is strong enough, Disney has all the excuses in the world to pull the plug on the re-theme, especially what with all the huge loss of crowds and revenue the global pandemic is causing.

Part of me still suspects this entire announcement may be a ploy to try to get guests to visit Splash Mountain "one last time".

...especially the sorts of guests who aren't scared of crowds during pandemics.

 

[DHoy]

Im basically saying everything in themed entertainment is prepped for being changed based on this precedent of Splash changes. Once one caves, the domino effect is in place and the company has already shown its willing to succumb to SJW pressures.

Im surprised the Hall of Presidents hasnt received as abundant of outrage, there's washington through Jefferson who owned slaves, jackson was responsible for the trail of tears and so on.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

I'm not sure why you're ignoring some major aspects of the antebellum US, including the fact that slaves were present in the north for the founding and the construction of a great deal of it. In the decade before the war, cotton exports literally accounted for over half of US exports and income in foreign trade; additionally, the northern industrial machine you mention was built on slavery, itself, because the entire system was predicated on cultivating and harvesting raw materials (cotton) from the south and then shipping them to the refineries (factories) in the north, which built the northeast textile empire. I'm also not sure why you're ignoring the financial power generated by the slave trading industry, with its introduction after the Constitution's banning of the international slave trade in the early 1800s; there was no greater commodity in terms of sheer monetary value at that point in US history than black bodies, that's in the historical record.

Highly, highly recommend the book The Half Has Never Been Told for more detail on this, it's fantastic. Here's an interview with its author: https://www.nhpr.org/post/without-slavery-would-us-be-leading-economic-power#stream/0

Only a fraction of Norrhern industry was textiles. Over 90% of US pig iron production was in the North. There were countless other industries. For every 100 guns produced in the South, over 3000 were produced in the North for example. The South was an economic backwater because it relied on an antiquated system called slavery. Slavery died out in the North because it turns out that firms that hired immigrants motivated by wages could run circles around firms that tried slave labor in factories. Like I’ve said before, the South was DESTROYED in the Civil War. No amount of slave generated wealth could save a mansion at Vicksburg from Grant’s artillery.

 

[Bairstow]

I find Harambe Market extremely offensive. It must be removed now.

Ok. Good luck with that.

 

[BigDlover]

To all the people who laugh at those “crying at a theme park ride”, I’d like to imagine how you’d feel if Haunted Mansion was replaced with a Luigi’s Mansion Ride. (Replace Mansion with whatever your favourite ride is)

Haunted Mansion wasn't based on a movie that was racially insensitive so that doesn't check out. Next.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Bob Weis: "It has been a year or more since we started talking about this particular concept. While we’ve explored many new themes in the past, that’s when we really began to hone in on Princess Tiana’s story."

For those in the know, is this true?

@marni1971

Also said by BW: "From a timing perspective, guests will see Princess Tiana throughout the experience (hint—after “the kiss”). She and Louis are bringing friends together for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance, alongside many of our other favorite characters from this instant classic."

Would this just be a "we need to find the band!" throughout the entire attraction with it ending with the band playing at the current boat?

Also BW: "We are working with our operations partners now to determine timing for this project to get under way. For now, we know that both Magic Kingdom and Disneyland parks will re-open with the existing Splash Mountain attraction."

My interpretation was this was a super hastily thrown together blue-sky concept art, but on the other hand, the uncertainty could be caused by the ongoing pandemic.

Any clarity on what is said above would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

I refuse to believe they've been coincidentally working on the concept prior to the petition / CM recommendation that this happen.

 

[Yert3]

I don't know who these people are. I've never seen someone say IaSW is racist because of traditional national/cultural/tribal garb.

I’ve seen it thrown around here and there. Nothing major, but I’ve definitely seen a few people say it.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Haunted Mansion wasn't based on a movie that was racially insensitive so that doesn't check out. Next.

The first 5 minutes of Haunted Mansion glorify suicide, and to an extent, mental illness. That’s the next topic of real concern. Don’t disregard it just yet.

 

[SpoiledBlueMilk]

The interesting thing here is, splash is an IP ride. It's replacing one IP with another. I think personally people are making too big of a deal out of it and honestly, in some ways I am baffled. I don't think I will step outside the imagineering side of the forums any time soon after reading this cluster.

You are right - it is an IP ride but the IP is held pretty damn far away from the ride narrative. I guess it’s more of the classic Disney feel that the ride has. I don’t want that to go away.

 

[BigDlover]

The first 5 minutes of Haunted Mansion glorify suicide, and to an extent, mental illness. That’s the next topic of real concern. Don’t disregard it just yet.

Anything offensive is worth a conversation to change it.

 

[disneygeek90]

Not Martin, but I just wanted to point out that if the backlash to this announcement is strong enough, Disney has all the excuses in the world to pull the plug on the re-theme, especially what with all the huge loss of crowds and revenue the global pandemic is causing.

Part of me still suspects this entire announcement may be a ploy to try to get guests to visit Splash Mountain "one last time".

...especially the sorts of guests who aren't scared of crowds during pandemics.

"We had so many defending the problematic source material that we have decided it's worth keeping." Uh... yeah, I don't think that's going to go over well.

 

[Father Robinson]

They don't need to be told anything, they were validated.

Out of fear of bad press, nothing more. I'm 99.9 percent sure Disney isn't happy about this at all.