Splash Mountain re-theme announced

[RoysCabin]

Violently stolen land? Seriously? All land is stolen land. You can’t point to a single country today that wasn’t at one point stolen from someone else. Life isn’t fair. There are winners and losers. You can conquer or be the conquered. Europeans had guns and battleships, Natives had bows and arrows and sharp sticks. They didn’t stand a chance. If Americans didn’t take the land and make their own country, someone else would have. Mt Rushmore is an awesome piece of art, a remarkable feat of human ingenuity, and a greatly historical landmark that pays homage to America’s founding fathers. Blowing it up would be a travesty. No offense, but someone saying they’re okay with blowing up Mt Rushmore doesn’t have a leg to stand on when they insist there is no slippery slope. That’s as slippery as the slope gets.

...You really haven't read American or world history, have you.

If that's really what you think the basis was (and, no, at times Natives had superior weaponry during the Indian wars; what they lacked was a defense against things like smallpox much of the time), then I don't know what to tell you other than "please read more books."

 

[Oskar]

I’m not going to stop going to WDW because Splash Mountain is being re-themed.

But if there are more changes to classic attractions that I love, coupled with the continual increases in prices to get to Florida from the UK, then there will come a point where going back just wouldn’t be worth it anymore.

I understand Disney’s perspective in this instance; I love Splash Mountain, I don’t agree with it being re-themed, but I can empathise with the position Disney finds itself in in this political and social climate. Looking at the bigger picture, their hand has been forced and the association with Song of the South has probably made this scenario inevitable.

If Disney decide to make alterations to scenes in attractions like Peter Pan’s Flight and Jungle Cruise, that would be understandable. If elements in certain attractions need to be brought into line with twenty-first century social standards and sensibilities, that’s perfectly understandable.

But I don’t want to continue losing classic attractions like we’re losing Splash Mountain. The controversy here means that a re-theme is unavoidable, but that’s not the case with other attractions with which there might be similar problems. In those cases, Disney can easily evolve rather than overhaul.

I can put my own sentimentality and love of Splash Mountain to one side in this debate and accept this decision, a little bit grudgingly from a selfish personal perspective. I don’t like this but I understand why it’s happening and can accept it. But I don’t want to continue losing classic attractions. The resort will change and evolve, as it should, but Disney can adapt problematic elements of their attractions to modern tastes while taking advantage of the abundance of space they have in the parks to add new experiences, not just replace existing ones.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

And they'll stream the hell out of it on July 3rd.

No doubt, but certainly many things can be viewed as problematic depending upon how you look at them.

 

[BigDlover]

everything should be a cheap overlay... but not sure how they will incorporate the drop... and the brers will have to be removed... i cant think of a drop in the movie... although there is one in fox and the hound

There wasn't one in SOTF either

 

[disneygeek90]

So is Splash Mountain now closed for the re-theme? Or is it still possible to ride it for the timebeing?

I don’t think that’s been stated. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Per the ocregister article, it will.

"A date has not been set for the debut of the Splash Mountain ride makeovers. The Splash Mountain rides on both coasts will return with their existing back stories when Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom eventually reopen following extended coronavirus closures."

Disneyland and Disney World to remake Splash Mountain with ‘Princess and the Frog’ theme

The Splash Mountain log flume rides at Disneyland in Anaheim and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida will be transformed with a new theme based on the ‘Princess and the Frog&#82…

www.ocregister.com

 

[Da Bird is Da Word]

I don’t think that’s been stated. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

I hope we get some clarity on this soon. If Splash is still open I might have to get a day pass for Magic Kingdom just to ride it one last time...

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Bibbidi Bayou Booty

That sounds like an accurate depiction of New Orleans.

 

[BigDlover]

What makes Splash Mountain my favorite ride is the story. I love that the rabbit goes searching for his "laughing place" ... and the trials and tribulations he has to face to get there before realizing that his laughing place is back home where he's from. I feel like we can all relate to that. To be fair, I've never seen Song of the South, so the ride is the only thing I know, but I will definitely miss the story.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Twitter says Hamilton is bad too because it's about people who are now considered problematic being portrayed by PoC as a kind of awkward form of "multi-culturalism"

(Whether you agree with that is something else)

I haven’t watched the performance.

 

[InnKpr]

Earlier today...

 

[Animaniac93-98]

They claim they have been working on this since last year......anybody heard of this last year

If a ride as high profile as Splash was considered for change a year ago we would have heard about it months ago.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Sounds good to me.

Oh no! It’s Tony

 

[MisterPenguin]

Yet still you have Disney your hard earned dollars... hypocrite.

At least I'm no Commie!!

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Just flag him as a racist. He clearly is , towards people of different opinions. The movie isn't actually racist at all though. The worst it does is have someone tell African folk stories with a smile on his face. As if any movie that depicts someone happy is racist. How about fried green tomatoes or any other movie from the antebellum south that has a black person smile. They should be removed too right?

You must be making a (poor) joke, right? Please educate yourself. There are several excellent posts in this thread that explain the racist elements of SotS and by default, Splash Mountain.

 

[cursivesailor]

LOL I looked it up and found this article about the "highest point in New Orleans:" https://untappedcities.com/2011/09/09/the-highest-point-in-new-orleans-not-monkey-hill-2/

Yeah monkey hill. It’s at the zoo. It’s actually man made and it’s the only “hill” any New Orleanian knows of other than the levee.

 

[celluloid]

If Splash Down Photos gets replaced with Bibbidi Bayou Boutique, we'll know the real reason why it was changed.

We don't even need to wait for that, we know that is the reason it changed. Something "more immediately Disney" and a princess movie within the last ten years that does not have to get a built from the ground up ride is perfect. The diversity argument and timing of this is what bothers me the most. They are acting like presenting a lot of material with the "Look at these imagineers who are all people of color" leading the way. It is great. Some of those imagineers are my current favorite attraction designers. But the way it is presented are as if the petitions got this going.

 

[Da Bird is Da Word]

...You really haven't read American or world history, have you.

If that's really what you think the basis was (and, no, at times Natives had superior weaponry during the Indian wars; what they lacked was a defense against things like smallpox much of the time), then I don't know what to tell you other than "please read more books."

I’m a political science major and am very passionate about history. I took college level AP history classes all throughout high school and many university classes in history.

 

[UNCgolf]

That doesn’t really matter though. Ask Fallon and Kimmel if things done early on in your career can come back and haunt you. Regardless of the path you’ve been on recently.

If some group decides to take old Mickey cartoons and make an issue with them - you better believe they will. Luckily that hasn’t happened. But it doesn’t mean it won’t.

Those are real people, though. That's a bit different from a fictional character.

I'm not saying there won't potentially be people making an issue out of the old Mickey cartoons, but it's much easier to argue against and it's unlikely much will come of it.

 

[trainplane3]

wait, yall wrote 79 pages in one day?

I came back 3 1/2 hours later and there were 28 new pages. I've never seen a thread move this fast.

 

[BigDlover]

I thought Song of the South was never released on DVD.

I think that person's confused. I cringe at the thought of someone buying a DVD of this movie, esp for their grandkid. What a great grandmother