Splash Mountain re-theme announced

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Bleed0range

Well-Known Member
Brer Oswald said:
Yeah. I’m going. I’m tired of being labeled as racist for caring about Splash Mountain. I’m also tired of other fans being labeled as such as well. This community is rather revolting, particularly on Twitter. Most of you on here have been fine, but I just thought I’d leave a final message.
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Most people who like the ride are not racist for liking it. But the reality is the ride is evocative of racism.

I don’t blame people for being attached to something they’ve been riding for 30 years. I do think it’s time to face facts though.
 
Yert3

Yert3

Well-Known Member
Scuttle said:
The average park tourist doesn’t know the difference between WDW and DL. No way they’ve even heard of Song of the South.
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They know less than nothing. I saw several (at least 20 so far) people disappointed they aren’t re-theming it to The Emperors New Groove. How that fits into Frontierland in any way, shape, or form, I don’t know. This is the average Disney guest, everyone.
 
lebeau

lebeau

Well-Known Member
Scuttle said:
The average park tourist doesn’t know the difference between WDW and DL. No way they’ve even heard of Song of the South.
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You're right. That's why nobody started a petition. Because no one has any idea about Song of the South or it's controversial history.

/sarcasm
 
Parker in NYC

Parker in NYC

Well-Known Member
Bleed0range said:
Most people who like the ride are not racist for liking it. But the reality is the ride is evocative of racism.

I don’t blame people for being attached to something they’ve been riding for 30 years. I do think it’s time to face facts though.
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I'm torn and it'll be a while before I accept it. Maybe I never will entirely but I'm trying my damndest to do so.
 
21stamps

21stamps

Well-Known Member
Yert3 said:
They know less than nothing. I saw several (at least 20 so far) people disappointed they aren’t re-theming it to The Emperors New Groove. How that fits into Frontierland in any way, shape, or form, I don’t know. This is the average Disney guest, everyone.
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Either does Moana, but I would have rather seen that as a replacement over anything else, if it had to be done.
 
_caleb

_caleb

Well-Known Member
orlandogal22 said:
Counterpoint again -

a. But couldn't we say that about virtually anything? Couldn't virtually anything be hurtful to the "right" person? Are we all to live in a bubble world?

b. I believe we're splitting hairs here with semantics - snapshot versus idealized version. However, you cannot change / evolve Frontierland without completely doing away with Frontierland itself. Frontierland, itself, is designed to be stuck in time.

c. I'd wager to say your average American and average domestic / international theme park goer never was offended by the film because they never saw the film, nor even realized it was connected to SM.
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a. Virtually anything *could be hurtful to pretty much anyone. But we live in this world, where black Americans are saying that they've still being hurt. Companies have to decide if they want to respond accordingly or not.

b. To me, "snapshot" indicates "a picture of how things were." By "idealized version," I mean "a picture of how things never were but ought to have been." The "ought to" will change with popular opinion. And of course you can change/evolve Frontierland without doing away with Frontierland itself. It's changed a lot over the years, as has popular understanding of what a "frontier" is/was.

c. I agree that many/most people don't know about the film- that's mostly Disney's own doing. But in the age of digital media, Disney can't limit public access to the film, and every aspect of society is being scrutinized for racial insensitivity. What is now a bit of Disney trivia "did you know that Splash Mountain is based on a racist movie?" can/will quickly become "Disney is racist!" and affect the brand's reputation with their audience.
 
Lirael

Lirael

Well-Known Member
Brer Oswald said:
Yeah. I’m going. I’m tired of being labeled as racist for caring about Splash Mountain. I’m also tired of other fans being labeled as such as well. This community is rather revolting, particularly on Twitter. Most of you on here have been fine, but I just thought I’d leave a final message.
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Rename yourself "Former Brer, now Princess" instead
 
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orlandogal22

Well-Known Member
_caleb said:
c. I agree that many/most people don't know about the film- that's mostly Disney's own doing. But in the age of digital media, Disney can't limit public access to the film, and every aspect of society is being scrutinized for racial insensitivity. What is now a bit of Disney trivia "did you know that Splash Mountain is based on a racist movie?" can/will quickly become "Disney is racist!" and affect the brand's reputation with their audience.
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Yep. I'll give you that!
 
_caleb

_caleb

Well-Known Member
thomas998 said:
Go take a poll of people coming off the ride and ask them what the ride is about. Ask them what movie the ride is connected to. You'll be lucky if any of them have a clue. The reality is Song of the South hasn't been available on video in the US period and was completely withdrawn from worldwide circulation in 2001... So let me know how people can even be familiar with the movie to have an informed opinion of it. If you want to be offended by a movie, then for the love of god watch the movie first otherwise you really can't be offended by something you've never seen. I saw it a long time ago when it was in theaters with the Aristicats but I seriously don't remember much beyond Uncle Remus and blue animated bird... certainly not enough to be offended by it.
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The film is freely available online. You're right that most people aren't even aware of it. But all the bloggers and bloggers and "influencers" are always looking for new content to get clicks. As society reflects on race relations, companies are being scrutinized for racial insensitivities. Due to its association with Song of the South, the current theme of Splash Mountain makes Disney vulnerable to valid criticism. Changing the theme to Princess and the Frog is an attempt to address the offense (without actually confronting the offense head-on).
 
R

RCID

Member
seascape said:
My ealiest relatives came to the USA on the second voyage to Plymouth, Massachusetts. I have had relatives fight in every war the US had and on both sides in the civil war. I love the American Experience and the HoP and hope they are not changed. As I previously posted I love Splash Mountain. I also love Frontier Land and TSI. However, maybe WDW can not only redo Splash Mountain but also BTMRR and TSI into a new land based on PatF. Put Tiana's place on the island and turn BRMRR into a Dr. Facilier ride. I think if Disney wants to do right by Tiana, just changing Splash Mountain is not enough given the area.
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if they do that to BTMRR I’m done....I will never go through the turnstile again (since someone suggested it’s an older generation thing, I’m younger than 30 for reference)
 
_caleb

_caleb

Well-Known Member
thomas998 said:
Tiana toys didn't sell that well when the movie was new, I distinctly remember the local Walmart had tons of the Princess and the Frog stuff on the clearance isles, I doubt a ride is going to do much to move more merchandise.
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I would think the "new" ride will sell at least as much PatF merchandise as the "old" ride sold "Splash Mountain" merchandise.
 
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