Splash Mountain re-theme announced

[Sundown]

The past is not irrelevant when the topic is the ongoing treatment of minorities though. Thats why disney is changing it.

Respectfully, your are making an illogical connection between the absolute horror of slavery and a theme park ride (with zero connections to racism, racism themes, or racist stories). And again, the movie the Song Of The South itself was not racist or offensive in any way.

 

[RSoxNo1]

People that say that the movie is racist have never seen it, they just read some article from a site or blog that was made to gain political relevance. Let´s not forget that the MAIN CAST DIDN´T THOUGHT THAT THE FILM WAS RACIST and Walt approved it.

I watched it for the first time a few years ago and a ways into the movie I thought, "alright this is no worse than Dumbo". Then it shifted. The movie is racist to the point where it wouldn't be released today or even 20 years ago. To say otherwise would be woefully ignorant.

 

[Kitchandro]

Disgrace.

There are things you just don't do and this is one of them. Splash Mountain is one of the greatest rides of all time, arguably the best Disney attraction. It's one of the cornerstones of the Disneyland/Magic Kingdom experience. To say it's iconic would be a massive understatement.

I'm absolutely appalled. Any lover of theme parks and Disney World / Disneyland should be. Is there nobody, not a single person with influence at that company, who says 'hang on a minute, is it really worth selling the soul of the greatest theme park in the world just to cash in on a more recent film?'

This sort of decision could be ruinous in the long term. People come from all over the world to Disney because of its icons and uniqueness. It's not about the latest craze, it is about the lands, attractions and details that live with you your whole life, the places that will always mean something to you. Not just because they're familiar, but because they are perfect in a way a lot of things in the real world can't be. And when the imagineers have got things spot on at times over the years they create something that is timeless. These are things which should always be protected and never, ever replaced. Splash Mountain is one of those things.

If you don't keep a core of classic, untouchable rides then the place loses it's meaning. It just becomes another entertainment venue. I have been a lifelong fan of Disney World but I don't think I'll be able to forgive them for this. A lot of people aren't fans of Disney films (not now they're adults anyway) but love Disney World / Disneyland as a standalone thing.

By getting rid of great attractions, just to replace them with things themed around more recent films, it is going to annoy a lot of people. I'm seriously questioning whether I would ever want to go again after this. They've tainted the place. It's hard enough walking by the Chinese Theatre or Stitch's Great Escape. It's going to be unbearable to be in Frontierland at all once Splash Mountain is replaced.

I actually cannot put into words how heartbreaking this is and how unfathomably bad this decision is. It has devalued the very spirit of Disney. In many ways, Splash Mountain IS the spirit of Disney. It represents what the place....represents, I guess.

I know petitions and protests generally make no difference and I imagine a lot of people won't be bothered because they are more interested in their kids going on a ride based on a film they like, but if there was resistance to this I would be well behind it. It worked in Virginia.

I'm shocked they have sunk this low.

Walt, turning, cryogenic chamber, etc.

 

[COrunner]

My thoughts exactly. Certain people in this thread are being GIANT hypocrites.

I'm with

So torn on this. Splash Mountain is one of my favorite attractions, I have defended so many of the projects that have taken place over the past decade, but I am genuinely upset at the thought of this one. I think the imagineers will do amazing things IF Iger, Chapek and co. just let them do their jobs without breathing down their necks, but I have a feeling the end product could very easily be lackluster and we trade a great ride for a mediocre shell of what it once was.

I'm with you. Love Splash Mountain and truly hope that they allow whatever retheme the imagineers and Baxter have in mind can be fully realized.

I've never seen SotS, I have seen PatF a few times. I can honestly visualize the songs and a proper retheme on Splash Mountain being really well done.

 

[rct247]

I am very surprised by some of the comments in this thread.

I think people are absolutely welcome to be upset by the change to a classic attraction. I think a lot of people love it the way it is and have many memories with it. I think people can also believe that Prince and the Frog isn't their favorite movie or a good pick. I think people can be outraged by the knee-jerk reaction and the thought of spending money to redo something when other things need more attention.

I'm surprised though by the comments that we might as well close attractions x,y, & z, rip out the Partners statue, the beginning of the end talk, rename everything, etc. That's a bit extreme. It doesn't look pretty. There have been worse decisions made. If you're not happy that's okay, but to shout from the mountain tops that it's the worst thing in history and that we might as well put the final nail in the coffin, that's just extreme.

 

[SpoiledBlueMilk]

Many people did try pointing out the attraction should have had a plaque explaining the history of the Brer Rabbit stories, but historical facts don’t matter to the knee-jerk Twitter/Cancel Culture crowd.

Now we’ll have a new ride based on a California version of South Louisiana via a European fairy tale. And if you’ve ever been to the real New Orleans, the music and accents in “Princess and the Frog” were atrocious.

I agree with that! The movie did Louisiana a disservice.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

I know this is probably not going to be seen by anyone. I seriously doubt we can say this is part of cancel culture.

They likely have been planning this for a while. Concept Art like this doesn’t come out of nowhere.

I'd be shocked if it took them more than a day to draw that picture up.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Does this mark the official end of caring about thematic integrity? I know there have been some stretches to make certain attractions fit before (ironically including Splash Mountain in Frontierland), but it seems like the new mentality is to just lackadaisically insert IP into areas that don’t make sense at all. Bayous in the frontier? Guardians of the Galaxy in 1930s Hollywood? They’re becoming less theme parks and more amusement parks by the second.

Nah, that died about 15-20 years ago.

 

[WillWrambles]

Gonna need a more reliable source than your common sense.

Literally us, The Blue Jays?

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

People go to Disney to be happy, not to be offended. If this ride offended guests and prevented them from being happy than that has to be recognized. I imagine the Change.org petition accelerated the timeframe here but I'm sure they have received enough other complaints that fueled action on this in recent years.

Just WAIT until TWDC see my petition of changes! IASW, CoP, Peter Pan, Liberty Square, Tom Sawyer island with Rivers of America and the whole AK park and lodge are all next! Oh enjoy beef burgers and hot dogs while you can!

 

[choco choco]

Also Tony Baxter must be seriously ****ed off right now.

You know, I don't think so. Baxter has been unexpectedly supportive of nearly everything Disney has done in recent years (he thought both Frozenstrom and Mission Breakout were good ideas) and he has been clear that he doesn't see a problem with Disney's current IP focus.

Listening to him talk, my overall impression is that his philosophy is quality will win out. I don't think the quality of both Splash Mountains in recent years has been something many people have been satisfied with, including him, and he would see this as an opportunity to rethink and redesign for better reliability in the future and maybe shove in some updated effects as well. If the best way to fund that is to attach the ride to a different IP, well then, so what?

I've been surprised at this attitude from him as well, but there is something to be said for his apparent view that rides depend more on the quality of its show effects and the immersiveness of the environment, and that the actual property being used is less important.

 

[yaksplat]

What percentage of the "I'm Offended" crowd has actually seen Song of the South? I'm guessing it's near zero.

This is the worst news that could have come out of Disney.

 

[threvester]

surprised a mob of a couple hundred people arent busting into disney and ripping it apart and defacing it already

 

[Horizons '83]

From the D23 interview:

"While several projects, like Avengers Campus—at both Disney California Adventure and Disneyland Paris—are able to surge forward based on where we were in development, there are others that will be picked back up in stages—like Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and TRON—and some that are longer-term that we will need more time to assess."

Will be interesting to see what gets cut for this.

Something will have to. I am not sure how large of a re-theme this will be be, but it will be costly. SM is a huge ride with tons of show scenes. My bet is Epcot takes the brunt of the cuts.

 

[ShoalFox]

On a meta note, I can't remember the last time I saw a thread on this site move so quickly.

 

[DfromATX]

I'm so excited!!!! Whether you like PATF or not, Splash was due for an major update.

I have to respectfully disagree. I love it just the way it is.

 

[mkt]

Anyone else feel like their going to throw up?

Nope

I sincerely apologize to everyone here on behalf of my entire spoiled and thin skinned generation.

You mean our generation that refuses to put up with the BS that previous generations did? To think - if they had only not tanked the economy twice and elected good leadership consistently, we'd all have jobs to take up our time and no time to care.

They better not retire Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and Brer Fox from the parks!

Including merchandise featuring them!

They've not been regularly at the parks for years - mostly because few people know who they are anymore.

I look to Walt's Disneyland opening speech "Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America…with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world. "

Looks like people want to avoid 'hard facts'

Hard facts that were ignored in Walt's mostly midwestern-white-anglo-saxon Greatest Generation interpretation of America.

Just go ahead and put Karl Marx's face at the park entrance. That's where this whole movement is headed.

That'd be hilarious in a Disney theme park, which are the greatest monuments to capitalism and consumer culture the world has ever known. More hilarious since Disney has two parks in a communist country.

 

[Kman101]

This will fit better in Disneyland (I think their ride borders New Orleans Square? Or is at least close to it?), but it really doesn’t fit in Frontierland at all, unless they rename the land.

Yeah it fits perfectly in Disneyland. Frontierland, not so much. I can see a re-theme of the entire land, personally.

 

[CJR]

It was good at the time but now? Its time to retire COP and use that space for something new.

All the while, Stitch's Great Escape sits empty. Moreover, let's just ignore Imagination. Let's just pretend like DHS and DAK have enough to do.

Imagine if a purpose built PatF ride went into DHS, giving the park a much needed water ride. These projects come at the expense of those projects that would actually benefit more.

 

[Rich Brownn]

Princess and the Frog is set in a segregated city in the Jim Crow south. Everything people claim about Song of the South painting a rosy picture of slavery and/or reconstruction is also true in Princess and the Frog regarding segregation and racism.

If one of them is racist, they both are.

(Spoiler alert: Neither one is.)

There are definitely ouch moments in SotS - the whole tar baby cartoon for one -- but its no more or less racist than many other movies available. Some of the problems developed because it hasn't been seen in so long (just see how many people think its pre-civil war and everyone are slaves. They're not. They're sharecroppers). Some are intrinsically tied to racial views of the era. Some of the film is even a bit forward thinking (the two boys are different races yet become best friends). Even Walt Disney was aware of its potential to be offensive when made and tried to be as even handed as he could be (for the time anyways). It'll will probably never be released here (it has been elsewhere) which in a way is sad. There's something magical about the moment Uncle Remus starts to sing and the cartoon literally explodes out of his head. It's cool now. Must have been mind blowing back then.