Splash Mountain re-theme announced

[WDW Pro]

I also think small world & COP at walt disney world should go too.

It's a Small World is likely to receive changes, but Carousel of Progress will soon be given the Stitch Treatment. That's the word I've got from someone connected to the committee working on these changes. If you want to enjoy CoP, you'd better ride it soon, because just like Br'er Rabbit, there might not be a great big beautiful tomorrow much longer.

 

[sanctumsolitude]

I think this makes a lot of sense for Disneyland. Today there is a sudden transition between haunted mansion and splash mountain that this will fix. I think it is a good change for Disneyland.

For magic kingdom though... I don’t see how it fits next to Big Thunder. I am cautiously optimistic, but I am struggling to understand how this fits.

 

[Homemade Imagineering]

You can’t remove IASW.

The joke in The Lion King won’t make any sense.

In all seriousness that is the number one most untouchable due to the fact that it transcended the boundaries of the Disney parks into pop culture, and the song is just way to iconic and famous.

 

[Tony Perkis]

Yea, and before today Splash Mountain was untouchable.

 

[Clamman73]

Mmmmmmm beignets...

 

[Horizons1]

Yeah! Minorities shouldn't have any say on what is and isn't offensive!

...wait...

Except when they say everything is offensive.
I mean they can say it all they want. But when we start bowing down to every single whimper is a problem.

 

[SpoiledBlueMilk]

Well, going from the Haunted Mansion to Colonial America to various periods of the South and the Western Frontier... that's all a mess if you want to tell a story either geographically or chronologically. I'm sure most people don't even think about it.

I think it's a bit discordant, personally, but for the land in total, I guess it makes sense. I think DLP does it best.

 

[TJinSF]

So bad. Horrible how overly sensitive everyone is. Song of the South is a movie set during the times of slavery. IT HAPPENED. The movie shows how storytelling and imagination can take you someplace else and teach you life lessons. Uncle Remus was the story teller, who taught Johnny, a little white boy, about life....I think thats pretty great.... Again, since the movie took place in slavery times, everything in the movie showed how things were back then.

I did not call for these changes, but I certainly won't be taking history lessons from people who don't understand that SotS is set during Reconstruction, not "the times of slavery." Perhaps others are interested, but I don't need a lecture about "how things were back then" from someone who doesn't know when "then" was.

 

[TwilightZone]

Set aside the politics. Set aside the passionate arguments on both sides. Let's just remember one thing: re-theming Splash means one of the truly great classic Disney rides will be lost. In its wake, we will get a ride with a few new animatronics and some projection mapping. They will try to do something they've never tried before - just like Mickey's new ride in DHS. That, in itself, is fine for a new attraction. Build a Princess and a Frog ride in the park - we need the capacity in MK! But like Maelstrom, Splash's soul will be torn out and replaced by something very IP driven that puts the tech before story. That's my fear. We will be left with an attraction that is less than. I never thought I'd say it about Disney, but I am worried that the replacement will be an inferior product because the original is so well loved. I mean, how many people identify Splash Mountain and Disney World interchangeably?

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.

 

[WDW Pro]

Set aside the politics. Set aside the passionate arguments on both sides. Let's just remember one thing: re-theming Splash means one of the truly great classic Disney rides will be lost. In its wake, we will get a ride with a few new animatronics and some projection mapping. They will try to do something they've never tried before - just like Mickey's new ride in DHS. That, in itself, is fine for a new attraction. Build a Princess and a Frog ride in the park - we need the capacity in MK! But like Maelstrom, Splash's soul will be torn out and replaced by something very IP driven that puts the tech before story. That's my fear. We will be left with an attraction that is less than. I never thought I'd say it about Disney, but I am worried that the replacement will be an inferior product because the original is so well loved. I mean, how many people identify Splash Mountain and Disney World interchangeably?

Well, if it means anything to you, the funds for both rethemes are coming out of Epcot development funds. And the budgets are not large for this change.

 

[brb1006]

Funny how it wasn’t a problem until two weeks ago. I don’t recall anybody in the past 20 years say it was a problem. Even in this 2009 thread discussing this same exact thing...

Princess and the Frog & Splash Mountain

I just got home from watching the Princess and the Frog and I was wondering if anyone else had this strange connection. As I watched the movie, I could see disney turning Splash Mountain into a P&TF movie tie in. Not that this is something that I would want, but all during the Bayou scenes...

forums.wdwmagic.com

I wonder how the users from that period feel about this now?

 

[Sandersfeld]

Well gee thank goodness because i know now all those kids,not to mention adults, that ive seen leaving that ride crying and horrified because of "the theme" never wanting to step foot on this ride again will be happy...

 

[jaxonp]

Disney had $11 billion net income in 2019. That you personally were unaware of this connection really has no relevance at all to Disney's management. Do you truly believe that this company hasn't considered the ramifications of this move, including the financial ones? Or that this isn't something many people may know about, just because you don't? I wish I could make that sound kinder, but I really can't.

Impressive. $11 billion... heck if it were $12 billion then I'd give them a pass. I was being facetious when I said I didn't know about Song of the South. That said, please do tell me which parts of the attraction pay homage to Racism. I'll be waiting. Disney isn't changing this ride for BLM... there was no way they through this together in 2 weeks... its just another attempt at inserting IP into something they need not do. This has Bob C written all over it and I don't know how replacing one extremely loosely based theme of "racism" with a stereotyped version of the south is better.

 

[Bairstow]

Set aside the politics. Set aside the passionate arguments on both sides. Let's just remember one thing: re-theming Splash means one of the truly great classic Disney rides will be lost. In its wake, we will get a ride with a few new animatronics and some projection mapping. They will try to do something they've never tried before - just like Mickey's new ride in DHS. That, in itself, is fine for a new attraction. Build a Princess and a Frog ride in the park - we need the capacity in MK! But like Maelstrom, Splash's soul will be torn out and replaced by something very IP driven that puts the tech before story. That's my fear. We will be left with an attraction that is less than. I never thought I'd say it about Disney, but I am worried that the replacement will be an inferior product because the original is so well loved. I mean, how many people identify Splash Mountain and Disney World interchangeably?

Replacing an IP-based ride... with an IP based ride.

Even though re-themeing splash is largely unnecessary I do think the result could be pretty great. I've got dreams of a Shaman-class animatronic Dr. Facilier doing his thing. Plus, you can bet they're going to recycle many, if not most of the animatronics already in the ride. Heck, part of the reason Splash Mountain exists in the first place is that WDI had a whole menagerie of surplus animatronic animals after America Sings closed.

 

[WDWmazprty]

Song of the South is set during Reconstruction.

Saying "it happened" doesn't really work when the film goes out of its way to avoid the realities of the era and depict it much more positively, though.

Reconstructon or not, slavery or at least the attitude toward it, was still around. And, being a movie that was from Disney, I'm sure the point of the movie wasn't to show the grim reality of slavery, Reconstruction, or whatever..... the setting of the movie was about that. Once again, being a DISNEY movie, the focus was on positivity, life lessons, characters, and songs. Oh, and it is a MOVIE. At the end of the day you have to remember that. That's with ANY movie. It's not always about reality.
When I saw this movie I already knew about how things were in those times from school and my parents. I knew it was bad times and unjust. But it sure was nice to see a movie, even set in those turbulent times, bring out a little positivity and memorable characters.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Don't think that will stop Disney. Have you seen Pocahontas? There aren't giant cliffs and large waterfalls on the James River either.

Besides, you only need something 52 feet tall in the ride's story, not an actual mountain mountain.

 

[SpoiledBlueMilk]

It doesn’t. Same way Haunted Mansion doesn’t fit Liberty Square.

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....

 

[DarkMetroid567]

It's a Small World is likely to receive changes, but Carousel of Progress will soon be given the Stitch Treatment. That's the word I've got from someone connected to the committee working on these changes. If you want to enjoy CoP, you'd better ride it soon, because just like Br'er Rabbit, there might not be a great big beautiful tomorrow much longer.

I really wish they just did a new CoP. It’s lovely but just...not good anymore.

 

[Tony Perkis]

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....

That’s Matterhorn at Disneyland for me.

 

[J_Carioca]

My thoughts on this are:
Yes the movie is questionable and Disney was right to hold it back from further releases... but there are so many other movies made in the past, some critically acclaimed masterpieces that are not racially PC or historically accurate on the subject.

Splash Mountain at its creation took the fun characters from the movie and built a different story for the ride that was not racially abhorrent or motivated. You can agree or disagree. I am old enough to have seen Song of the South and understand the differences between the movie and the ride's content. Unless you can show the intent of the Imagineers was to build a monument to the South, promote segregation, and racial atrocities with the ride's characters and back story... then this outrage is manufactured with stretched logic.

That being said, Splash has not been consistently 100% operational for a while... elements have either broken or turned off over time or are operating intermittently. But the ride is almost 30 years old so its not unheard of to perform an update to an aging ride beyond mechanical, paint and water filtering. “Walt Disney famously said that 'Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world." Some of us have angst over this and want our favorite rides to remain untouched. (RIP Toad, etc)

I feel this is a knee-jerk reaction by the company. Rather than providing clear context of the ride and defending the design, they instead are seeking to avoid any negative press by trying to appear to be proactive in this move. (by saying they have been considering this since last year) With no date marked for closure or new date to open the re-themed attraction.. it appears they are scrambling as the focus of outrage shifts from one place to another.

I do not believe racism is completely a thing of the past and more needs be done to reduce/eliminate it in our society. But this is not the way.

Thank you for being a voice of reason. Can I suggest that you fashion the above post in a letter that you send to Disney management?