Splash Mountain re-theme announced

[M:SpilotISTC12]

I can't tell if you're mocking me or mocking someone else.

Someone else.

 

[Yert3]

You are missing my point. If you know something has a racist past - no matter how much they cleaned it up... why keep it?

Because the past is irrelevant to the present. Henry Ford was an anti-semite and nazi sympathizer (a true fact. Unlike the false claims about Walt) And yet I don’t see Ford changing their company name and I’ve known two Jewish families that strictly drive ford cars. Imagine that.

 

[Princess Leia]

No timeframe yet

Thanks! Have my first trip to Disneyland in October (I hope), and it’d be nice to get a final ride on this before it’s changed (something I should have done on my last WDW trip).

 

[HauntedPirate]

I can't tell if you're mocking me or mocking someone else.

Definitely someone else.

 

[RCID]

I don’t why I expected more from some people who use this site. For some, your bigotry is shining like the second star to the right. You’re offended/mad/(fill in the blank) about a ride!?

Nostalgia is a part of the problem that keeps the country from moving forward. Feeling like its owed to you for a company you don’t run to keep things the way they were “back in the day” despite it offending somebody. Yes we give them our money and that means something but if you don’t like it don’t ride or just stop visiting. But they way some of you downplay the affects these type of things have on people is the true disgusting part. I really hope this thread gets closed...

I’m with you and I think it’s probably the right move. It just impacts my Personal desire to go. I’m not gonna go spend money on something when I don’t get as much enjoyment out of it.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

They probably would, because the 1989 Magic Kingdom had more interesting stuff to see and do than the current Magic Kingdom. Not even talking about the rides, but all of the really neat stuff that's been eliminated in the past couple of decades like the unique, themed stores.

We can agree to disagree. I enjoy the classics like Space Mountain as much as the next person but if Disney said it was being replaced with something new, I'd be fine with it. I enjoy all rides - old & new.

 

[Tony Perkis]

They were after emancipation. You are making up things or refusing to "believe" something if you think otherwise.

Also, please tell us all exactly what was "racist" about the Song of the South movie? I'd like the opportunity to refute your points.

Somebody should educate themselves on reconstruction.

 

[Notes from Neverland]

Mixed feelings here.

Sad to see an iconic attraction changed while other projects could benefit from the time/money.
But, the ride will always be connected to a film that's pretty ugly in its depictions of slavery, and that's a major blemish.

 

[wdwmagic]

If planned for over a year, how come this was just refurbished?

And to those saying it needed an update and we can't expect people to visit a park with old attractions....I dunno about your visits, but every time I've been Splash has huge lines and is always extremely popular.

Is it too much to expect anything from Splash to be left, like the characters or ANYTHING? Or will they act like it never existed?

At least they can't take away our memories. Not yet anyway! I'm so so happy I created a scrapbook to always look back on.

Look, I may fall in love with this new theme, could be one of the absolute best attractions in the park. But it cuts deep to know it had to come at the loss of something so deeply integrated in Disney park culture.

With controversial changes, they typically leave some small detail from the previous ride to appease the fans and for the social media people to Instagram. But largely I would expect there to be no trace of it.

 

[jmp85]

I'm not offended. I thought you were the one offended by the announced changes?

I'm not offended, I'm saddened that Disney is removing a beloved ride to appease people like you. People who will never be happy because they get out of bed in the morning looking to be offended.

 

[Parker in NYC]

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.

Not true. There were protests against the film beginning in 1946.

 

[Jrn14]

Splash Mountain is my favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom, but I'm still kind of excited about this. I hopefully will get to ride it again before it goes down for the re-theme. My two hopes are they don't skimp on the budget an put in some quality animatronics and second the plot of the ride worries me a little... I know people don't love book reports but I feel like i'd rather have just a book report of the movie.... If I dont' get a scary voodoo themed room with Dr. Facilier singing "Friends on the Other Side" I'll be sad.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

It's hard keeping track with all the outrage. Seriously, how can one complain that some people are just overly sensitive then lose your own"excrement" over a corporation changing a ride(which they have a plenty long history of doing for lesser reasons(see TOT in Disneyland).

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Because the past is irrelevant to the present. Henry Ford was an anti-semite and nazi sympathizer (a true fact. Unlike the false claims about Walt) And yet I don’t see Ford changing their company name and I’ve known two Jewish families that strictly drive ford cars. Imagine that.

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

 

[themerebear6453]

I'm so excited for this!!! Splash Mountain is one of my favorite rides at Disney World, but The Princess and the Frog is one of my favorite Disney movies, and it works so well for this ride! The riverboat at the end, riding on log, think of the fireflies and how beautiful that could be, and the stained glass scenes. This could be absolutely gorgeous. I will miss singing Zip-a-dee-doo-da, but I also think they will find ways to incorporate that song into the ride somehow. Like, Louis could play it for a bit on his trumpet then go back to whatever song they're singing. I understand not wanting your favorite ride to change. I was devastated when they changed Maelstrom since that was my favorite ride. Hopefully Disney does this retheme justice and makes it something we can all love!

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

We can agree to disagree. I enjoy the classics like Space Mountain as much as the next person but if Disney said it was being replaced with something new, I'd be fine with it. I enjoy all rides - old & new.

No Space Mountain should go to! It's old! Also why just stop at painting the castle? Give us the castle re-do that HK got!

 

[monothingie]

Forget the motivation behind the replacement for a moment.

What bothers me is that what's being put in its place is being done quickly and cheaply. If recent Disney projects have been a guide, the quality and immersion of the original attraction will almost certainly be lost. If Disney can improve and build something that takes what Splash was to the next level, then I will have no problem. But if we're using Mickey's RR as an example of Disney excellence, you're going to get grade A garbage.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Somebody should educate themselves on reconstruction.

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.)

 

[VJ]

My guess is they'll bring him out and say that he's fine with it and supports it.

Yup. Tony Baxter is working as an adviser for the retheme.

 

[LukeS7]

Uncle Remus wasn't a slave, nitwit. He was a sharecropper. Duh. Definition: a tenant farmer who gives a part of each crop as rent. He was a free man. Try not to paint everything you don't like with the same ignorant PC brush.

And Brer Rabbit was a character invented by blacks, whose tales were transcribed by Joel Chandler Harris, who invented Uncle Remus to related those tales. So what exactly makes Brer Rabbit OR Remus racist characters?

This comment is so tone deaf it hurts. You're ignoring the reality that sharecropping was by-and-large an unfair practice that was designed to benefit plantation owners. Black Codes were used to greatly restrict the economic options for freed slaves. But sure, keep believing Uncle Remus was just so happy to be a sharecropper