Splash Mountain re-theme announced

[Horizons1]

My hope is they come to their senses in the time it will take to even break ground so to speak.

That’ll happen when this country comes to it senses. And that won’t happen. Things are only going to keep getting worse and worse until there is only one view. And that view is nothing but anger and hate and ignorance. Any view other than that means you’re wrong and you’re racist.

 

[xdan0920]

My basement wall is now racist. Sad.

 

[RSoxNo1]

They’re not remotely ready to start work.

Are you thinking a year+ away then?

 

[Seth141]

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 have seen the movie. Watched it many times over the years on my Laserdisc from Japan. I have often thought some moments were racist. Even as a child I thought the “tar baby” part was problematic. Since that time I’ve watched it with others including those who are black and they have pointed out other stereotypes and problems with the historical rewriting of the era after slavery ended. The ride does not retain the latter but the stereotypes are still very much present. It is not a ride that doesn’t offend. Just because it doesn’t offend me or others does not mean it’s ok to ignore that it has problems.

 

[Andrew C]

Marni, I actually LIVE in Florida, and it’s currently 93 Degrees Farenheit/34 Degrees Celsius outside. It’s popular because IT’S A WAY TO COOL OFF. Some people may care about history and yada yada, but the average guest just wants to not be burning hot.

Some of the biggest complaints from people that I hear about the ride is "they don't like to get wet." Thanks for anecdotal evidence. I hope you liked mine as well.

 

[rio]

Please don’t comment on purple. It’s harder to read for those of us using dark mode

 

[Magenta Panther]

Just wanted to reiterate: I love Tiana. I love the song "Almost There". And it was great that PatF is a 2D movie (sadly, Disney's last, for all we know). My beef with PatF is that overall, it's not very good. Primarily because, IMO, Dr. Facilier should have been the leading man (I felt some sympathy for him, and felt ZIP for Naveen, an empty cipher of a character, weakest Disney prince of all). And worse, Tiana spent most of the movie as a killjoy frog. Building a ride based on PatF would be great. Replacing Splash with it for dum-dum PC reasons is not. Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and Brer Bear are iconic characters, and they'll soon be erased forever. Sadly, one of the few rides based on characters created by BLACKS will be removed from the parks. How is this a good thing?

 

[Bairstow]

"People are calling Splash Mountain 'racially problematic' so let's retheme it to a movie set in...*checks notes*...segregated New Orleans in the Jim Crow South."
- Some marketing genius

Perhaps it's not the setting of the films that's the problem, but the ideas the films convey?
Like, in one film the black characters are subservient supporting characters to the white protagonists, and in the other they're the main characters with their own arcs and struggles against the system that disadvantages them instead of perpetuating it?

 

[coasterphil]

I think you all are giving the "twitter mobs" way too much credit. Are we really thinking no one internally had concerns about the ride prior to the petition circulating recently? I'm sure there were plenty of folks inside the company that were concerned with having a marquee attraction tied to a movie the company has disowned. I don't think they needed a big outside push to see that it was time to make the change sooner rather than later.

 

[WillWrambles]

Then why is it also super busy in January and February when it's not super hot? And why would people line up to wait in the sun?

Also, FYI, Marni knows far more about how the Disney parks operate than anyone here, so you should probably defer to his knowledge. He's not just a random fan.

It’s called the Sunshine State for a reason, you know.

 

[Parker in NYC]

View attachment 479152
My basement wall is now racist. Sad.

Question. If you took down Splash Mountain, would it still be?

 

[disneygeek90]

I cannot believe this. This is the stupidest thing I ever even begin to think of that Disney has done. 99.9 percent of people that ride this ride have no clue about the film- because it has been shuttered for years. Nothing in the ride had anything racist in it. It was all removed for the ride.No tar baby, no Uncle Remus, nothing. And if the dialect is racist then everyone that speaks with a southern low country or Gullah accent offends people? Yo Sho’ nuff done lost yo mind.

Do you honestly not think that people unfamiliar with the IP don't do a quick google search while in line? Out of sheer curiosity of "hey who is this rabbit I don't remember this character?"

Wikipedia mentions the source material in the first sentence of the attractions page. A click on that and you're linked directly to the controversy.

 

[Piebald]

I'm ok with this. These rides wont last forever anyways. Will they completely eliminate the SoTS characters from m&g, entertainment and merch?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Disagree, there is absolutely no insulting of black people in that entire film. There's no slander, there's no disrespect of black characters (certainly not based on their race) and Uncle Remus is clearly intended to be the films 'hero'.

People only claim it's racist because it is set shortly after the abolition of slavery and features a black man living around a plantation. So it makes people uncomfortable, but it's probably an accurate situation considering he's an old dude who I imagine didn't have anywhere he could go at that point in his life. And even if he was bitter about white people I doubt he would take it out on the kids, which it seems is what people wanted to see in a CHILDREN'S FILM.

Regardless, it's pretty irrelevant as Splash Mountain has almost no references to the film outside of the cartoon portions.

Also that scene in the tar...

 

[_caleb]

Are you joking?

We went from "tear down confederate statues" to "tear down George Washington and Abraham Lincoln statues" in about a week. Sometimes it absolutely IS a slippery slope.

No, I wasn't joking. I thought we were talking about news of the Splash Mountain ride at Disney World. The announced change is not a slippery slope toward removing the Partners statue or demolishing Port Orleans Riverside (as some have suggested).

 

[Matthew]

Really not impressed with this decision the zip-a-Dee-doo-dah section at the end is one of my fave on a Disney ride. Gutted my 6 month old will never experience the ride in it’s true and correct form.

 

[KaliSplash]

Well, I am very sad about this but I understand it. I've said on these boards many times I should have used SplashKali for my user name as that's the order of importance to me. But given the realities today, I can certainly see why Disney would do this. There is good music in the Princess and the Frog, but I am going to greatly miss Splash music.

 

[brb1006]

I never considered this, but that song will have to be removed too. And all the Splash merchandise?

And the characters.

 

[Speedy71]

I mean if Disney wants to be so progressive why not build a NEW ride for princess and the frog I mean it's not like MK is suffering with capacity or anything.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

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

Stalin, not Marx.