Splash Mountain re-theme announced

[Oskar]

People loved ToT and GMR too.. No matter how much you love a ride or show, the parks updating & changing is part of the fun. Being able to make new memories and see cool new uses of technology is always fun.

True, to a certain extent.

But Disney could also build new attractions on the land available to them, we don’t necessarily have to keep losing existing attractions for new experiences.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Wait. Are you saying we almost lost pirates?!

Pirates was never planned to be built for Orlando. Disney didn't think Floridians would be interested in the ride apparently and we were supposed to get Western River Expedition instead (elements of which were reused in a number of different attractions). When the park opened without POTC however, there were tons of questions from guests about its absence. So Disney rushed a version through (poorly, missing several scenes), and later canned WRE.

 

[MickeyMouse10]

People loved ToT and GMR too.. No matter how much you love a ride or show, the parks updating & changing is part of the fun. Being able to make new memories and see cool new uses of technology is always fun.

No, it's really about the money. Disney can't sell T-shirts based on Great Movie Ride, Backlot Tour or Lights Motors Action. They've already sold more merchandise for the Mickey ride than they ever did for GMR.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Are you ok with the Pirates of the Caribbean ride? Don't you think their history is problematic or will you look the

Are you ok with the Pirates of the Caribbean ride? Don't you think their history is problematic or will you look the other way only when it suits you? People like you demand tolerance only for the things you agree with. If someone else has a different opinion you are aghast. We call that hypocrisy. Have a magical day.

Are you running out of straw for these arguments?

 

[marni1971]

Wait. Are you saying we almost lost pirates?!

No. It was built in Orlando since they admitted they underestimated guest opinion.

 

[JustInTime]

True, to a certain extent.

But Disney could also build new attractions on the land available to them, we don’t necessarily have to keep losing existing attractions for new experiences.

Ohhh yes. I knew that story. I was thinking he meant it was almost re-themed.

 

[orlandogal22]

Pirates was never planned to be built for Orlando. Disney didn't think Floridians would be interested in the ride apparently and we were supposed to get Western River Expedition instead (elements of which were reused in a number of different attractions). When the park opened without POTC however, there were tons of questions from guests about its absence. So Disney rushed a version through (poorly, missing several scenes), and later canned WRE.

I never knew that.
But it's pretty funny he thought that, considering pirates are such a big part of Florida history.

 

[lebeau]

Are you running out of straw for these arguments?

Let's hope so!

 

[celluloid]

YOU brought up the firefly! As an example of the magical negro trope. I honestly don't know what point you were trying to make.

That people need to take a step back, and when they toss out something like defining a magical negro trope, it is not automatically a thing one should define and be offensive. There are magical tropes. That is a thing. Some are white, some are black.

Why, is everything troublesome or offensive? We seem to have an issue demonizing everything or when we respect the good someone or a group did, we want to find "but they also did this...which was bad" that tries to negate the good. It does not take away the bad and it is fine that it is known, but that is the danger of worshiping people like idols.

 

[celluloid]

Im sorry, I actually assumed you mistook the two. Ray is a Cajun, which means he’s a white firefly. Cajuns are descendants of French settlers and didn’t think anyone would try to bring him up. So we have a magical “white” character helping a black character, which is the exact opposite of the trope we were discussing.

It almost would be another problematic trope “the white savior” (Dances with Wolves, Last Samurai or Avatar) but it’s not because Ray is not the protagonist, Tiana is. Therefore Ray is just a sidekick, like Olaf, Jimmy Cricket, etc.

Man, you sure to have a lot of issues and problems to take. Maybe, just maybe, the problem is not everyone else's artwork?

 

[RoysCabin]

I never knew that.
But it's pretty funny he thought that, considering pirates are such a big part of Florida history.

That's actually why they didn't want to do it, at first: they made Pirates and Mansion at Disneyland because they figured the West Coast crowd would be interested in the fantastical and adventurous folklore or mythology of the East Coast, and planned Western River Expedition for Florida because they figured that visa versa would be true, as well, that the East Coasters would want a taste of the folklore of the west.

Instead, they opened up in '71, and guest relations almost immediately got flooded with "WHERE ARE THE PIRATES?!"

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

True, to a certain extent.

But Disney could also build new attractions on the land available to them, we don’t necessarily have to keep losing existing attractions for new experiences.

Not really... Disneyland has limited space to keep building.

For Disney World, everyone in this thread - even people who love Splash collectively understand that the ride is based on a controversial movie. Many people in this thread are comfortable ignoring that history because they have emotional attachments to the ride or hate change within the parks. But on the other side, you have people who aren't okay with that and Disney understands that.

Disney understands that the parks shouldn't make people uncomfortable, even if its a loosely themed ride based on a movie many people haven't seen. They know its origins and it reflects poorly if they do nothing.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

No, it's really about the money. Disney can't sell T-shirts based on Great Movie Ride, Backlot Tour or Lights Motors Action. They've already sold more merchandise for the Mickey ride than they ever did for GMR.

Have you seen the backlash people in these forums had when GMR was closed? You would think it was the best thing since sliced bread. lol

 

[lebeau]

Why, is everything troublesome or offensive? We seem to have an issue demonizing everything or when we respect the good someone or a group did, we want to find "but they also did this...which was bad" that tries to negate the good. It does not take away the bad and it is fine that it is known, but that is the danger of worshiping people like idols.

I will agree with your final sentence. Things are complicated. There are shades of grey.

I don't get why some people seem to think they are in a position to judge when some else's feelings about something are legitimate. If someone finds something offensive, accept that they were offended and move on. You don't have to agree with them but you don't get to invalid their reaction.

 

[PhilharMagician]

Yes. I felt exactly the same when they replaced the stunt show & Backlot tour with Galaxys Edge & Toy Story Land... our beloved history gone

I never knew that they were destroyed because of racial tensions?

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Not really... Disneyland has limited space to keep building.

For Disney World, everyone in this thread - even people who love Splash collectively understand that the ride is based on a controversial movie. Many people in this thread are comfortable ignoring that history because they have emotional attachments to the ride or hate change within the parks. But on the other side, you have people who aren't okay with that and Disney understands that.

Disney understands that the parks shouldn't make people uncomfortable, even if it a loosely themed ride based on a movie many people haven't seen. They know its origins and it reflects poorly if they do nothing.

You almost sound...whats the word...progressive(which somehow is a bad word for some people)!

 

[lebeau]

I never knew that they were destroyed because of racial tensions?

Is that what you think is happening here?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I didn't realize she led the new Mickey ride. That scares me a bit since she might be included to use the same "2 and a half D" tech they used at DHS for Splash. If they are going to retime the ride, they need to focus on making it as immersive as possible to even come close to the original - that means physical elements and animatronics, not projection screens.

Mickey is the only ride I can find attributed to her, I don't know what other projects she has had substantial involvement in.

Regardless of the IP swap, there are no words to describe what a worthless piece of garbage the ride will be if they can't at least rebuild the scenes with a comparable level of physical detail and animatronic quantity that Splash Mtn contains. I hope against hope they don't gut the thing and make it another video screen ride. But that unfortunately is the trend, and seemingly the specialty of the person in charge. So i'm fully expecting something like that to occur.

 

[celluloid]

I will agree with your final sentence. Things are complicated. There are shades of grey.

I don't get why some people seem to think they are in a position to judge when some else's feelings about something are legitimate. If someone finds something offensive, accept that they were offended and move on. You don't have to agree with them but you don't get to invalid their reaction.

Because feelings are feelings, logic and fact go with feelings to work towards truth. Feelings can be cared for, but if someone cannot defend why or get to the bottom of why, then it is just emotional and should expect critique if they are public about their offense taken. On the flip side, there are truths and people can explain why, but that does not mean what offends them should stop others from enjoying something either. Soemtimes, that side goes itno fascim when someone is scared into agreeing or forced.

Something I often think of is Mary Poppins, and why I find it to be one of Disney's best stories.

Mr. Banks. Mrs. Banks. He worked a lot and was stuck so hard on trying ot raise his kid he forgot to watch them grow.
Mrs. Banks. She had a good idea with more rights and equality for women, but was so obsessed with the emotion she neglected truths.


But then we could say that Dick Van 's accent was innacurate, or offensive and it removes merit. There would be another issue. You won't even be able to read the man who worked hard's name because of the censorship filter. Because it might offend, but the truth, his name is more important. Imagine if that only got blocked by emotions because someone was afraid?

 

[ryguy]

Your kids can giggle and have a fun time on the Tiana ride. There's a whole demographic of children who's race has been turned into a caricature for the ride, and this will solve that problem for them.

Absolutely we will. However, no child gets off the ride now thinking less of themselves. Unless they wet their pants because they were scared.

The only people who get offended are those who are looking to be offended. The point of the ride is to have fun and Disney was successful with Splash. I agree they can change it to something else and it will still be fun. My point is that the average guest doesn't give a hoot about the racial implications of the ride, because quite frankly they aren't looking for them. We are talking about a movie that the majority of guests haven't seen. So they have no preconceived context entering the ride. My kids didn't even know it was based on a movie. My kids have no clue about black voice stereotypes from the 1940's. Most people don't get off the ride thinking about race.

I encourage all of you to do some research on song of the south as well as the author who created the Uncle Remus stories, Joel Chandler Harris. I found it to be interesting and I can see both points of view. Below are two black viewpoints from the time period.

The NAACP Slammed the Movie
Through the NAACP commended the movie’s technical wizardry and its blend of animation and live action, the organization said in a statement that it “regrets, however, that in an effort neither to offend audiences in the North or South, the production helps to perpetuate a dangerously glorified picture of slavery … [the film] unfortunately gives the impression of an idyllic master-slave relationship, which is a distortion of the facts.”

The Film’s Cast Stood Behind the Movie
“Song of the South” counts Hattie McDaniel, the “Gone With the Wind” star and first black entertainer to win an Academy Award, among its ensemble cast. In a 1947 interview, she told the American publication The Criterion, “If I had for one moment considered any part of the picture degrading or harmful to my people, I would not have appeared therein.” Her co-star James Baskett echoed her support of the film, saying, “I believe that certain groups are doing my race more harm in seeking to create dissension than can ever possibly come out of the ‘Song of the South.’”