-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
News Splash Mountain retheme to Princess and the Frog - Tiana's Bayou Adventure
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
- Status
Ghost93
Well-Known Member
I think the Splash Mountain rides will close in 2023, but I don't think the retheme will be finished until 2025 at the earliest. It's such a big and extensive ride, it may not even be ready until 2026.
Brer Oswald
Well-Known Member
That was a decision that was made (rather hastily) in 2020. Some could say it has worked to keep the attraction out of the limelight, allowing them to take as much (or as little) time as they need to redo it.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
That wouldn’t stop them for cancelling or taking it in another direction
GimpYancIent
Well-Known Member
The Splash refurb / theme update will not change the ride only the theme from something the younger folks do not relate to for something recent that is more relatable. The purist fans of course do not want any update or change but time marches on and change is inevitable. All the rest is manufactured soap opera / reality T.V. mismanagement by Disney Marketing, yet again. The sooner the construction walls and scrim go up, the sooner it gets done, the sooner everyone will move on.
G00fyDad
Well-Known Member
Can we get back to the Splash refurb and STOP talking about whether or not it's appropriate to discuss sexual education with a 5-year-old individual genders and sexual orientation? That has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand. NOTHING. If you want to discuss that then please start a separate thread.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
That is a very good point I hadn't thought of: by announcing the redo so quickly, they could basically say they had "fixed" the issue and take it off the table as a topic of controversy until they figured out what they would actually do.
Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
I don’t want to talk about the specifics (or merits) of either. I just see parallels of Disney talking a big game, and then not ultimately delivering on it. They seem to want a PR pop for doing “the right thing” but the follow through on these proclamations seems lacking. After all, it’s relatively cheap and easy to stop playing a song, change the welcoming/goodbye announcements. It’s another thing altogether to completely refurb two massive rides with dozens of animatronics and a dated, aging ride system.
Yes indeed.
Just like what the welcome announcements say do not have a direct or immediate result on the financial impact, but we all see they are fine on things sold in the gift shop that the ride exits through, the photos taken for purchase and the Lightning Lane revenue.
dig311dug
Well-Known Member
Not everything needs to be “relatable”.
90’s kids like myself had no idea what splash mountain was based on and it was (is) imaginative and a joy to experience for the young and old.
People/Disney just want familiar, predictable, bankable IP as attractions these days.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
My understanding is that any Br’er merch has more or less disappeared.
doctornick
Well-Known Member
Doesn't mean it couldn't be brought back in the future. Disney never made some grand pronouncement that they'd never sell anything with the Br'er characters again; they just stopped ordering that stuff. Were there a will, they could reverse course on that decision (and removing Zip from the soundtracks of the parks).
I'm not saying that's going to happen (I still expect the re-theme to occur) but I don't think Disney is tied to having to do any particular course of action.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
Anything's possible, though I tend to think that even if the retheme doesn't happen, Disney will steer clear of showcasing the characters. Time will tell.
Incomudro
Well-Known Member
Exactly.
And just because younger people don't have the movie to reference Splash Mountain, doesn't mean that the ride isn't relatable and that there isn't a story to follow in the ride itself.
WondersOfLife
Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
Younger folks: “I want to go on that ride. Big drop. I wanna get wet.” That’s how they relate. On top of that, the animals in the ride showcase a story that doesn’t need a movie to reference. That’s how good it was designed.
Unlike Frozen Ever After and the Nemo dark ride... where if you have never seen the movies, they don’t make much sense or have an appeal unless you’ve seen the movie... because they are bare bones.
Splash Mountain, if created if the movie never existed, would be another Haunted Mansion or Expedition Everest. It can stand without a reference. That’s how good the ride is.
The point was Disney is fine collecting the money from the foot traffic that the major attraction creates. Not specific to what merch in that store. People are still buying their own ride photos under the pictures from Song of The South.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I don't think anyone has claimed that Disney isn't continuing to profit from the ride. It's still operating, after all. Potentially more telling is how they're choosing to profit from it, and the fact that one can no longer find Br'er merchandise may indicate that the retheme is coming one way or the other.
Last edited:
doctornick
Well-Known Member
I still firmly expect the ride to change (sigh...) but what you are described reflects that there was a commitment to change the ride and remove SotS elements 1-2 years ago. If the insider comments from a page or two ago are any indication, it is possible that those plans have changed recently or are at least being reconsidered. It certainly isn't out of the ordinary for Disney to change their minds about stuff especially those things that will cost a lot of money.
If Splash ends up staying "permanently" then I would expect Br'er merchandise to eventually return along with that decision (and perhaps also a reconsideration about using Zip in the park music and shows).
Ghost93
Well-Known Member
Perhaps, but the ride is still much more cohesive if you've already seen Song of the South or are familiar with the Brer Rabbit stories. For example, I bet the average guest doesn't realize that when Brer Rabbit is saying "Please don't fling me in that Briar Patch" that he's actually using reverse psychology. They probably think he genuinely doesn't want to be thrown in the Briar Patch and just assume he survived out of luck.
I also think the Magic Kingdom version does a better job of introducing the Brers to the uninitiated audience. The Disneyland version seems made with the assumption that guests were familiar with SOTS.
- Status