doctornick
Well-Known Member
I think the point is more: if they made a ride heavily featuring Louis and then the unthinkable happens again....
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News Splash Mountain retheme to Princess and the Frog - Tiana's Bayou Adventure
- Thread starter wdwmagic
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SpoiledBlueMilk
Well-Known Member
That's the thing for me. It isn't any personal attachment to the current theme of Splash, it's the use of animatronics and a really well designed environment in the ride with background characters. My concern is that you have Splash Mountain, which has extremely creative aspects and immersion and it will be replaced by one big high-tech animatronic of Tiana and a massive number of screens and digital elements.
VIPguide_2030
Active Member
Just my 2 cents on this after being there again last week. The ride was down 1 full day and thankfully we were going back the 2nd day so we got to ride it "one last time". They are either purposely letting this ride go so people are less upset with the re-skin or they are waiting for the yearly refurb (holding out hope). Spending hundreds of millions of dollars on this when we have tens of thousands of cast members (especially equity actors and streetmosphere) out of work is ridiculous and tone deaf to what the true parks fans want. Wouldn't these SJW's rather have the people employed than worrying about a movie hardly anyone has seen and a song that no one associates with racism that doesn't know about the movie? My hope is that they come back and say it isn't in the budget due to Covid and Disneyland remaining shuttered and then refurb in January or February and nothing ever comes of it.
In my perfect world if they want to spend some money they would: A) Fully refurb Splash (new catchy song if you must). B) Take down the Speedway and do a Disneyland type Small World on that plot. C) Gut the old Small World and do an awesome PatF dark ride there. This cures the Splash issue, gets rid of the loud/smelly cars and takes care of the inclusion pillar that Disney is implementing. They could also do a little better entrance area from Fantasyland into Tomorrowland at the same time. I know none of this will happen but a guy can dream...now about Epcot...
In my perfect world if they want to spend some money they would: A) Fully refurb Splash (new catchy song if you must). B) Take down the Speedway and do a Disneyland type Small World on that plot. C) Gut the old Small World and do an awesome PatF dark ride there. This cures the Splash issue, gets rid of the loud/smelly cars and takes care of the inclusion pillar that Disney is implementing. They could also do a little better entrance area from Fantasyland into Tomorrowland at the same time. I know none of this will happen but a guy can dream...now about Epcot...
_caleb
Well-Known Member
My suggestion is that the anti-changers stop calling people SJWs and Woke Mob and other stuff that only shows that you haven’t been listening to what the pro-changers are actually saying.
VIPguide_2030
Active Member
Ok, let's assume I just used "everyone" instead of "SJW's"...would my point be more valid in your opinion? If you read everything I just wrote, and not fixated on one abbreviation, you would have noticed that I would like a brand new ride dedicated to the inclusion pillar & not a re-skin. I'm sure I would eventually like the PatF re-skin (just like FEA at Epcot) but why not get a net gain in attractions for a change and one less "shoehorn". Same with MMRR, I love that attraction but why couldn't we get that AND leave an attraction (GMR) almost everyone loves...that was my overarching point.
_caleb
Well-Known Member
Yes, changing that one phrase would make your point read more like a valid opinion to me. I stopped reading when I hit that part, because why should I bother reading a post in a discussion forum that was worded to shut down honest dialog? Thanks for following up.
I’m not sure Disney is purposefully letting the ride fall into disrepair, but I agree that they’re probably not going to pump any more money into it when they’re just going to retheme it. When AAs stop working, it makes sense that they wouldn’t spend anything to try to fix them. I think this is sad.
I don’t think your question, “wouldn’t fans rather see CMs keep their jobs than get the retheme?” is actually how things work. Many CMs will certainly be employed to work on the retheme! Also, lots of people have expressed the sentiment- “why not just build a PatF attraction somewhere else?” But this would only solve one of the two problems Disney is trying to solve with this retheme.
VIPguide_2030
Active Member
Fair enough, I think we are on the same page...actually listening & good discourse with open dialogue is sorely missing today.
What I would like to honestly know from someone in the know is if they didn't budget for this re-do could it bring cast members (equity & streetmosphere) back? I don't see this re-do helping those type of cast members, the people working on it would be the construction company and Imagineering (which has already been taken out at the knees).
_caleb
Well-Known Member
Not sure. Disney says this retheme has been in the works for some time, and like with other building projects, that money seems to come out of a completely different budget and not movable to, say the CM payroll budget.
Also, it seems to me that Disney would prioritize rides over performance CMs. All the streetmosphere in the world won’t cover up for rides that aren’t functional. I get that this doesn’t sit well with those who are against the changes to Splash Mountain, but if the ride really isn’t functioning well, it does need some investment to keep the ride functional.
For the sake of the CMs (performance and otherwise), I sure wish Disney had tried harder/done more to keep them on (even furloughed, but with benefits and unemployment).
lightningtap347
Well-Known Member
I actually found where they're getting the budget for the ride!
Check it out!
www.sfwa.org
(I'm kidding, but this problem is real as well)
Check it out!
#DisneyMustPay Alan Dean Foster - SFWA
Alan Dean Foster and SFWA President Mary Robinette Kowal discuss the non-payment by Disney of several contracts for works including multiple Star Wars and Aliens novelizations.
www.sfwa.org
(I'm kidding, but this problem is real as well)
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Yes, Yes and I’m a bit surprised they’ve deemed it is long enough. I’d be a bit pedantic bringing up something from twenty years ago of course. But this fairly recently occurred and I just wanted to point out this isn’t without some weird controversy still.
Clearly they’ve moved on.
How could it, with all those barriers, fences and warning signs keeping people away from the water?
_caleb
Well-Known Member
Yeah, apparently they don't think it's too soon. And while it was clear that they were not emphasizing alligators in the parks/resorts, aren't these guys still around?
This is what I was thinking- they added quite a lot of infrastructure in response to the attack. Also, Disney would have weighed the impact of including alligator characters vs. that of leaving Splash Mountain themed as it is, right?
lightningtap347
Well-Known Member
Without going too off topic, I found something interesting while playing Disneyland Adventures on my PC today.
If you go to Splash Mountain in the game, you get to play a series of minigames that seemingly attempt to tell the story of the ride.
This game released in 2018. I will continue to not understand what and what is not okay for this property.
If you go to Splash Mountain in the game, you get to play a series of minigames that seemingly attempt to tell the story of the ride.
This game released in 2018. I will continue to not understand what and what is not okay for this property.
tanc
Premium Member
Actually, this was a Kinect game originally on the 360. I think it was released in 2010 irrc? But this was just a rerelease of the game. Regardless, it's suprising Splash Mountain is still in the game. To think two years later Disney wants any reference of SOTS completely gone.
Also there is a Brer Rabbit statue in front of the castle... wonder if it will be removed.
lightningtap347
Well-Known Member
Yeah I guess the PC iteration came out in 2018. That's what surprised me, seeing this in the game at all.
Disney is continually hot & cold on this issue. I can still buy merchandise and ride it, but it's clearly not an okay thing to do based on the demeanor recently.
_caleb
Well-Known Member
I mean, you are aware of all that's been happening around race relations in the U.S. in the last year, right? The motivation behind this change seems to have been strengthened by all of that.
And they could just pull all the Splash merchandise and abruptly close the ride, but then all those who are fans would be even more upset. Consider how Disney is in the difficult position (even after making the decision to retheme the ride) of needing to inform/educate the public about it's motivations for the change without implying that everyone who loves the ride is complicit in racism.
I know some here would say, "well, they can always change course!" Sure, unless Disney execs are actually convinced that the ride is not something they want to stand behind anymore.
FigmentFan82
Well-Known Member
Awww (sad royal purple pigment noises)
FigmentFan82
Well-Known Member
I'm sad to see Splash Mtn go (when it does) but it doesn't surprise me that they're moving forward with the change. The company clearly just doesn't feel comfortable with the source material, SotS. If they did it'd be on Disney+ with a warning disclaimer. I think they feel that they can sweep it under the rug so to speak as opposed to other older films that have problematic depictions (Peter Pan, Dumbo, etc) because the movie did spend so much time in the vault as opposed to the others that got trotted out on a much more regular basis.
At least I'll always have my Splash Funko Pops!
At least I'll always have my Splash Funko Pops!
lightningtap347
Well-Known Member
If they truly believe the thing is bad and needs to be changed/removed (as the source material is) then this limbo of saying and doing different things needs to stop.
It's really not difficult to just patch out this part of the game if they wanted to, but they don't. It would be easy (and cost saving) to just shut the ride now, but they won't. So the continual public message is "this needs to be changed and become more inclusive" but is still there for everyone to see, indulge in, and (most importantly) buy things.
There have been race related issues in every year this game has been released, yet Disney green-lit this to be seen. Now, they recognize that it needs to be changed, but do not/prolong any change, while still providing access to it. That's my main thing that I still can't really wrap my head around.
Brer Oswald
Well-Known Member
It’s worth pointing out as this ride will seemingly have an alligator as the protagonist. God forbid another incident happens, what will they do then?
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