Earlier this month was the first time I went to Disneyland after the change was announced.
If you don't follow certain twitter accounts or blogs, you'd have no idea that this was happening. I overheard many guests having conversations along the lines of "they're changing it?", "yeah to Princess and the Frog" etc. The ride continues to operate and there is no signs or anything in the park itself talking about what's to come. Show quality was a mixed bag and varied day-to-day, but I saw the Br'er Rabbit on the train cart going back and forth! Both the RR and Mark Twain narrations still mention the ride.
I didn't look for merch, though I saw one penny press that had an option with the Br'ers.
Due to the hot weather, the ride was consistently among the most popular in the park. Thousands were clearly eager to ride without ever thinking about it being "problematic". It seems a stretch to say that Disney's guests would be up in arms if this was ever cancelled when many don't even know about the change or why it's happening.