Read on Twitter
The more I think about it, the more I’m fine with it. Splash Mountain is easily a Top 5 attraction at Disney’s most-attended castle parks, I have many fond memories associated with it, and yet today I can’t muster the energy to argue the ride should stay the same. (Thread)
I have to trust Disney when they say it’s been in development for a while. This isn’t a sign that armchair imagineering or petitions work, but the retheme is clearly a popular one with fans. Princess & the Frog is high on my list of favorite Disney feature animated films.
For Disneyland, I’m not having the same hookups regarding theme in relationship to the rest of the park like I did with Maelstrom/Frozen or Tower of Terror/Gaurdians Breakout. This is a natural extension to New Orleans Square, and Tiana has always felt right at home here.
Splash Mountain wouldn’t exist in a Disney park for 30+ years if it were *overtly* racist. Most guests probably didn’t know it was connected to a film, buried bc of its racist stereotypes. But maybe that was besides the point. Like the sign says, you can’t run away from trouble.
I wouldn’t place Splash Mountain on the same plane of systemic racism as, say, Confederate statues, or Aunt Jemima, or a white actor voicing a Black character. But its source material is undeniably racist, and as those other things come toppling down, this change makes sense.
Walt’s “never be completed” quote is frequently used to justify every new change, but IMO it’s not a bad thing to take a hard look at an attraction and ask if it’s still working for today’s audiences. Pirates had several such reckonings. Jungle Cruise & Peter Pan haven’t — yet.
Tony Baxter’s involvement inspires confidence! I do hope at least some of the America Sings-era animatronics will find new homes in this attraction, but I’m very excited by what Imagineering must be cooking up right now with 2020 tech. I see fireflies in that concept art! /END
