Splash Mountain to become Princess and the Frog ride

[Emmaleighg728]

Lol, well the current version is I guess better than the version they had for a couple years after they gutted the original. Does that count?

Side note I remember riding that strange version in the days before social media keeping me aware of changes in the parks and thinking to myself “what the hell happened here ”

Oh jeez, I had completely forgotten about that version of the ride. You’re right, the current version is much better than what was the biggest monstrosity of a ride EVER! I think I had almost managed to completely block it from my memory for good.

 

[Mit88]

Did I accidentally walk into the community boards? Wow. These 12 pages have been...something

 

[Summer2018]

I think that "Pocahontas" would have fit better, however since Disney chose "The Princess and the Frog," I'm going to accept it and roll with it. The ride itself will be the same, it is just the visuals that will change.

IMHO, it is important to put this all into perspective...it's a theme park ride...there's bigger fish to fry right now. This doesn't even make my top ten concerns.

I think we should give Disney a chance to do it. It may end up being awesome. If it isn't, it isn't.

Nobody died.

 

[BrianL]

It’s not? Song of the South isn’t in any way problematic? Maybe not to a certain demographic I guess...

I would just say that Splash Mountain isn't based on "Song of the South" so much as it is based on the folktales of Br'er Rabbit - the ride incorporates none of the live-action aspects that serve as a framing sequence, nor any of the controversial scenes from the animation. Other than the music it stands alone really.

 

[mickey0624]

This is literally the stupidest thing Disney could have done. No one was calling for this.

I agree 100%

 

[Tonyz]

Nobody died.

I don't understand... are people only allowed to be upset if someone dies??

 

[RamblingMad]

This also means this ride will have to be shutdown for some time.

 

[Lisa R]

Totally understand why it needed to happen, though I'm still sad to see my fav go. Guess I'm buying every piece of Splash Mountain merchandise I can find this trip.

Yeah - I'm really glad that we finally got the stuffed Br'er Rabbit on our last trip for my daughter. It's adorable and they couldn't keep it in stock! She loved the Br'er Rabbit story books when she was little - she obviously never saw the film.

I love Princess and the Frog (I live in Louisiana) but I think they should have gotten a new ride instead. Splash Mountain was iconic and far more people will miss it compared to the ones who felt it needed to be changed...imo

 

[Mit88]

If I wasn’t going down in August and able to say my goodbyes, and double goodbyes if it’s still running in October, I think I’d be a little more devastated. I’ve never been emotional about a ride closure before. This is going to be a first for me. It was the first thrill ride I ever went on.

 

[Eric Smith]

This also means this ride will have to be shutdown for some time.

They shut it down for a bit every winter. I assume they'll just close it for a bit longer this year or next year and make the change. It looks like the changes are aesthetic so they should be fairly quick.

 

[jen7233]

Or they make the announcement and it takes years to happen. Just have to wait and see.

Yep, there's not further word on when this is happening. Would LOVE a proposed timeline really shortly to be announced, even if it's a rough sketch. Just to know when it may close for good (well-as Brer Rabbit theme). So people can maybe know they are riding it for the last time, merchandise for fans, etc. Kind of like knowing the last time to ride Epcot Spaceship Earth before its change.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

If people think this thread takes away from bigger issues in the world, probably best to read about those issues instead of a Disney World ride refurb? The board in generally is vast majority first world problems given that it focuses so heavily on Disney and vacation planning.

I don’t know about you guys but posting about something online doesn’t mean it’s the only thing I concern myself with.

 

[JayhawkCruiser]

I would jsut say that Splash Mountain isn't based on "Song of the South" so much as it is based on the folktales of Br'er Rabbit - the ride incorporates none of the live-action aspects that serve as a framing sequence, nor any of the controversial scenes from the animation. Other than the music it stands alone really.

You’re not technically wrong and I won’t pretend that anyone my age or younger who hops on that ride even knows what Song of the South is, but still the association just right in 2020, and I think this is a good way to keep a great ride system with a fresh story that already has amazing music.

 

[JaNelson38]

Totally understand why it needed to happen, though I'm still sad to see my fav go. Guess I'm buying every piece of Splash Mountain merchandise I can find this trip.

Serious question, and Im not trying to put you on the spot, so please forgive me. But the way you posted your thoughts is the perfect sedgway-

Why did it "need to happen"? Because I don't understand it one bit.

There was no "need" for this to happen. At all. Have a regular WDW customer list 100 things wrong with the parks, and Splash Mountain wouldn't get mentioned once. Ever. Its literally the most iconic thing about Magic Kingdom other than Cinderella's castle.

All this kind of stuff does is make people "feel" good. Once its shutdown and the new ride is put together, I guarantee Disney will look back at this and say, "Man, what did we just do..."

 

[Mit88]

This also means this ride will have to be shutdown for some time.

You’d think this could have waited until after the 50th. Having active construction on a major attraction during an anniversary like the 50th just seems weird and bad timing. I’m sure they’ll close it during its yearly maintenance timeframe of February, but maybe it’s sooner, maybe it’s later. Its going to take a while to completely retheme it, I don’t envision a TOT to Guardians type situation, unless they budget cut the crap out of it

 

[BrianL]

It’s getting a better Disney IP theme based off a movie that’s not problematic. I’m still not following?

"Better" is a metter of opinion. I love Splash Mountain and it's music. Actually I am surporised at all the love for the PATF music - I always thought it was underwhelming. I mean, does anyone besides Lisa Simpson actually like Jazz?

 

[chasgoose]

I really hope they can find a place for zip-a-dee-doo-da somewhere. It's such a great song, even if it came from a movie that was a product of it's time.

While I like the song and the ride, it's hard to say the Song of the South was "a product of its time". It was the 1940s and it wasn't like Disney didn't know Song of the South was fully racist when the movie came out. There were many articles and complaints at the time that called it out for being racist and Disney just ignored them.

 

[Chumpieboy]

Inconsistency like this has been generally retconned and hand-waved away in the past.

Repeat to yourself "It's just a show park I should really just relax!"

 

[JacknSally]

nm

Zip A Dee Doo Dah has a really not great history...

 

[Tonyz]

You’d think this could have waited until after the 50th. Having active construction on a major attraction during an anniversary like the 50th just seems weird and bad timing. I’m sure they’ll close it during its yearly maintenance timeframe of February, but maybe it’s sooner, maybe it’s later. Its going to take a while to completely retheme it, I don’t envision a TOT to Guardians type situation, unless they budget cut the crap out of it

Well we don't know when it will happen yet.