Splash Mountain to become Princess and the Frog ride

[wareagle57]

I am pretty sure Hattie McDaniel pre-dates him. But, it is still a monumental achievement that I wish people didn't throw the baby out with the bathwater on.

That was always the way I saw Song of the South...Uncle Remus was this loveable, good guy. Kind of like the groundskeeper in Rudy. Like you said, in the most simplistic of ways.

Not to get too preachy but Titus says, "To the pure, all things are pure." And, that makes me think of Disney very much in a way. How do kids see it? I do hope we get to a point someday that...we accept the more pure/childlike version of things and that's the reality for all kids, no matter their skin tone.

That is a wonderful quote that I haven't heard before but sums up my life philosophy very well, at the same time being extremely relevant to why I love Disney.

 

[mickey0624]

Ive loved Disney by whole life...been there close to 100 times in my 46 years...made so many memories with my parents and kids....the ultimate escape...like nowhere else on earth...we all know the feeling.

many of us dreaded this moment...that politics and messaging would invade the parks and everything would become about a "statement"...well here it is...be prepared. It's a very sad day as this is just the beginning...for some they'll welcome the introduction...I'm just sad....the snowball is small and is just going to grow as it rolls down hill

 

[SaintsManiac]

Ive loved Disney by whole life...been there close to 100 times in my 46 years...made so many memories with my parents and kids....the ultimate escape...like nowhere else on earth...we all know the feeling.

many of us dreaded this moment...that politics and messaging would invade the parks and everything would become about a "statement"...well here it is...be prepared. It's a very sad day as this is just the beginning...for some they'll welcome the introduction...I'm just sad....the snowball is small and is just going to grow as it rolls down hill

Seeing inclusiveness as “politics and messaging” is the real problem. Seeing inclusion as something sad and scary is the real problem.

 

[tarak]

I don’t particularly love FEA, but people have some incredibly rose colored glasses on when they talk about Maelstrom. It was almost always a walk on attraction.

Norwegian Chuck Norris begs to differ.

 

[Mit88]

If it were purely political, Disney wouldn’t open the ride back up on July 11th

 

[jen7233]

Well, for sure Princess and the Frog will have a prime piece of real estate and ride time there on the mountain. I could have seen the ride also go over and replace It's a Small World in Fantasyland. The dolls, concept, and song are a bit dated - to me.

 

[Anna H]

I was dreading/expecting/preparing for this so the reality wasn't as bad. I knew it would happen as soon as it hit the news cycle. Do you think they will keep Splash for a year or two? Did they mention closing it right now?

 

[mickey0624]

If it were purely political, Disney wouldn’t open the ride back up on July 11th

can't redo a ride in 2 weeks....just the announcement is the message

 

[SaintsManiac]

this is about politics and political correctness...nothing more

The rumor of this change has been around for ages. It's sad that all you can see is negativity, but by all means, skip the ride next time and shorten the line.

 

[kmorlock]

What western/frontier Disney movies were more popular than Princess and The Frog?

There are many Western themed movies both live action and animated. PATF is not even close to Western themed. A huge collaboration of movies such as Lone Ranger, Zorro, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Home on the Range, and many more could be organized together like great movie ride as a tribute to that genre in Disney films.

 

[SaintsManiac]

There are many Western themed movies both live action and animated. PATF is not even close to Western themed. A huge collaboration of movies such as Lone Ranger, Zorro, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Home on the Range, and many more could be organized together like great movie ride as a tribute to that genre in Disney films.

Sounds like a real snooze fest.

 

[JacknSally]

this is about politics and political correctness...nothing more

Nah there’s nothing wrong with reevaluating normalized racism in our society. We should do it more.

There are many Western themed movies both live action and animated. PATF is not even close to Western themed. A huge collaboration of movies such as Lone Ranger, Zorro, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Home on the Range, and many more could be organized together like great movie ride as a tribute to that genre in Disney films.

Wait why does it have to be western? Splash isn’t western now.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

can't redo a ride in 2 weeks....just the announcement is the message

But as @Mit88 said, they are reopening the ride at least for a time. If they were truly only caving to outside pressure as so many suggest, they would shut the ride down immediately until it is re-themed. They don’t have to open it at all especially with reduced capacity, but they are.

 

[wareagle57]

A note: I don’t agree with cancel culture either, necessarily. I don’t think this situation is cancel culture.

I believe Hattie McDaniel was actually the first African American to win an Oscar. James Baskett was the first male African American to win. And civil rights groups at the time criticized both films for their stereotypical portrayal of African Americans. We have been told for literal decades that these films are racist! It does not diminish from these actors’ work or talents in the least. They had no other choice of roles at the time. Hattie McDaniel wasn’t even allowed to attend the ceremony with her cast mates because of her skin color. How humiliating.

At the end of the day, this is a theme park ride. A theme park I love and have been going to since I was 6 months old. I know the ride is important to many people. But it is not being demolished. It will still be there. I think Disney was going to do this regardless, but they chose now to announce it because it fits in with current events. But it was going to happen one way or another.

You make some good points, and thank you for correcting me on the Oscars fact. It can't be proven either way but I think it's pretty obvious this is a cancel culture victim, and it's just something Disney has had in the works until they needed it.

I also really hate the argument I'm seeing a lot that "they aren't demolishing it" so we will still have the ride we love. That just seems incredibly disingenuous to me since we as theme park fans know we are not in love with the track layout, but the emotions evoked from the ride. That is what we are losing. It could be an amazing ride. I hope it will be. I still consider Splash to be one of the 5 or less untouchable rides in WDW due to much bigger factors than it being a fun ride. It's a ride that has helped me cope with the problems of real life. And while there are other amazing Disney rides, none of them evoke the same type of emotion as Splash to me.

 

[kmorlock]

Sounds like a real snooze fest.

It’s a better fit than Tiana in Frontierland but then again, almost anything would be.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

They may as well shut the whole park down and strip every ride of it's theming. No matter what, someone will be butt hurt and claim to be offended. I think I will protest 7 Dwarfs Mine train. I have a friend who is a Dwarf. This ride offends me because they have Dwarfs working in a dark mine. Do they get breaks? fair wages? I think I will write Disney and let them know how offended I am.

 

[SaintsManiac]

They may as well shut the whole park down and strip every ride of it's theming. No matter what, someone will be butt hurt and claim to be offended. I think I will protest 7 Dwarfs Mine train. I have a friend who is a Dwarf. This ride offends me because they have Dwarfs working in a dark mine. Do they get breaks? fair wages? I think I will write Disney and let them know how offended I am.

I’m going to let someone else take this one. My pie is waiting.

 

[BrianL]

Norwegian Chuck Norris begs to differ.View attachment 504201

I was once in line for Maelstrom with this group of girls and their mother. They had been rather enjoying the Food & Wine festival - emphasis on the wine. They were rather taken with this fellow right here I must say. They were all absoultely hillarious. One had a cast on her leg and was in a wheelchair, but it was the mom who was tipsy enough that she fell down and I had to catch her. We ended up in the same boat and it was a hoot riding with them. They were still loving this dude at the exit!

 

[TreAntDeu]

There are many Western themed movies both live action and animated. PATF is not even close to Western themed. A huge collaboration of movies such as Lone Ranger, Zorro, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Home on the Range, and many more could be organized together like great movie ride as a tribute to that genre in Disney films.

There are a lot of angles you can go at criticizing this move. But concern for theming is SO WEAK. And frankly holds little water in my opinion.

Exploration of the Frontier started with the Louisiana Purchase.

Tom Sawyer Island and the Riverboat is also mostly based on Mississippi and Missouri. As someone else pointed out, St. Louis to New Orleans was one of the biggest routes of steamboats.

Im not sure how a swampy bayou Louisiana theme is so much of a stretch to fit in there. As long as they stick to the Swamp/Bayou theming only and leave out New Orleans city itself, it will fit seamlessly.

Adventureland includes Jungle, Middle Eastern Bazar, and then Caribbean island theming right on top of each other. They all blend seamlessly. And it wasn't always themed that way originally, but they made the added themes blend.

Now, if you never realized that they stacked the Middle East on top of the Caribbean and instead you just thought of it all as Adventureland, then maybe calm down about this much less egregious theming clash.

I love Splash Mountain, but ppl seem to be saying that the new theme is a WILDLY different aesthetic than what is there now. Which just isnt the case. Bayou/Lousiana swamp fits right in with the Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island far more than Big Thunder Mountain southwest desert theme does honestly.

Like, cheaply re-theme Pecos Bill into cajun food(Call it Mama Odie's or something) and you have a perfect little sub section as a buffer between the Caribbean theming and the Desert. A sub section that fits with the Riverboat and the Island across the river pretty well.

Adjust traffic flow a tiny bit and it easily flows together.

 

[JacknSally]

I’m going to let someone else take this one. My pie is waiting.