By Samantha Carmona, Feb. 7, 2023
It was a sad day for Disney fans on Monday, Jan. 23. The iconic log flume ride, Splash Mountain, carried its last riders to close for a full retheme and renovation until late 2024.
Plenty of fans aren’t happy about the upcoming changes, which are slated to hit Disneyland Resort as well But this fan-favorite ride’s revamp is due to its controversial history and outdated source.
Splash Mountain, with its twisted peak and watery slope, has remained an iconic symbol of Disney parks across the globe. Built in July 1989, it first opened in Anaheim’s Disneyland Resort to critical acclaim. Since then, the ride has been rebuilt with minor variations in Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland in October 1992. This ride, popular for its earworm songs, thrilling drops and fun photo-ops has been delighting families for years.
But in June 2020, Disney announced the sudden change of the ride’s theme from Splash Mountain to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, inspired by the 2011 Disney animated film, “The Princess and the Frog.” The core system of the ride will remain the same while the story, setting and characters will be updated to fit a new narrative following Princess Tiana, the first Black Disney princess.
Some of the biggest backlash this renovation is seeing is from nostalgic Disney fans claiming that the remodel is pandering to “wokeness” and that Disney is being sensitive by removing the ride’s original theme and replacing it with a Black-centralized story. This point reflects that Black people can’t be represented unless it’s for some kind of agenda, apparently.
Some broadcasts have coined the idea that Splash Mountain is a victim to cancel culture. Fox News’s Tomi Lahren criticized the change on her radio show FOX News Commentary and blamed virtue signaling.
“Pretty soon, there won’t be anything or anyone left,” said Lahren. “Leave it to Disney to suck the absolute fun out of absolutely everything.”
What many people do not realize is that Splash Mountain is not an original theme created just for the parks
Splash Mountain’s concept is actually taken from the 1946 Disney hybrid live-action and animated movie “Song of the South.” The reason plenty of people—even the average Disney fan—don’t know this is because Disney has actively tried to erase its existence from their catalog.
The movie follows Uncle Remus, a former slave who recounts African American folktales following Brer Rabbit and his adventures escaping and outwitting his rivals Brer Fox and Brer Bear. The setting takes place in a vaguely post-Civil War America and includes Black characters interacting with white, former-slave owners and plantation owners like they are good friends.
It also still portrays most of its Black characters as subservient to white families, despite attempts at having the former characters directly mention their freedom. So, I’ve taken to describing “Song of the South” as “quite denialist.” In other words, it rewrites history in a way that denies real issues that occurred during its time period.
The movie’s screenplay went through several revisions after African American consultors criticized the stereotypical depictions of Black people, with one such consultant requesting a more dignified approach, targeting one early draft. It was also protested on release by African American organizations.
And yes, I did watch the movie myself. The overly vernacularized subtitles interpret every Black character’s speech from a southern accent into an offensive visualization of African American Vernacular English. Words like “maybe” become “mebbe”, “this here” to “dishyer” and “yesterday” become “yestiddy.”
This is representative of an outdated and exaggerated depiction of Black culture that would be ridiculed today. In fact, the title “Brer,” used in front of all the animal characters’ names, comes from a vernacularized version of the word “brother,” Merriam-Webster dictionary describes. It is also important to note that the original Uncle Remus folktales were first compiled in written form by a white author who chose to write in this exaggerated dialect, despite not being involved in it.
While it might be notable that its lead actor, James Baskett, became one of the first African American actors to obtain any form of Academy Award, its criticism left “Song of the South” as one of the lower quality and forgotten Disney movies. In fact, due to its controversial nature, it is not available to watch on any streaming networks online. Even Disney+ itself has decided not to host the film, as confirmed by Disney CEO Bob Iger through Deadline. Iger described the film as “not appropriate for today’s world.”
I would agree with that. It is a product of its time, and while it’s important to acknowledge the film’s flaws, it doesn’t need to remain a historical icon or anything for people to study. There are plenty of other films that depict more controversial topics that are more worth preserving and studying. To me, “Song of the South” is almost boring in its tone deaf portrayal of its setting. But at the same time, I quite admire its blissful ignorance of real conflict and tragedy that occurred after the Civil War to portray a cheerful and simple society.
While the source material may be sensitive, the ride itself does not directly portray these aspects. Splash Mountain abridged most of the “Song of the South” tales and only took the animated characters and songs from the movie and slapped them onto a log flume ride. Uncle Remus doesn’t even make an appearance, nor do any of the human characters of “Song of the South.”
And despite these elements keeping most of the public unaware of Splash Mountain’s origins, there are plenty of fans who became attached to the characters and theme simply through the ride. Fans have tried to push against the ride’s renovations by creating petitions to save the ride’s theme or even trying to convince others to contact Floridian governor Ron DeSantis to make a call to action against the renovations.
The biggest petition on Change.org has reached over 99,000 signatures as of January 30th. Part of the description reads: “It is absurd to pander to a small group of ‘Disney haters’ that don’t understand the story” and “To change them would be to remove a bit of our art history.”
Well, plenty of Disney fans have experienced the removal of history before, and this is no different. Throughout the decades, Disneyland and Disney World have seen several rides come and go or undergo revamps similar to Splash Mountain. As for Disneyland, Submarine Voyage became Finding Nemo: Submarine Voyage. Adventures Through Inner Space was remodeled into Star Tours. In Disney World’s EPCOT, the Norse-themed boat ride Maelstrom became Frozen: Ever After and simulation ride Body Wars became another Star Tours.
Even casual Disney fans can conclude the connection between these few examples. They were all rides that had lost interest from guests because they didn’t have a relevant theme anymore and were replaced by a theme that is related to something familiar with general audiences.
In two examples, educational and science-themed attractions (Journey Through Inner Space and Body Wars) were both replaced by Star Tours, a “Star Wars” based simulation ride. With this done in the late ‘80s, Star Wars was still an ongoing cultural phenomena, and would assuredly attract more guests to the park compared to the previous incarnations of the rides, which were losing guests’ interests.
“Frozen: Ever After” and “Finding Nemo: Submarine Voyage” reflected this shift to represent recent Disney films in the parks, being renovations of attractions that once held nonspecific themes. Splash Mountain is but the latest example of this. “Song of the South” is no longer relevant, and while its characters and music have still lived through the ride for years ever since Disney decided to blacklist its source, it deserves to be updated. It would finally be the last nail in the coffin for “Song of the South,” which has become a taboo in the Disney catalog.
It is understandable as to why the ride itself has been the last facet of the movie’s legacy. Rides are expensive to run and maintain. But it is worth mentioning Splash Mountain had been in the blind spot of Disney refurbishments for years before the official renovations were announced. Entire scenes have had lighting problems and were left in complete darkness. Animatronics were consistently broken, and most notably, the ride’s logs have sunk — while carrying riders — a whopping three times in Disney World.
So to me, the inclusion of “The Princess and the Frog” in the park makes perfect sense, especially considering its location in Disneyland. Splash Mountain exists on the edge between New Orleans Square and Critter Country. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure would perfectly encapsulate these two themes, taking place in New Orleans whilst hosting the cast of animal critters that are Tiana’s friends.
It works slightly less in Disney World, where Splash Mountain is located in Frontierland, a Wild-West themed area. This could potentially conflict with the New Orleans setting of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, but with some artistic liberties to the ride’s facade, it can fit with the historic American concept that Frontierland displays.
Tiana, the first Black Disney princess, would fit right in the Disney parks alongside her princess pals. She is not being “tokenized” to replace an outdated ride — she is simply being represented. While “The Princess and the Frog” itself still has its flaws, it is still newer, more relevant and much easier to explain and relate to for a new generation of Disney park goers. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will just be another step in the Disney parks’ goal to continue updating to reflect its growing media.
If you’re a Disney fan wary of the changes, just know you’re not alone. But try to understand the history of the ride and why perhaps “Song of the South” and its last legacy as Splash Mountain isn’t the representation it deserves … or needs. Disneyland still has its Splash Mountain for now, and until then, try to visit before it closes and get one last glimpse of those innocently unaware animals. Take the time not to forget what the ride has given families for almost 30 years, despite all its imperfections.
Or, you can just buy “Splash Mountain Water” on eBay for $500.
Feature image by Lauren Wong