Some Disney Adults Can’t Let The Racist Ride Go – Rolling Stone

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There was a funeral at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom on Sunday night. It wasn’t for one person, mainly because strict park rules would never allow it, even if the person was buried in a Disney-branded casket. No, hundreds of Disney enthusiasts flocked to the Florida theme park to say goodbye to the controversial but much-loved Splash Mountain ride.

First opened in 1989, the ride is a 10-minute channel that takes viewers through the woods populated by singing animatronics and a final splash-heavy drop at the end. The so-called “retheming” of Splash Mountain is an effort by Disney to make its attractions more “inclusive” – ​​which is a very fancy way of saying that Disney is scrapping the ride because it’s based on a movie. notoriously racist.

Construction began Monday morning on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, a new version of the ride based on Disney’s first black princess, Tiana, from the 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog – making Sunday the last day to ride the Original Splash Mountain. And boy, oh boy, do adults at Disney know how to say goodbye. On TikTok, the hashtag #goodbyesplashmountain has 1 million views, with hundreds of viral videos capturing the more than four hours of waiting fans had to endure. Set to dismal Disney trailercore montages, Disney fans on TikTok captured the influx of people who flooded the park to watch the open carousel and were left in tears until the latest newspaper, full of Disney cast members, giving a final splash to a standing ovation.

Even though Splash Mountain was an institution in the Magic Kingdom park, the ride could never escape its racist origins. Its script and animatronics are all based on the 1946 Disney film Song of the South, a film heavily criticized for its romanticized view of the Reconstruction-era South. It portrays slaves as grateful for their masters, has animal characters with black features, and generally has such bad vibes that Disney dad and CEO Bob Iger even said the movie was “not appropriate. in the world of today”. Editor’s Choice

But some Disney fans weren’t particularly happy with the news of the new theme. Even after the final day of Splash Mountain was fixed, thousands of Disney fans online protested that the decision was an example of cancel culture and went from celebration to outright mourning. A 2020 change.org petition to stop the retheme has received more than 98,000 signatures, and even as late as Sunday night some TikTok commenters were still desperate to find a way to save their beloved log ride.

Since Friday, TikTok has been inundated with funeral tributes at the ride, fans have created a makeshift memorial at its gates, and hundreds of Disney-goers have waited outside the line to try to be the final group of guests. on board. There were montages of a crowd sobbing as the doors to Splash Mountain closed and there are even dozens of profiles on eBay listing jars, bottles and plastic bags of Splash Mountain water for sale. . “Rip Splash Mountain,” said dozens of comments. “It’s so sad,” read another comment on a video of a crowd chanting “One Last Splash!” before the carousel closes.

FYI, they’re changing the theme from Splash Mountain, which was Song of the South, a movie no kid remembers today and so racist Disney locked it in the vault forever, to Princess & the Frog, which introduced the first black Disney princess. That’s why people are crazy.

— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) January 23, 2023

To be honest, the outrage is not that deep. While the new ride is slated to open in 2024, released concept art shows little, other than the characters that will change during the ride. From all the answers, you would think they are razing the mountain in front of thousands of crying children.

The sisters and Disney content creators @themouselets hit the park on Friday for one last ride. While the two say Splash Mountain has held many memories for them and other park-goers, they (and many others) are thrilled to see a dangerous ride unfold. Tendency

“We’re really sad to see a ride that was nostalgic to leave us, but we’re super excited for the change because we think it was really needed,” they told Rolling Stone. “Especially for a ride that had racist ties.” According to @themouselets, most other Disney adults agree that some of the reactions are overdone. But the couple say it’s high time Tiana had her own attraction – and they’re already planning their next visit.

“We can’t wait for the new theme. Getting a new ride, especially in Magic Kingdom, is pretty rare,” they say. “Going to Tiana makes us really happy. We will try to go down like, literally, the day it opened.

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