Disney Changing The Splash Mountain Ride Because It's Based On A Racist Movie

Disney will reimagine both of the Splash Mountain rides at its California and Florida theme parks. The company announced on Thursday they would change the rides so it is no longer based on a movie that the company now acknowledges as offensive.

The rides were inspired by the animated sequences in the 1946 movie Song of the South. The film, won an Oscar for its song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," which follows a young boy visiting his grandmother's plantation after the Civil War.

The company said they have had designers working on reimaging thr rides since last year to "re-theme" the ride as a bayou-inspired tribute to the 2009 animated movie The Princess and the Frog, which features Tiana, Disney's first Black princess.

Concept art of “Princess and the Frog" ride theme. Courtesy/ Disney

"With this longstanding history of updating attractions and adding new magic, the re-theming of Splash Mountain is of particular importance today," wrote Disneyland Resort public relations director Michael Ramirez in a post on the company's website. "The new concept is inclusive – one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year."

Michael Jenkins June 27, 2020