The Walt Disney Company has announced that the Splash Mountain attraction at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland will be re-themed to reflect the story of the 2009 Disney animated feature, The Princess And The Frog.
The company says the re-theming has been planned since at least last year.
“We pick-up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure — featuring some of the powerful music from the film — as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance,” says the Disney Parks Blog.
The current concept for Splash Mountain reflects the 1946 Song Of The South Disney movie. The film has been accused of having racist undertones that were admissible when the movie was made, but are far from acceptable in modern day times. Song Of The South has not been re-released by Disney in any form of media in decades.
Set in 1926 New Orleans, The Princess And The Frog tells the story of a hardworking waitress named Tiana, a woman of color, who dreams of opening her own restaurant. After kissing a prince who has been turned into a frog by an evil voodoo sorcerer, Tiana becomes a frog herself and must find a way to turn back into a human before it’s too late.
“We continually evaluate opportunities to enhance and elevate experiences for all our guests,” said Carmen Smith, Creative Development and Inclusive Strategies executive with Walt Disney Imagineering. “It is important that our guests be able to see themselves in the experiences we create. Because we consider ourselves constant learners, we go to great lengths to research and engage cultural advisors and other experts to help guide us along the way. I am incredibly proud to see this work continue to move forward with great support from leadership across Disney.”
Both parks will reopen with the existing Splash Mountain attraction while Imagineers work behind the scenes to prepare the attraction for its “reimagining.”
No timeline has been announced for when the changeover will begin.
The times they are a’changing!
*** Feature Image: Disney
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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