Splash Mountain — Now With Less Racism — Is Set to Reopen at Disneyland
Out with the old, in with the new.
Splash Mountain is getting a much-needed makeover. Two years ago, Disney announced its plans to overhaul the popular animatronic attraction after an online petition garnered thousands of signatures. The ride, which sounds pretty generic, is rooted in racism directly from Disney’s problematic Song of the South film. Now the ride is set to reopen at Disneyland but with a lot less racism.
In 2020, Disney announced its plans to revamp the signature Splash Mountain ride. Vowing to remove the racism that stems from the movie the ride was based on, the overhaul will include a new storyline following Tiana from Princess And The Frog. While there haven’t been a lot of details released about how the makeover is going, there’s a tentative reopening date reportedly for 2024.
“They are making a ride—it’ll be out in 2024,” Anika Noni Rose, who voices Princess Tiana in the animated movie shared on Live With Kelly And Ryan. “I’ve been involved in the beginning, just talking about how we want it to be, what we want it to do, but, if I were to tell you anything else, I would be sucked into the ground, and you’d never see me again.”
According to AV Club, a spokesperson for Disney wouldn’t confirm the timeline, saying “timing has not been determined” for the new ride. However, it was noted that more details will be released at the Essence Festival of Culture which is taking place in New Orleans on June 30.
The team at Disney says the new ride will follow Tiana as she prepares for Mardi Gras celebration along with other characters from the film. The company noted they traveled to New Orleans to “immerse themselves in the culture of the city and its history to incorporate it into the ride's look and feel, from sounds to visuals that connect with the film's locales,” per Entertainment Weekly.
“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,” Disney said.
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