At first, I thought it was just one of those April Fool’s-esque jokes, like when everyone was putting out articles that Cinderella’s castle would be changed to the Frozen castle. But as I read it from multiple sources, I realized that it was true. And my initial, knee-jerk reaction when I heard of this iconic Disney attraction changing was “No!”.
But the more I thought about it, the more I excited I became for the re-theme.
I kind of low-key hate Splash Mountain. Not the drop. The drop is the best part. I hate the show rooms. I already have a slight fear of animatronics, but the ones on Splash are terrifying. The animatronics look very old and move rigidly. Despite the fact that it is refurbished every winter, the “show” never really works right. There are constant animatronic failure and ride breakdown reports. Whether that’s due to the wear and tear of the ride or just the presence of social media, we’ll never know. But we’ve been hearing horror stories of animatronics with cracked eyeballs or missing parts for years. Supposedly, the animatronics are difficult to fix because the water prevents easy access to the mechanical parts. And the sound recordings are fuzzy like an old record player. When riding, I remember thinking how difficult it was to understand what the characters were saying, dialect aside. I have been secretly hoping Disney would shut the ride down for an extensive refurb and a re-recording of the dialogue. No matter how much you love Splash, you have to admit it has seen better days.
I high-key love Princess and the Frog. I adore the themes, setting and characters. So getting an attraction based off the movie? Awesome! And the fact that Disney will be using updated technology and now have a better understanding of how to place animatronics for easy repair access (looking at you, Betty) so the ride experience will be better than before? Amazing!
I know some people may be upset about changing such a classic Disney ride – and that is a natural reaction anytime something changes in the parks. But honestly, Princess and the Frog represents Disney much better than Song of the South. Princess and the Frog is about having faith in magic and wishing stars, but also working hard for what you want, and sharing your success with others. So many Disney artists, imagineers, performers, writers and other cast members all work hard to put together something that spreads magic to other’s lives. Princess and the Frog is a very fitting story to be represented at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom.
Trading the disgraceful state of Splash Mountain’s show rooms for updated ones that portray an underrated movie with a classic Disney message is a no-brainer.
I’m not here to tell you if I think Splash Mountain is racist or not. I’m here to say that maybe change isn’t as bad as it first seems. And I have no doubt that Disney will pull this off in a way that’s satisfactual.
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