Splash Mountain is going to get a facelift. Whether you like it or not, Splash Mountain’s theme and overall look is based on a property by Disney that is somewhat offensive. It’s just the truth. The film The Song of the South is from 1946. Racial tensions, inclusiveness, and all that were completely different back then. It doesn’t make it right, and Disney has, and is, rectifying the situation. There’s a reason Splash Mountain is the only time that film is ever mentioned from the House of Mouse. You can read more about it straight from the source, here.

Splash Mountain

For years people have been clamoring to replace the antiquated theme of the ride. To replace it with one that is more modern, with the times, and quite frankly, not built upon racism. Sure “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Da” is fun to sing along with Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear and all that, but the fact still looms over the ride. Disney saw a shot with their parks being either closed, or not at full capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They’re going to take it.

What film or location is Disney looking to, for the change? It’s going to be none other than the Louisiana bayou of Princess and the Frog.

It is really exciting to know that Princess Tiana’s presence in both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom will finally be fully realized! As passionate as I am about what we created, I know the fans are going to be over the moon,” Rose said. “The Imagineers are giving us ‘The Princess and the Frog’ Mardi Gras celebration we’ve been waiting for, and I’m here for it!

Anika Noni Rose, Voice Actress for Tiana
Splash Mountain

What Does The Timeline Look Like For Splash Mountain?

It really depends on what Disney and their Imagineers decide to do. If they just do a facelift of the inside, that could be done fairly quickly. A re-do of the ride track and all that might be an entirely different timeline. All we know is that the ride is being changed to this new theme.

Princess and the Frog couldn’t have been a better choice to replace the current theme. Splash Mountain is one of the biggest attractions at Disneyland and The Magic Kingdom. It’s wonderful on a hot day, or it’s great as the park is closing down at night. Once you reach the top, and you’re about to plummet down, you can see all of Disneyland around you. I couldn’t be happier about this change, but the one thing that I hope Disney does, is keep some of the old animatronics. They did this before with the animatronic characters on Splash Mountain from a previous attraction. So hopefully the trend continues.

This is a fantastic change for the better. Bravo to Disney for recognizing that this change needed to be made. Hopefully it and Disneyland are back up and running sometime soon.

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Source: Disney Parks