Walt Disney World has closed its famous Splash Mountain water ride, the Magic Kingdom attraction that for years had been criticized for having racist roots. But not everyone was happy to see the ride.
closed on sundayand for Tuesday, the hashtag TikTok #goodbyesplashmountain had attracted 1.6 million views. grim tribute videos to the ride game with the song «Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah», some of which claimed to show the last times of visitors riding their log boats over its 45 degree drop waterfall, had thousands of me like.
«I will always miss you. Goodbye, Splash Mountain,» said the subtitle of a video which had over 1,300 likes on Tuesday afternoon.
another video claims to show a wait of more than two hours to board the last day.
Other Disney devotees, some of whom are known as «adult Disney,» sought to capitalize on the attraction closures by listing more than 70 bottles, jars and plastic bags filled with what they claim to be «Splash Mountain water.» on ebay. Some vendors said the liquid was stolen during the last few days of the trip’s operation.
The containers garnered dozens of bids, with some buyers offering to pay more than $50.
The closure of the 30-year-old attraction, which Princess Diana visited in 1993, follows a turnaround call because it features several characters from the 1946 Disney film «Song of the South,» which featured racist stereotypes.
The film, set on a plantation, characteristics an old black man known as Uncle Remus who tells traditional African-American folktales to white children cared for by black servants.
The years of its launch, Walter White, former executive secretary of the NAACP, saying the film «helps perpetuate a dangerously glorified image of slavery.»
In March 2020, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that the film would not appear on the streaming service Disney+, saying that it is «not appropriate in today’s world». reported deadline.
That June, Disney Announced Splash Mountain would be «reimagined» as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, based on Disney’s first black princess featured in the 2009 film «The Princess and the Frog.»
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to Open at Both Magic Kingdoms and disneyland parkin Anaheim, California, in 2024. (It was not immediately clear when Splash Mountain at Disneyland Park closed.)
“The new concept is inclusive, one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year,” Disney said in 2020 when announcing the new feature. .
The Tokyo Disneyland website does not indicate whether your Splash Mountain Ride will close.
A Walt Disney World representative did not immediately respond to questions Tuesday.
A Change.org Petition created three years ago that denounced Splash Mountain’s racist images and demanded that it be replaced with a ride dedicated to «The Princess and the Frog» garnered more than 21,000 signatures.
«While the ride is considered a beloved classic, it is [sic] the story and plot are infused with extremely problematic and stereotypical racist tropes from the 1946 film Song of the South,» the petition states.
A «To Save Splash Mountain» counter-petition has attracted more than 99,000 signatures.
“Splash Mountain has never included depictions of slaves or any racist elements and is based solely on historical African folktales that families of all ethnicities have enjoyed for nearly a century,” the petition states. «It is absurd to please a small group of «Disney haters» who do not [sic] understand the story and change the subject of such a nostalgic trip.
Splash Mountain is no stranger to controversy: In 2018, it made headlines when Walt Disney World banned a man who rode it while holding a «Trump 2020» sign.
