A petition on Change.org that demanded a concept revision of Disney’s Splash Mountain reached over 21,000 supporters within a span of a few weeks. On June 25, the parks announced that Splash Mountain will be “completely reimagined” inspired by a fan favorite film: The Princess and the Frog.

Splash Mountain opened in 1989 and was modeled after the controversial Disney film Song of the South (1946). Song of the South has always been characterized as racist and offensive. When the movie was first released, NAACP’s (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) executive secretary, Walter White, shared that the film “helps to perpetuate a dangerously glorified picture of slavery” and “gives the impression of an idyllic master-slave relationship which is a distortion of the facts.” Although the classic Splash Mountain has been operating for decades, the origins of the ride can no longer be overlooked by Disney fans and guests.

Michael Ramirez, the Public Relations Director of Disneyland, stated that Disneyland Park in California and Magic Kingdom Park in Florida had already been working on re-theming Splash Mountain since last year; Charita Carter, a Senior Creative Producer and Walt Disney Imagineer, says the new idea will be inclusive and “speaks to the diversity” of visitors.

This is not the first change that Disney has made edits to their attractions due to controversy. In 2018, a scene in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride was altered because an “auction scene” showed pirates selling women into marriage. A banner that said “Auction Take a Wench for a Bride” was displayed over a woman walking onto a podium. Now, the woman who was being sold was revised and made into a pirate and the phrase “Take a Wench for a Bride” was removed.

Despite the racial offenses the ride displays, some fans tweet that the attraction should not be changed due to its being a “classic” and “iconic.” Is it time for Splash Mountain to change, or should the ride be left alone? What do you think?

BY CHELSEA LEE