Tag Archives: splash mountain

Disneyland Splash Mountain Officially Closed

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Following the closure of Walt Disney World’s Splash Mountain on January 23, Disneyland closed the doors on the original Splash Mountain ride yesterday, May 31.

The ride will be re-themed as “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure”, based upon the characters from Disney’s 2009 film The Princess and The Frog. It is currently scheduled to re-open in 2024.

In 2019, a petition was opened by Alex O. to re-theme Splash Mountain to “remove all traces of this racist movie”, and after 20,000 signatures, Disney agreed to it. Meanwhile, a petition to Save Splash Mountain opened by Eric Thibeault garnered over 80,000 signatures, but predictably fell upon deaf mouse ears.

Disneyland’s Splash Mountain was the first of three locations opened in 1989, followed by WDW and Tokyo Disneyland in 1992. Tokyo Disneyland’s Splash Mountain is now the last surviving location, and at least for now it seems to be safe from a “reimagining”.

1992 Press photo from WDW’s Splash Mountain

Splash Mountain Closing January 2023; Bob Iger Returns as Disney CEO

Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and all the other characters of the beloved Splash Mountain ride at Disneyland and Walt Disney World are taking their final bows: it has been announced that Walt Disney World’s Splash Mountain as we know it will be closing forever on January 23, 2023.

At that time, it will be under an extended closure for re-theming the ride as “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure”, based upon the characters from Disney’s 2009 film The Princess and The Frog.

The iconic ride opened in 1989 in Disneyland, and in 1992 at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. It is unknown at this time if Tokyo Disneyland will also be rethemed or will remain as is, but no announcements have been made that I’m aware of.

In 2019, a petition was opened by Alex O. to re-theme Splash Mountain to “remove all traces of this racist movie”, and after 20,000 signatures, Disney agreed to it. Meanwhile, a petition to Save Splash Mountain opened by Eric Thibeault garnered over 80,000 signatures, but predictably fell upon deaf mouse ears.

In other news, Bob Iger unexpectedly returned in November as Disney CEO to replace Bob Chapek, who was originally his successor in 2020. Both Bobs have been outspoken in their opposition to releasing Song of the South (even with disclaimers) to the public, so it’s unlikely this move will have any effect on the film remaining buried.

Disney Plans to “Completely Reimagine” Splash Mountain

On June 10, it was reported that some Disney fans were petitioning Disney to re-theme Splash Mountain to a ride based on The Princess and the Frog instead, and remove all traces of Song of the South due to its “racist” content. Song of the South was last released theatrically in the United States in 1986, a few years before Splash Mountain’s grand opening at Disneyland in 1989. The ride proved so popular that 2 additional locations at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland were opened in 1992.

Today, the Disney Parks Twitter account has tweeted the following:

“We’re thrilled to share Splash Mountain at @Disneyland & @WaltDisneyWorld will be completely reimagined with a new story inspired by an all-time favorite @DisneyAnimation film, “The Princess and the Frog.” Learn about what Imagineers have in development: https://bit.ly/3hUY0Gq“

The petition to re-theme Splash Mountain to The Princess and the Frog had gained 21,383 signatures before “declaring victory” (no more signatures can be added).

Meanwhile, a counter-petition “To Save Splash Mountain and keep it as it is in Magic Kingdom and Disneyland” has garnered over 40,000 signatures so far.

So far there have not been any mention of plans to re-theme the third Splash Mountain location at Tokyo Disneyland.

Some Disney Fans Petitioning for Splash Mountain Re-Theme

A CNN article published today reports that some Disney fans want to re-theme Splash Mountain to a ride based on “The Princess and the Frog” instead, and remove all traces of Song of the South, the film which has been “widely considered the studio’s most racist.” Song of the South was last released theatrically in 1986, a few years before Splash Mountain’s 1989 grand opening. Song of the South has never been made available in the U.S. despite being sold by Disney worldwide until 2001. Today, it remains unavailable, and Disney has made it clear they have no plans to make it available on Disney’s new streaming movie service, Disney+.

Splash Mountain is the popular theme park ride loosely based on Song of the South’s animated sequences, which in turn were based on the tales of Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris. The ride features Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear, and other repurposed animatronics from the defunct America Sings attraction. The ride has locations at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland, and remains one of the park’s most popular attractions. “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”, the Academy Award winning song from Song of the South, is the centerpiece of the ride’s finale.

One such individual, Alex O, has started a petition to retheme Splash Mountain. At the time of writing this article, it has so far received over 2,800 signatures. At this rate, it will quickly surpass the petition to release Song of the South on Disney+.

Provost Park Pass Interviews Splash Mountain Voice Actor Jess Harnell

On November 6, Provost Park Pass published on YouTube a behind-the-scenes interview at Disneyland with one of my personal favorite celebrity voice actors: Jess Harnell! Jess is the talented voice behind many, many childhood memories, including Wakko Warner from the Animaniacs, Roger Rabbit, and several voices on Splash Mountain, including Brer Rabbit:

If you’re also a Jess Harnell fan, be sure to check out the Twisted Toonz YouTube channel to see Jess hilariously perform alongside other prominent voice actors including Maurice LaMarche, Tress MacNeille, Jim Cummings, Rob Paulsen, and many more. I’ve gotta say, there’s nothing quite as amusing as hearing Darth Vader lines being delivered by Winnie The Pooh (courtesy of Jim Cummings)! And while I know this isn’t Song of the South related, I was also very excited to hear that the Animaniacs will be rebooted next year on Hulu, and all the original voice actors above will be returning as well. It’s simply not the Animaniacs without them!

Special thanks to Philip Kippel for sharing a link to the video on our Song of the South Facebook page, and thanks to Provost Park Pass and Jess Harnell for the great feature!