of collective human stupidity:
It all depends what prism you view it through.
.
.
.
.
.
I apologize unreservedly.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna67203
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 go.
It closed Sunday, and by Tuesday, the TikTok hashtag #goodbyesplashmountain had attracted 1.6 million views. Somber tribute videos to the ride set to the song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” — some of which claimed to show visitors’ last times riding its log boats over its waterfall with a 45-degree drop — had thousands of likes.
“I will miss you forever. Goodbye, Splash Mountain,” read the caption of a video that had more than 1,300 likes Tuesday afternoon.
A Change.org petition created three years ago that decried Splash Mountain’s racist imagery and demanded 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’s history and storyline are steeped in extremely problematic and stereotypical racist tropes from the 1946 film Song of the South,” the petition says.
A counter-petition “To Save Splash Mountain” 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 been enjoying for nearly a century,” that petition says. “It is absurd to pander to a small group of ‘Disney haters’ that dont understand the story, and re-theme such a nostalgic ride.”
The “ride” isn’t going away permanently, you idiots. Just the theming.
Uh… Splash Mountain had the most extensive and immersive animatronics of any ride at the Magic Kingdom. It’s what made the ride Great. So it’s hard to dismiss it as “just” anything.
Ripping them all out and replacing them could result in a substantially lousier ride. I understand why they are doing it… and I don’t have a lot of faith they won’t fuck this up (a lot of the newer WDW rides have non working elements within a year or two of opening).
Most of the animatronics came from repurposed America Sings rigs. I never really felt the theming (even discounting the awful movie) was immersive, but if it resonated with you I’m not going to say you’re opinion is wrong.
Regardless, Disney rides get refreshed all the time. Where was the outrage when Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was replaced with the Guardians of the Galaxy ride?
That was only in Disneyland though - Disneyworld still has the original Tower of Terror themed drop ride. It’s a bit different when both parks are updated.