An Iconic Disney Park Song Has Gone Extinct

Published: 1/20/23 12:07 pm ET

Updated: 1/23/23 9:35 am ET

The final days of Splash Mountain at Disneyland Park and Magic Kingdom Park have come and gone. Now, the Laughin’ Place is closed forever to make way for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. But Disneyland and Disney World fans did not just lose the chance to drop into the Briar Patch with Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Bear, and Br’er Fox. They also lost one of the most iconic and uplifting songs in Disney’s library.

Related: Here’s Where You Can Stream Disney’s ‘Song of the South’

Once Splash Mountain closed on January 23, 2023, the song “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” will cease to play in both of Disney’s American Theme Park Resorts.

Originating from Splash Mountain’s controversy-sparking source material, Disney’s Song of the South, “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” was a happy tune that dropped us into the cartoon world of Br’er Rabbit. It is a phrase that one shouts to express a state of joyful bliss, and its lyrics describe channel carefree blue sky days. One cannot help but smile at the very thought of the word.

As Uncle Remus (James Baskett) himself said, a “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Day” is “the kinda day where you can’t open your mouth without a song jump[ing] right out of it!” Where else can you expect to have a day like that but Disneyland or Disney World?

After all, hung on the entrance of both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom is the reminder that Guests are leaving the world of today and entering a world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy. It only makes sense that a song about escaping all of your worries is championed as an anthem for a place that gives Guests of all ages the opportunity to do just that.

It is arguably an upbeat alternative to “When You Wish Upon a Star” in its recognition as a Disney Parks song and a precursor to “Hakuna Matata” in the realm of feel-good movie songs.

But, alas, there appears to be no such recognition of its status from Walt Disney Imagineering. Disney Fanatic reported that the song has already been removed from the Magic Kingdom Park music, including the Festival of Fantasy Parade. And while there has been no explicit mention of it, it would seem that once the last place in a Disney Park where you can hear the song goes dark, the song itself will be confined to the archives and the playlists of hold-out fans.

Related: OpEd: Disney Should Auction Off Pieces of Splash Mountain

Personally, I don’t think that you need to be a fan of Splash Mountain or Song of the South to appreciate “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.” It is an emotional feel-good song that is timeless in its message and state of mind (which transcends any time and place, be it Reconstruction Era Georgia, California in the late 1980s, or Florida in 2023). There are, of course, other feel-good songs that will be going away once Splash Mountain closes, such as “Everybody’s Got a Laughin’ Place” and “How Do You Do?” But none of them reached a transcendence to define the joyful bliss one finds at a Disney Theme Park the way “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” did.

The fact is that a day at Disneyland or Disney World IS a Zip-a-dee-doo-dah day! “It’s the truth. It’s factual.” Because when you’re at Disney, “everything is satisfactul.” If anything from this controversy-sparking franchise should be saved and repurposed, it is this song.

Related: Here’s How Fans Can Still Experience Splash Mountain After January 23

For those who may not remember, here are the lyrics and a recording of the Disney Parks anthem for you to enjoy.

Uncle Remus:It happened on one of them Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah days. Now that’s the kind of day when you can’t open your mouth without a song jump right out of it.

Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-a-Dee-Ay
My oh my what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine headed my way
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-a-Dee-Ay
Mr. Bluebird’s on my shoulder
It’s the truth
It’s actual
Everything is satisfactual
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-a-Dee-Ay
Wonderful feeling
Wonderful day

Yessssssir.

Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-a-Dee-Ay
My oh my what a wonderful day
Moles: Oh, plenty of sunshine headed our way
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-a-Dee-Ay
Uncle Remus: Mr. Bluebird’s on my shoulder
It’s the truth (Hummingbirds: Mm-hmm)
It’s actual (Hummingbirds: Mmmmmm…)
Everything is satisfactual
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-a-Dee-Ay
Wonderful feeling
Feeling this way

(buzzing with the bees)
Zum, zum, zum, zum, zum, zum, zum
Zum, zum, zum, zum, zum, zum, zum
Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom a-boo!

Mr. Bluebird’s on my shoulder
It is the truth (Bees: Mm-mm!)
It’s actual (Hummingbirds: Mm-mmm!)

Huh?

Whar is dat bluebird?

(Mr. Bluebird whistles)

Mm-hmm!
Everything is satisfactual
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-a-Dee-Ay
Wonderful feeling
Wonderful d—

We at Disney Fanatic wish all of our readers have a Zip-a-dee-doo-dah day, wherever they are, and we will continue to update our readers on Disney Parks news and stories as more developments come to light.

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s and may not reflect the sentiments of Disney Fanatic as a whole.