Fans Call Out Disney’s Hypocrisy After Ending Splash Mountain, but Bringing Deadpool to the Parks

When The Walt Disney Company started its feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the state’s Parental Rights in Education Act, known by its critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, DeSantis and his allies continually said that Disney had “gone woke.”

Related: Eighteen Months After Being Shown the Door, Be’er Rabbit Returns to the Magic Kingdom

The explanation of what “gone woke” meant was open to interpretation, but under most circumstances, it meant that The Walt Disney Company accepted the LGBTQ+ community in its films, and every Disney Park would remove any offensive racial stereotypes.

That meant that many of the rides and attractions in Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort would get updates to remove offensive characters or stereotypes.

In 2020, during his first tenure, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that Splash Mountain would close in the Magic Kingdom and at Disneyland Park.

Related: Disney Tries to Erase the Last Remnants of Splash Mountain at Every Theme Park

That announcement and the subsequent opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure have been met with fierce resistance from Splash Mountain fans, who took to social to protest Bob Iger and his decision. They have continued their protests even after Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opened at the Magic Kingdom and take great joy in every breakdown.

However, that decision meant that Disney would no longer allow stereotypes or offensive characters in any Disney Park. The company took a stand, sort of.

Despite removing Splash Mountain and scenes from the Jungle Cruise and Peter Pan’s Flight, Disney continues to ignore some of its more offensive characters and attractions.

Related: ‘It’s Those Damn Save Splashers,’ Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Vandalism Blamed on Splash Mountain Fans

This selective political correctness has gotten The Walt Disney Company in trouble on both sides. Some believe Disney has gone too far, while others see this as a half-hearted effort to appease a small group of people.

So, let’s examine what Disney World and Disneyland have done so far and what remains in the parks that is still considered offensive.

Removed From an Attraction

When Splash Mountain was removed from the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Park, fans were angry about the decision. Some even went so far as to drink the water from their beloved attraction.

The original Splash Mountain is based on the Walt Disney film Song of the South (1946). During its 100th Anniversary, The Walt Disney Company tried to highlight many of its achievements in the film industry; however, Song of the South was notably absent from that celebration.

Song of the South is accused of using racial stereotypes, especially in the character of Uncle Remus. However, Walt Disney knew that the film would cause controversy when it was in production.

During the filming, Disney hired African-American writer Clarence Muse as a screenplay consultant, hoping he could tamper down some of the racial issues in the writing. But Muse quit after his suggestions to portray African Americans with dignity and not to feed into racial stereotypes were ignored.

Song of the South is Disney’s most racist film, and it would make sense that the company would try to bury it. The movie cannot be found on Disney+, nor was it released as a part of Disney’s box set.

However, Splash Mountain is not the only attraction that has been updated to remove offensive characters or scenes. Most recently, the Walt Disney World Resort removed an offensive character from the Country Bear Jamboree because of its ties to alcohol and its offensive name.

Disney also updated Pirates of the Caribbean to remove from the ride the auction of captured women and men chasing women around the town.

Disney also updated Peter Pan’s Flight and the Jungle Cruise to remove offensive and stereotypical depictions of native peoples.

These decisions make perfect sense for a company that wants as many people as possible to come to its theme park and feel welcome. However, other choices that Disney has made on this front seem less sensible.

What Remains in a Disney Park

Fresh off a monster first weekend and on its way to making $1 billion, Disney decided to bring Deadpool & Wolverine to Disney’s California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort. Deadpool & Wolverine met fans and made jokes about Splash Mountain and Disney’s acquisition of Fox Studios.

Related: Parents Furious Over R-Rated ‘Deadpool’ Experience at Disney Parks

While audiences at the Disney Park loved their interactions with Deadpool & Wolverine, not everyone was thrilled. Parents voiced their concern that a Disney Park had characters from an R-rated movie interacting with young guests.

Parents took to social media to voice their concerns, not necessarily that the characters were in the parks, but that their children may want to see the film after interacting with an R-rated character. The latest Deadpool film is considered the raunchiest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Disney’s interactions with Deadpool got a little dicey after the character joked about Tony Stark being on Grindr, a dating app primarily used by the LGBTQ+ community.

The decision to unleash Deadpool on Disneyland audiences seemed to make sense, especially after Bob Iger said that Disney would focus on its intellectual properties in its theme parks. However, bringing the controversial character from an R-rated film doesn’t necessarily fit with Disney’s operations in its parks over the last few years.

Getting rid of Splash Mountain because some people found it offensive made sense but intentionally introducing a character that people with children found offensive didn’t.

This isn’t the only example of Disney’s selective political correctness. Aerosmith’s frontman, Steven Tyler, has been accused by at least two women of sexual assault. Yet, the ride that bears the name of his band remains in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Disney had the perfect opportunity to remove Aerosmith from the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster earlier this year when it was down for refurbishment. Disney also had suitable replacements in Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi, with whom the company recently started a relationship through its television and film division.

There was also the Taylor Swift option. After Disney inked its deal with Swift for The Eras Tour Taylor’s Version, there were rumors that a Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster remake was possible.

However, all of those options were discarded, and Disney decided to stick with Tyler and Aerosmith. Again, Disney chose its selective political correctness rather than doing what was right; in this case, it was easy.

So, what now?

It’s hard to say what Disney and CEO Bob Iger will do next. However, this week will be very telling.

Disney will make major park expansion announcements at this year’s D23 Expo this week. The Animal Kingdom expansion, “Beyond Big Thunder Mountain” at the Magic Kingdom, and Disneyland Forward in Southern California should be included in Disney’s plans.

Is Iger planning on changing any other Disney rides and attractions that some people may find offensive? Possibly.

There have been rumors that the opening scene at the Haunted Mansion might change with the hanging ghost, as some people find that it undermines suicide and mental health prevention.

With sensibilities and awareness constantly changing, it’s hard to say what changes will happen to Disney World and Disneyland. However, Disney only takes half of the measures, angering everyone.

What do you think of Disney changing rides and attractions people find offensive?