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Months after the grand opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Walt Disney World Resort seemingly revoked one of its cultural sensitivity decisions about the legacy of Splash Mountain.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opened at Magic Kingdom Park in June. The first iteration of The Princess and the Frog (2009) retheme remains incredibly popular, only accessible by Virtual Queue and Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
Unfortunately, the Frontierland attraction has struggled to keep up with demand. Even before officially opening Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Walt Disney World Resort canceled multiple Annual Passholder and Disney cast member previews of the attraction hours before Magic Kingdom Park closed.
Credit: Disney
When Walt Disney Imagineering rethemed Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, cast members re-tracked parts of the ride. Still, the decades-old attraction experiences maintenance issues when entertaining thousands of guests daily. The advanced audio animatronics of Princess Tiana, Mama Odie, Louis, and other characters also break down regularly.
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As Disneyland Resort finishes constructing its version of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Magic Kingdom Park reignited interest in the now-defunct Splash Mountain.
Credit: Disney
The Walt Disney Company has removed most traces of Splash Mountain and its inspiration, Song of the South (1946). The musical film is widely banned for its racist depiction of life in the United States post-Civil War. Activists criticized its white-washing and stereotyping of living conditions for newly freed Black Americans, especially those who remained stuck on plantations through sharecropping and other oppressive policies.
Besides retheming Splash Mountain and vaulting Song of the South, The Walt Disney Company took other measures to remove the franchise from the public. The Disney Store and Disney parks no longer sell merchandise of the attraction, film, or its characters, including Br’er Rabbit. “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” and other iconic songs were removed from music loops throughout the Disney Resort hotels and theme parks.
Credit: Disney
This week, though, guests noticed that a trace of Splash Mountain returned to Magic Kingdom Park. Reddit user u/Competitive_solid_68 wrote:
“I heard Everybody’s Got A Laughing Place from Splash Mountain in the Magic Kingdom entrance loop today. Couldn’t believe my ears at first. Has anyone else heard this?”
Another Disney Park guest confirmed that Walt Disney World Resort still uses “Everybody Has a Laughing Place.”
“Yep. Heard it the other day too,” said u/Minerva_Minerva.
It’s unclear how long Walt Disney World Resort has been using “Everybody Has A Laughing Place.”
Credit: Tokyo Disney Resort
Tokyo Disney Resort is the only Disney park maintaining its version of Splash Mountain. “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” and other Song of the South songs still play throughout Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, and on the Monorail loop.
Have you noticed any traces of defunct attractions at Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park? Share your experience with us in the comments.
Popular ???? Every one that I have talked to that has ridden the “new” ride has said that it doesn’t hold a candle to the original “Splash Mountain”. Who am I to believe ??? I’ll be down in WDW in October….guess I’ll find out for myself. But from all I’ve heard about “bare spots” in the ride, and breakdowns, I already have a negative attitude.
BTW, I’ve been to WDW three times and had been on SM four times…….never had a problem !!!