We have some BIG attraction news, you guys!
Splash Mountain
Disney has JUST announced that they will be re-theming Disney World and Disneyland’s Splash Mountain attractions.
Splash Mountain on both coasts will be re-themed and will be inspired by The Princess and the Frog. Recently, a petition to re-theme the attraction began circulating, and now, Disney has announced that they will be doing just that. You can see the full petition here.
However, according to Disney, “Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative arm of the company, has been developing a “Princess and the Frog” backstory for Splash Mountain since last year and settled on many of the concepts for the reimagined attraction last summer.”
©Disney
Details on the New Theme
According to Disney, the attraction will pick up the story of The Princess and the Frog “after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.” The project will be led my Imagineer Charita Carter, who also oversaw the creation of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway in Hollywood Studios.
Splash Mountain
When it comes to the approach to re-theming the attraction, Disney shared that it “begins with Imagineers asking the question, how can we build upon or elevate the experience and tell a fresh, relevant story? It’s a continuous process that Imagineers are deeply passionate about. And with this longstanding history of updating attractions and adding new magic, the retheming of Splash Mountain is of particular importance today. The new concept is inclusive – one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year.”
Why Princess and the Frog and Why Now
Bob Weis, president of Walt Disney Imagineering, shared with D23 that “Tiana is a modern, courageous, and empowered woman who pursues her dreams while never losing sight of what’s really important. So it’s a great story with a strong lead character, set against the backdrop of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou.” Weis mentioned that in 1966, Walt Disney opened New Orleans Square “when it became the first new “land” added to Disneyland, so it feels natural to link the story of The Princess and the Frog to the park.”
Princess Tiana
Weis also shared that there is no expiration on good storytelling and said that Disney would be missing a lot of opportunities if they limited themselves to a specific period of time.
Refurbishment Timeline
So when will this big overhaul take place exactly? According to Weis, Disney has separate project teams working on these efforts but they are still evaluating the project timelines due to the closures. He also shared that several projects, like Avengers Campus in Disneyland and Disneyland Paris, are able to push forward due to where Disney was in development pre-closure. “There are others that will be picked back up in stages—like Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and TRON —and some that are longer-term that we will need more time to assess.”
Weis stated that they are still working to determine the timing for this project. As of now, Magic Kingdom and Disneyland will re-open with the existing Splash Mountain attractions.
As we learn more about this new theme, we will be sure to let you know. So be sure to check DFB for all the details!
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What do you think of this change? Let us know in the comments below
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I think we all know this is happening because of Splash Mountain’s backstory. This theming makes absolutely zero sense for Frontierland and Bob Weis’ reasoning makes zero sense. The Princess and the Frog should have an attraction but this is a really strange fit. I feel like Disney is just under a lot of pressure due to the ride’s controversial themes.
Can anyone tell me where that mountain is located in NOLA? Haven’t seen it before.
Are they going to add a New Orleans Square connecting the Reimagined Splash Mountain (Princess and the Frog Bayou Ride) to Adventure Land? Because that would be awesome.
Colleen, we will have to wait and see!
they should of used Tom Sawyer’s island, it would or worked great even has a paddle boat
Crossing my fingers for a beignet stand!!!
This is so exciting! My girls can’t wait to boat through the bayou!
I’m excited to see what comes of this. I think The Princess and the Frog is very worthy of an attraction. I agree with Melissa, a beignet stand would be AWESOME.
Epcot is the park there could be a Land for it Rides ,Parades, F ood , Disney do it right .Everyone .would Winnn erssss!!!😀
I have never ridden Splash Mountain (my daughter has a thing about walking around with a wet butt – I know lol) so, I have no emotional attachment to it. Maybe on our next trip we can get her on Splash Mountain and then on a future trip we will be able to ride the new re-themed ride. I think the artist rendering of the possible re-themed ride is awesome. But, I have been reading comments on twitter and they are awful! The gist of the comments are – If you are against the change, you are a racist (regardless of why you are against the change). I sincerely wish the people wanting everyone to be accepting of everyone would return the courtesy. Thank you DFB for keeping us updated on all things Disney!
Are they also going to “reimagine” Tokyo Disneyland’s Splash Mountain??
Glad to see that Tiana will have more representation in the park. Children should be exposed to a variety of princesses
Oddly, Splash Mountains are based on Song of the South movie. But because it has been deemed racist (which I don’t agree, but whatever) it has never been released on video or released in the US in MANY years. My kids in their 20’s have never seen it. (you could get it on a Japanese import laserdisc for a while, but I don’t think it is available anymore). so updating it to a movie that people under 30 have actually seen makes sense. I will miss it as It was a favorite and the first movie I ever saw in a theatre in 1970. But Princess and the frog is at least something more current and their target guests have seen.
I agree I would love to see them make a New Orleans square and take over Tom Sawyer Island, Use Aunt Polly’s as a Tiana’s place for beignets. It could be done without too much work, just a tall enough bridge to allow the Make Twain to cross under. And bring in a new sit down place akin to Disneyland’s Blue Bayou, and those wonderful Monte Cristos.
I think the ride can effectively transition to the Princess & The Frog setting considering it is water-based. The final scene already has an old fashioned riverboat which fits with New Orleans. An extensive re-theming should result in improved effects considering that technology has changed greatly since the original introduction of Splash Mountain. Princess and The Frog is already dated tough considering it was released in 2009 and is hardly fresh to the public, but the same can be said about Tron. My guess is that a large percentage of riders of Splash Mountain would be unable to name what movie is connected to the ride.
Tina my idea 💡is to have a new ride for Princes Tiana in Epcot her own land Ride, Parades, Food and gift 🎁 shop . If you Disney needs to do it . There is no reason to get rid a of this ride because of pressure Disney can not handle it ! Spend the 💰 and give her own “Land ” I would love this another landing would show diversity. The real diversity Disney is not spend a.lot of money to make $$$ MONEY . To re – theme a old ride
and fix it not good enough !!!!😣
I think they should keep it as the classic it has been for the past few decades, but their park, they do what they want with it. Just IMHO.
I would rather have seen Disney “reimagine’ and update “Song of the South”. Re-frame the live action portion to the 2020s, the visited plantation has been converted to a museum, the story then follows a group of kids learning about plantation life (more accurately, removing the idyllic portrayal depicted in the original), there could be a section of the museum on the folktales – cut in updated Br’er Rabbit animations. I would rather see past mistakes used as learning opportunities instead of plastered over and hidden (and Tiana deserves her own ride concept, instead of being forced into the Splash Mountain cover up).
I would rather have seen Disney “reimagine’ and update “Song of the South”. Re-frame the live action portion to the 2020s, the visited plantation has been converted to a museum, the story then follows a group of kids learning about plantation life (more accurately, removing the idyllic portrayal depicted in the original), there could be a section of the museum on the folktales – cut in updated Br’er Rabbit animations. I would rather see past mistakes used as learning opportunities instead of plastered over and hidden (and Tiana deserves her own ride concept, instead of being forced into the Splash Mountain cover up).
Splash Mountain has always been one of my favorite rides. When my son was young, we loved spending time in the line, reading the charming story as we moved along. It has such special memories. And for me, growing up a poor white child, I loved Uncle Remus. We called him Uncle for a reason. He was part of our family. Destroying history is not the way to succeed. I will be boycotting Disney due to this lack of courage and common sense.
Julie, I’m of the same opinion. (Which I expressed previously, but for whatever reason my comment was never published.) Disney has lost all respect for its history, its fans, and the families who spend their hard-earned money in its parks. Disney parks are losing their magic, while the corporation charges guests an outrageous amount of money. This is just the most recent of many bad decisions. It’s time to explore other American theme parks. Dollywood is next on my list.