Disney’s Splash Mountain to close in January
Disney World goers will see a change of water rides when 2023 gets underway.
The Disney Parks Blog said Friday the Splash Mountain ride that has kept amusement park visitors entertained for more than 30 years is shutting down Jan. 23. Park workers will spend the rest of the year constructing Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which is slated to open in 2024.
Splash Mountain became a source of controversy in 2020 when an online petition called for the log ride, which was inspired by the racially charged 1946 film “Song of the South,” to be revisited on account of its antiquated theme invoking racial stereotypes.
More than 20,000 people signed that petition, saying the ride’s “history and storyline are steeped in extremely problematic and stereotypical racist tropes.”
Some conservatives complained the theme park was sacrificing tradition in the name of modern day sensibilities.
Taking Splash Mountain’s place will be a theoretically more inclusive ride inspired by the animated 2009 cartoon “The Princess and the Frog,” which centers around the entertainment empire’s first Black princess character.
The new ride, according to Disney Parks, has a New Orleans theme including a “jazz-loving alligator” to entertain riders passing through a fantastical bayou.
Disney Parks Blog said “Additional information about Splash Mountain at Disneyland Resort will be shared at a later date.”
