In the summer of 2020, extremists hostile to America and the West dug up graves, toppled statues, renamed animals, melted busts, smashed church windows, and… Killing an iconic brandDisney was sure to get in on the action.
Amid the deadly Black Lives Matter riots, Disney announced a complete makeover of one of its theme park’s flagship rides, Splash Mountain, which has apparently sparked outrage among racist audiences for its depictions of characters and songs from Disney’s 1946 Oscar-winning musical, Song of the South, a Disney musical that tells a folk tale of former slaves during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War.
Even though it blew Estimation Despite a $150 million overhaul and a massive marketing campaign, Disney appears to have stumbled upon another flop.
“The new concept is inclusive – it’s something all our guests can relate to and be inspired by.”
Splash Mountain first opened at Disneyland in 1989; Disney World in Orlando got its own version a few years later. On both coasts, the ride tells the story of Brother Rabbit and his daring escape from the Fox and the Bear. For generations, the ride’s 52.5-foot plunge has hurled guests into the river and into the damp safety of a faux Briar Batch.
The consistent storyline, featuring anthropomorphic animals and a Southern setting, was clearly intolerable.
June 25, 2020, Disney Revealed Splash Mountain at both Disneyland Park in California and Magic Kingdom Park in Florida will soon be getting a complete makeover, with a theme inspired by Disney’s hit animated film, “The Princess and the Frog.”
“Our approach to retheming or ‘plusifying’ (as Walt Disney calls it) an attraction begins with Imagineers asking how they can develop and enhance the experience to tell a fresh, meaningful story,” the statement said. “And with a long history of updating attractions and adding new magic, retheming Splash Mountain is especially relevant today. The new concept is inclusive, relatable and inspiring for all our guests, and speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year.”
Despite over 100,000 fans Petition Disney is closing both attractions in early 2023 to preserve Splash Mountain.
“It has, in a sense, fulfilled its role.”
Based on the unsuccessful attraction, the new ride will use the same tracks as Splash Mountain and transport passengers on rail-equipped rafts carved out of logs, but according to The New York Times: report Disney spent an estimated $150 million to instead tell the story of main character Tiana trying to put together a band for a Mardi Gras party, using all-new decorations, sound effects and animatronics.
Ted Robredo, the attraction’s executive creative director, highlighted various “diversity” features to The New York Times, including a black main character, three musical styles and signs in Spanish and French.
“We’re always looking for ways to expand our reach,” Robledo said. “The older properties, for a variety of reasons, are no longer as relevant. In a way, they’ve outlived their usefulness.”
The Times cited several signs that potential park visitors were not interested.
9 minutes Point of View Video Tour One of the rides, uploaded to YouTube, had 10,000 likes and more than 38,000 dislikes as of Monday. Estimation The ratio of positive to negative comments on the video is roughly 1:200.
Many annual passholders who were allowed to try out the attraction in person ahead of its grand opening later this month also effectively gave “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” a thumbs down.
according to At Inside the Magic, the ride is plagued with breakdowns and malfunctions – it seems the ride’s hardware is having trouble maintaining and communicating with the new animatronics.
various video In the show shared online, the new characters are frozen in place while dialogue and music eerily plays. At least one guest appeared last week. Reportedly They were forced to evacuate due to vehicle malfunction.
Given the initial backlash and lack of support from racing enthusiasts, it’s unclear whether this new car will have the same longevity as its predecessor.
Katie Capaci, an English professor at Texas State University, told The Associated Press that the new attraction depicts “the racial realities of the segregation era.”
“The urge to replace, rather than tear down and build anew, could be seen as a metaphor for structural racism,” Capaci says. “Again, this was not intentional on Disney’s part, but this observation gets to the heart of how Disney reflects America back at it.”
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