If you’ve ever been to Disney, you know that there are certain iconic “must-do” rides that are almost mandatory to complete before exiting the park. Some of these include Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. They’re the rides that everyone has talked about and insists you must try. Amongst these famous rides is Splash Mountain, which has been in operation at Disney Land since 1989 and at Disney World since 1992.
It was a log flume ride that took guests inside and outside of Splash Mountain and included two steep drops inside and outside (with the outside one being more notable), as it passed in and out of the mountain. I think the main reason Disney Park enthusiasts went on the ride was due to its beloved final drop and the picture that came right before. I had no idea what the characters on the inside of the ride represented, or where the music in the background had come from, although I did recognize the “Zip-a-dee-do-dah” song from elementary school.
After hearing that Splash Mountain closed down last week, I was instantly curious as to why and did some research. The ride had been open my entire life and I never thought it would close. After I learned why it closed, however, I completely agreed with the decision. Splash Mountain is based on Disney’s Song of the South, released in 1946, which plays into racist stereotypes and inaccurately represents what plantation life was like post-Civil War.
According to World of Walt, the movie was essentially a “metaphor of slave resistance” and Disney has since removed the movie from viewing. This entire situation is representative of white privilege— while white people were unaware of the history behind the theme of the ride and were blind to the racism displayed right in front of them, POC encountered this every time they went to the park.
Disney is now changing the theme of Splash Mountain to “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure,” which will be similar as far as the ride goes but will be themed around The Princess and the Frog instead of Song of the South. Although the new ride will be centered around Tiana, she is still the only Black Disney princess after almost 100 years of business—to put into perspective, every young Black girl or boy born before 2009 didn’t have a single Disney princess that looked like them.
While Disney is taking steps to be a bit more inclusive, there is still a lot of room to go, not only with race, but with sexism, body image and sexuality as well. Disney has a huge influence on young kids and the characters they portray matter. If the prince is always saving the princess, what does that tell young kids? Or if the princesses always have the same body type, what beauty standard does that set for girls? Kids learn from everything around them, including TV. Society should be inclusive to people of different backgrounds, including media companies like Disney. Everything has an influence. It is true that Disney is taking steps to make the park and company more inclusive, however, only the future will tell how much change is truly accomplished.
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