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Disneyland's Ditching 'Song Of The South' Splash Mountain Theme For 'Princess And The Frog'
Concept art for the Princess and the Frog reimagining of Splash Mountain. (Courtesy Disney)
Splash Mountain has long been criticized for using characters and music from the widely criticized Song of the South. It's a movie that's so problematic and buried deep in the Disney vault that you can't buy a legal copy of it or stream it, even on Disney+. Yet Disney still decided to theme its popular log ride around it — Splash Mountain opened in 1989.
Following new attention around Black representation, though, Disney announced Thursday that they're revamping the ride and changing the theme to The Princess and the Frog. That movie features Disney's first Black princess, Tiana.
More than 20,000 fans signed an online petition encouraging the change, even before it was announced — though almost 35,000 fans signed another petition to keep things the same. While Disney is moving forward with the change, they do still plan to reopen Splash Mountain under its current theme when Disneyland reopens.
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