The Walt Disney Company seems to have developed a canned response to be given to any complaints from guests or fans regarding Splash Mountain. We’ve been provided the script and are sharing it with you here.
Just when you thought Disney couldn’t be any more callous when it comes to Splash Mountain and the now-clearly-bad-idea of swapping the ride over to a journey through salt mines of southern Louisiana, we’ve got one more step up that ladder. Rather than providing complaining guests with a genuine reply as “normies” discover one of their favorite rides is gone, take a look at what is being provided from Disney via “executive correspondence”:
Dear [Guest Name],
Thank you for your [message format] to [receiving party]. Your correspondence was forwarded to me for personalized handling.
We greatly appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts regarding the reimagining of Splash Mountain Attraction at our Theme Parks. We understand your belief that changing this nostalgic attraction may be a mistake and the reasons you provided in your message are welcome. We are sorry for your disappointment with the transformation for this attraction to become Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at the Disneyland Resort and here at the Walt Disney World Resort. As you alluded to in your comments, the brilliant platform and arrangement for storytelling that Splash Mountain offers has been the subject of many conversations through the years. While our Imagineers have explored many new themes, the concept around Princess Tiana’s story that was developed in the summer of 2019 stood apart from the rest! Particularly important 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 Theme Parks each year.
It may also interest you to know that Walt Disney embraced and encouraged change. Our imagineers are constantly looking for opportunities to enhance our Guests’ experiences. Walt spoke about the need to “keep moving forward” down new paths, always with an eye toward enhancing and improving the Guest experience. Keeping our stories relevant and providing more reasons for our Guests to return is done in this same spirit — a philosophy embraced by imagineers through the years, including our Disney Legends Marty Sklar and Tony Baxter who were both instrumental in the creation of the original concept for Splash Mountain.
We realize that change can be difficult for some of our Guests, especially those who have come to love our time-honored attractions. However, we would like to assure you that your thoughts are valued, and they have been passed along to the right Leaders.
[Guest Name] again, thank you for your outreach. We look forward to future opportunities to entertain you.
Kindest regards,
[Agent Name]
Executive Correspondence
Walt Disney World Resort
407-827-7036
You can bet that our writers will have opinions on this which they’ll be sharing in the very near future. In the meantime, let us know what you think in the comments below. And, as always, keep reading That Park Place for all the latest news that should be fun!
