There are popular rides and then there are iconic rides.
In the same way that people would flood a Disney Park if they found out the Haunted Mansion was going to be closed, Splash Mountain’s final day is a reminder to Disney that this may be a very serious mistake. P
Lightning Lane was sold out early. Perhaps Disney’s final greedy plot with one of its most popular attractions was charging people to ride it one last time. Otherwise, the line is so long that it makes Pandora’s opening look like a lightly attended event. The line was more like a mosh pit, Disney not having put up extended queues for fear of revealing the riders popularity was overwhelmed. All the way down Frontierland, support for Splash Mountain looks more like a packed-in concert crowd than a line.
We’ll be covering the images, the crowds and the opinions right here as the day continues.
Pure pandemonium, Lightning Lane is sold out for the day for Splash Mountain #SplashMountain #Disneyland #WaltDisneyWorld pic.twitter.com/Pqy2QxeyfA
— Splash Mountain Archives (@splasharchive) January 22, 2023
Crazy rope crowds for Splash Mountain on its final day of operation at Magic Kingdom#SplashMountain pic.twitter.com/ihcTsxkBjK
— BlogMickey.com (@Blog_Mickey) January 22, 2023
We’ve never seen anything like this. An iconic attraction being taken away despite intense support. Some groups view the attraction as grotesque. And a replacement coming in that feels shoehorned due to mismatched geographical iconography and functionality.
Splash Mountain has the longest wait at The Magic Kingdom
200 Minutes pic.twitter.com/IdK3gbOKGG— Showcase of Wishes (@ShowcaseWishes) January 22, 2023
It’s sad that this continued to the re-skin even though it’s popular as is. Seems like an incredible waste of money and good will.
This is the biggest mistake in the history of the parks IMHO. After today, not only will The Magic Kingdom lose one of its most integral and iconic attractions, but it will forever be tainted by sociopolitical ideology. If fans still have hang ups over EPCOT attractions that closed for non-political reasons nearly a quarter century ago and lasted half as long, I can’t even begin to imagine the kind of lasting impact this will have on the fandom (or whatever is left of it) decades from now. What a shame.
The religious fanaticism is incredible. Makes me think they owe money to someone whom dislikes core American icons. Corporate people are usually followers. Whom are they following orders from?
When is Mickey Mouse going to be cancelled? Where is the outrage over Mickey’s Mellerdrammer? If you watch both movies one is obviously racist and it is not Song of the South. The hypocrisy is astounding.
Can’t wait for Song of the South to reach the public domain. This movie must be freed from Disney’s neglect and censorship.
Br’er Rabbit is American African Slave folklore. The story of the ride was an escape slave outsmarting his captures.
This story may be how the Underground Railroad communicated Freedom to slaves.
Song of the South used the American African Slave Folklore in the movie.
Disney is replacing the ride with a Brother’s Grimm adaptation.
(American African Slave is not African American in this context. The people were African Slaves in America.)
Universal / Dreamworks could benefit from this. What’s the Fievel/Woody land at Universal Studios going to be used for? The B’rer Fox, Bear, Rabbit stories are not owned by Disney. They’re ripe for any company to tap into to use. An animated movie by Dreamworks that is fun and also celebrates the American Southern Black history of the stories would be terrific. Then a coincidental water flume ride in Universal Studios would be a powerful retheme smasher.
Imagine if in the same time Di$ney is opening it’s makes-no-sense rethemed attraction…Universal is opening a B’rer Animals flume ride down the road? Guess where the throngs of people will actually go.