Splash Mountain Will Be Rethemed to Princess & Frog
Disney has officially announced that Splash Mountain will be re-themed to Princess and the Frog at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. (Tokyo Disneyland will retain its Brer characters from Song of the South, at least for now.) In this post, we’ll cover the news, share concept art, and offer some commentary.
Per Disney Parks Blog, the attraction’s theme is inspired by an all-time favorite animated Disney film, The Princess and the Frog. The new-look ride will pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure — featuring some of the powerful music from the film — as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.
Tiana is a modern, courageous, and empowered woman, who pursues her dreams and never loses sight of what’s really important. It’s a great story with a strong lead character, set against the backdrop of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou. In 1966, Walt himself opened New Orleans Square when it became the first new “land” added to Disneyland park, so it feels natural to link the story and the incredible music of “The Princess and the Frog” to our parks.
While the timing may seem suspect, Disney indicates that this isn’t an impulsive reaction to recent headlines and petitions that have gained traction. Walt Disney Imagineering states that it has actively been working on a Splash Mountain retheme for some time, with a specific focus on The Princess and the Frog for the past year.
Here’s a look at the concept art:
Here’s more on the Splash Mountain overhaul from the Disney Parks Blog, including quotes from Imagineers and the voices of characters from The Princess and the Frog…
The voice of Princess Tiana and Tony Award-winning actress, Anika Noni Rose, shared, “It is really exciting to know that Princess Tiana’s presence in both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom will finally be fully realized! As passionate as I am about what we created, I know the fans are going to be over the moon. The Imagineers are giving us ‘The Princess and the Frog’ Mardi Gras celebration we’ve been waiting for, and I’m here for it!”
Per Disney Parks Blog, the approach to retheming or “plussing” attractions begins with Imagineers asking the question: how can we build upon or elevate the experience and tell a fresh, relevant story? It’s a continuous process that Imagineers are deeply passionate about.
And with this longstanding history of updating attractions and adding new magic, the retheming of Splash Mountain is of particular importance 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 parks each year.
Senior Creative Producer Charita Carter at Walt Disney Imagineering will helm the project, having previously been one of the leads on development of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Carter shared, “Like Princess Tiana, I believe that courage and love are the key ingredients for wonderful adventures. I am delighted to be a part of bringing this fun-filled experience to our guests.”
Disney Legend and former Imagineer Tony Baxter, who designed the original Splash Mountain, will also be brought out of retirement to serve as a creative designer on the new Princess and the Frog attraction. “Following conversations with Imagineering’s leaders about the new attraction’s scope and resources, I had a great sense of reassurance — the attraction will be one to be proud of, bringing to life places, characters and music from the animated classic The Princess and the Frog…I look forward to being a part of a new adventure in Disney magic and fun!” said Baxter about the overhaul.
Imagineer Scott Trowbridge, lead on Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, also tweeted out that he’s “been stealth working on this for quite a while and happy to finally share!” The involvement of this trio of Imagineers definitely reassures us about the overhaul.
For Imagineers, change is rooted in a tradition set by Walt Disney who encouraged new innovations, new ideas, new scenes and current storytelling. And the experiences they create can be enjoyed by guests who visit our parks from all over the world.
As part of the creative development process, conceptual design work is well underway and Imagineers will soon be able to conduct preliminary reviews and develop a timeline for when the transformation can start to take shape. (At present, the current incarnation of Splash Mountain is scheduled to reopen when Walt Disney World and Disneyland reopen.)
Our Commentary
As far as commentary goes, this is an understandably delicate topic. We mostly take Disney at its word here that the plans to retheme Splash Mountain were set in motion over a year ago, but we’d imagine those were nonetheless accelerated in light of recent events. (Especially given that Disney is pumping the brakes on other projects while moving forward with this.)
Nevertheless, given what Disney has done with Tower of Terror, Great Movie Ride, and other attractions based on non-Disney or “outdated” intellectual property, it’s not a huge leap that Disney would want to retheme Splash Mountain to a modern film for the sake of synergy. It probably was an inevitability that Splash Mountain would change at some point, so perhaps the timing here is totally coincidental.
Nevertheless, this change is undoubtedly going to be controversial and spawn a ton of debate, most of it wholly unproductive. It’s also a topic that, frankly, I’m not sure I’m the best person to address.
In our Pirates of the Caribbean Redhead Auction Scene Debate post from a few years ago, I did opt to put “my entire head into the hornet’s nest” wading into what I felt was an interesting topic that pertains to the intersection of art, history, evolving cultural norms, and more.
It’s a different topic, but the same story here. Much of what was written there can be applied to today’s Splash Mountain news. While theme parks are art, they cannot be re-contextualized the same way other entertainment can. There are some practical realities that must be considered and concessions that must be made given their functional purpose.
There’s more fluidity to theme parks than other art; things must be updated because the primary purpose is simply entertainment and not education or enlightenment. (Refer to that prior post for more commentary along those lines.)
Where Splash Mountain deviates from Pirates of the Caribbean is in what’s directly being depicted in each. The argument in the case of Pirates of the Caribbean was that it glamorized human trafficking and sex slavery, while showcasing the subjugation of women.
Splash Mountain is different in the sense that when it was built, the attraction was consciously removed from its controversial source material (even back in the late-1980s when the ride was in development, Disney realized Song of the South was problematic). What’s depicted in Splash Mountain is subtle, subliminal, and indirect.
That’s where my comfort level in addressing this particular topic ends.
As someone who has never experienced the ill effects of systemic racism and oppression, I feel like it’s not really my place to offer a value judgment on how Splash Mountain does or does not impact other guests. I don’t know what it’s like to experience the world as a person of color.
Moreover, while I value my own nostalgia and iconic aspects of classic and iconic Disney attractions, the right course of action is to err on the side of not reinforcing racism, and instead fostering a more inclusive Disney experience.
From my perspective, this is simply a matter of conceding my personal blind spots and being willing to admit “I don’t really know” how Splash Mountain might negatively effect other guests.
Sadly, that side of the debate is going to overshadow the reality (or at least my subjective but strong opinion) that The Princess and the Frog is one of the Walt Disney Animation Studio’s most underrated films, and it has been criminally underrepresented at Walt Disney World and Disneyland for years. (See our Tiana’s Place Restaurant Review for a look at how excellent a Princess and the Frog experience can be.)
Not only is Princess and the Frog a great film with memorable characters, catchy music, and a compelling story–it’s visually gorgeous. I can’t think of a more beautiful animated film that Disney has made in the last two decades.
This is an odd comparison, but it reminds me somewhat of Avatar in terms of the film’s visuals (except Princess and the Frog is actually good). Pandora ended up being a stunning theme park setting, and we’d except the same to hold true here–except the Princess and the Frog attraction will also have the excellent aforementioned music, characters, etc. and not just pretty visuals.
When I’m envisioning this new Princess and the Frog attraction in my head, it’s a longer version of Na’vi River Journey with a drop at the end, better music, and more varied settings. The same subdued vibe and impressionistic scenery, but hopefully with more dimensional set design, Audio Animatronics, and just more well-rounded overall.
Our main concern at this point is Disney allocating the proper time and budget to let Imagineering deliver a thoughtful, deliberate, and quality re-theming of the attraction. Our fear is that the attraction will be a ham-fisted overlay that doesn’t do its source material justice.
However, we’re willing to wait and see, withholding judgment for now. The concept art looks promising, and if the end result is a lavish and inventive Princess and the Frog attraction, that’s something we can most definitely get behind. Here’s hoping that Imagineering delivers and totally reinvents the iconic attraction!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of Splash Mountain being rethemed to Princess and the Frog? Excited for Tiana and friends to finally have their own attraction at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, or will you be sad to see the Brer Critters vacate the Briar Patch? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Even though Splash is my favorite ride, I LOVE Disney for doing this. The thing is, while thousands of people can ride Splash mountain without even knowing what Song of the South is, there are undoubtedly some people who know full well what Song of the South is and enjoy/celebrate the racist aspects of it (though those kinds of people never admit it is racist, just saying it is “history” or “nostaligic” or “from another time”). And frankly, I don’t want my favorite ride to give satisfaction or affirmation to white supremacists. So good for Disney for replacing it with something that will be beautiful that celebrates one of my favorite Disney movies (you’re right Tom, Princess and the Frog is criminally underrated).
One thing that puzzles me is what they are going to do with the exterior. The inside should be easy enough to overhaul, but since when are there mountains in Louisiana?
@MomOTwins I couldn’t have said it better myself. Hear hear.
Thanks for the thoughtful analysis, and the smart comparison to the Pirates overhaul. I’ve always appreciated your deep mining of all things Disney and this is no exception.
I’d like to offer a deep thought. You wrote: “As someone who has never experienced the ill effects of systemic racism and oppression, I feel like it’s not really my place to offer a value judgment on how Splash Mountain does or does not impact other guests. I don’t know what it’s like to experience the world as a person of color.”
1) You absolutely have felt the ill effects of systemic racism and oppression. You perhaps just haven’t recognized how far the tentacles go in terms of poisoning our culture. You haven’t felt them as personally or directly as people of color, but you and I (also a white male) swim in it every day. And recognizing this is really important. It’s the key point of all that is going on right now.
2) It’s true that you (and I) have never experienced the world as a person of color, and we should give a lot of deference to the opinions of those who have. But that doesn’t mean you can’t offer a value judgement regarding how it affects people. For the past month (and centuries) millions of Americans have been making VERY VERY clear how culture that derives from racist roots continues to negatively affect them. If you’re listening, it’s not a controversial move to recognize and reiterate those points. Even – especially – if you haven’t felt the pain of it personally. And even – especially – in a mainstream Disney blog!
I know it’s difficult to feel like it’s okay to say these things in a blog like this one that caters to a very broad spectrum of political beliefs. But ask yourself: is being against racism political? Is there an upside to permitting racism to continue? Is this an issue where “both sides” should have equal say?
If one is able to put aside the racist background, Splash Mountain is one of the very best rides at Disney. We’re all going to be nostalgic for the characters, the music, etc. But for many people, putting aside the racist background is not possible, so they are robbed of the opportunity to FULLY enjoy the experience. They’ve been denied this pure joy for 30 years now. It’s time to update the ride into something that offers fun for everyone, without the cognitive dissonance that we all employ to turn a blind eye.
Thanks for listening! Feel free to email me if you’d like to discuss off-line!
Great response.
Love this. Thank you for pointing it out.
Personally, I never cared much for Splash Mountain #dontjudgeme, but this makes me sad for my parents and kids, for whom it was a beloved Disney tradition. And the timing totally feels like pandering.
I’ve not seen many of the Disney animated films that released after my kiddos stopped needing me to take them to the theater, so I’m excited to watch Princess and the Frog on your glowing recommendation. Thanks!
Tom, I applaud you for acknowledging that you aren’t the best person to debate the potential racial issues brought up by the current Space Mountain. I would encourage everyone with a negative gut reaction to really sit and examine why you are having that reaction (the kind of reflection I’m talking about takes more than a couple minutes). As a black man who grew up in the South I both love the current Splash Mountain and see how it is problematic; the Brer Rabbit characters have their roots in some pretty thorny, minstrel-esque stereotypes. I will miss the old attraction but I also whole heartedly agree that Princess and the Frog deserves a bigger presence in the parks and will give Disney the benefit of the doubt on this one. If they really spend the money on state of the art animatronics this could be mind blowing!
Disney has been up to some mind blowing stuff over the last few years. Hopefully with all eyes on this, it will be a big win!
My financial advisor encouraged me to sell my Disney stock weeks ago, maybe the handwriting is on the wall. The powers that be within the Disney company are making some really dumb financial decisions, when there are so many other projects that are in desperate need of refurbishment and completion.
Very sad about this change. That ride to me means a lot of laughter at the characters, great sets to look at, and a catchy tune that we all love. What’s wrong with that?
Of course, all my kids/grandkids and I have started selling people into slavery after riding that ride, but that’s to be expected, right????? Come on people, this current “destroy anything you don’t like or you perceive as wrong” society is also destroying our history. Yes, there was slavery! Now, there is not a slave operated plantation in the US. This is a part of history. I never knew anything “bad” was connected with the ride, and I bet a huge amount of guests never did either. As others have said, give Tiana her own ride and don’t mess with a wonderful classic.
Splash Mountain is one of my favorite rides at Disney parks. I ride it a lot. I’ve never once been on it without thinking about the racism of Song of the South before, during, and after riding it. If this is happening to me, a privileged white person, I can only imagine the mental gymnastics people of color are forced to complete to fully enjoy the experience. If you never knew about the “bad” history of the root material, that’s lucky for you, but this is a good time to recognize it, learn a little bit about it, and that it affects people. Lots and lots of people. Song of the South is as responsible as just about any other piece of art/entertainment for perpetuating (in the 1950s) the terrible stereotypes that we still wrestle with today.
@Alex–have had the same experience as a privileged white woman. Agree completely! All these people being nostalgic for the old times are reinforcing my belief that a lot of Disney fans are white supremacists. I see it so often whenever a change involves more representation or in the case of Red more sensitivity.
Oh yes, the modern ‘whiteprivilege’ of making up problems where none exists in order to make oneself feel somehow superior to the rest of us who live life and just be normal, good people without melodramatic narcissism… Give it a rest!
Personally, I am thrilled by the idea. As you said, this is a visually stunning movie, underrated, and this will give it the grand spotlight it deserves. I just know the ride will be visually stunning as well, and I can’t wait to see the final result. I am all for re-theming rides to modern day movies we love. Some fans may be angry, but why be angry? Focus on the good! Why waste time and energy being angry with a plan that is already set in motion.
I’m excited and think it’ll fit in fine. While New Orleans and the swamp isn’t what most people think of when they hear frontier now, by definition frontier is “the extreme limit of settled land beyond which lies wilderness…” as someone who lives in New Orleans I can attest this is still very much a reality here. The city and suburbs are a hub but it’s still surrounded by wild and undeveloped swampland. Just because we’ve linked frontier to the west in our minds in modern times doesn’t mean that the word only applies to grand canyon-ish conditions. I also understand that while many of us love WDW as is, they have to adapt. grow, and change to remain in business for years to come and to draw in new generations of visitors. They’re never going to appease everyone, but I think it’s great that Tianna is finally getting a place in MK.
As a fellow New Orleanian, I completely agree! The Louisiana bayou is absolutely a “frontier” and I think a dark, starry bayou ride with Louis, Ray, Tiana, and the riverboat scene at the end is the perfect replacement for the current Splash Mountain theme. (I loved the ride too, but agree a re-imagining is in order!)
Silly idea. If it aint broke don’t fix it. Update yes, but don’t retheme just because of the air of toxicity in the country today. Even though they say it was in the works, it was because of this reason. Won’t be the same and I’ll probably not ride anymore. There are plenty of other rides anyway.
It’s broke. It’s been broke since 1946.
I love it too, and frankly, will be sad to see it go. But it’s overdue.
It’s a ride derived from racist material. It’s broke.
When are they shutting down the ride to start this?
Something which few people, if anyone, seem to bringing up is that the characters utilized in Splash Mountain are taken directly from African-American folk tales while the Princess and the Frog is based on a European Tale. By removing Brer Rabbit and the others, Disney is inadvertently reducing cultural representation in their parks.
Very good point! I don’t know enough to plum this, but now you’ve got me thinking…
There isn’t a single song from Princess and the Frog that can compete with any of the fantastic songs from Splash Mountain.
Mediocre music from a mediocre film.
If they have to retheme the ride, I feel Princess and the Frog is pretty perfect. I really hope this was really their own idea and not to appease a mob on one side. My optimistic brain thinks, maybe they will really put some time and money into this and plus the ride in every way in order to appease the mob on the other side.
I love ToT (I hope the creepy vibe of the original never changes) and I think mission breakout turned out great. Except the outside, I think the exterior looks so slapped together.
To me this ride has always been about the old America Sings attraction, not Song of the South. So what’s next Tom Sawyer Island? Or maybe it will be the guy that plays the banjo in the beginning of Pirates because it reminds someone of Deliverance? So Sad.
Exactly!
I am thrilled!! This is so awesome. I love Splash Mountain for the nostalgia and memories from childhood, however, many things from childhood seem completely fine until you know better. That, said I am so excited about the overhaul! There are so many amazing Disney films that it would be impossible for them to be featured in all of the parks, so I appreciate their efforts to repurpose Splash in particular, it feels right. I’m looking forward to it. Thanks for attending to the details in this post!
“many things from childhood seem completely fine until you know better”.
Well-put, and one of the biggest problems Disney has to contend with. Now, how about they go one better; skip the version of Princess-dom where you earn it by working hard in your restaurant; and talk about how royalty really works…?
Didn’t ride this until I was an adult, but here’s your safe space. People seem to be offended by everything nowadays. Ruining a ride to appease people won’t make anything in the past change. But you go ahead and consider yourselves enlightened.
I’m excited about this change. I remember being a child when it opened, and even as a young kid I was confused why it was a ride when my parents explained we couldn’t watch the movie because it was somehow “bad” (I’m sure they tried to explain it in a more nuanced way). They were in no way “SJW” or “PC”, it’s just that the movie is set on a plantation and incredibly tough for many reasons. I always loved Splash, but there is a part of me that is also always uncomfortable with it, and it is something I constantly see cited as one of the reasons people find Disney “problematic”. We have so many amazing Disney movies to pull from, why not choose another one? Now we will have a beautiful, cute, new ride that no one has to feel awkward about. Thanks for your thoughts, you expressed that so well.
“This is an odd comparison, but it reminds me somewhat of Avatar in terms of the film’s visuals (except Princess and the Frog is actually good).”
Thank you for saying this! Every time I go to Pandora I think, all this effort for a truly awful movie. Imagine what they could have done if the source material was actually good.
I have never seen song of the south, didn’t even know it was a movie until recently. I loved splash mountain as a kid (and still do) but if I want to ride a themed ride like this, with no attachment to any movie or characters that I know/love/understand/relate to, then I can go to literally ANY OTHER theme park in America. When I go to Disney, I want to ride rides that have been inspired directly by Disney movies that I know and love and that my kids know and love. My daughter was too little to ride splash mountain the last time we went but she will be MUCH more excited to ride it as a Tiana-themed ride (especially since she’s her favorite princess) than she would have been to ride it as a ride with a bunch of random animals. Because that’s all it is. Period.
I have nostalgia for the ride but also like to laugh at how cheesy it seems now. My 9yo son hates it because the animatronics are creepy to him and he gets bored until the drops start. Regardless of cultural issues, it is a dated ride and holds little appeal for younger adults and kids. And parks need to keep things fresh, even if some of us have a little nostalgia loss. I was super annoyed to see Winnie the Pooh take over for Mr. Toad but my kids LOVE the Pooh ride and now it’s weird to think of it as anything else. And Tiana is such a perfect fit there, adjacent to Liberty Square. I think it’s great!
That’s a good point!
Ah New Orleans, the wild frontier…
Well Georgia wasn’t much of a frontier either haha, true neither the old nor the new fits the frontier.
At Disneyland, Splash Mountain is literally right next door to the Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square. It makes much better sense there. Heck, if they put some party beads on Winnie the Pooh, they could just ditch Critter Country all together.
The concept art is pretty! It’s interesting it was closed for extensive refurbs so recently if they had been planning this theme change. But perhaps the theme change was going to be announced after WDWs 50th and everything was just sped up post George Floyd. As a white person there are for sure a couple of parts of this ride that cause my husband and I to throw sideways glances at one another. Otherwise, it’s such a fun, well themed and classic ride. I’m glad that it’s going to be rethemed as opposed to demolished!
What parts made you throw sideways glances at each other?
Brer Bear and Brer Fox have some attributes (especially in how they talk) that are related to negative stereotypes about Black people. There’s a couple places in the ride that just kinda make us go “ehhh, I’m uncomfortable”
Oh give us a break! Now you’re you’re just reaching for some imaginary reason to jump on the bandwagon of ignorance rolling the streets today. Character’s in the attraction talking remind me of oh let’s see, young naive kids wanting to leave home, family people, hillbillies, nope, no negative racial stereotypes.
@sarah, the way they talk is not only limited to people of one skin tone. To think so is racists, plenty of colors speak differently- in fact I find it to be more about your geographic location than your race.
My experience with the vernacular used (outside of Splash Mountain) has primarily been when making fun of or stereotyping black people. So I guess that influences those moments of discomfort for me. I understand that might not be the case for everyone.