In 2020, Disney announced plans to reimagine the beloved Splash Mountain ride by basing it on their 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. This movie featured Disney’s first black princess, Tiana. Despite this change, a Change.org petition to save Splash Mountain has quickly gained 99,000 signatures.
The Pushback Against Change
Disney has been facing culture wars as they modernize their parks and programming to include more diverse characters in their princesses. Many people view Disney as a legacy brand that should stay the same forever, leading to pushback against making any changes. Bob Iger, former CEO of Disney is back on board and it will be interesting to see what role he plays in shifting the company’s direction when it comes to culture wars with Ron DeSantis.
A Potential Teachable Moment
Rather than completely erasing Splash Mountain from existence, an alternative solution could be preserving its legacy while teaching kids about its history and aftermath of the Civil War in school. While no one has to ride on this attraction if they don’t want to, it may still present an invaluable opportunity for learning and understanding our past mistakes as well as how far we have come since then.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, we are responsible for deciding which traditions should be kept alive and which ones should be left behind with time passing by. However, these culture wars can become overwhelming at times – especially when compared to issues such as Governor Ron DeSantis trying to shape our educational curriculum – so let us not forget where our main focus should lie when discussing these matters.
