If you're a fan of Splash Mountain, you'd better get your last ride in quick, as Disney has announced a date for the closure of the iconic - and suddenly "racist" - Disneyland ride.
The 33-year-old log flume attraction, available at three Disney parks, is themed after the 1940's-era film "Song of the South," which has long been slammed as racist for its portrayal of the black character Uncle Remus. (The actor who played Remus, a black man named James Baskett, won an Academy Award for the performance, but hey.)
First opened in 1989, Splash Mountain is based on stories about "Br'er Rabbit" told by Uncle Remus throughout the movie, though many people were unaware off the connection until petitions began circulating on social media demanding that the theme park rename the supposedly racist-themed ride, a campaign ran hand-in-hand with the Black Lives Matter protests over the death of George Floyd. In fact, it's highly unlikely that many people have even seen Song of the South, given that Disney never released the film on home video.
But that didn't stop the Perpetually Offended from being triggered by it.
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Though Disney claims the process of reworking Splash Mountain began in 2019 and wasn't connected to the petition, it looks like the company has once again caved to public pressure, announcing the Magic Kingdom will close its version of the flume ride on January 23, 2023. Its Tokyo location will soon follow suit. The ride will be replaced with a new flume ride called "Tiana's Bayou Adventure" after the film "The Princess and the Frog," the only Disney movie to feature a black princess.
Zip-a-dee doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay. My, oh, my, what a colossally stupid day.
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