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Splash Mountain Changing to a Princess Tiana Attraction

Splash Mountain Changing to a Princess Tiana Attraction

The Disney Parks Blog shared some news with us today. At both Disneyland park in California and Magic Kingdom Park in Florida, Splash Mountian will soon be completely reimagined.

The new theme is inspired by an all-time favorite animated Disney film, “The Princess and the Frog.” The attraction will pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure. Of course, we can expect this new ride to feature some of the powerful music from the film. As we travel through the attraction we will see our favorite characters as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.

Splash Mountain in Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., will soon be completely reimagined (Disney)

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.

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!”

The approach to retheming or “plussing” attractions (as Walt Disney referred to it) 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. It is 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.

If you didn’t know the current iteration of Splash Mountain is based on the film, Song of the South. This movie has a storyline steeped in extremely problematic and stereotypical racist tropes from the 1946 film. This has had recent fans of Disney signing petitions and calling out Disney for a change. Like this one on Change.org. The petition even calls out, “Disney has removed Song of the South from its library, refusing to share it on DVD or their streaming services. The best next step to remove all traces of this racist movie would be to re-theme Splash Mountain into a Princess and the Frog themed ride.”

Charita Carter, the senior creative producer leading the project at Walt Disney Imagineering 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.”

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.

Stay tuned for more!