Fans Bid Farewell To Disney World’s Splash Mountain As It Closed After 30 Years Due To Racism Assertions

Disney World’s iconic Splash Mountain ride just went on its final run, and some people are not happy about it.

Fans took to social media to share a retrospective of the water ride’s decades-long past, including footage of the doors to the ride closing for the very last time. The hashtag “goodbyesplashmountain” TikTok currently has over 1.7 million views

“I will miss you forever. Goodbye, Splash Mountain,” One caption of the video read. Another video showed that the queue to board the ride took two hours on its last day of operation. Entrepreneurship park visitors The alleged water source was the log flume. They then sold it on Ebay (sic), for up to fifty bucks per bottle. 

As the last guests of Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom, the entire crowd sings Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. pic.twitter.com/rdOYCG0WeF

— WDW News Today (@WDWNT) January 23, 2023

The ride opened in 1992 and has been a popular staple of Disney World’s Magic Kingdom ever since, with celebrities like Princess Diana going for a ride. In 2020, the company announced that Splash Mountain would be closed. Splash Mountain was accused of being racist and it would be replaced by a Princess Tiana-themed attraction.

“Tiana is a modern, courageous, and empowered woman, who pursues her dreams and never loses sight of what’s really important,” A blog post by Disney, explained as The Daily Wire previously reported. 

“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.”

Splash Mountain is often called by parkgoers. “extremely problematic” due to “stereotypical racist tropes.” It’s based on elements from the Disney film “Song of the South” (1946), were included on this ride. Walter White, former executive secretary of NAACP Walter White said The movie “helps to perpetuate a dangerously glorified picture of slavery.”

The film takes place on a plantation. Uncle Remus, an elderly black man who tells traditional African American folk tales, is featured in the film. As CEO Bob Iger stated, the movie was not available on Disney+. “not appropriate in today’s world.”

“Song of the South” The story is set in Reconstruction America, during which slavery was abolished after the civil war. The character Uncle Remus is not a slave but is sharing stories with a 7-year-old boy named Johnny who is visiting his grandmother’s plantation. 

Splash Mountain was ultimately closed, despite repeated pleas. The change.org petition “To Save Splash Mountain” The ride received more than 99,000 signatures but was ultimately closed.

“Splash Mountain has never included depictions of slaves or any racist elements and is based solely on historical African folktales that families of all ethnicities have been enjoying for nearly a century,” It said. “It is absurd to pander to a small group of ‘Disney haters’ that don’t understand the story, and re-theme such a nostalgic ride.”

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