Disney Parade Removes Culturally Offensive Music From Soundtrack

in Disneyland Paris

Disney stars on parade

Credit: DLP Report

Now that Christmas has concluded at Disneyland Paris, things are starting to get back to normal at the Park.

Disneyland Paris Castle
Credit: Disney

Unlike Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris has been running daytime parades at Disneyland Park. Mickey’s Dazzling Christmas Parade has recently ended and Disney Stars on Parade is back!

Disney describes the show as:

Start dreaming as Peter Pan’s flying ship sails by, let Elsa’s delightfully icy wind carry you away, and tremble at the deafening entrance of the fire-breathing dragon!

Watch Disney stories come to life!
Join the fun every afternoon in Disneyland Park with this star-studded parade, bringing magical tales to life with stunning theatrics. Get a sneak peek here!

Reflections from the Show Director, Emmanuel Lenormand
“One of my proudest career achievements is Disney Stars on Parade. It took many artists and Disney Characters working every day for more than a year to create the 2,050 costumes and 650 pairs of shoes for the parade. The costumes are still dazzling today!”

big thunder mountain disneyland paris
Credit: Disney

Interestingly, it seems that the show has returned with some changes. In the new Disney Stars on Parade, “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” has been removed from the song list. The song is featured in Splash Mountain which is based on Song of the South, arguably Disney’s most controversial film.

Disney Parks officially announced the Disneyland Park and Magic Kingdom Park attraction Splash Mountain, which is based on the Song of the South IP, would be rethemed as part of Disney’s efforts to bring more diverse representation to the theme parks and remove offensive themes. The announcement came over a year ago and was met with a variety of responses from Disney fans. Some were very excited and happy to see that The Princess and the Frog (2009), not only an excellent film but a film that stars a Black princess, would replace the attraction. While others who found Splash Mountain as classic and iconic went as far as to petition to have the ride remain as-is.

As you can see above, the change has not been announced to come to Disneyland Paris, but it seems that the Park is still eliminating the IP in different areas of the Park. DLP Report (@DLPReport) announced:

Video: The daytime parade has returned to Disneyland Paris with today’s premiere of “Disney Stars on Parade”! 🎉
Note the soundtrack was reworked to remove the “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” theme.

Related: First Look at NEW Disney Park Stage Show!

Thanks to DLP Welcome (@DLPWelcome) we can see a new float has been added:

“New” Float in the “Disney Stars on Parade” !
Video tonight on our YouTube !

When it comes to Walt Disney World’s updated version, Melissa Valiquette, Vice President of Magic Kingdom, sat down with the Theme Park Rangers podcast (ran by Orlando Sentinel) to discuss all things Magic Kingdom, from the 50th anniversary to attractions — and she gave us our first real update on the new Princess and the Frog attraction.

Melissa noted, “When we are reimagining a new attraction or area, this can be a lengthy process.” She said that this process can take months or even years until Guests can begin to see any changes because the sequence of events in a reimagining is full of meetings, closed-door creations, and decision-making.

“I’m in a lot of meeting right now regarding Splash Mountain, and of course, our Guests haven’t seen any changes yet, that’s going to take some time. The sequence of these things is that the decision can be made many many months even years before any of that will be seen on stage. So it’s going to be a little bit of time to reimagine Splash Mountain. 

Splash Mountain Concept Art
Credit: Disney

But I can tell you behind the scenes terrific work has been done, including some selections around music, around animatronics, and it is really an inspiring story. Now, I happen to be from Louisiana, originally, and so the Princess and the Frog has always been a special movie for me. Not only because princess Tiana is our first Black princess, which I think is extraordinarily special, but also because it is kind of the story of my roots. It was really important to be as I have been meeting with the Imagineers that this story gets portrayed honestly.”

More on Disneyland Paris

We recently discussed how Omicron was impacting Disneyland Paris. New Year’s Eve was canceled, and now, there is a chance vaccination passport will come into play.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex has announced that he is attempting to pass a bill that will change the Health Pass, requiring anyone who needs to use one to enter a location to be fully vaccinated only. The pass would change to a “Vaccine Pass.”

France 24 reported:

Castex also said France’s health pass for access to restaurants, cinemas and more would become a ‘vaccine pass’ from January 15, if the draft bill is approved by parliament as expected.

This would mean that “in places where the pass is required, you must prove that you are vaccinated to be able to enter – a negative test result will no longer be accepted”, he said.

Disneyland Paris Guests wearing masks speaking with a Cast Member
Credit: Disney

If this goes through, it seems that changes would be put into place on January 15, 2021. On top of that, we have seen the following changes:

– Disney Illuminations suspended for 3 weeks
– Frozen: a Musical Invitation replaced by selfie spot for 3 weeks
– The Christmas Parade will no longer perform show stops
– table service only at bars

Tower of Terror at Disneyland Paris
Credit: Disney

At Disneyland Paris, lots of changes are coming to Walt Disney Studios and their Disneyland Park, with the 30th anniversary just months away. Walt Disney Studios is adding a massive addition that will include Star Wars, Marvel, and Frozen, as well as their very own Avengers Campus, which will be the first section to open in the Park.

We have recently seen Disney’s Sequoia Lodge reopen while the Disneyland Paris Resort continues to undergo a refurbishment. On top of that, we have seen price increases for pins and stunning snowfalls! The Disneyland Paris app has also changed, read more on that here.

What do you think of the new Disneyland Paris app changes? 

Let the expert team at Academy Travel help you plan your next magical vacation to Disneyland Paris! Or, do you want to head to Walt Disney World Resort’s four theme parks? Visit Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and the Disney Springs shopping and dining district!

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