Splash Mountain is one of the most beloved attractions in all of Disney Parks history and is currently located at both Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort, as well as Tokyo Disneyland.
The attraction is based on the film Song of the South, which is extremely controversial as many deem it racist. Because of how controversial this film is, a retheme was announced for the attraction a few years ago, which would turn it into a ride based on Princess and the Frog (2009). In fact, the movie is considered by many the most controversial and notorious film in Disney’s history.
Song of the South is a mix of live-action and animation and features an older African-American plantation laborer named Uncle Remus who tells stories to a young white boy. Groups including the NAACP protested the film’s initial release.
Within Splash Mountain, you can spot many of the characters from Song of the South, including Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox, and Br’er Bear. At the end of the ride, Guests plummet down a 50-foot drop straight into a briar patch.
Cfrdit: Disney
However, this iconic ride is facing a list of issues, as pointed out by one eagle-eyed Guest. Please br’er with us as it’s quite long:
Splash mountain at Disneyland is definitely better condition than Disneyworlds’, but it has its issues. Splash is my favorite ride of all time and I love seeing what’s being fixed and what’s broken.
-some lights out in “how do you do” scene
-light on Brer fox in the first scene is out
-Brer Rabbit on the railroad cart isn’t moving to full potential, light is out.
-Brer bear’s audio before the laughing place drop doesn’t play
-laughing Brer Rabbit has jerky movement
-Brer bear in laughing place barely moves
-multiple lights are broken that shine on characters in the laughing place
-laughing place goose needs desperate fixing
-pig playing piano on the paddle boat has a broken neck
-owl in the final scene of the ride is removed.
Credit: Disney Parks Blog
In the comment section, several Guests shared their thoughts on these issues. One user said:
“i love splash mountain and i’m disappointed in how they never repair it. it looks terrible! i was in shock when i went a few months ago and brer rabbit’s cart was moving. also i’ve noticed the lights are out on the front of the paddle boat and they have been for a while now. i might be mistaken, but something on the paddle boat is broken.”
“I love Splash Mountain – I was excited to ride it one last time but yikes, they should really go ahead and close it. It felt like all the lights were out and I could barely see a thing, especially going in/out of daylight.”
Of course, at this point, it wouldn’t make sense for Disney to fix all of these issues with a huge retheming coming up next year. Also, some of these are admittedly quite minor in the grand scheme of things. But it is still a little sad to see how much has been left in a state of disrepair. We Guess not everything can be “satisfactual”.
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Credit: Disney
