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Credit: Frank Phillips, FlickrA new report indicates Disney is looking to remove a controversial attraction from its parks.
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The Walt Disney World Resort in Florida is home to some of the world’s most popular and beloved theme park rides ever, from Pirates of the Caribbean to Expedition Everest, offering guests the chance to escape the real world and get lost in their own magical adventures. Disney World is made up of four theme parks, and while all are fun, Magic Kingdom is often considered to be the best among fans. This is where guests will find classic rides like Haunted Mansion, “it’s a Small World,” Peter Pan’s Flight, and Space Mountain. Magic Kingdom itself is split up into several distinct lands, each offering its own flavor. Adventureland is where guests can find rides and attractions like Jungle Cruise and the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.
Tomorrowland is filled with futuristic and intergalactic thrill rides such as Space Mountain and TRON Lightcycle / Run. Fantasyland is perhaps Magic Kingdom’s most infamous land, featuring a large collection of classic dark rides. In between all of these lands, guests will find tons of other activities, rides, and attractions to enjoy, as well as Liberty Square, which features the iconic Hall of Presidents.
Frontierland is home to a multitude of classic and iconic attractions, ranging from thrilling roller coasters like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to beloved shows like Country Bear Jamboree, which recently closed for a large-scale renovation. Frontierland features Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe, which is one of Walt Disney World’s most popular quick-service restaurants. Frontierland immerses guests into the wild wet, complete with saloons and even a shooting range. However, new reports seem to indicate that weapons will soon be removed from Frontierland entirely.
Disney Reportedly Removing Guns From Magic Kingdom
According to a report from Orlando Theme Park Zone, the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade will soon be demolished to make way for a new Disney Vacation Club (DVC) lounge. While not incredibly popular, the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade has been an iconic part of Magic Kingdom for decades, offering guests the chance to shoot rifles at a wide range of targets. Guests originally had to pay to fire a rifle at the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade, but Disney made the experience free to all guests several years ago.
The new report claims that this location will soon be completely demolished to make a brand-new lounge for DVC members visiting Magic Kingdom. DVC members can find lounges scattered all around the Walt Disney World Resort. These areas offer DVC members a quiet place to sit and relax, complete with complimentary drinks and snacks, as well as a helpful crew of cast members and DVC representatives. EPCOT is also home to a Disney Vacation Club member lounge, which is accessed via a staircase inside the gift shop for Journey Into Imagination with Figment. The lounge occupies the same space previously held by ImageWorks.
Disney already announced that a DVC lounge was coming to Magic Kingdom, which lines up perfectly with this report.
Disney Changes Other Iconic Attractions
The Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade has been a staple of Frontierland in Magic Kingdom for decades, offering guests a chance to test their shooting skills on a variety of highly detailed targets. From tombstones to moving trains, guests can challenge themselves or others to a Wild West shootout. Due to its violent nature, however, this attraction has slowly become one of the more controversial experiences in Walt Disney World. Many fans have been wondering just how many more years the arcade will make it under Disney’s modern approach. The Walt Disney Company has made it very clear that it seeks to clean up as many rides and attractions as possible in order to make the Disney theme parks as welcoming and inoffensive as possible. While it may be sad for some guests to say goodbye, it makes sense why an attraction centered on guns and weapons would be Disney’s first choice to close.
Over the last few decades, rides like Pirates of the Caribbean have changed significantly, with Disney tweaking the story to be less oppressive toward women. The changes don’t stop in Magic Kingdom, however, with Disney digitally altering a hand gesture made by Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler inside the queue for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. This thrilling roller coaster is entirely another can of worms, with many rumors suggesting Disney is looking to replace Aerosmith entirely from the attraction. Due to its rather dark and gruesome nature, many fans have speculated about possible changes to Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction. Aside from other intense thrill rides like DINOSAUR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, which is also set to close soon, Haunted Mansion offers perhaps the ghastliest and most disturbing story found inside a Disney theme park.
Guests will find themselves surrounded by the ghosts of deceased people, and while the mood is kept light and funny overall, there’s a darker side to Disney’s Haunted Mansion. This starts as soon as guests enter the attraction’s show building, where they will see a deceased person hanging from the rafters.
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Disney has also altered its Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Over the last several years, guests have noticed quite a few changes in this intense stunt show. The attraction closed down due to the original outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, and when the show returned, it was obvious Disney made some changes. There is now very little guest interaction with the show. Previously, guests were brought in to help with the show, but recent acts did not feature this part of the performance.
The action was toned down as well, with certain stunts removed from the show entirely. Guests will also notice Indiana Jones and other characters within the show do not use their guns as much as they used to, which falls in line with this new report about Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade. Up until a few years ago, toy guns and weapons used to be available for purchase all across the Walt Disney World Resort. The Pirates of the Caribbean gift shop was notorious for featuring a wide arsenal of rifles and pistols for children to play with, but these were removed several years ago.
Weapons have also been removed from Tom Sawyer Island and Jungle Cruise over the years, falling in line with the world’s increased sensitivity to guns.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
The best example of Disney changing things for a modern audience is actually already found in Frontierland, with Disney’s beloved log flume ride Splash Mountain closing permanently in 2023.
While certainly iconic and beloved by millions, many fans had a hard time looking past Splash Mountain’s problematic source material. Splash Mountain was based on Disney’s highly controversial 1946 film Song of the South, which has had a blight on Disney’s reputation since its initial release. The film has often been criticized for its portrayal of African Americans in a reconstruction era South, and as a result, fans will not find an easy way to watch the film.
Disney stopped printing copies of Song of the South decades ago, meaning there is not an easily accessible way to own the film. Disney also does not feature the movie on its in-house streaming service, Disney+. Splash Mountain was heavily inspired by Song of the South, which features characters, scenery, and music from the film. In 2020, The Walt Disney Company finally addressed the Splash Mountain issue, announcing that the legendary ride would be closed forever to make way for a new attraction based on Disney’s 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog.
This new ride would be known as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which is set to open in 2024 at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is set to feature all of the main cast from The Princess and the Frog as guests embark on a journey led by the titular Princess Tiana. Guests will witness new songs and characters as they journey through the bayou and will be greeted by tons of new animatronics.
Disney closing Splash Mountain was incredibly controversial in itself, with many fans boycotting Disney altogether due to the decision. Splash Mountain had become a certified theme park icon, with the log glume ride being recognized around the world. Splash Mountain featured a wide selection of classic music ‘Zip-a-dee-doo-dah,” as well as a host of colorful and quirky characters, like Br’er Bear, Br’er Fox, and Br’er Rabbit.
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Some fans took their love of the ride to the next level, creating a petition in the hopes that it would “save” Splash Mountain. The petition, while futile, did receive well over 100k signatures, indicating that Disney’s decision was seen as a negative change by many.
Both Disneyland and Walt Disney World versions of Splash Mountain closed in 2023 and will reopen in 2024 as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. However, a third version of Splash Mountain remains operational at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan, which is expected to remain open for the foreseeable future. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is expected to open in the summer at the Magic Kingdom, and later this year at the Disneyland Resort.
What new Disney theme park project are you most excited about?