Disney is closing Splash Mountain. Hear why some fans aren't happy about it

Disney has closed Splash Mountain, one of its long-running attractions in the Magic Kingdom theme park, as the company plans to reimagine the ride to remove any ties from the controversial film "Song of the South." Some fans have filed a petition to keep the ride the same. CNN's Audie Cornish discusses on "CNN This Morning." #CNN #News

[ForensicsOnTheScene]

What's offensive are the Disney prices.

[bansheek]

It took them 30 F**KING YEARS for someone at Disney to say, "We might have a problem here." In my 43 years of living, I don't remember one time about felt offended by the ride and EVERYONE I KNEW, was aware of it's connection to Song of the South and they still LOVED the ride. Their admission prices are what people need to be offended by.

[joen]

No good reason whatsoever to close it, it was beloved by all races. And hands down the best designed ride in all of the resort.

[lgv]

"they don't understand"
Yeah they do. They know exactly what they are doing.

[mathsensei]

I went on splash mountain back when I was 11 with my mom, one of my best memories

[adamabramson]

It’s literally the most iconic ride at magic kingdom thanks a lot

[dannyclarkemacomber]

I loved that movie. Watched it loads as a kid. I never once thought of racism, I was too young and just enjoyed the music and story

[Johnridge]

I went on it as a 14 year old kid. Best holiday of my life. So disgusted how woke Disney have gone. Love from 🇬🇧

[hus]

Disney's latest decisions are out of The Onion parodies. 🥴 🤦🏽‍♂️ I loved that ride and I never been offended or even knew about movie connection. And that I know about, I'm offended that someone is being offended andake such BS decision.

[jessedaly]

Disney don’t you know you can’t run away from trouble? There aint no place that far…

[tvtime]

Erasing splash mountain erases a part of American history. It's important for everyone to learn about the origins and how things have changed. But if you erase it there goes the conversation about it. And children don't need to be taught about race in schools they learn from life.

[colestone]

The characters on Splash Mountain are from Disney park vintage attraction called America Sings which was a very entertaining and missed attraction. So, having the chance to still see the animals from that show on Splash Mountain is special. So I had hoped they would leave it alone.

[Central_Media]

I will know I have achieved true success in life, when I have enough free time to worry about a roller coaster.

[eidolon]

I'm surprised to see that these otherwise serious journalists did not do their homework and tried to laugh off what is really a serious cultural issue about the legacy of African-American folk tales and their place in popular culture. While Uncle Remus is a fictional construct created by Joel Chandler Harris, a white man, Br'er Rabbit and the other Uncle Remus tales are based on actual folk tales collected by Harris from Black Americans. It should also be noted that even though it is true that "The Song of the South" does indeed romanticize the post Civil War South, all the white adult characters in the movie are, without exception, fools. Their little boy turns to Uncle Remus, who is wise, warm and caring, and his family for the support and guidance he is not getting from his own family. The stories Uncle Remus tells to the boy teach him --- and the children in the movie audience --- important lessons about life and how to survive in a dangerous world with wit and humor. The black characters in "The Song of the South" may be, on the surface, socially subservient but are, in every way, morally and intellectually superior to the white characters. This is not merely a story about a theme park ride, but part of a larger story of how important positive role models are to Black children, whether they be wise old men or spunky future princesses. But unless you go straight to the source of the story, your reporting will only be a reaction to people reacting to something they only know about through other people's reactions. And what you get from that is not journalism, but gossip.

[MrJonathanSmith]

I’m sure all those kids were thinking about racism as they had a great time on that ride for all those years. Give me a break.

[sebcw]

so the ride isn't actually closing, it's just getting a makeover.

[tvtime]

Just a reminder to everyone that all the princesses that came before from Disney came from fairytale stories out of European countries. For example the little mermaid fairytale came out of Denmark. We wouldn't have a white character playing a black princess so why do we reverse races for the European fairy-tales?

[SplashMountainFan-mpew]

You’re right Audie, no one goes on a theme park ride looking for things to be offended by. It is just a FUN ride. The people making these claims about the ride being offensive have nothing better to do than try to destroy a ride no one has had an issue with for the past 30+ years. If it’s “just a ride” then there’s nothing to be offended by.

[SplashMountainFan-mpew]

It’s not impossible to have both Splash and Tiana, they can coexist.

[thsurvivorofvhs]

"Song of the South" does not exist on VHS format, only on the VHS Sing-A-Long video titled Zippity-Do-Dah. The film was never released in the United States on VHS out of fear of generating social backlash, something that is now occurring. It was released in Europe and exists in the PAL format. I heard there were prints on film reels for projectors sent to schools by Disney back in the day as well. That I want. Any other random knowledge on prints / releases out there?