It has been two years, to the day, since Disney announced that a Princess and the Frog attraction would be replacing Splash Mountain at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. Two years later, Splash Mountain remains open with no identified closing date despite Disney flagging it as problematic.
Disney has been relatively tight-lipped about the project but promised more information at the Essence Festival of Culture next weekend after Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana from Princess and the Frog, let it slip that the attraction will open in 2024.
Disney’s most recent update on the attraction came during World Princess Week in August 2021 when Disney offered some new concept art for the attraction.
So, what do we expect to hear from the Essence Festival of Culture next week (June 30 – July 3). It’s anyone’s guess at this point. As one of the first projects to be announced as part of an inclusion initiative at the company, the fact that Splash Mountain is still operating is a bit of a headscratcher. If Disney decision-makers have deemed that Splash Mountain is inconsistent with company values, why is it still open? We hope that Disney is able to provide a substantive update next week.
We anticipate that we will get a clearer timeline next week, but one that balances the operational challenges of the busiest theme park in the world. It’s likely that Disney will want TRON Lightcycle Run open before closing Splash Mountain. That means that we could see a Splash Mountain closure anywhere from this fall into early 2023.
We also hope to learn more about the storyline for the attraction and how Disney will infuse new life into the Splash Mountain structure that is largely expected to remain in place. It would also be great if we could learn more about the game-changing animatronics and scenic illusions that lead Imagineer Charita Carter previously talked about.
Backstory
We pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
Every day that passes without an update is a great day. This just clearly demonstrates the hypocrisy of Disney. The ride is racist and problematic…let’s keep it open and continue to profit off it. This doesn’t make Disney racist. God no.
Profit over principles.
A lot of things need to be replaced at disney, but Splash Mountain isn’t one of them
I’m all for representation of Disney’s first black Princess, but they don’t need to replace an iconic attraction like Splash Mountain in order to do so. They have plenty of land to add a new attraction and not do this on the cheap. Plain and simple.
A knee-jerk reaction at the time which they no doubt regret.
Even if Princess and the Frog doesn’t get a ride, you can still meet the characters, see them on merchandise and easily watch the movie but if you get rid of Splash Mountain then all those characters will be lost to history because Disney refuses to release the movie on all platforms. If they just released Song of the South with a message before the movie, you could let people decide for themselves if it’s terrible or not.
How stupid you think Disney really is? This has gone to far.