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Consensus Among Disney Fans: Political Correctness Benefits Theme Parks
One can’t spend more than a few minutes in online Disney Parks fan communities without encountering someone decrying the Mouse’s recent decisions as “woke.” However, a recent debate revealed that most Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort guests actually favor political correctness at the Disney theme parks.
The anti-woke brigade has recently targeted rethemes and updates to Disney Park attractions like Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Jungle Cruise. Splash Mountain recently closed at Disneyland Park and Magic Kingdom Park to make way for The Princess and the Frog (2009)-themed Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Pirates of the Caribbean and The Jungle Cruise no longer feature scenes offensive to women and Indigenous people.
TikToker Sophia (@phiaprincess_3431_) recently responded to a video of conservative Disney influencer Mally Mouse calling these rides “victims of political correctness.” Sophia argued that “all three of those rides had perfectly good reasons for changing.”
@phiaprincess_3431_ #greenscreenvideo #greenscreen turn off your stitches all you want this is embarrassing. #disney #tianasbayouadventure #splashmountain #songofthesouth #fyp #educational
“As wholesome as it is to teach little Sally what she would’ve been treated like in the olden days, isn’t it cool how a little girl can see a pirate and be like, ‘Oh! I can dress up like that for Halloween,’” Sophia began. “Isn’t that cute? I think that’s cute.”
About Jungle Cruise, she argued that the former animatronics of Trader Sam and other depictions of Indigenous people were a racist caricature that “a lot of Indigenous people have expressed that they do not appreciate.”
“To say that the movie [Splash Mountain] is based on is not racist, either you have not watched it or you just do not know history,” Sophia concluded. “…You are not losing anything. It’s the same ride with better animatronics.”
Over 250,000 people liked Sophia’s video, and thousands have commented on it.
“Splash Mountain was always a ‘sit through the theme to enjoy the drop’ kind of ride,” said @stereostatic. “The redesign looks fun, and it’s modern! Kids will enjoy it far more than a film from the 40s.”
“I overheard someone at [Magic Kingdom] saying they’re rebranding it because it was just a generic Disney ride but they wanted to theme it to an actual movie,” @tiffanij_95 replied. “[People] don’t even know Song of the South for good reason!”
“The old version of the auction seems so awkward to have to explain to your kids?” @probablymercutio wrote of Pirates of the Caribbean. “Like imagine your five-year-old asking what’s going on there.”
“There was a part of a children’s ride that depicted [a] woman being sold at an auction??? And people were mad when they changed it??” @itsajollyjester agreed.
“Jungle Cruise skipper here (don’t speak for the company [of course]) but Jungle Cruise also changed to incorporate more of the story & history!!” @mar.rambles wrote. “…I love the changes. The whole boat crew all have names and such unique histories from around the world…I love them.”
Whether you’re a fan of the new changes or nostalgic for the old Disney parks, Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort will never stop evolving. As Walt Disney once said, “keep moving forward”:
“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
What do you think about “woke” changes at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort?
This post Consensus Among Disney Fans: Political Correctness Benefits Theme Parks appeared first on Inside the Magic.
