Disney Parks Will Re-Theme Splash Mountain After The Princess and the Frog

The Walt Disney Company has announced that it will re-theme the beloved theme park ride Splash Mountain after the animated musical film The Princess and the Frog. The ride will be reimagined at both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California, with conceptual design work underway by the company's Imagineers.

The ride will pick up "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."

Splash Mountain was first opened at Disneyland in 1989 and at Walt Disney World in 1992. It uses songs and imagery from the controversial 1946 Disney film Song of the South, which has long been regarded as racist owing to its stereotypical portrayal of Black people. While the Disney company stated that a re-theming of the ride has been in the works for a while, multiple petitions had been circulated by fans asking the company to do so after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

"It is really exciting to know that Princess Tiana's presence in both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom will finally be fully realized," Anika Noni Rose, who voiced the character, said in a statement. "As passionate as I am about what we created, I know the fans are going to be over the moon."

Disney has not announced a timeline for renovations. When the parks eventually reopen following the Covid crisis, the rides will be in their original form.