Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore — A Deeper Look Into Disney Parks Inclusion Rethemes

Feb 08, 2022

Originally posted on February 26, 2021.

Welcome to the February 2021 edition of Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore. As we hinted in last month’s newsletter this month we will be tackling the Disney Parks inclusion + diversity rethemes and updates. Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro has this initiative at the top of his list when it comes to cultural change to the Disney Parks.

During the IAAPA virtual conference, D’Amaro hinted that more inclusion projects would be coming to Disney Parks. The first two attractions that will change under this initiative are Splash Mountain and Jungle Cruise. In this edition’s newsletter, I’m going to break down the changes and take a deeper look at what other inclusion rethemes and projects could happen.

Disney Parks Inclusion Rethemes

DPEP needs a more cheerful logo in my opinion!

Before the Disney Parks inclusion rethemes came to forefront. Back in 2017, Walt Disney Imagineering updated Pirates of the Caribbean to include a female pirate named Redd. The Imagineers wanted to fix a problematic part of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction while also giving more female representation. (Redd, is now rumored to have its own Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff in the works.) This most likely was the official start of the initiative even though it wasn’t acknowledged as such at the time.

Fast forward to June 20, 2020, WDWMagic forum user WDWPro leaks a list of attractions that were going under review by Disney’s Diversity and Values team. The list included these attractions:

1. Splash Mountain
2. American Adventure
3. Hall of Presidents
4. Country Bear Jamboree
5. Hoop Dee Doo Review
6. Carousel of Progress
7. It’s a Small World
8. Peter Pan’s Flight

Five days later Disney announces its first major change as part of the initiative.

The Princess and the Frog

As stated above The Princess and the Frog attraction was the first announced as part of this initiative and even though Disney has made cuts to both Imagineering and capital expenditures during the pandemic the attraction retheme is moving forward and could possibly be fast-tracked. Although many Disney Parks fans wanted to see a more original concept for The Princess and the Frog it will at least give Tiana and friends representation in the parks. While also distancing the parks from Song of the South. It’s pretty much a win-win for Disney in this scenario.

Our very own The Mickey Wiki even made a case for Splash Mountain and why it worked. I think Disney starting off with Splash Mountain for the new initiative makes a lot of sense considering they have been wanting to distance themselves from Song of the South for years, and retheming something as big and as iconic as Splash Mountain proved that nothing was off-limits.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek was asked about Splash Mountain/The Princess and the Frog on an Indiana University web seminar. “Song of the South is based on a story which depicts happy slaves, that is probably not the place we all want to be,” Chapek said. The film takes place during the Reconstruction era but we all understand what Chapek is putting down here.

Disney reportedly was looking at different ways to replace Splash Mountain for years before landing on The Princess and the Frog. Although the announcement’s timing made it seem like the fans willed it into existence. Disney has since came out saying that this project was always in development.

I’m cautiously optimistic about the new The Princess and the Frog attraction. I think it’s hard to replace a ride especially a ride that has such a complicated legacy like Splash Mountain. Like many others I would’ve preferred an original concept. After all I can see this attraction being one of the highlights for Walt Disney World and Disneyland in 2023/2024 as part of The Walt Disney Company’s 100th year anniversary celebration.

Jungle Cruise

The next one to be announced was the Jungle Cruise. We covered the news about how Walt Disney Imagineering would remove negative depictions of native people in the attraction. Imagineering also confirmed that the changes would be made without influence from the upcoming Jungle Cruise film starring The Rock and Emily Blunt.

This update gives Jungle Cruise new story elements while removing outdated and negative depictions of native people. Obviously, this move isn’t as drastic as Splash Mountain where a whole attraction is being replaced. This one is on a smaller-scale and looks to help broaden the experience.

Carmen Smith, Executive, Creative Development & Inclusion Strategies at Walt Disney Imagineering put it best in the below quote:

Walt Disney Imagineering is now crafting stories that will share and reflect voices and perspectives from the world around us. Similar to what Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Animation, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Pixar have been doing in recent years.

The American Adventure

According to Brayden Holness of Mickey Views, the next attraction getting an inclusive redesign will be The American Adventure at EPCOT. Which that would make a lot of sense considering the show needs an update. Soul, Pixar’s first film with a Black lead, even has its own exhibit within The American Adventure. So maybe the transformation is in the early stages? Also, if we go off of WDWPro’s list the second attraction listed was The American Adventure that could end up not meaning anything but still it could be something.

The attraction has aged, and back when they updated the attraction in 2018, they removed some people from the ending montage. Our reporter Showcase of Wishes dives deep into that here. So, by the time they get around to this one it will definitely be time for a new update and I’m sure Disney has some ideas on how to make The American Adventure reflect the America of today.

Hall of Presidents

Speaking of American and patriotic attractions. Another attraction that may get changed due to the new initiative is the Hall of Presidents. The attraction has come under scrutiny in recent years due to the current President getting time to speak during the attraction. This brings in a real world aspect when people go to Walt Disney World. It’s an aspect that many don’t like having within Walt Disney World, and it’s not just the current Presidents that create issues for guests.

After Trump’s induction into the Hall of Presidents. Disney made it clear that the attraction of the Hall of Presidents was originally a Walt Disney idea. This was an attempt to ease the possible backlash for the attraction. Disney has already confirmed that Biden will be added to the show which likely means the show will stay but I wouldn’t be surprised if the show gets a rewrite or fresh update under this initiative. Jack Kendall of DSNY Newcast even passed along a rumor that Disney reached out to Lin-Manuel Miranda and “Weird Al” Yankovic to collaborate on a new version of Hall of Presidents that would keep the historical accuracy but make it more entertaining.

I guess it depends on Disney’s overall stance on if they want to keep an attraction that could potentially be controversial every four years if they allow the current president to keep speaking. Although if the rumor of a Lin-Manuel/Weird Al Hall of Presidents update comes to fruition the attraction will likely stay for the foreseeable future.

Peter Pan’s Flight

This one is a no brainer and it’s already in the works it seems. The “Tiger Lily” scenes from all of the Peter Pan’s Flight attractions will likely be updated when WDI gets the opportunity. Disneyland Paris already digitally removed the scene from its ride-through video.

This shouldn’t affect the attraction overall and it’s something that even on Disney+ they have to warn consumers about. This is such a minor update to an attraction that I doubt the casual park guest would ever notice that it’s gone.

Country Bear Jamboree, It’s A Small World, Carousel of Progress, and others

— Both Country Bear Jamboree and Hoop Dee Doo Revue have appeared on the list to be examined. Although the show’s material may not be inherently problematic. The Country Bear Jamboree has songs that are dated and no longer considered family-friendly to modern audiences. To some, both shows are portrayed as shows from the Wild West and a bygone era which rubs some guests the wrong way. Country Bear Jamboree is a beloved attraction so it would be interesting if Disney does go down the update route of trying to make it a modern classic. As for Hoop Dee Doo Revue we probably won’t see any info on that until entertainment returns and who knows if this show even comes back given Disney’s current situation.

— It’s A Small World also made the list for examination. This update would probably just consist of Disney updating the figures for certain countries so it’s less stereotypical and a more equal world view. But I wouldn’t expect a massive change here. It’s another Disney classic so they would keep that in mind when they went to update it.

— Carousel of Progress is another fan-favorite and has been rumored for updates for a long time but that was unrelated to the inclusion initiative, but it is possible that the attraction changes could be tied into it now. Maybe some minor script changes in some areas? I still have a feeling if Carousel of Progress gets updated it won’t be because of this initiative it will just be because Imagineering wants to update the beloved classic.

Others that haven’t been discussed but probably will be looked at…

Tom Sawyer Island and The Enchanted Tiki Room

I’d expect Disney to take a look at Tom Sawyer Island (source material) and The Enchanted Tiki Room (voice actors) when it comes to this new inclusion initiative. Quite frankly I’m shocked that these attractions missed the initial list. Both are classics at Walt Disney World, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Imagineering has plans to make them into more modern experiences.

The one thing to remember is that these changes won’t happen overnight and that D’Amaro’s and Disney’s vision will likely take years to execute especially considering the strain COVID-19 has put on Disney’s park business. But when Disney’s park business bounces back I wouldn’t be shocked if more projects in the inclusion retheme/update world get announced. After all Jungle Cruise’s update was announced at a time when the division is struggling so who knows maybe more will be announced in due time.

Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs are making moves!

Former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs are making moves. Kevin Mayer, the former leader of Disney+, and Tom Staggs, the former Chief Operating Officer of Disney helped facilitate a merger between Beachbody Co. Group, Myx Fitness Holdings and Forest Road Acquisition Corp (Mayer and Staggs created). The business is now valued at $2.9 billion with the hopes that Beachbody could be the next Peloton.

That’s not all though as Mayer and Staggs are creating another SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) called Forest Road Acquisition II. They will attempt to raise as much as $345 million for the second SPAC with the hopes of taking the combined company public similar to their Beachbody deal.

On top of their SPAC ventures and multiple advisory roles at different companies. Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs are eyeing a big move which would see them rollup Scooter Braun’s media and management firm SB Projects and Ben Silverman’s Propagate Content.

Blackstone is expected to invest $2 billion into the venture as they expand into the media territory. The venture would reteam Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs and focus on companies across social media, influencers, music, musicians, film, television, and e-commerce. This would be separate from their SPAC ventures.

Ben Silverman’s Propagate is home of content such as Food Network’s Chopped, Hillary (Hulu), and more. Scooter Braun’s SB Projects does management and various content. Scooter Braun manages Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, and others. Braun is known for his acquisition of Taylor Swift’s music library.

If the deal comes together it would create one unique company that Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs would potentially lead. I wouldn’t mind seeing it and we will be monitoring this story closely at Boardwalk Times.