Magic Kingdom Vice President Melissa Valiquette comments on the progress being made on the reimagining of Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World

Aug 11, 2021 in "Splash Mountain"

Posted: Wednesday August 11, 2021 4:04pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

In a recent podcast with the Orlando Sentinel, new Magic Kingdom Vice President Melissa Valiquette gave an update on the progress being made on the reimagining of Splash Mountain.

No further information on the reimaging of Splash Mountain has been released by Disney since their original announcement of the plans back in June 2020, so today's comments by the Magic Kingdom VP are the first we have heard in more than a year.

Melissa said, "When we are reimagining a new attraction or a new area of our parks, this can be a lengthy process; there is a lot of work that goes into it."

"I'm in a lot of meetings right now around Splash mountain, and of course, our guests haven't seen any changes yet. That's going to take some time, but the sequence of these things is that sometimes decisions can be made many many months, even years before any of that will be seen on stage, so it's going to take us a little bit of time to reimagine Splash mountain, but I can tell you behind the scenes that terrific work has been done including some selections around music around animatronics, and it is really an inspiring story."

"They have created something that I believe will capitalize on what was already special about the ride Splash Mountain, but will turn it into something that our guests will really cherish for generations into the future. And I think this is one example of something where our guests are going to have to put a bit of trust into us, for a bit, because we promise not to let you down, we're going to deliver a wonderful attraction that is inspiring and beautiful and worthy of this Princess, Princess Tiana."

You can listen to the rest fo the 30 minute podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Disney announced in June 2020 that Splash Mountain at both Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom in Florida would be reimagined to the animated Disney film, "The Princess and the Frog."

With a backstory based on the controversial 1946 classic Disney movie "Song of the South," there have been strong calls for Disney to change the hugely popular flume ride.

Disney says that "The new concept is inclusive – one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year."

According to Disney, "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. Tiana is a modern, courageous, and empowered woman, who pursues her dreams and never loses sight of what's really important. It's a great story with a strong lead character, set against the backdrop of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou. In 1966, Walt himself opened New Orleans Square when it became the first new "land" added to Disneyland park, so it feels natural to link the story and the incredible music of "The Princess and the Frog" to our parks."

The project will be led by Charita Carter, who most recently worked on Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway. Splash Mountain creator Tony Baxter will serve as a creative adviser for the makeover.

A timeline for the closure and reopening has yet to be announced, and Splash Mountain is currently open to guests.

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Bocabear6 days ago

I had forgotten about that, and the first one was cute... but none of the other live action remakes seem to be that great...it feels like all the sequel movies Disney was churning out in the late 90s, early 200s... Cinderella 2? Those were serious garbage...and now these live action remakes seem the same to me...

mickEblu6 days ago

So are we finding out Dr. Facilier is making an appearance in TBA tomorrow or will it be just another mind boggling marketing decision from Disney when it comes to this attraction? Having a whole segment devoted to Keith David/ Facilier at the same event where they are doing a deep dive on the attraction would make zero sense unless he's in it.

James Alucobond6 days ago

Cinderella is better, I think, but it’s really the only one, mostly because it didn’t concern itself with following the original story. The others are either unasked for facsimiles or weird attempts to make evil characters sympathetic (though I chuckle at Maleficent glossing over the fact that her name is literally meant to invoke the opposite of “beneficent”).

brb10066 days ago

I really enjoyed the 1996 live-action adaptation of 101 Dalmatians.

Bocabear6 days ago

I can't think of one live action remake that was better than the original...I won't count Cruella because that was really something different.... There were things to like about the Cinderella and the BATB... but in general they never quite did it for me...Both of those movies had a dress problem... Cinderella's garish blue dress was so immense it wore her, and Belle's Golden gown was completely wrong period...Looked more like 1940s and way too demure... Actually Cinderella's Godmother gown was much prettier than what she conjured for Cindy...Almost like they made the white one for Cinderella and then changed their mind and decided to match the blue dress that was sold as Halloween costumes... The other live action remakes I think have all been terrible...

Rich T7 days ago

Yes. And the remake isn’t strong enough (IMO) to be particularly memorable in script or visual style to stand out in its own. As lightweight as the animated classic is, it is very entertaining and memorable. That’s the whole problem with the remakes. Instead of presenting something original, cohesive and memorable, they’re chained to the curse of having to hit mandatory nostalgia-check-boxes even if doing so maybe isn’t the wisest move. Disney wants to have its cake and eat it too. And so we get a Little Mermaid remake with hideous CGI sidekicks and a Jungle Book where CGI characters are forced to perform clumsy, forgettable versions of songs that were wonderful in the original animated film.

Rich Brownn7 days ago

Of course the cartoons are recognized more. The remake featured animals that looked like.. well, animals. They aren't a funny sketch version of them.

Rich T8 days ago

I think the Jungle Book remake was definitely one of the better ones, certainly helped by the original animated film being so comparatively (and intentionally) lightweight. That said, the remake in retrospect (IMO) now seems kind of bloated, style-less and forgettable. Certainly, the CGI characterizations of Baloo, Bagheera, Shere Kahn, Louie and Kaa have not left even a tiny blip on the pop culture landscape, while the 1960’s hand drawn versions are still recognized and embraced. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out Disney actually is aware that the remakes don’t have the staying power of the originals, and is perfectly content to just let them serve their purpose as short-lived cash-grabs. It sure would be nice if all that time, money and talent went toward the creation of something original and wonderful.

Rich Brownn8 days ago

I think "Jungle Book" was much better. But then it hewed closer to its source material and didn't try to be cute and funny most of the time

Disney-Universal Fanboy9 days ago

Yeah, The Live action Alice is entertaining, But it made the whole ending of the animated movie redundant

Rich T9 days ago

They are all vastly inferior to the originals, IMO. They’re not bad, and are somewhat entertaining, but none of them match the artistry and great storytelling of the animated classics. I do have a beef, in particular, with Burton’s Alice. ‘Cause, Y’know, when a movie is called “Alice in Wonderland,” it helps if the story being told is actually “Alice in Wonderland” and not a completely different story that seems to have more in common with a Narnia tale. And don’t get me started on “Through the Looking Glass”….

Rich T9 days ago

Not a single remake, IMO, has been better than the original. At best, they’re sometimes not-completely-awful. And the OG PatF is a fine movie (beautifully drawn) with a couple of flaws. Not looking forward to CGI frogs and gators.

Rich T9 days ago

Yes, but I will acknowledge that Big Thunder was a necessary change for the park, even though the loss of Nature’s Wonderland killed Frontierland’s depth. I love Big Thunder, but I also lament that—experience-wise—the park exchanged an epic, beautiful 15 minute adventure for a two minute family coaster. Times change. Sigh.

mickEblu10 days ago

Haha but plenty of people complained about Mission Breakout and still do. As far as Mine Train our very own @Rich T still laments the loss.