Attraction starring Disney’s first Black princess replaces ride based on film many viewed as racist

By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A new attraction starring the first Black Disney princess is opening at the company’s theme parks in Florida and California. Some Disney followers see it as fitting that the attraction starring Tiana from the 2009 film “The Princess and the Frog” is opening in the space formerly occupied by the Splash Mountain ride. Splash Mountain had ties to “Song of the South,” a 1946 movie that contained racist tropes. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is infused with music, scenery and animatronic characters inspired by the film set in 1920s New Orleans. It opens to the public later this month at Disney World in Florida, and later this year at Disneyland in California.