It’s Okay To Care About Splash Mountain

Instead, I want to talk about nostalgia, and specifically the way that Disney has built an empire by tapping into, and encouraging us, to associate the sights and sounds of Walt Disney World with our most cherished memories. 

A Monopoly On Nostalgia

You see, what separates Walt Disney World from almost any other place in the world, is that it essentially holds a monopoly on our nostalgia.

For many of us, we grew up watching the Disney movies and then visiting the Resort. While there, we formed some of our happiest memories, where we were surrounded by loved ones in the most magical place on earth.

I still kinda miss Mickey’s Toontown Fair.

And this is exactly what Disney wanted. They shared the ideal of the family vacation to Walt Disney World and then surrounded us with sights and sounds that we associated with the best times in our young lives. Of course we were hooked.

If you look at many of the phrases that Disney World has used, especially since the 1990s, you see the pattern. “Remember the Magic”, “The Magic, Memories and You”, “Let the Memories Begin”. The parks were designed to evoke nostalgia and Disney has always encouraged it.

With slogans like “Let the Memories begin” Disney encouraged us to get invested in the parks.

So, we bought in. We idealized Disney World, and the specific sights, sounds and even smells of the Resort. Not only that, but we took that reverence home with us.

Hearing the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room, or Yo Ho, A Pirates Life For Me, back home in Illinois, transported us to a place and time where we were happiest. We bought merchandise and wore our Disney pins to try and re-capture the feeling.

Walt Disney World became a hallowed place, one that we were always looking forward to getting back to. Disney set up a conduit for nostalgia and it worked.

All The Small Things

The funny thing about Disney fans however, is that the nostalgia and longing to return becomes so strong that we latch on to almost anything. From the old Mickey bar hand soaps, to the recently removed purple direction signs, we often see Disney fans upset about the smallest of changes.

Photo/John Raoux) (John Raoux, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

But if you think about it, why wouldn’t they be upset? Every time they passed that purple sign, they remembered singing When You Wish Upon a Star at the end of an 18 hour drive.

More importantly, they remember sharing the moment with their mother, who is no longer with them. That memory means the world to them. 

Just hanging out in Walt Disney World

In a sense, that is why it is pointless to argue about change. I may have disliked the Sorcerer’s Hat at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but if you remember being seven years old, holding hands with your grandfather, and being awed by the glimmering hat, who am I to argue?

A nuanced discourse about theming and sight lines simply can’t compare. For many of us, there is no where else in the world that elicits memories like Walt Disney World. 

None of this is to say that Disney should never change. Instead, it is a defense for those who have strong feelings about seemingly inconsequential things. This brings us back to Splash Mountain.

Goodbye Splash Mountain

What Disney is doing this time however is different. It is not only closing a popular attraction, it is burying the characters and the music with the ride.

You can argue about whether or not Splash Mountain was essential to the Disney experience, but what you can’t argue is that Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah has become synonymous with Disney magic for almost every fan. Today, Disney has removed the song from the Magic Kingdom’s entrance music.

Even if you couldn’t brave Splash Mountain, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah was played at the Magic Kingdom entrance, on the resort television station, at parades and in commercials.

Outside of perhaps When You Wish Upon a Star, Zip-A Dee Doo Dah was the quintessential Disney song. It was the soundtrack for the kind of magical moments that built the foundation of our Disney fandom. 

Cast members celebrate the re-opening of Splash Mountain with some familiar faces.

So, you will have to forgive us for caring. From the time we can remember, Disney has told us that this song and these characters, should remind us of our most cherished memories.

For thirty years they sold us on the idea that we could love Brer Rabbit and Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, and that we should revere and remember the memories that we made at Walt Disney World. Then, they pivoted on a dime, and not only took them away, but they told us we shouldn’t care.

It Is Okay To Care

In the end, it is not only okay, but it is natural, to care about changes at Walt Disney World, big and small.

It’s fine to be sad that the Belle Vue Lounge has been redone at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort- after all, that’s where you remember wearing your Mickey ears and playing board games with your dad.

The Magic, The Memories and You

It is also okay to be upset that Splash Mountain closed. After all, with thirty years of memories and magic built into it, caring is exactly what Disney wanted you to do- up until they didn’t.

When you hear Zip-A-Dee-Doh-Dah, and remember running under the Main Street Train Station with your siblings, a full day of Disney magic ahead of you, that still means something. Don’t let those online belittle and demean your feelings about Splash Mountain, it is alright to care.

I will miss Splash Mountain

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