The Academy Award-winning Best Original Song, “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”, originally from Song of the South and the main theme of Splash Mountain, was quietly removed from Disneyland Resort music loops across the Esplande and Downtown Disney recently. In response, Disney has just released a statement regarding its removal.
The song was typically played between the Frozen Medley and The Ballad of Davy Crockett, but no longer plays with the rest of the loop:
In a new piece by The OC Register’s Brady MacDonald, Disney officials responded to the changes with the following statement:
The removal of the song from Downtown Disney’s background music is part of a continuous process to deliver an environment that features stories that are relevant and inclusive.
Disneyland has apparently also removed two mentions of the Song of the South from the Splash Mountain page on Disneyland’s website.
Many fans have wondered how the attraction would be retconned from the parks in the wake of Splash Mountain’s announced re-theme to Princess and the Frog, and while merchandise sales keep going strong at Walt Disney World, it seems Disneyland has made the first step in erasing the attraction from the overall park experience.
The attraction has been the subject of critique given the racist undertones of the film it was based on. In fact, Song of the South has been locked in the Disney vault since the 1980s due to its idyllic portrayals of Southern plantation life in the late 1800s Reconstruction Era.
The attraction is set to reopen with the park, and an official closure date has yet to be announced for the start of the reimagining.
Featured Image: (C) Matthew Cooper Photography – www.thetimethespace.com
