Former Walt Disney Imagineer Kathy Mangum has expressed regret regarding the decision to build Disneyland's Splash Mountain with a backstory derived from the controversial 1946 Disney film “Song of the South.” Mangum, who retired from Imagineering in 2018 after a 42-year career, shared her insights on the “Dream Chasing” podcast hosted by former Imagineering President Bob Weis.
Mangum stated, "I knew building Splash Mountain based on a movie we would not show was not a great idea. It was a horrible idea.” She added that she is "not proud of that" decision and would not undertake such a project today, believing Disney would also decline to do so. The log flume ride debuted at Disneyland in Anaheim in 1989.
“Song of the South” was a live-action/animated musical film that Disney shelved in the 1980s due to its perpetuation of racist stereotypes. The film itself was based on the “Uncle Remus” stories, a collection of folktales from the Southern plantation era compiled by Joel Chandler Harris in the 1880s.
The most uncomfortable part of the Splash Mountain project for Mangum occurred during the voice actor recording sessions for the attraction's audio-animatronic figures. She recalled the session for the Brer Fox character as particularly difficult.
In contrast to Mangum's views, Disney Legend Tony Baxter, who conceptualized Splash Mountain in 1983, has maintained his original decision. Baxter stated in a 2023 interview on Zeitgeist’s “Spirit of the Time” video podcast that "there was nothing in the ride that in any way was detrimental to anybody." He suggested that the controversy was more related to the film itself and that current sensitivity levels might be "way overboard."
Clones of Splash Mountain were later built in 1992 at the Magic Kingdom in Florida and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan.
Both the Anaheim and Orlando versions of Splash Mountain underwent transformation, with Disney deciding to remove the “Song of the South” theme during the COVID-19 park closures. This decision was made amidst social justice protests across the United States following the 2020 death of George Floyd. The attractions were closed in 2023 and reopened as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in 2024.
The new theme for the rides is based on the 2009 film “Princess and the Frog,” which was notable as Disney’s first animated depiction of an African-American princess. The film received an Academy Award nomination for best animated feature and two nominations for best original song. Mangum supported this change, calling the transformation "the right thing."
Mangum, an Orange native, began her Disney career as a part-time employee at Disneyland while attending Cal State Fullerton. Throughout her Imagineering career, she contributed to several notable projects, including Radiator Springs Racers and Luigi’s Flying Tires in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure, Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at Disneyland, and the Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach water parks at Walt Disney World.
