Gigantic amount that Disney spent renovating 'racist' Splash Mountain into Princess and the Frog-themed rides that visitors despise

Disney has splashed out an eye-watering $142 million on woke replacements for some of its best-loved theme rides since deciding to ditch them at the height of the George Floyd protests.

The corporation ordered the leveling of its Splash Mountain flume rides in 2020, deeming their references to the 1946 film Song of the South 'not appropriate in today's world'.

But their replacement with rides based on 2009's The Princess and the Frog, featuring its first black princess, have struggled to attract visitors and united fans of both films in horror.

Business magazine Forbes pieced together the cost of the overhauls in Florida and California after a loose-lipped Disney design manager revealed what the corporation was spending at Disneyland Paris.

And the reaction of Disney fans has left analysts fearing the entertainment giant will never see a return on its money. 

Disney's Splash Mountain was one of the most popular attractions at its resorts in Florida and California but was deemed 'inappropriate' in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement

Its $142 million replacement 'Tiana's Bayou Adventure' has been plagued by mechanical failures and slammed as a 'disaster of epic proportions' by Disney fans

'The reputational damage of this debacle is incalculable and that alone could make it one of the most costly theme park rides in Disney's history,' the magazine wrote.

Splash Mountain quickly became one of the most popular rides when it opened at Disneyland in 1989 combining a thrilling log-plume ride with an immersive cartoon experience featuring the adventures of Br'er Rabbit.

The 1946 film on which it was based showcased the Oscar-winning song Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah but was criticized by Black Lives Matter campaigners for its 'racist' depiction of life in the aftermath of the Civil War.

In 2020, Disney's chief executive Bob Iger banned the film from the Disney+ platform, insisting that 'Song of the South, even with a disclaimer, was just not appropriate in today's world.'

And he revealed that the rides would be replaced with 'Tiana's Bayou Adventure' designed by its 'Imagineering' team and based on Disney's 2009 version of the Princess and the Frog.

The new ride was opened at the Florida resort by Disney World president Jeff Vahle last month

It is based on Disney's 2009 version of the The Princess and the Frog featuring the corporation's first black princess 

But it was not just traditionalists who were appalled when Disney unveiled its new attraction with a ride-through video in May.

'You seriously replaced an iconic ride with this?' wrote one of thousands of disgruntled customers.

'This was the most boring thing I ever witnessed,' added another. 'No story, no tense moments and no fun unlike it's far more fun and successful predecessor.'

'This is a slap in the face to Tiana, and the African American community,' commented a third. 'Tiana deserved her own new ride...not a broke down Wish version of a ride!'

'This ride represents everything wrong with modern Disney,' added a fourth.

And tempers have not been improved since the ride opened to the public in June with persistent mechanical problems repeatedly forcing its closure.

Disney was already warning of a second quarter drop in attendances at its theme parks, blaming a 'global moderation from peak post‐COVID travel'.

In 2020 Disney CEO Bob Iger insisted Splash Mountain had to go because the 1946version of Song of the South on which it was based 'was just not appropriate in today's world'

WDWMagic reported that even on July 4 wait times had fallen below an hour compared to up to four hours usually.

'The crowd levels are definitely much lower than they used to be for the Fourth,' reported ThatParkPlace.

Disney is usually tight-lipped about its investments and has refused to confirm how much has gone on Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

But an indiscreet and short-lived LinkedIn post by Imagineer design manager David Jaraudias threw light on the jaw-dropping cost of overhauling its attractions.

He revealed that the Avengers Campus in Disneyland Paris cost precisely $404.1 million to build in 2022.

He also confirmed that the overhaul of 'Star Tours', the resort's Star Wars simulator cost $71 million, allowing the business magazine to put the cost of the labor-intensive Splash Mountain replacement at $142 million.

Actors dressed as Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen from The Princess and the Frog perform on a float during the Festival of Fantasy Parade

It is not the first time the corporation has undertaken an expensive rewriting of its 101-year history.

In 2021, Disney announced it would remodel Jungle Cruise, one of the original Disney parks' rides, which had been criticized in years past for being racially insensitive because of its depiction of animatronic indigenous people as savages or headhunters.

Three years before that, Disney eliminated a Bride Auction scene, deemed offensive since it depicted women lining up for auction, from its Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

It remains under pressure over the crow characters from the 1941 film Dumbo, and the King Louie character from 1967's The Jungle Book, which have been slammed as African American caricatures.

The depiction of Native Americans in the 1953 movie Peter Pan and the Siamese cats - often deemed as Asian stereotypes - from the 1955 film Lady and the Tramp also have been derided.

Reaction to the new ride has been damning from Disney fans across the board 

But it is the poor quality of the Splash Mountain replacement that has done most to rile up Disney fans, according to reviews on its YouTube page.

'Disney spent so much on the animatronics they forgot to spend money on developing a good story,' wrote one.

'I'm not even gonna comment on how you ruined one of the absolute best rides at all the parks but if you were gonna do Princess and the Frog, this was the best you could do?' added another.

'There is no story, half of the ride is dark sections with the same repetitive screens of fireflies, songs with singing in the background but nobody is singing, cringe dialogue.'

'Imagineering has lost its creativity and storytelling ability,' wrote a third.

'This is a disaster of epic proportions.'