It's The Country Bear Jamboree, Not The Confederate Bear Jamboree

The most magical place on earth is not always the most politically correct place on earth. Disney theme parks have been no stranger to controversy. Over the years, a number of attractions have been in the spotlight for controversial reasons. Last year, Splash Mountain closed due to being based on Song of the South. Some people are excited, and others are devastated. Some claim Song of the South features racist stereotypes. Others claim the movie takes place in the post- Civil War world. Song of the South is not available on Disney + or on DVD, so it is hard to be sure.

However, Splash Mountain was hardly the first ride to be controversial. Yo ho -Yo ho, a politically correct scene for us. Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland was modified in 1997 to be more politically correct. The original version featured pirates chasing women. In the new version, the pirates are still chasing women, but now the women are all carrying bottles or trays of food. There was another scene where pirates were auctioning off women. More recently, the scene has been replaced by a scene with female pirates auctioning off goods. Maybe people getting auctioned off to be raped is a little dark for a Disney theme park ride.

There was a pirate searching for a certain woman. He asked the riders if they had seen her. Little did the pirate know the woman was hiding in the barrel behind him. The scene was changed so the pirate was ignoring the woman and complaining about a treasure map. In Disneyland, the woman was replaced by a cat. Eventually, both the woman and the cat were replaced by Captain Jack Sparrow. This modification made the ride less scary for kids, more politically correct, and it didn’t really change the ride. If anything, it made the ride echo the movie more.

There was once a burning cabin that could be seen in Disneyland. What’s politically incorrect about a burning cabin? This burning had a settler’s body with an arrow in his body. It was changed to portray the settler passed out drunk. The original was highly insensitive to Native Americans, to say the least! That was way more offensive than any Brer Rabbit (from Splash Mountain) story!

Even the fireworks caused some controversy. The opening announcement to the Happily Ever After fireworks show was changed from “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls” to “dreamers of all ages. ” This is to make it more inclusive, and rightfully so. WDW plays host to guests of all genders.

So the pirates now chase women carrying trays of food on Pirates of the Caribbean. They changed the opening announcement for the fireworks. Now let’s look at some times when attempts to make attractions more politically correct went too far.

Splash Mountain is no more at Walt Disney World, but the song Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah is in quite a few aspects of Disney history. Disneyland has removed the song from the Magic Happens parade. Should the whole song be banned? According to some, this song is actually sung by a free man- Uncle Remus. Should anything containing the phrase Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah be banned? The song that debuted during the WDW 25th Anniversary “Remember The Magic” includes a segment from Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah. The song was replayed during another WDW anniversary years later. To ban the song would alter quite a few Disney classics. One of Disney’s classic sing-a-longs is called Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. Should the video/DVD be banned?

Are there racist stereotypes in Snow White? Apparently, some people are protesting Snow White being kissed against her own will in Disneyland’s Snow White’s Enchanted Wish ride. Wouldn’t Snow White still be under the spell? People getting raped on Pirates of the Caribbean is one thing but this is literally another story.

Cast members are now allowed to display tattoos. This negates the atmosphere unless it is a tattoo of Olaf, and the majority of them are probably not. Non-Disney tattoos just don’t say “The Most Magical Place On Earth.”

Controversy has found its way to Jungle Cruise. One such change is the headhunter’s spears being removed from a scene. Are rides supposed to be sensitive toward headhunters? The arrow in the settler’s body was one thing but this may be a little much.

In Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Mr. Toad(and the guests) ended up in hell. Some speculated this was a dream, or the part when the car returns to let guests disembark in Toad Hall represented being sent back from hell. Either way, the ride included a scene in hell. This may not have been the only reason the ride was closed but it contributed to the ride closing. It was replaced by The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. On this ride, guests ride in honey-pot vehicles and do NOT detour to hell. Maybe a scene in hell is too much for a Fantasyland kiddie ride, but it was a great ride. Maybe they could have just changed the ending. The devils never appeared in a Disney film and were created just for the attraction anyway.

The newest change is the Country Bear Jamboree. Critics claim that Country Bear Jamboree portrays the same stereotypes as Splash Mountain. This may be a bit of a stretch. The bears don’t sing” I Wish I Was In Dixie.” So first Splash Mountain, then the Country Bear Jamboree. Splash Mountain was removed, and some people have an issue with Country Bear Jamboree. What about the rest of Frontierland? Whether you like Western-themes or not, Frontierland is a staple of the Magic Kingdom. Isn’t all of Frontierland a homage to the old south/west in a way? It is called Frontierland after all, and old Frontier towns were not exactly known for their diversity. Where do you draw the line?