Walt Disney World has removed the iconic song "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" from the music loop played at the Magic Kingdom entrance, according to WDW News Today.
The removal of the song from the Magic Kingdom entrance loop coincided with the closure of Disney World's famous Splash Mountain water ride on Sunday.
"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" entered the American consciousness in 1946, when Black actor James Baskett performed it in the Disney film "Song of the South." The film is set on a plantation and features an elderly Black man called Uncle Remus who tells African American folk tales to white children cared for by Black servants.
Baskett made history as the first Black man to win an Oscar for his portrayal of Uncle Remus and "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" became a well-known entry in the American songbook.
According to Breitbart, this isn't the first time the song was removed by Disney, as it was noticeably absent from the Festival of Fantasy Parade last March and was removed from the Disneyland Resort Esplanade in 2020. Tokyo Disneyland also pulled "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" in September.
The closing of Splash Mountain follows years of calls for change because the 30-year-old ride features several characters from "Song of the South," which critics say perpetuates racist stereotypes.
NBC News reports that Walter White, the former executive secretary of the NAACP, said the film "helps to perpetuate a dangerously glorified picture of slavery."
Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger confirmed in March 2020 that "Song of the South" would not be available on the company's streaming platform, Disney+, and said it is "not appropriate in today's world."
The campaign to close Splash Mountain began three years ago with a Change.org petition that garnered more than 21,000 signatures; a counter-petition defending the ride received more than 99,000 signatures.
"Splash Mountain has never included depictions of slaves or any racist elements and is based solely on historical African folktales that families of all ethnicities have been enjoying for nearly a century," the counter-petition stated. "It is absurd to pander to a small group of 'Disney haters' that don't understand the story, and re-theme such a nostalgic ride."
In June 2020, Disney announced that Splash Mountain would be "reimagined" as Tiana's Bayou Adventure, based on Disney's first Black princess, featured in the 2009 film "The Princess and the Frog."
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