(KTLA) – Lyrics from “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” have been quietly removed from the musical medley in Disneyland’s Magic Happens parade, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The song originated from the 1946 feature “Song of the South,” a movie that has been criticized for its stereotypes of Black men and its romanticized view of the post-Civil War South.
Disneyland officials confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that the song was removed from the setlist and replaced with a song from the 1953 feature “Peter Pan.”
The “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” song and characters from the “Song of the South” film are also heavily featured on the Splash Mountain ride at Disneyland. In 2020, Disney announced plans to re-theme the famed ride into a “Princess and the Frog” attraction titled “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” following backlash and civil unrest in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.
The re-imagined ride is expected to open in late 2024 at the U.S. Disney parks. The Walt Disney World Resort has already closed its version of Splash Mountain; Disneyland has yet to announce any closure date for its version of the ride.
The Magic Happens parade returned to Disneyland in late February after a three-year hiatus, mainly due to the park’s closure in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The parade is scheduled to run twice a day at the theme park.
