This is a classic!!! How awesome is it that Disney Imagineering used the salt mines of Avery Island, Louisiana, used during the Civil War, to create the entrance to the ride, so exciting to ponder the fate of up to 500 black slaves at a time while they toiled and were tortured during the Civil War (See Rice University - Avery Island for further details) covered in infected open sores from the salt, chained at the ankles and to each other and knowing they died in agony while you wait in the entrance to the ride. How brilliant of Disney to use a well documented place of heinous abuse of black people for a family ride!!! Imagine the merchandise that can be created and sold (especially for the Halloween nights) honoring certainly some the worst treatment of blacks in American History!!! Just keep in mine for those who don't appreciate beautiful fun Imagineering, for the squeamish, Disney has put up a sign on Tiana's Bayou stating "Salt Mines - Reserved - For Seasoned Veterans", meaning the tortured slaves.
I think one motive of the projection criticism is the placement of the projection screens, they’re so close to the ride that it may destroy the illusion of you being in the ride’s atmosphere. The screens clash with the physical assets of the ride.
This ride is not good as splash mountain and it is never going to be but you can tell there was a little bit of some effort to try and make this a worthy replacement but I hate that it has a bad reputation just because it replaced splash mountain. While yes removing an iconic attraction is sad but say an attraction is bad just because it replaced a ride is a pretty bad example on why you think a ride is bad even if the replacement is horrible. This ride is just ok because of its lazy facade, it’s out of placement in Frontierland and its lazy show sets not because it replaced splash mountain.
