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A new attraction starring the first Black Disney princess is opening at the company鈥檚 U.S. theme park resorts, and some Disney followers see it as a fitting replacement to a former ride based on a movie that contained racist tropes.

The new theme park attraction updates Tiana鈥檚 storyline from the 2009 animated film 鈥淭he Princess and the Frog鈥� and is opening this year in the space previously occupied by Splash Mountain. The water ride had been themed to 鈥淪ong of the South,鈥� a 1946 Disney movie filled with racist cliches about African Americans and plantation life.

Tiana鈥檚 Bayou Adventure keeps Splash Mountain鈥檚 DNA as a log-flume ride, but it鈥檚 infused with music, scenery, and animatronic characters inspired by 鈥淧rincess,鈥� set in 1920s New Orleans. It opens to the public in late June at Walt Disney World in Florida and at Disneyland in California later this year.

鈥淔or little Black girls, Tiana has meant a lot. When a little child can see somebody who looks like them, that matters,鈥� said Neal Lester, an English professor at Arizona State University, who has written about Tiana.

Disney鈥檚 announcement that it would transform its longstanding Splash Mountain ride into Tiana鈥檚 Bayou Adventure was made in June 2020 following the social justice protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. At the time, Disney said the change had already been in the works. But it came as companies across the U.S. were reconsidering or renaming decades-old brands amid worldwide protests.

The 鈥淪ong of the South鈥� film is a mix of live action, cartoons, and music featuring an older Black man who works at a plantation and tells fables about talking animals to a white city boy. The film has been criticized for its racist stereotypes, hasn鈥檛 been released in theaters in decades, and isn鈥檛 available on the company鈥檚 streaming service Disney+.

Disney has been criticized for racist tropes in films made in earlier decades. The crow characters from the 1941 film 鈥淒umbo鈥� and the King Louie character from 1967鈥檚 鈥淭he Jungle Book鈥� were viewed as African American caricatures. The depiction of Native Americans in the 1953 movie 鈥淧eter Pan鈥� and the Siamese cats 鈥� often deemed as Asian stereotypes 鈥� from the 1955 film 鈥淟ady and the Tramp鈥� also have been derided.

Not everyone is sold on the belief that opening a ride based on Tiana鈥檚 story solves Disney鈥檚 past problematic racial depictions.

By refurbishing Splash Mountain into Tiana鈥檚 Bayou Adventure instead of dismantling the attraction completely, Disney has linked 鈥淪ong of the South鈥� with 鈥淭he Princess and the Frog.鈥� Both are fantasies that are silent, for the most part, on the racial realities of the segregated eras they depict, said Katie Kapurch, an English professor at Texas State University who has written widely about Disney.

鈥淲e might see the impulse to replace rather than dismantle or build anew as a metaphor for structural racism, too,鈥� Ms. Kapurch said. 鈥淎gain, this is unintentional on Disney鈥檚 part, but the observation gets to the heart of how Disney reflects America back to itself.鈥�

Imagineers who design the Disney rides are always attempting to look at the attractions with fresh eyes and ways to tell new stories 鈥渟o that everybody feels included,鈥� said Carmen Smith, a senior vice president for creative development at Walt Disney Imagineering.

鈥淲e never want to perpetuate stereotypes or misconceptions,鈥� Ms. Smith said on June 10. 鈥淥ur intention is to tell great stories.鈥�

It鈥檚 also important for the Imagineers to tell a variety of stories for its global audience, said Charita Carter, an executive creative producer at Walt Disney Imagineering who oversaw the development of the attraction.

鈥淪ociety does change, and we develop different sensibilities,鈥� Ms. Carter said. 鈥淲e focus our stories differently depending what our society needs.鈥�

The transformation from Splash Mountain to Tiana鈥檚 Bayou Adventure is one of several recalibrations at the entertainment giant鈥檚 theme parks for rides whose storylines are considered antiquated or offensive.

In 2021, Disney announced it would remodel Jungle Cruise, one of the original Disney parks鈥� 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 鈥淏ride Auction鈥� scene, deemed offensive since it depicted women lining up for auction, from its 鈥淧irates of the Caribbean鈥� ride.

It鈥檚 a positive step for Disney to have a ride based on a character from a background not seen in previous versions of Disney princesses replacing an attraction from a film steeped in racist tropes since 鈥渞epresentation matters,鈥� Mr. Lester said.

鈥淒isney is first and foremost about money and getting people into the park, and you can make money, still have representation, and be aware of social justice history and make everyone feel like they belong there,鈥� Mr. Lester said.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.