The attraction opened in July 1989.
The last US theatrical re-release of SotS was in November 1986. So, it was a mere 2 1/2 years from the last US release of the film to the opening of the atraction at Disneyland. I would suspect that children of the mid-80's still had a bit of familiarity with the story when the attraction opened.
But, contemporary audiences have been caught by the PC police and the fear of the Mouse.