As we approach the forever closing of Splash Mountain in Magic Kingdom in just 5 short days, I thought it would be nice to reminisce on my memories of this ride, why I love it and will miss it so much, some history of the ride and what’s coming next! It truly is one of my favorites and I will miss it terribly! Let’s get started!
So Hard To Say Goodbye
Do you have certain places or things that bring you back to moments of your childhood you will never forget? Splash Mountain is one of those things for me. There are parts of that queue line that take me right back to moments in time that are such sweet memories. Even down to the songs. Warning, next part not kid friendly!! Hahaha! As a child I always thought the main song was saying “pretty good show us your balls” instead of “pretty good sure as your born” like it actually says(now that I have told you that you will never hear it the same again)! I’m not 100% sure that that didn’t come from my older brother interpreting the song but either way it makes me laugh every time I ride this ride!
I remember a late night in Magic Kingdom as a child with no wait and just running through the queue line to ride over and over again with my brother and sister. Years later I would get to do this with Sawyer during one of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parties! I remember when it was being built and seeing the construction walls up with all the coming soon signs that had Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Bear and Br’er Fox on them. I remember seeing the commercials advertising the new ride that was so different than anything else in Disney at the time. And I remember one particular trip when it was almost done, trying to peer over the walls to see the ride and being so excited for it to open! And then the next time we went it was!!
That first time going over the falls was so exciting and it instantly became one of my favorite rides forever!
History Of Splash Mountain
Splash Mountain is located in Disneyland and Tokyo Disney but I am going to focus on the Walt Disney World attraction. Walt Disney Imagineering went way over budget with Splash Mountain, spending $75 million!! It was originally going to be named Zip-A Dee River Run after the iconic song that plays at the end of the ride but was eventually changed to Splash Mountain. Funny enough this change of name was really because Micheal Eisner really liked the movie Splash! Splash Mountain officially opened in Magic Kingdom on October 1st, 1992. The drop is 52.5 feet in Magic Kingdom and takes you down at about 40 miles per hour!
Although Splash Mountain was very loosely based on the controversial film “Song of the South”, most people, including me, never even knew where these characters came from. I honestly didn’t know this until I was an adult reading books about Disney history and the archives. Song of the South is in the Disney vault forever so no one really ever will know how these characters came to be. Really, the characters were used but the storyline of the ride had nothing to do with the movie. But it is the last thing remaining in the public eye from the controversial film.
There are lots of Hidden Mickeys on this ride, my favorite is the picture above of Mickeys side profile at the top of the big drop. We got lucky enough to get stuck up there for a minute or two when we rode last week! Some others are Br’er Frogs red fishing bobbers and on one of the boats named Muskrat Moonshine!
Last fun fact…..Did you know there is an Ernest movie called Ernest Goes to Splash Mountain released in 1989 to help promote the ride! Depending on how old you are this is definitely an if you know you know kind of thing! Hahaha!
So Whats Next?
Splash Mountain will be closing in Magic Kingdom on January 23rd, 2023. Just 5 short days from the time this article is getting posted. We are going to try and get one more ride in on Friday and if you follow the blog on Instagram, I will probably go live for those that want to tune in. But what’s next after it closes?!
Well, the ride is undergoing a lengthy re-theme to be transformed into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. This will be based on Princess Tiana from the Princess and the Frog movie, saying it is following along on Tiana’s second act! The concept art for this looks very cool and it seems the ride itself is not changing really and we will still be taking a huge plunge at the end, just with different characters, story line and music. Disney Imagineering says this new ride will be open in Magic Kingdom in late 2024 so this will be an almost two year closure on one of the most popular rides in Magic Kingdom!
Final Thoughts
So obviously I love Splash Mountain and I am very sad to see it leaving Magic Kingdom forever. I am extremely thankful we ended up moving before it’s closure so we could get lots of rides in before it happened! It holds and will always hold a special place in my heart and memories, it really is the first ride I can vividly remember being built and waiting for it to open.. But Walt always said that the Disney Parks would never be finished, that they would always be growing and changing and becoming something new.
And although I am sad to see the Br’er Patch disappear forever, I am excited to see what they do with this re-theme! I loved the Princess and the Frog and Princess Tiana is one of my favorite characters. The movie has incredible music and fantastic characters so if they do it right it could be amazing! All I’m saying is I better see some Mama Odie, Ray and Louis in this ride!! We better dig a little deeper, see Evangeline and maybe even smell some of those man catching Beignets! There is a lot they can do with this so I hope it’s well thought out. It’s going to have to be good to fill Splash Mountains shoes.
I guess that’s it for now! I hope you are all having a great week and I thank you all so much for reading! If you love this ride as much as I do, I really hope you get one last ride in before it closes. If not, I’ll hopefully be live from a log headed to the Laughing Place tomorrow if you want to join me! As always, Have a Magical Day or maybe I should say have a Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Day!