UPDATE: We said goodbye to the Splash Mountain attraction at Disney World in January, and now the original Splash Mountain at Disneyland has officially shut its doors for good. Disney has confirmed that the final log splashed down on May 30th, ending a nearly-34 year run. The original Splash Mountain opened at Disneyland in California on July 17, 1989, with enough success to warrant an expansion to Orlando’s Disney World as well as Tokyo Disneyland.
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Near the site of Splash Mountain, there is now a photo op for park-goers to take their picture with a backdrop promoting the upcoming attraction, “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure,” which is replacing the iconic ride. The new ride is a tie-in to the 2009 Disney film The Princess and the Frog. No word yet as to how similar to Splash Mountain the ride will be, but, in a 2022 statement, executive producer of relevancy activations for Walt Disney Imagineering Charita Carter calls Tiana’s Bayou Adventure a “love letter to New Orleans.” Disney is advertising a 2024 opening for the new attraction.
The following was originally published January 26, 2023:
Since its opening in 1992, Splash Mountain has been considered an amusement park staple by the Disney faithful. Now, after 30 years, the ride’s doors have closed for good.
With locations in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, as well as Disneyland in Anaheim, California, Splash Mountain has been seen as Disney’s premiere water ride. In 2020, however, Disney announced that both U.S. versions of the ride would be made-over with a new theme from the 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. The reason for the shakeup of one of the park’s most beloved rides is due to perceived racial insensitivity, as the ride is connected to one of the company’s dirty secrets: the infamous 1946 film Song of the South. The water ride famously included songs and narrative exposition during a peaceful ride, climaxing in a 50 foot drop into a “briar patch.”
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The announcement spurred a viral “Save Splash Mountain” movement that culminated in a petition on change.org that has received over 99,000 signatures, as many park goers shared sentimental memories involving the ride.
On January 23, the log-flume attraction ran for the final time, with CNN reporting masses of people attending to buy, sell, and trade Splash Mountain merchandise and memorabilia. Disney has announced that the rides will be undergoing a transformation to be reopened as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in late 2024, but what similarities the ride shares with Splash Mountain (other than presumably being a water ride) remains to be seen.
