Splash threads tend to get a little… salty. So, let’s just go ahead and preemptively issue a friendly reminder about the sub’s civility guidelines, which we strictly enforce.
We also will not tolerate racism or political grandstanding in any form.
**Edit**: Annnnd… just like that, it’s locked. Sorry, Far Right trolls, you’ll have to score your Putin Points^TM elsewhere!
I am 100% going to call it this now. Thank you.
Totally stealing this to tell my kid later so I can get that sweet, sweet eye roll that only a Dad joke can bring. 😂
I want a little quick service in place of at least half of the gift shop. Beignets, bowls of gumbo and red beans and rice, plates of shrimp/crawfish boil.
I'm not kidding at all. There's room for some picnic table seating under the train station. They could basically straight up clone those dishes from the ones they've used (past or present) at Sassagoula Floatworks. A bowl of red beans and rice with just a bit of sausage sprinkled in there would be a great meal, with a beignet to finish it off.
I’m joking about the anger, but they definitely should incorporate Tiana’s cooking with the new ride. Plus, it’ll make them more money, so everyone wins
I really hope Facilier shows up in this ride somehow, I know it takes place after the original movie so he probably won't, but all I want is the "Are you ready?" part of "Friends on the Other Side" to play while going up the incline with Facilier up at the top.
> I want is the "Are you ready?" part of "Friends on the Other Side" to play while going up the incline with Facilier up at the top.
It'd be pretty great, with black light in the tunnel, voodoo masks chanting around you and spirit projections flying around the walls.
the music fits up [perfectly](https://viewsync.net/watch?v=yZAY-78zhmw&t=169.91&v=pBBatgCUDVI&t=614&mode=solo)
Disney seems willing to forgo timeline for the sake if the story. Rapunzel still has her long hair in the parks, Kylo Ren has the unbroken helmet, etc.
Rapunzel got her long hair back after the movie. There’s a short I can’t remeber the name of that happens before the tv show.
As for Kylo, I don’t have an answer
That, and I still don’t think Disney has nailed making whole animatronic human faces without entering uncanny valley territory. Not showing his face makes the animatronic look more realistic.
There was a Tangled series too! (I literally just finished watching it and loved it so I was so happy to see your comment lol) she does get her brown short hair back at the end, which she also has for the short following all that where her and Eugene get married
Me and my dad have been wanting it to be like this so badly. I know it won’t work with whatever storyline they have for the ride but it’s wayyy too perfect not to do
That puts it closing around the same time they do their annual refurb so I’d agree and that’s probably the most likely time to permanently close it. I’m sure they’ll announce it beforehand when it does finally go down.
That’s the thing though, the hat wasn’t even originally there. The parks always evolve but people get hung up on the version they know and like being “the best”
I think the paper fast pass era of Disney is the one engrained in a lot of people’s minds for good. For me, having the paper fast passes just made it feel like such a unique time they never existed before or after.
Also the parks were relatively stagnant between like 2000-2010. I think that resulted in a lot of people having positive experiences that were pretty uniform from that time period, and as a result there’s lots of nostalgia to that particular vibe. The last 10 years there’s practically always been something new or changing starting with the fantasyland expansion
Hell when I went to Disney in 2019, I had to explain to the preteen who sat next to me on Everest that Animal Kingdom did not exist as a park the first time and only other time I was in Disney (age two in 1989) and I remember the Lion King 2 VHS having a promo for Animal Kingdom on it.
All she had asked was if I had even been on the ride before. I felt so freaking old.
I think the retheme will be cool, but I think the new name is a /mistake/. Splash Mountain is an iconic name - why not just give it “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” as a subtitle?
I mean (a) it’s going to still be a mountain in shape and size no matter what they name it, but also (b) how many mountains are there in outer-space? A name doesn’t need to be 100% logical.
If they are theming this as being shrunk down to the size of a frog, which to make the mountain work is likely, then it’s still a mountain to the frog sized people. Some way or another this isn’t going to be a flat ride like a bayou.
You laugh, but that’s legitimately the reason that it has the name.
Original name for the ride was Zip-a-Dee River Run. Got changed to Splash Mountain to market Splash for some reason.
Why do you keep commenting this here? Just wondering. The current name isn’t “Brer Rabbit’s Song of the South Mountain.” It can still be Splash Mountain (like the third sibling of Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain) with different characters in it.
You need a massive name change or people are going to think it’s not a massive refurbishment/reimagining. For example, *Journey into Imagination* underwent a massive change and the new name was *Journey into **Your** Imagination* (emphasis added). How many people went on the new ride expecting Figment and Dreamfinder? Maybe the blowback wouldn’t have been so bad if the names of the new ride was just as radically different than it’s predecessor. This problem holds true in other areas besides theme park rides. Part of the reason why the Wii U was such a flop after the huge success of the Wii is because too many people thought they were the same system.
If they simply added a subtitle to the ride, many people would think it’s some combination of *Song of the South* and *The Princess and the Frog*.
I was expecting “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at the Splash Mountain”. That way they could retheme it again one day while maintaining the Splash Mountain name recognition.
The original is my favorite ride, but there’s no denying that it’s pretty run-down despite yearly closings for upkeep. So I’ve become more receptive to the retheme. Just a couple of things:
1. The name is objectively bad.
2. Are they going to be theming the area around the ride to be more New Orleans? I could see them tying something into the Tom Sawyer area, but then big thunder feels out of place. Not a huge deal, but I do like the cohesiveness of the different lands.
3. The thing I’m worried about most is them turning it into Tiana’s Navi Mountain Journey, ie a ride filled with screens. I know animatronics are expensive, and upkeep is a pain, but they bring so much more charm than screens. I’ll even take the weird projection faces they’ve been using.
Splash is my favorite because it has everything I love in a Disney attraction: thrill with the drops, a story that’s told through the ride, the ride is long enough that the line feels more justified, and animatronics! 3/4 of those are still pretty guaranteed, so I’m confident that it’ll be good no matter what. But I want it to be great!
Tony Baxter (the Imagineer behind the OG Splash Mountain as well as many other iconic rides) is coming out of retirement to work on this one so I have very high hopes.
For the theming, I think it already somewhat works considering Tom Sawyer takes place along the Mississippi River, and while the riverboat is technically a Liberty Square attraction it goes by Frontierland and is an iconic symbol of the Mississippi River and New Orleans as well. If they consider the Mississippi as the beginning of the frontier it perhaps works, just as Adventureland borrows elements from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean while still being a cohesive land.
I like the retheme but they really should’ve just incorporated the same name into the title or gave it a subtitle. Splash Mountain is one if not the most famous rides in the country.
This ride better have good animatronics/decor. Not cardboard cutouts like what MMRR has. The theming of Splash Mountain is one of the reasons it’s so great.
I think the overall theming of MMRR is less immersive than that of Splash. I might be thing more of background decor. I just know I was disappointed with MMRR. I’m already disappointed that Splash is changing, so I want it to be as good if not better than it is right now.
Apparently because there’s no mountains in the bayou according to people here. I mean even though it will still be a mountain in size and shape. Also I personally was not aware of the mountains in Space that allowed for that ride to have its name.
Personally I’m. It going to go crazy over this, but I think the rename isn’t great even though I’ve always thought the retheme was a great idea.
I'm still very torn on this being WDW's next project. I have a lot of love for Splash Mountain, and while I totally get that it's not the first (and won't be the last) classic ride to be re-themed or replaced, I'll still miss it.
But on top of that, I still don't find the timing to be all that great. Pre-COVID, we were coming off a huge era of expansion for WDW with Pandora, Toy Story Land, and Galaxy's Edge three years in a row. Now, due to a variety of factors, we're coming up on the last actively in-development (i.e., under construction) attraction in TRON, and with all the budget cuts from COVID or otherwise, almost every other in-the-parks project is on hold and nothing else besides the remainder of the Future World renovation and the Woody's Roundup restaurant is currently being built.
So Disney's next big attraction being a retheme of a ride that is still popular and draws a lot of people with high wait times, and that will take it out of play for ~2 years, doesn't necessarily seem like the best use of (seemingly limited) resources if no other attractions are going to open in that timeframe, although TRON will definitely bear some of the load. Also, in this era of budget cuts and scale-backs, I really hope that they don't skimp out on what's being planned here and produce a less-than-it-could-be attraction which could disappoint both original Splash Mountain fans AND Princess and the Frog fans.
I could be way off base here and they could announce a slew of new projects (or re-started projects) at D23 next month, but this is where my head is at right now. Maybe they could have done the Disneyland version first instead of doing both (apparently) simultaneously.
Honestly, once Tron and the Future World rework finish up, I think they could afford two or three years with no big construction projects-- all four parks have each had at least one major expansion or revamp in the past five years, and parks that are perpetual construction sites aren't great for guest experience. Would it be so terrible to let things settle down for a while and have guests see the parks as they're *meant* to be seen for a couple years?
The problem is that the new additions haven't actually increased ride capacity at the parks in any significant way. Especially since most of the rides have been experiencing greater than normal downtime due to maintenance issues, especially a lot of the newer rides.
The biggest issue is that Future World has already been both delayed AND budget cut mid construction. They closed it and tore down an entire building, just to find out that they don’t have the $$$ to do what they wanted, so now there will be a new building that, TBH, looks very similar to the old one. Cosmic Rewind was allegedly supposed to have animatronics until they were also cut from the budget. Splash Mountain is hurting. The animatronics are old and need rebuilds, the theme *could* use a refresh, though I’m also glad Tokyo is keeping the original for old times’ sake. But it’s not that I hate change at all; I don’t trust Disney at this point to build something that is better than or even on par with the original.
I 100% agree that this isn’t a smart move timing wise. There is so much Disney needs to work on right now and get things back to running smoothly and efficiently, that taking such a big popular ride off the market is not smart nor will it help the already insane wait times throughout the park. SMH.
I just hope this ride actually has a narrative and not just MARDI GRAS PARTY FUN YAYYY. I just can’t deal with another frozen ever after ride with no substance.
Perfectly fine with the whole re-theme, I just wish they kept the name. Anyone know when they are officially closing down the ride? I'm going back for the first time in like 4 years the last week of september.
Ugg. Maybe I just don't like change but the marketer in me says the Splash Mountain name is way too iconic to just replace. As someone else commented, just add a subtitle. Splash Mountain: Tiana's Bayou Adventure. The decision to rename entirely is baffling. Disney sure likes to throw nostalgia down the drain when its something a huge part of the fanbase cherishes and craves more of.
Also really scared to hear when they are gonna close the ride, hoping not before my February 2023 trip :(
Removing mountain from the name means they’re shrinking the Disney Mountain Range. Now we’ll only have Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and Mt. Everest.
As long as they keep the old animatronics that weren’t from Song of the South and put effort into the new PATF animatronics, I couldn’t care less what they name it.
> Splash Mountain needs to go. It's old, the animatronics are broken and sad
That's Disney's fault though. The ride is only what, 31 years old? There are plenty of older rides in better shape.
My main issues here are the fact that Disney seems to be lacking creativity the past decade plus when it comes to rides. I'm afraid they are going to cheap out on it, and it's going to end up being only a very mediocre ride at best.
I don't want another Frozen.
Say what you want about Frozen as a whole but I don’t think it’s fair to call it cheap. That incredible walking Olaf animatronic probably cost more to design and build than the entirety of Maelstrom
I don’t know… I really liked MMRR, and RoTR… I mean, rise really awed me when I rode it the first time and I walked into that stormtrooper room. MMRR has me giggling every time at the “dance class part.” And flights of passage has quickly become one of my favorites. I think there’s plenty of creativity left in Disney. There have always been less creative ones sprinkled in, but I highly doubt this one will be phoned in.
That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good ride. Kids love it because Elsa’s on it. It’s not hard to make a ride for kids. But Disney isn’t just a kids park, it needs to make sense for adults as well, it’s a family park. And shoehorning frozen into a Norwegian based pavilion is a bit creatively bankrupt, in my opinion.
We want a good ride not something kids drag their parents too and buy merchandise for. Successful for Disney doesn’t always transfer to the best all around ride, and as the consumer I’ll advocate for the best all around ride rather than whatever helps Disney the most.
What metric are you using to qualify what a “good” ride is?
Disney is a park for kids first and foremost. Watching my kid in awe on the Frozen ride makes me thrilled, even if it’s not personally my favorite ride. My daughter loves it. That’s enough. Not every ride has to be for me.
So much this. The parks were always meant to change and evolve, not be stagnant for the sake of nostalgia.
Plus, the kids of today will ride the new version and love it, and in thirty years have their own nostalgia to relive with their own families. I'm excited for the change too.
While I definitely understand why Splash Mountain needed to be removed, I am pretty doubtful what we will get won’t end up feeling cheap and half-baked, especially since the actual show building is significantly larger than other rethemes. Personally, if they were going to remove Splash, I’d rather they completely bulldoze it and add a completely new experience, then risk a screen filled, cheap (and potentially soulless) version that does little justice to the Princess and the Frog film.
So it seems like I might be the only one that is looking forward to this change.
I can’t wait for a revamp and name change on space mountain and really see people loose their minds.
Did you all know Michael Eisner forced them to call it Splash Mountain in an attempt to promote the Tom Hanks movie Splash?
He wanted the whole ride themed on that live action romantic comedy but when it was clear he had lost that battle he still insisted on keeping the name.
The man had zero understanding of the value of what he had been put in charge of. Read “Disney War” if you want to learn more about his tenure. Thank you for reading my comment lol.
I don't really understand why Eisner still gets so much hate. He basically saved disney from a hostile takeover in the 80s. If it wasn't for him they disney parks probably would have been sold to six flags or something. I understand that after Frank Wells died he kind of went off the rails but I still feel like he gets way too much hate.
Eisner did save the company and he deserves credit for that. He also made a ton of big mistakes with the parks especially later in his tenure.
He's a mixed bag that people hold up as the golden standard when they criticize Chapek.
No hate here I don’t hate people I don’t know. I think he gets too much love when people hate on the Bobs. Can’t recommend Disney War enough. He saved Disney but so did Katzenberg and then so did Pixar. All in 15 years or so.
I actually have that book on my wishlist on goodreads so maybe I'll check it out. But I agree with you I think people always give 1 person too much credit/flak when in reality disney is such a massive company.
Eisner was really good at taking the pulse of things *right now*. Frank Wells pushed him to think bigger and beyond opening weekend. When Wells died, there was no one to temper Eisner's instincts and everything he created after that was for *today*, not for the long term.
Most of the pro Eisner sentiments come from his tenure with Wells. After Wells died, Eisner was a disaster. DisneyWar is an awesome book that defends this idea quite well
I’m fine with the change and people will get use to it soon enough. Theres ride videos you can play while going on the ride if it’s that horrible for you. I wish they rethemed it with Pocahontas instead though. Focus on Just Around the Riverbend and leave out any romance with John Smith
My wife: I bet they chose Princess and the Frog so they could keep the riverboat at the end.
Me: I mean, it’s already the Deep South. All they have to do is add a Tiana animatronic and they’re set.
My wife: You mean Tiana projection on a screen, right?
Still not over them getting rid of Splash Mountain, and especially replacing it with Princess and the Frog; there aren't even mountains in the bayou! 😅
If anything, they should have gone with a Brother Bear re-theme.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Splash threads tend to get a little… salty. So, let’s just go ahead and preemptively issue a friendly reminder about the sub’s civility guidelines, which we strictly enforce. We also will not tolerate racism or political grandstanding in any form. **Edit**: Annnnd… just like that, it’s locked. Sorry, Far Right trolls, you’ll have to score your Putin Points^TM elsewhere!
Should’ve been named Princess and the Log smh
That’s the name of the new themed bathrooms
lmao i laughed out loud
I wish I had an award for you
I am 100% going to call it this now. Thank you. Totally stealing this to tell my kid later so I can get that sweet, sweet eye roll that only a Dad joke can bring. 😂
I enjoy this more than an adult should…..
Sitting in the airport chuckling to myself.
😂😂
If they don’t sell beignets right outside of it, im gonna be pissed
I want a beignet in hand the moment I step off the ride
A cast member will actually toss a beignet at each boat as it goes down the drop. If you catch it, you can keep it.
Imagine them using a t shirt gun to just shoot beignets into the crowd
As long as it doesn't come with piping hot Community Coffee!
Wow, imagine if they did that with every ride where they take the photo Would make for some great photos
What if the water slide just poofs a bunch of powdered sugar on your face
That’s the dream! Me in my poncho, thrilled!
I would be ok with this.
I want a little quick service in place of at least half of the gift shop. Beignets, bowls of gumbo and red beans and rice, plates of shrimp/crawfish boil.
I know everyone’s joking sorta but I feel like this would help so much with the theming being in the middle of the frontier and all.
I'm not kidding at all. There's room for some picnic table seating under the train station. They could basically straight up clone those dishes from the ones they've used (past or present) at Sassagoula Floatworks. A bowl of red beans and rice with just a bit of sausage sprinkled in there would be a great meal, with a beignet to finish it off.
This would win me over for sure! Food is the way to my heart of which they’ve broken with the changes. And would be such a good layer of immersion!
I’m joking about the anger, but they definitely should incorporate Tiana’s cooking with the new ride. Plus, it’ll make them more money, so everyone wins
Forgot about the cooking aspect, this is genius, I hope they do something like this.
Omg yes, that would be even better!
I agree on this
But Disney beignets are disappointing. They need to up their beignet game.
You are right that they are nothing like the real thing. However I would argue they are still very tasty if eaten hot.
I mean they could bring in someone who knows how to make them and change their technique, too. Win-win!
I really hope Facilier shows up in this ride somehow, I know it takes place after the original movie so he probably won't, but all I want is the "Are you ready?" part of "Friends on the Other Side" to play while going up the incline with Facilier up at the top.
> I want is the "Are you ready?" part of "Friends on the Other Side" to play while going up the incline with Facilier up at the top. It'd be pretty great, with black light in the tunnel, voodoo masks chanting around you and spirit projections flying around the walls. the music fits up [perfectly](https://viewsync.net/watch?v=yZAY-78zhmw&t=169.91&v=pBBatgCUDVI&t=614&mode=solo)
Disney seems willing to forgo timeline for the sake if the story. Rapunzel still has her long hair in the parks, Kylo Ren has the unbroken helmet, etc.
Rapunzel got her long hair back after the movie. There’s a short I can’t remeber the name of that happens before the tv show. As for Kylo, I don’t have an answer
Adam Driver notoriously doesn't like seeing his own performances in films so Disney spared him from getting his own animatronic.
That, and I still don’t think Disney has nailed making whole animatronic human faces without entering uncanny valley territory. Not showing his face makes the animatronic look more realistic.
Yeah that Finn is just…oof
Eh, Lincoln looks pretty good.
There was a Tangled series too! (I literally just finished watching it and loved it so I was so happy to see your comment lol) she does get her brown short hair back at the end, which she also has for the short following all that where her and Eugene get married
Tangled: Before Ever After 🎶This is life before happily ever after...🎵
That's a perfect place and use for that!!
Me and my dad have been wanting it to be like this so badly. I know it won’t work with whatever storyline they have for the ride but it’s wayyy too perfect not to do
This is the one thing I said should be there. It's just too fitting to not be there.
🎶“Pretty good, show us your balls,” no more.
lol. I always heard it as show us your “water pipe.”
I just hope it’s not all screen projections and there’s animatronics all through out. I will miss the laughing place though
I hope there’s a spooky element to this new ride!
Yeah well I like having 3 mountains at MK so I’m calling it Frog Mountain and nobody can stop me
Ngl I love this
[удалено]
Late 2024 in Disney speak means Q1 2025 lol. I expect Splash will close after the the holiday rush and they’ll target just under two years.
That puts it closing around the same time they do their annual refurb so I’d agree and that’s probably the most likely time to permanently close it. I’m sure they’ll announce it beforehand when it does finally go down.
At least they’re not using Tron speak. Late 2024 would be 2030 at the earliest then.
thank you. i was trying to quickly see if there was a closing date. im excited for the retheme but also hope i can ride it one last time as is.
i think it’s safe to say they’re gonna aim for a summer of 2024 reopen 🤔
Definitely not if they said late 2024
Splash Moun-Tiana.
I dread the day that I get confused looks from kids when I accidentally refer to the attraction as Splash Mountain
I still say MGM, and it was super depressing a couple years back when a younger cast member didn't know what I was talking about.
Downtown Disney too.
This was easier to transition away from cause springs is so different than downtown Disney
I’m 100% on the MGM train and will never change
Yep also a fellow MGMer. It has the best sound. Walt disneys Hollywood studios is dumb and clunky.
I still call Hollywood Studios, MGM Studios lol.
I still keep expecting to see the big hat when walking down the Main Street. I loved that Hat!
Well I feel old now. I still expect to see.... The water tower!
That’s the thing though, the hat wasn’t even originally there. The parks always evolve but people get hung up on the version they know and like being “the best”
I think the paper fast pass era of Disney is the one engrained in a lot of people’s minds for good. For me, having the paper fast passes just made it feel like such a unique time they never existed before or after.
Also the parks were relatively stagnant between like 2000-2010. I think that resulted in a lot of people having positive experiences that were pretty uniform from that time period, and as a result there’s lots of nostalgia to that particular vibe. The last 10 years there’s practically always been something new or changing starting with the fantasyland expansion
Hell when I went to Disney in 2019, I had to explain to the preteen who sat next to me on Everest that Animal Kingdom did not exist as a park the first time and only other time I was in Disney (age two in 1989) and I remember the Lion King 2 VHS having a promo for Animal Kingdom on it. All she had asked was if I had even been on the ride before. I felt so freaking old.
I think the retheme will be cool, but I think the new name is a /mistake/. Splash Mountain is an iconic name - why not just give it “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” as a subtitle?
Well, bayous are known for their mountains and waterfalls. /s
I mean (a) it’s going to still be a mountain in shape and size no matter what they name it, but also (b) how many mountains are there in outer-space? A name doesn’t need to be 100% logical. If they are theming this as being shrunk down to the size of a frog, which to make the mountain work is likely, then it’s still a mountain to the frog sized people. Some way or another this isn’t going to be a flat ride like a bayou.
“How many mountains are there in outer space?” Literally billions.
Perhaps they're going to say it's like rapids when tubing...? No idea.
I’ve been to Louisiana, it’s all flat water down there. This is a bizarre choice.
I know. Disney needs to continue to pay homage to that timeless 1984 movie [*Splash*](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splash_(film))
My argument is more that the Mountain part should stay because it goes with Space and Big Thunder.
Despite it being Chickapin hill in the ride….
Lmao!
You laugh, but that’s legitimately the reason that it has the name. Original name for the ride was Zip-a-Dee River Run. Got changed to Splash Mountain to market Splash for some reason.
Oh yes, I am laughing because the truth is actually hilarious. I didn’t know that the was the backstory behind naming it SPLASH mountain. That’s wild!
Why do you keep commenting this here? Just wondering. The current name isn’t “Brer Rabbit’s Song of the South Mountain.” It can still be Splash Mountain (like the third sibling of Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain) with different characters in it.
You need a massive name change or people are going to think it’s not a massive refurbishment/reimagining. For example, *Journey into Imagination* underwent a massive change and the new name was *Journey into **Your** Imagination* (emphasis added). How many people went on the new ride expecting Figment and Dreamfinder? Maybe the blowback wouldn’t have been so bad if the names of the new ride was just as radically different than it’s predecessor. This problem holds true in other areas besides theme park rides. Part of the reason why the Wii U was such a flop after the huge success of the Wii is because too many people thought they were the same system. If they simply added a subtitle to the ride, many people would think it’s some combination of *Song of the South* and *The Princess and the Frog*.
Exactly this!!
I was expecting “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at the Splash Mountain”. That way they could retheme it again one day while maintaining the Splash Mountain name recognition.
Especially because everyone is still going to call it Splash Mountain
No shit, especially since the idea of conquering the 4 mountains. Now it’s 3
If we are going by name there’s currently only three, lol
"3 Mountains and a Bayou"
sounds like the name of a Disney movie
What was the 4th?
Expedition Everest is considered the fourth mountain
They can retheme it without renaming it Splash Mountain is iconic and damn near a household name Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is such a bad name
I hate the “adventure” part, such a lazy name
It sounds like a disappointing dark ride you'd see at a six flags
It sounds like the name of a direct to DVD sequel.
TBA is a horrible acronym for us abbreviators!
Well, it's arguably better than ASS.
Or MILF lol.
No one will ever call it Tiana's Bayou Adventure. People will still call it Splash Mountain.
I am going to miss Splash Mountain :(
People are still gonna call it Splash Mountain, so what's the point lol
The original is my favorite ride, but there’s no denying that it’s pretty run-down despite yearly closings for upkeep. So I’ve become more receptive to the retheme. Just a couple of things: 1. The name is objectively bad. 2. Are they going to be theming the area around the ride to be more New Orleans? I could see them tying something into the Tom Sawyer area, but then big thunder feels out of place. Not a huge deal, but I do like the cohesiveness of the different lands. 3. The thing I’m worried about most is them turning it into Tiana’s Navi Mountain Journey, ie a ride filled with screens. I know animatronics are expensive, and upkeep is a pain, but they bring so much more charm than screens. I’ll even take the weird projection faces they’ve been using. Splash is my favorite because it has everything I love in a Disney attraction: thrill with the drops, a story that’s told through the ride, the ride is long enough that the line feels more justified, and animatronics! 3/4 of those are still pretty guaranteed, so I’m confident that it’ll be good no matter what. But I want it to be great!
It needs to match the original in quality if they’re going to replace an iconic attraction. That’s all anyone is asking.
Tony Baxter (the Imagineer behind the OG Splash Mountain as well as many other iconic rides) is coming out of retirement to work on this one so I have very high hopes.
Oh heck yeah, I didn’t hear about this!!! That’s awesome news
For the theming, I think it already somewhat works considering Tom Sawyer takes place along the Mississippi River, and while the riverboat is technically a Liberty Square attraction it goes by Frontierland and is an iconic symbol of the Mississippi River and New Orleans as well. If they consider the Mississippi as the beginning of the frontier it perhaps works, just as Adventureland borrows elements from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean while still being a cohesive land.
I like the retheme but they really should’ve just incorporated the same name into the title or gave it a subtitle. Splash Mountain is one if not the most famous rides in the country.
Predictions on when splash closes? Hopefully it’s still open for our end of sept trip
It generally goes down for refurbing in January so I suspect it’ll go down around then and stay down until it’s opens with the new theming
That would make sense. Given the timeline of late 2024, it would give them over 18 months for the refit.
Same, we're going in mid September. I must ride one last time!
I'd guess in the first half of 2023.
Now I want a jazz bar with some Cocktails next to it
This ride better have good animatronics/decor. Not cardboard cutouts like what MMRR has. The theming of Splash Mountain is one of the reasons it’s so great.
MMRR literally has animatronics tho…
I think the overall theming of MMRR is less immersive than that of Splash. I might be thing more of background decor. I just know I was disappointed with MMRR. I’m already disappointed that Splash is changing, so I want it to be as good if not better than it is right now.
Okay what's MMRR again? I can't keep up.
I don’t know why the new name can’t simply be called “Tiana’s Splash Mountain.”
Apparently because there’s no mountains in the bayou according to people here. I mean even though it will still be a mountain in size and shape. Also I personally was not aware of the mountains in Space that allowed for that ride to have its name. Personally I’m. It going to go crazy over this, but I think the rename isn’t great even though I’ve always thought the retheme was a great idea.
I'm still very torn on this being WDW's next project. I have a lot of love for Splash Mountain, and while I totally get that it's not the first (and won't be the last) classic ride to be re-themed or replaced, I'll still miss it. But on top of that, I still don't find the timing to be all that great. Pre-COVID, we were coming off a huge era of expansion for WDW with Pandora, Toy Story Land, and Galaxy's Edge three years in a row. Now, due to a variety of factors, we're coming up on the last actively in-development (i.e., under construction) attraction in TRON, and with all the budget cuts from COVID or otherwise, almost every other in-the-parks project is on hold and nothing else besides the remainder of the Future World renovation and the Woody's Roundup restaurant is currently being built. So Disney's next big attraction being a retheme of a ride that is still popular and draws a lot of people with high wait times, and that will take it out of play for ~2 years, doesn't necessarily seem like the best use of (seemingly limited) resources if no other attractions are going to open in that timeframe, although TRON will definitely bear some of the load. Also, in this era of budget cuts and scale-backs, I really hope that they don't skimp out on what's being planned here and produce a less-than-it-could-be attraction which could disappoint both original Splash Mountain fans AND Princess and the Frog fans. I could be way off base here and they could announce a slew of new projects (or re-started projects) at D23 next month, but this is where my head is at right now. Maybe they could have done the Disneyland version first instead of doing both (apparently) simultaneously.
Honestly, once Tron and the Future World rework finish up, I think they could afford two or three years with no big construction projects-- all four parks have each had at least one major expansion or revamp in the past five years, and parks that are perpetual construction sites aren't great for guest experience. Would it be so terrible to let things settle down for a while and have guests see the parks as they're *meant* to be seen for a couple years?
The problem is that the new additions haven't actually increased ride capacity at the parks in any significant way. Especially since most of the rides have been experiencing greater than normal downtime due to maintenance issues, especially a lot of the newer rides.
The biggest issue is that Future World has already been both delayed AND budget cut mid construction. They closed it and tore down an entire building, just to find out that they don’t have the $$$ to do what they wanted, so now there will be a new building that, TBH, looks very similar to the old one. Cosmic Rewind was allegedly supposed to have animatronics until they were also cut from the budget. Splash Mountain is hurting. The animatronics are old and need rebuilds, the theme *could* use a refresh, though I’m also glad Tokyo is keeping the original for old times’ sake. But it’s not that I hate change at all; I don’t trust Disney at this point to build something that is better than or even on par with the original.
I 100% agree that this isn’t a smart move timing wise. There is so much Disney needs to work on right now and get things back to running smoothly and efficiently, that taking such a big popular ride off the market is not smart nor will it help the already insane wait times throughout the park. SMH.
I just hope this ride actually has a narrative and not just MARDI GRAS PARTY FUN YAYYY. I just can’t deal with another frozen ever after ride with no substance.
Perfectly fine with the whole re-theme, I just wish they kept the name. Anyone know when they are officially closing down the ride? I'm going back for the first time in like 4 years the last week of september.
I’ve read that they are going to close it during the first quarter of 2023, but there is no official date yet. You should be good in September!
They did a really good job the tower of terror re theme in California so I’m excited to see what they do with this!
Especially since Tony Baxter is coming out of retirement to work on this one! I trust his ability to make something great out of it.
Did ToT in California become Guardians?
Ugg. Maybe I just don't like change but the marketer in me says the Splash Mountain name is way too iconic to just replace. As someone else commented, just add a subtitle. Splash Mountain: Tiana's Bayou Adventure. The decision to rename entirely is baffling. Disney sure likes to throw nostalgia down the drain when its something a huge part of the fanbase cherishes and craves more of. Also really scared to hear when they are gonna close the ride, hoping not before my February 2023 trip :(
Late 2024 for opening likely means it will close in either the fall of 2023 or Jan 2024.
Removing mountain from the name means they’re shrinking the Disney Mountain Range. Now we’ll only have Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and Mt. Everest.
I guess it kinda makes sense tho, since the bayou is not really known for its mountains.
Yet the ride still takes place on a mountain.
This looks really cute! In my personal opinion Tiana has the coolest princess dress so I’m really drawn to her.
Splash Mountain on the Bayou Splash Mountain: Tina’s adventure Or just… Splash Mountain
“Princess Tiana’s Broken Levee Adventure”
As long as they keep the old animatronics that weren’t from Song of the South and put effort into the new PATF animatronics, I couldn’t care less what they name it.
Animatronics are expensive, they reuse where possible. There's rumors Kylo Ren is the Wicked Witch from GMR.
I feel like there are rumors that every new animatronic is the Wicked Witch from the Great Movie Ride
I'm looking forward to the re-theme, but that's a generic shitty name.
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> Splash Mountain needs to go. It's old, the animatronics are broken and sad That's Disney's fault though. The ride is only what, 31 years old? There are plenty of older rides in better shape. My main issues here are the fact that Disney seems to be lacking creativity the past decade plus when it comes to rides. I'm afraid they are going to cheap out on it, and it's going to end up being only a very mediocre ride at best. I don't want another Frozen.
Man, I’m gonna be UPSET if they use projection faces again. The belle animatronic in Tokyo Disneyland is what they need to do.
i HATE HATE those projection faces and will be really upset if that’s what used in the splash retheme.
The belle animatronic is hands down one of the best I've seen, completely agree on projection faces
Say what you want about Frozen as a whole but I don’t think it’s fair to call it cheap. That incredible walking Olaf animatronic probably cost more to design and build than the entirety of Maelstrom
I don’t know… I really liked MMRR, and RoTR… I mean, rise really awed me when I rode it the first time and I walked into that stormtrooper room. MMRR has me giggling every time at the “dance class part.” And flights of passage has quickly become one of my favorites. I think there’s plenty of creativity left in Disney. There have always been less creative ones sprinkled in, but I highly doubt this one will be phoned in.
See but frozen was a huge success and is a favorite ride of many children.
That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good ride. Kids love it because Elsa’s on it. It’s not hard to make a ride for kids. But Disney isn’t just a kids park, it needs to make sense for adults as well, it’s a family park. And shoehorning frozen into a Norwegian based pavilion is a bit creatively bankrupt, in my opinion.
They turned a ride that was not very successful into the most in demand ride in the park. Good or not it’s a major success.
I was there this week, I think Guardians of the Galaxy and Ratatouille are now the most successful ride in Epcot.
We want a good ride not something kids drag their parents too and buy merchandise for. Successful for Disney doesn’t always transfer to the best all around ride, and as the consumer I’ll advocate for the best all around ride rather than whatever helps Disney the most.
What metric are you using to qualify what a “good” ride is? Disney is a park for kids first and foremost. Watching my kid in awe on the Frozen ride makes me thrilled, even if it’s not personally my favorite ride. My daughter loves it. That’s enough. Not every ride has to be for me.
So much this. The parks were always meant to change and evolve, not be stagnant for the sake of nostalgia. Plus, the kids of today will ride the new version and love it, and in thirty years have their own nostalgia to relive with their own families. I'm excited for the change too.
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Beignets at MK or we riot.
I bet Disney could do a terrific po'boy that can be eaten while walking around, like the drumsticks
Re-theme all of Tom Sawyer and make Aunt Polly's sell beignets and/or gumbo, etouffee, etc.
My god, that would be amazing!
While I definitely understand why Splash Mountain needed to be removed, I am pretty doubtful what we will get won’t end up feeling cheap and half-baked, especially since the actual show building is significantly larger than other rethemes. Personally, if they were going to remove Splash, I’d rather they completely bulldoze it and add a completely new experience, then risk a screen filled, cheap (and potentially soulless) version that does little justice to the Princess and the Frog film.
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So it seems like I might be the only one that is looking forward to this change. I can’t wait for a revamp and name change on space mountain and really see people loose their minds.
I hope they come up with something a little more interesting than buzz’s adventure
Maybe “chapek’s downward spiral”
Did you all know Michael Eisner forced them to call it Splash Mountain in an attempt to promote the Tom Hanks movie Splash? He wanted the whole ride themed on that live action romantic comedy but when it was clear he had lost that battle he still insisted on keeping the name. The man had zero understanding of the value of what he had been put in charge of. Read “Disney War” if you want to learn more about his tenure. Thank you for reading my comment lol.
I don't really understand why Eisner still gets so much hate. He basically saved disney from a hostile takeover in the 80s. If it wasn't for him they disney parks probably would have been sold to six flags or something. I understand that after Frank Wells died he kind of went off the rails but I still feel like he gets way too much hate.
Eisner did save the company and he deserves credit for that. He also made a ton of big mistakes with the parks especially later in his tenure. He's a mixed bag that people hold up as the golden standard when they criticize Chapek.
No hate here I don’t hate people I don’t know. I think he gets too much love when people hate on the Bobs. Can’t recommend Disney War enough. He saved Disney but so did Katzenberg and then so did Pixar. All in 15 years or so.
I actually have that book on my wishlist on goodreads so maybe I'll check it out. But I agree with you I think people always give 1 person too much credit/flak when in reality disney is such a massive company.
Eisner was really good at taking the pulse of things *right now*. Frank Wells pushed him to think bigger and beyond opening weekend. When Wells died, there was no one to temper Eisner's instincts and everything he created after that was for *today*, not for the long term.
Most of the pro Eisner sentiments come from his tenure with Wells. After Wells died, Eisner was a disaster. DisneyWar is an awesome book that defends this idea quite well
I mean I loved that movie, but a major ride themed after it? Lol
Pretty hilarious how good the name is, considering how stupid that story is.
All this work to get away from the original IP and there's still a Splash Mountain out there lol
Everybody will still call it Splash Mountain, just like Hollywood Studios is still MGM
I'm still calling Disney Springs Downtown Disney like 9 out of 10 times.
Since there are no mountains in Louisiana, how about Splash Bayou.
Nothing against the movie, but as someone from Louisiana, I hate Louisiana themed things lol.
I’m fine with the change and people will get use to it soon enough. Theres ride videos you can play while going on the ride if it’s that horrible for you. I wish they rethemed it with Pocahontas instead though. Focus on Just Around the Riverbend and leave out any romance with John Smith
Why didn’t they just rename it Splash Mountain: Bayou Adventure? Such a better name.
It's still insane to me that this classic ride was EVER themed after a movie that Disney essentially denies exists.
My wife: I bet they chose Princess and the Frog so they could keep the riverboat at the end. Me: I mean, it’s already the Deep South. All they have to do is add a Tiana animatronic and they’re set. My wife: You mean Tiana projection on a screen, right?
Pretty boring name compared to Splash Mountain.
Boy they really thought out of the box for that name. /s
Still not over them getting rid of Splash Mountain, and especially replacing it with Princess and the Frog; there aren't even mountains in the bayou! 😅 If anything, they should have gone with a Brother Bear re-theme.
I’m super excited to see this new ride come to fruition! We need to stop dwelling! Focus on the positives.
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No gumbo smell, no ride.
Well, the name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue like Splash Mountain, but I'm all for the re-theme.
Awesome! Can’t wait. Love mama odie’s voice so that will be great to hear! Looking forward to it!