Top 10 Reasons Why Splash Mountain Shouldn't Be Re-Themed

If we're being real, Splash Mountain shouldn't even be on the list of things that need to change at Disneyland/Walt Disney World. Even in an era with rides like Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Avatar: Flight of Passage, Splash Mountain is still considered one of the best theme park rides ever made. I've had once-in-a-lifetimers say that Splash Mountain was the best ride there. You don't even have to be a huge theme park fan to appreciate the hard work that went into the attraction. The ride is a perfect example of what a Disney ride should be, a family friendly attraction that has amazing detail, a great soundtrack, lovable characters and even some thrills. It's right at home with Pirates and the Haunted Mansion in the family of classic attractions.

So the question is, why change what's clearly working? Why don't you tackle the stuff that isn't working like Journey into Imagination with Figment, which interestingly enough was also created by Tony Baxter. How long has ...more

This ride is my favorite in both parks and it would be devastating to see it go.

I've heard Tony is working on JII 4, he should spend his hard earned time on that.

This ride frequently has the highest wait times in the park. If it were really in need of a change, would the wait times be that long for it? And sure, some people might argue that "people ride it because it's really hot in Florida/California, it's not because of the ride itself," but that's like me saying that the wait times for Avatar: Flight of Passage are only as long as they are because it's at AK and people need that AC. It might be a factor in people wanting to ride it, but are you really gonna tell me that people want to spend 2 hours in a hot line just to get a little wet? Some people actually avoid Splash BECAUSE they don't want to get wet, and honestly, from my experience, you don't get that wet on it anyway, at least not compared to the water rides at Universal's Islands of Adventure. Splash Mountain has always been a hit with guests that just so happens to have a water element, but that's not the sole or even main reason people like it. I for one have never ridden it ...more

Especially if the rumor that they're going to retheme Pecos Bill's Cafe into Tiana's Palace is true. They might as well get rid of the Country Bears and Big Thunder and just completely convert Frontierland in Florida to New Orleans Square.

This is a perfect example of how thematic consistency and place-making seem to have taken a backseat nowadays to IP incorporation. Splash Mountain doesn't exist in a bubble, and the radical changes to the theming and feel of the attraction will affect the surrounding area that it is in. You could make an argument that it might work at Disneyland considering that version of Splash is located right beside New Orleans Square, although that then begs the question of what happens to the rest of Critter Country since Splash is its main attraction. However, there is no way to fit a Princess and the Frog themed attraction into the center of Frontierland without it feeling completely jarring and ruining the whole feel of a large section of the park. Some might argue that Splash in its current form never fit Frontierland anyway, but the Imagineers made specific adjustments when they were bringing Splash to Florida to make sure that it blended in with the rest of the land, particularly it's ...more

Unfortunately, this hasn't stopped Disney from changing the film that plays in Pioneer Trading Post to feature "Encanto" (they want that to be the new "Frozen" so bad"), which has even less of a place in Frontierland.

Splash Mtn. is kinda a late addition to Frontierland, but yeah, the two Cinderella Castle Parks (Tokyo & Orlando) either don't have a NOS (Orlando) or have one quite far away (Tokyo)

People can call the ride "problematic" as much as they want just because of the movie it happens to be based off of (even though the designers specifically made sure not to include anything from the movie that could be deemed offensive, but to some, simply being based off the movie is enough. They even consulted African American groups about what should and should not be included in the ride), but the truth of the matter is that there is only one real problem with the ride as it stands today, and that is the often inadequate maintenance it receives. People have to remember that Disney rides are incredibly complex and things often need to be fixed as a result of that. Not too long after the WDW parks reopened, a log sank and became full of water, and people were using that as an excuse to retheme the ride, not taking into account that the parks had been closed for several months and no maintenance was done. And Splash isn't the only ride that has been having problems since that time or ...more

Hopkins (who made Splash) has been bought out by WhiteWater West, who is a rival company to Disney's main waterpark supplier, ProSlide Technology, so it wouldn't really work today.

"It's the same ride with a different theme!," "The ride already takes place in a bayou, it's not going to be that different," and all these other arguments from retheme supporters all seem to miss the point on what makes attractions like Splash Mountain so special. There was concern about adding a log flume to Disneyland back in the day because every other amusement park had one and there was nothing special about them. If they were to add a water ride like that, it would have to be one-of-a-kind and something that only Disney could pull off. People who say "same ride, different theme" believe that people only like Splash Mountain because of the drop when that is far from the truth. If people only liked Splash Mountain for the drop, how come your average log ride at Six Flags doesn't get raved about? People say they go to Disney parks for the atmosphere and theming, not because they want a bunch of thrill rides. Splash Mountain is a great example of a ride that sets Disney apart from ...more

When I sent my first email out to Disney about the announcement, they emphasized how the parks are always changing and that they want to tell "inclusive and relevant stories" for a new generation. Look, I'm all for adding new stuff, but there needs to be a balance of the already iconic elements that we grew up with and associate with the parks with the new, modern, high-tech experiences. And I think that if you are going to replace something old, replace something that is not one of the most popular experiences at the resort. If this Splash retheme ends up going through, it could very well start a trend of attractions being "updated" to be more high-tech and modern, which is not what people want. People love the old-school feel of rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. It's not that people are against modern technology or even modern IPs, but they need to make new attractions with that technology, not ruin timeless classics. People weren't fans of the CGI ...more

IDEA: Make the Princess and the Frog log flume be a "Hydro Flume" style (Yankee Clipper at Six Flags Great America/Dudley Do Right at Universal Orlando) instead of replacing Splash.

Meanwhil, the retheme features a character Disney initially wrote off (except as an "official" Disney Princess, and even then she wasn't featured on as much merchandise as, say, Cinderella or Ariel) but took literally every opportunity to remind of her existence in light of the BLM protests.

I think everyone is fully aware that Song of the South is the most controversial movie Disney has ever made. Whether the controversy is justified or not, when the attraction was being imagined, Tony Baxter thought of the movie along with the at-the-time abandoned Bear Country and an animatronic show called America Sings in Disneyland. He pointed out how rich the characters and songs from the film were and thought that he could make them shine in a brand new attraction that was to be called Splash Mountain. The Br'er trio had been popular walk-around characters since the early days of Disneyland and now they would finally star in their very own attraction. Using most of the animatronics from the America Sings show, the ride was an animatronic extravaganza and a major hit with guests. It contained nothing that could be considered problematic in itself, though there are people who think that the SotS tie-in makes the ride a problem by default. Because apparently having controversial ...more

Also, don't forget, Brer Rabbit is kinda overshadowed by Disney's versions (aka, The Pooh Treatment).

Is it any wonder that rides like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Splash are still considered favorites despite more technologically-advanced rides existing? They've endured for a reason and are timeless classics that don't need modern technology or a flavor of the month IP to be popular and beloved. But just because we appreciate the timeless, old-school value of these classic attractions doesn't mean we're opposed to technology and new storytelling methods. In fact, it would be great if we could get a new high-tech dark ride that captures our hearts in the same way as rides like Mansion and Pirates do. In other words, we want new rides, not a "new Mansion" or "new Pirates." Walt Disney World in particular was granted the gift of space, and to this day, they could still flesh out the parks they have a lot more. There is no reason they can't build a new high-tech Princess and the Frog ride somewhere else on property. Retheming a headliner such as Splash means that the ride would have to ...more

Usually when a park brings in a major addition to its lineup, it's for reasons such as attracting people to a certain corner of the park, spreading crowds, and making people interested in coming to the park. When you look at what's planned to happen with Splash Mountain, none of it really makes sense at all. First of all, the Magic Kingdom definitely doesn't need any help attracting guests as it's the most visited theme park in the world. The other three parks could use some help with their low attraction counts and crowd-spreading abilities, but not the MK. Disneyland is a bit of a different situation as it has less room to expand, but even then, there are other areas they could deal with first if they really needed to make room. Splash Mountain on both coasts already draws plenty of attention as it is, if it started to become unpopular, then maybe I'd understand the need for a change, but no, it's just as popular as it's ever been and is one of the first attractions people flock to ...more

See my idea above, one of the benefits of a Hydro Flume vs the traditional log flume is the double (literally) drops (which only still exist on Coal Cracker at Hersheypark and Dudley Do Right at Universal Studios), increasing capacity.