It is official; Splash Mountain is closed. For many, this is an end of an era and will now be memories. I know fans who would ride this attraction because it was a family tradition, and now they will have to create a new one. Just like Rapunzel when she had to find a new dream. I’m not sad that this ride is going away because I am excited for what’s to come, but I am aware other fans feel differently.
Even though I might not love the ride, I still went to say bye to the attraction on its last day. I have always loved standing on the bridge, watching the logs slide down the drop. So as I said goodbye, I stood there and watched a couple of ride vehicles pass by.
It felt like the whole world was here to bid the attraction farewell. The wait time for Splash Mountain was 200 minutes for most of the day. I saw many sad faces, but I also saw some guests excited about the next chapter. I wasn’t sure if I would do one last ride, but I decided to do it. It may not be my favorite ride, but what kind of Disney fan would I be if I didn’t give the ride a proper goodbye?
On my final ride through, I did my best to enjoy it all, but I also kept an eye out to see what was broken. Many animatronics weren’t fully working, and lighting had technical issues throughout the attraction. There was one section where a light kept flickering, and that’s when I told myself, ” it is time for this ride to go.” The ride has been poorly managed, so much of it doesn’t run like it used to.
As I zipped down that final drop and got splashed with water, all I could think of was, “I can’t wait to see what they do with that section.” Honestly, I felt that way most of my last ride.
I do have some fun memories with attraction, and I want to share one of those stories with you. When I was fresh out of high school, I went to Disney with my best friend to celebrate New Year’s Eve. It was a very cold night, so the wait time for Splash Mountain was 10 minutes. We convinced ourselves that we wouldn’t get wet on the ride. We were very wrong.
I got off the ride, soaked and shivering. At that moment, I knew I needed to buy a sweater, and the only one available was a ride-specific sweatshirt. I still have the sweater, and I love it because it reminds me of that night, which is why I pulled it out of my closet yesterday to wear it for my last ride. Every time I wear it, I think about that night and how fun it was to ride Splash Mountain in the cold. I can’t wait to recreate the moment when Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens in late 2024. I hope they have a fun sweatshirt I can buy when the attraction opens so I can add it to my collection. Did you get a chance to say bye to the attraction?
Hi, I'm Erica, and I write about all things Disney. Before working for The DIS, I was a theme park performer at SeaWorld, but I also performed at Disney. I have such an immense love for theme parks to the point I studied them in college.