Splash Mountain Begins Closing Down, Disappointing Its Last Passengers

The classic water ride Splash Mountain is closing soon as its replacement ride, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, waits in the wings. Many Splash Mountain fans are already buying as much Splash Mountain memorabilia as possible, in an attempt to keep the Disney magic from their favorite ride after the Magic Kingdom staple is officially closed down.

This Walt Disney World and Disneyland ride does not have an official closing date yet, but Walt Disney World Resort Guests are already noticing the changes in the ride’s quality and what sounds like a lack of appropriate ride maintenance. Passengers who recently went on the ride took to the Internet to share their grievances, summarizing that the ride’s impending doom is already noticeable.

Many complaints have been shared regarding the Disney ride, and one Reddit user who had boarded Splash Mountain revealed in an online post that the ride is currently in a “depressingly sorry” state.

“The singing geese were stuck with their mouths permanently open. The first and second Brer Fox figures were motionless,” the Disney Guest wrote. “The jumping Brer Rabbit is gone. The possums hanging from the ceiling are gone. Brer Frog is motionless. The bee cavern is now pitch black, so you can’t see anything, and there is no audio.”

The Guest went on, saying that “the Laughing Place is empty, most figures have been removed, and the fountains no longer function. The moles and turtles in the holes are motionless. There is no audio in the scene where Brer Rabbit is caught (the figures lip sync in silence).”

Furthermore, apparently “several animals in the finale are slumped over”, “there is no audio when the baddies are gnashed by the gator”, and “the final Brer Rabbit is motionless”.

Since Disney rides break down very often — especially recently — it seems like this Guest and their fellow passengers might just have caught Splash Mountain on a bad day. After all, Walt Disney Imagineering and the Walt Disney Imagineers in that department are usually very dedicated to their creations, so it seems unlikely that Splash Mountain would be performing less than admirably before its closure date had even been officially announced!

However, perhaps Walt Disney Imagineering really has decided to cut its losses with Splash Mountain and stop paying attention to the ride’s needs. Or perhaps this is a conscious decision on Disney’s part; after all, if Guests are being disappointed by Splash Mountain and its “horrendous” state right now, maybe they’ll be less upset when it’s really gone.

Was this deliberate neglect or a temporary ride breakdown in the Magic Kingdom? Time will tell!