Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001

As you were walking to the entrance to Splash Mountain, you couldn’t help but notice the huge drop. It’s 52 ½ feet down at a 47-degree slope. Logs reach a top speed of more than 40 m.p.h. Yikes!

Do you still want to take this ride? Sure you do. It’s one of the best rides in Yesterland.

Photo by Allen Huffman, 2003

Reduce your wait time with a FastPass

You might want to consider getting a FastPass and returning during our FastPass window. This ride can have long waits, especially on warm summer days. Then again, if the standby time is just 20 minutes, just enter now. Yester Critter Country is a remote, dead-end corner of the park.

Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005

You’ve been warned

Photo by Allen Huffman, 2004

Ready to go

Wind your way through the atmospheric queue, which includes a weathered barn and cave-like tunnels. It’s a high-capacity attraction, so the line moves quickly. Soon you’ll be straddling a bench that runs lengthwise down the center of a log, partitioned to keep everyone from sliding together.

Your log leaves the station, goes through a short tunnel, and up a small lift hill. Enjoy the ride!

Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018

A relaxing outdoor ride at first

Photo by Chris Bales, 2022

Gator wants a ride

When you saw the big drop, you might have thought this is just a thrill ride. But thrills are just a small part of it. There are immersive show scenes on multiple levels of the mountain, populated by all sorts of animatronic critters. There’s music, including “How Do You Do?” and “Everybody Has a Laughing Place.”

There’s even a storyline, based on animated sequences in an old movie you probably haven’t seen. A character named Br’er Rabbit tricks a character named Br’er Fox into throwing him into the briar patch, which is exactly what the smart little rabbit wants. And you’re heading to a briar patch too—which is exactly what you want.

It’s not all charm and story. There’s also an unexpected rollercoaster-style drop in the dark.

Photo by Chris Bales, 2022

Umbrella bird

Photo by Chris Bales, 2023

Mama Possum

Photo by Chris Bales, 2022

Sad rabbit

Photo by Chris Bales, 2023

Final lift fill, with Br’er Fox menacing a tied-up Br’er Rabbit

The final drop will take your log down into the ride’s briar patch. You’ll pass though it and come out below it.

Photo by Chris Bales, 2023

Your view before the big drop

Photo by Werner Weiss, 2016

The big drop

Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005

Splash down! What’s next?

You survived the huge drop. If your only experience with a log ride has been on the wonderful Timber Mountain Log Ride at Knott’s Berry Farm, you might think the ride is over now. But there’s more! The grand finale lies ahead.

Photo by Allen Huffman, 2009

Re-entering the mountain at its base

Photo by Allen Huffman, 2009

It’s “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” time!

Now the music is “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” an incredibly catchy song that’s become an anthem of Disney. It’s also from the movie you probably haven’t seen, but it’s taken on a life of its own.

Photo by Chris Bales, 2022

Musical gators

Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018

Donkey cart

Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018

Zip-a-Dee Lady riverboat

Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005

Time to leave your log

Are you dry, lightly splashed, or drenched? It’s largely a matter of luck. If you’re drenched, maybe next time you’ll wear a plastic poncho.

Photo by Allen Huffman, 2004

Prof. Barnaby Owl’s Photographic Portraiture studio, where you can see your ride photo

Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005

A photo with just you, your guest, a bunch of strangers, and some cartoon characters

After your ride, you can buy a photo of the terrified look on your face.

There are no photos of the delighted look on your face as you passed any of the charming show scenes.

Splash Mountain opened at Disneyland on July 17, 1989. With its opening, the park’s newest land, Bear Country, became Critter Country.

Photo by Robert Demoss, 1987

Carving out space between the Haunted Mansion and Bear Country

It’s no secret that Splash Mountain has characters, music, and story elements from Walt Disney’s Song of the South. Through live action and animation, Song of the South put the Uncle Remus stories of Joel Chandler Harris on the silver screen in 1946, with U.S. re-releases in 1956, 1972, 1980, and 1986.

When Disney announced Splash Mountain, a Los Angeles Times article (“Disneyland to Offer Ride With Lots of Zip (a-Dee-Doo-Dah)” by Mary Ann Galante, Jan, 30, 1987) included this about the upcoming ride’s connection to Song of the South: “The movie has sparked controversy since its premiere in 1946 because of its depiction in live-action scenes of relationships between slaves and plantation owners in the pre-Civil War South. But Disney officials say they do not expect the ride to provoke criticism because it uses only the animated animal characters.”

Actually, Song of the South takes place during Reconstruction, not “in the pre-Civil War South,” and the Black plantation workers are sharecroppers, not slaves. Otherwise, Uncle Remus would not be free to leave the plantation. Then again, the movie never clearly identifies the time period. It’s not surprising that many people don’t have nostalgia for the plantations of the “Old South” and how the movie depicts the era.

The article also included this: “Al Flores, a Disneyland spokesman, said that the movie Song of the South—which he said probably will be re-released when the new ride opens—was chosen as a theme for the ride because it fit into the Bear Country theme and will be a good marketing tool.”

There was no U.S. re-release in 1989—or ever again. Disney has never sold Song of the South in the U.S. on Laserdisc, Beta, VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray. While some other older movies on Disney+ are preceded by warnings that they “may contain outdated cultural depictions,” Song of the South is completely absent from the streaming service.

Photo by Corby Demeis, 1988

Under construction, including the top of Chickapin Hill

Splash Mountain creative lead Tony Baxter and his team at WDI were aware of the issues and did their best to avoid everything that people find objectionable about the movie. The ride opened with no references to Reconstruction-era plantations, Uncle Remus, or any other human characters in the movie.

For its show scenes, Splash Mountain relied primarily on animatronic figures harvested from a defunct Tomorrowland attraction, America Sings (1974-1988). These characacters are not from Song of the South, but they work well with Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox, and Br’er Bear because Disney Legend Marc Davis did the character design for the 1946 movie and the 1974 attraction.

Splash Mountain immediately became a Disneyland guest favorite. With catchy music, colorful show scenes, and thrilling drops, the ride was highly repeatable. Long waits were common, especially on hot days.

The ride was such a success that other Disney parks wanted their own versions. Splash Mountain opened at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World on July 17, 1992, and Tokyo Disneyland on October 1, 1992—complete with replicas of the characters from America Sings, even though these parks never had this show.

Almost 31 years after it opened at Disneyland, Splash Mountain was in the news in June 2020. A Change.org petition to re-theme Splash Mountain to The Princess and the Frog was picking up steam. CNN had this headline on June 10: “Disney fans say Splash Mountain, a ride inspired by Song of the South, should be re-themed.” Newsweek had this on June 11: “Splash Mountain: Why People Are Calling the Disneyland Ride Racist.”

It only took until June 25, 2020, for the Disney Parks Blog to publish an announcement that began with this paragraph:

“Today we are thrilled to share a first glimpse of a project Imagineers have been working on since last year. Splash Mountain—at both Disneyland park in California and Magic Kingdom park in Florida—will soon be completely reimagined. The theme is inspired by an all-time favorite animated Disney film, The Princess and the Frog. We pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure—featuring some of the powerful music from the film—as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.”

The announcement did not mention Splash Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland. Japan is a different country and culture. Disney released Song of the South in Japan on LaserDisc in 1990, after it had been locked away in the United States. The company that owns Tokyo Disneyland (which is not The Walt Disney Company) could just be waiting until after the re-themed rides open in the U.S.

Artist Concept Only © Disney

Concept art for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

The Princess and the Frog is a wonderful movie—and it’s not locked away. It needed a Disney theme Park presence—not only a ride, but also Tiana’s restaurant. The movie’s setting is New Orleans and the bayous beyond it—not mountains, caves, and waterfalls—but because the ride’s story takes place after the movie, the Imagineers will be able to make it work. Early artwork suggests there will be delightful new supporting characters, but they won’t be the Marc Davis critters.

The final day for Splash Mountain at Disneyland was May 30, 2023, a gloomy Tuesday. Its counterpart at Magic Kingdom Park had already had its final day on January 22, 2023.

Photo by Chris Bales, 2023

Line stretching beyond Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion on May 30, 2023

Photo by Chris Bales, 2023

Guests dropping into the briar patch one last time on May 30, 2023

Perhaps the very best thing about Splash Mountain was the ride system itself—a brilliantly designed log flume with a surprise at one point and an exhilarating “final drop”—that didn’t mark the end of the ride.

The first act of the log flume structure, with its Splash Mountain show scenes and story, lasted almost 34 years. Now, under the new name, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the structure has a future that will combine the wonderful log flume experience with the memorable characters, atmospheric settings, and catchy music from The Princess and the Frog.

This should be a great second act.

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Updated November 22, 2024