Zip-a-dee-do-dah, Zip-a-dee-ay! My, oh, my what a wonderful day on Disney World’s classic water ride!
Splash Mountain Frontierland in the Magic Kingdom opened in July 1989 and hasn’t changed since! It has become a bit of a cult classic with odd ball characters from a movie no one really heard of or saw until it became controversial, Song of the South.
The Ride
Splash Mountain may look like your typical log flume ride that you see in almost every theme park in America, but Disney wanted theirs to be unique, and more than just one drop and then it’s over. Disney has incorporated characters and a storyline in this 10 minute long attraction. For us, forget the storyline, just give me those catchy tunes.
Splash Mountain does have a height requirement of 40”, so this isn’t a full family attraction. The log flume is wide with 2 full size seats that can comfortably fit 2 adults. Remember that Disney policy states that a child 6 and under must ride with an adult 18 or older, and a child 7 or older may sit with a child 14 or older.
Child Swap
Child Swap is the most underused perk in Walt Disney World. Basically, child swap is used when a member of your party is too small to ride, is not physically able to ride, or simply doesn’t want to ride, but other members do want to ride.
All you do is seek out the Cast Member at the Lightning Lane to tell them that you wish to child swap. They will scan the magic band or ticket card of the members that will be left behind. Once that is done, the first portion of your party will wait in line while the other members wait with the child that is not riding outside of the attraction. Now, you wait for your party to exit the ride and then you swap places! They stay with the child outside the ride and now you get to go through the Lightning Lane and jump right on!
Splash Mountain Play Zone!
Sometimes Disney has fun play areas outside of rides that have a height requirement so that little ones are not completely left out of the fun! Right beside the exit is a Splash Mountain themed play area for children in the shade and surrounded by fans.
Queue
Disney knew that Splash Mountain was going to make a real splash with guests. That’s easy to see when you look at the size of the queue that they built just for this attraction.
BONUS: This queue has its own bathroom!
Splash Mountain is a very popular ride that often boasts 60+ minute standby wait times. We highly recommend utilizing Genie+ here to get a Lightning Lane. One step further, we recommend Splash Mountain being the first Lightning Lane you get at 7:00 because they are gone quickly in a day.
Re-Theming
Disney announced in 2020 that the Song of the South theming no longer reflected the views and values of the company, so they announced a rethemeing to Princess and the Frog. Whatever the reason for the rethemeing, we’re here for it! We love when Disney incorporates well known characters and movies into attractions because then we are just that much more connected to them, though we will certainly miss that song…
In July 2022, it has been announced that Splash Mountain will be renamed Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The new posters show Tiana in pants and ready for adventure in a log going down the dark Bayou. We are just crossing our fingers for some dancing lightning bugs singing, “Going down the Bayou”!
Splash Mountain will close in early 2023 and is scheduled to reopen with its new theming in late 2024.
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Effects/Sensory Warning Log Flume Drop |
Guests must be 44 inches or taller to ride!
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This article was written by Erin Schreiver and reviewed by Steve Bell, founder of Military Disney Tips.
Erin is a military spouse who enjoys visiting Walt Disney World with her family, pin trading, and collecting Minnie ears and Disney coffee mugs.
Steve is a retired U.S. military member who has been visiting the Disney Parks since 1971 and writing about Disney military discounts and vacations for the military community for over 18 years.
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While I look forward to Tiana’s Bayou, I will sorely miss Splash Mountain. I wish Disney had decided to keep Splash Mountain and built a new attraction for Tiana. Disney replaced the Carousel of Progress with America Sings, then had to bring back Carousel when America Sings was a dismal failure. The same lesson was learned when the Enchanted Tiki Room was replaced with Under New Management which didn’t last long either. Disney, we love Splash Mountain and don’t find it racist at all. It’s just full of great songs and fun moments.