Splash Mountain is getting ready for a major overhaul that will completely change the characters and story inside the iconic ride. And based on a recent video, it seems that update and overhaul can’t come soon enough as the popular attraction clearly needs some work. A video has surfaced showing one of the ride vehicle logs at Magic Kingdom sinking with riders on board.
The video, which was apparently originally posted to Facebook but has since been reshared on Twitter was filmed by a guest on the attraction in the log behind where the sinking took place. You can see the guests trying to figure out what to do as the log sinks into the water and everybody tries to abandon ship.
Another splash mountain ride vehicle sinking??? Is this like the 3rd one now? pic.twitter.com/3oJlWDMLHxJuly 13, 2022
As mentioned in the post above, this isn’t the first time recently that we’ve seen a Splash Mountain ride vehicle sink. It is at least the third such incident since August of 2020. The ride did undergo a refurbishment at the beginning of the year. It’s fairly standard practice for Splash Mountain to undergo maintenance after the holiday season when crowds are at their lightest. But clearly, whatever is causing the boats to sink has not been completely overcome.
While regular maintenance has been done on both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World versions of the attraction, it certainly wouldn’t be a shock if the decision was made to hold off on some work, considering the ride is in line for a more significant overhaul. Splash Mountain is set to become a new attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. While the ride will remain a log flume, everything else is set to be replaced.
One assumes that when the ride goes down for its re-theming, the track and ride vehicles will also undergo a significant overhaul. Even if the basic course of the ride doesn’t change, technology has changed in the last 30 years, and the new version of Splash Mountain will likely be updated in every conceivable way, if only to make maintenance on the attraction going forward easier to accomplish. It's likely that the attractions age is part of the reason we're seeing these issues.
Exactly when that work will begin is unclear. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has been given a “late 2024” opening date at both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World, but a date for the official closure of the current Splash Mountain has not been revealed. It will likely happen sooner rather than later, as Splash Mountain is simply a massive attraction and the volume of work that will need to be done will be extensive. I’ve heard rumblings the closure could happen as early as this fall, giving Imagineers about two years to complete the transformation.
