It’s been more than two years since fans first asked Walt Disney World and Disneyland to consider re-theming the popular Splash Mountain attraction, and nearly as long since Disney announced it would do just that. Since then we’ve seen a lot of new information about the Princess and the Frog-themed attraction, and we even know approximately when it will open. But what we still don’t know is when the current ride will shutdown so work can begin, although that day may finally be close.
A permit was recently discovered regarding improvements set to be made to a building inside Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. While the exact improvements are only given a code of Project CY1899, WDWMagic suggests that the Notice of Commencement is in reference to Splash Mountain. The address of Caribbean Way does match up to the official name of the path that takes guests from Adventureland into Frontierland where Splash Mountain is located, so there’s reason to believe this is correct, though a Google Map search of that address gives you a location closer to Jungle Cruise than Splash Mountain.
The other reason to believe that this permit is in reference to Splash Mountain is that it is a “Notice of Commencement” and we fully expect work to be commencing at Splash Mountain some time in the very near future. Disney has announced that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the new name for Splash Mountain, will open at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland in late 2024. Considering the sheer scope of the work involved (Splash Mountain is a huge attraction full of dozens of animatronics) the construction will likely take time. So it’s a safe bet that Splash will be closing pretty soon.
Having said that, it is technically possible that this permit is for something else. It hasn’t been confirmed anywhere previously that Project CY1899 is specifically the Splash Mountain redesign, and there’s always some kind of work being done somewhere at Disney World at any given moment.
While no similar permit has been uncovered for the Disneyland version of Splash Mountain, both attractions have the same reopening window. It’s a longshot they will both be opening on the same day, but that might be the goal. And even if it's not, if they’re going to be opening within a few months of each other, they’ll be shutting down close together as well.
Both the Disneyland and Disney World Splash Mountain rides went down for a brief refurbishment in January, after the busy holiday season came to an end. It’s fairly normal to see the ride go down at that time of year, so unless Splash needs to close earlier in order to hit the late 2024 opening for Tiana's Bayou Adventure, it feels like a safe bet we could see it go down on schedule, and simply stay closed.
