It’s time to say farewell to Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World. The iconic Magic Kingdom attraction officially closes January 23, 2023 to make way for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
As expected, Splash Mountain attracted massive crowds during its final day of operation. Wait times swelled to 200 minutes in the first few hours of operation.
The wait for Splash Mountain is north of 3 hours and climbing
Today is the final day of operation for #SplashMountain at Magic Kingdom pic.twitter.com/dnMUN0YRzK
— BlogMickey.com (@Blog_Mickey) January 22, 2023
The area surrounding Splash Mountain was mobbed with guests. The walkways were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with guests trying to get those final pictures and memories of Splash Mountain.
Shoutout to the VERY confused family from Chicago trying to navigate Magic Kingdom, asking literally anyone and everyone “What is going on? Is it always like this?!” pic.twitter.com/YoQ7Rhtzp6
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) January 22, 2023
The Magic Kingdom version of Splash Mountain opened October 2, 1992. Despite not being the original version of the attraction (Disneyland’s is the OG), many guests believe the Magic Kingdom’s is the superior ride. The ride takes guests through the story of Br’er Rabbit as he tries to avoid being captured by Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear. The attraction’s scenes are inspired by the controversial movie Song of the South, which has led to the retheming project.
Disney announced in 2020 that Splash Mountain would be rethemed to a ride featuring Tiana and characters from Princess and the Frog. While the ride system and layout will remain the same, the characters (Br’er Rabbit and the gang) and soundtrack (Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah) will become Disney history.
Photo from Disney.
