On Tuesday, May 30, 2023, Disney fans descended on Disneyland to take one last splash on Splash Mountain before the attraction closes and is transformed into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The attraction, which originally opened in 1989 and had been one of the mountains in Disneyland’s mountain range. Daps Magic had several team members on hand throughout the day to cover this historic event.
Splash Mountain Final Morning
The queue for Splash Mountain in the early morning wasn’t too long. However, this changed throughout the day and into the evening. As can be seen in the tweets that Doug shared from Disneyland, the morning really was quite lovely despite some rain.
The historic nature of the day was not forgotten by Doug, who also brought a souvenir guide from 1989. He also compared photos of Chickipen Hill from before the attraction was completed and what it looked like on its final day in operation.
As the morning continued on, more people showed up. Many of them had outfits that were themed for the day and their final splash down on Splash Mountain. Thankfully, the sun also came out for those who were waiting in line and also waiting to get drenched as they splashed down.
The Final Afternoon of Splash Mountain
As morning turned into afternoon, the queue for Splash Mountain began to get much longer. The shortest queue was during the first hour of the morning, following which, the attraction’s queue did not dip under an hour for the rest of the operating day. In fact, it did quite the opposite. It stretched multiple hours as guests made their way for their final ride on this Critter Country attraction. Throughout the day, it seemed that most people were waiting two to three hours before riding. The single-rider line also stretched longer than was normal. At one point it was over an hour and a half long. The Individual Lightning Lane option also sold out early in the day.
While there was no closing day merchandise for Splash Mountain, Disneyland guests instead lined up at the Splash Mountain Penny Press. This remained quite popular throughout the day.
By 2:00 PM, the queue for Splash Mountain had stretched to over 200 minutes. It appeared that those in line were waiting longer than what the times indicated.
Imagineer and Disney Legend Tony Baxter
Later in the afternoon, Imagineer Tony Baxter dropped by Disneyland to experience Splash Mountain on its final day. Tony Baxter was the Imagineer who initially came up with the idea for Splash Mountain. He came up with the idea for the attraction while stuck in traffic one day. This was when another attraction, America Sings, was slated to be closed. Baxter came up with the idea of utilizing the audio-animatronics from America Sings in a log flume ride. This attraction would eventually become Splash Mountain. This attraction would eventually be replicated at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort and also Tokyo Disneyland at Tokyo Disney Resort.
One Last Splash
As the afternoon turned into evening, the line continued to stretch as guests came in after work to be able to experience one last time. The longest the line appeared to reach throughout the day/evening was around 4 hours. The single-rider line was cut well before the day ended. Guests continued to pour into the area and into the line, many of them wearing themed outfits. Others also splashed down into the briar patch showing off themed plush or other toys so that they’d appear in their attraction photo. This led to some amusing pictures throughout the day on social media.
Another way to experience the attraction without waiting in a multi-hour line was to ride aboard the Disneyland Railroad through the mountain. The Daps Magic team (Doug and Angela) did this in the early evening.
As the night became dark, the line showed no indication of getting any shorter. Initially, it appeared to be planned that the line would not be closed until the park did at 11:00 PM. However, as the night progressed, it appeared that this might change. Daps Magic went live for about half an hour from Disneyland during this time period during GEEKS CORNER to give people at home a look at what it was like in the park on this historic day.
As the end of Disneyland’s operating day drew near, there was no sign of the queue getting any shorter. The line still stretched about four hours long shortly before 10:00 PM. Presumably with this in mind, the decision was made to close the line to Splash Mountain at 10:00 PM. Those who were in line were promised the opportunity to ride. Both attractions cast members and security guards soon could be found standing in front of the attraction entrance waving people by, answering questions, and beginning the process of closing down the attraction for the final time.
Closing Splash Mountain
At 11:00 PM Disneyland ended its normal operating day. The line still was stretching outside of Splash Mountain but it also appeared to picking up speed after it had been closed to new guests an hour before. With the closure of the parks, guests could be seen taking their final pictures in front of the attraction, filming final moments, live streaming, and absorbing the moment. Shortly before 11:30 PM, the queue was short enough that the doors to Splash Mountain were officially closed. The moment was celebratory as guests cheered on the closing of the doors and eagerly awaited for what comes next.
The final day of Splash Mountain was full of people coming to Disneyland to get one last splash on an attraction that has been controversial for many years. The mood of the day was celebratory. Guests could be seen and heard celebrating the past while looking forward to the future. What wasn’t seen, at least by the Daps Magic team, was any protestors attempting to stop the closure of the attraction and its transformation into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The following morning, brown walls had been erected around the attraction. In the course of the next year or so, it will be transformed into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure with a new story built around a flume log ride that will once again give guests the opportunity to splash into.
Walt Disney once said that “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” While Walt Disney was always tinkering, enhancing, and plussing up his projects including Disneyland, the process of change can often be hard for those who are Disney fans. The very nostalgia that is a favorite part of the Disney experience, can also end up being an anchor that holds back progress. However, a world without change or growth is dead. A similar sentiment could be said for theme parks. A theme park without change isn’t open anymore. So as the Disney community says goodbye to Splash Mountain, it is a good time to look forward to the new and exciting things that are coming. There are new stories to be told by Disney, new experiences to be had by guests, and a strong legacy left by Walt Disney that all of these will be built on. With that in mind, here’s to the future with new stories, adventures, magic, and memories!
