Anybody have any ideas as to when Splash will close?

[grandflofan]

I don't believe that Walt Disney World will close until after the 50th (which will be sometime late 2022). It would be not good for WDW if Splash is closed and TRON is not open yet on October 1, 2021. Brayden from Mickey Views did a great update on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc981rCAick

 

[Indy #1 Fan]

I can't see it closing at all tbh. I think budget cuts will force Disney to call it off.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I am thinking that they are liking and taking advantage of the splash merchandise flying off the shelves.
In the ways we still see figment merch ...do you stll think some of the critters will still been seen now and then?

 

[Mit88]

I can't see it closing at all tbh. I think budget cuts will force Disney to call it off.

I say its 60/40 in favor of it still being re-themed at WDW. At Disneyland its 100%. And the only reason I dont think its 100% at WDW is because of when its rumored to actually happen. This was without a doubt a D23 2021 announcement that they were kind of forced to make early, which means they didn’t allocate the budget until 2022-2023. Unless they make an absolute killing, surpassing even their lofty expectations during the 50th celebration, they’re still going to be hurting from this year. I could definitely see the WDW version being cancelled, or put on “indefinite hold”. Reskinning this ride is going to take a lot of money, and a long downtime. Now if they do decide to keep it, they’re going to have to change the characters and songs which would cost much less than a complete overhaul, but they’re not going to be able to get away with keeping it exactly the same as it currently stands. Its still problematic characters and songs.

 

[Mit88]

I am thinking that they are liking and taking advantage of the splash merchandise flying off the shelves.
In the ways we still see figment merch ...do you stll think some of the critters will still been seen now and then?

They absolutely love the merch flying off the shelves. Its money coming in when its not really coming in elsewhere. Even with the discounts on the merch, they’re still making a killing on the Splash merch because it was money that sat on the shelves making them nothing before the announcement of the ride’s closure.

I’m not sure they’ll continue putting the characters on merchandise if/when the ride is gone, but I do think we’ll keep seeing new merch for the ride up until its closure (if it happens) and almost certainly “farewell” merch

 

[disneylover102]

I would actually prefer it if DL's got changed and WDW's stayed the same or was changed to something different. I like having variations between the parks - gives me extra reasons to go to both!

I do think it makes more sense at Disneyland. At Disneyland, Splash is right by New Orleans Square so Princess and the Frog makes sense there but I don’t see how it makes sense in Frontierland at MK.

 

[Indy #1 Fan]

I say its 60/40 in favor of it still being re-themed at WDW. At Disneyland its 100%. And the only reason I dont think its 100% at WDW is because of when its rumored to actually happen. This was without a doubt a D23 2021 announcement that they were kind of forced to make early, which means they didn’t allocate the budget until 2022-2023. Unless they make an absolute killing, surpassing even their lofty expectations during the 50th celebration, they’re still going to be hurting from this year. I could definitely see the WDW version being cancelled, or put on “indefinite hold”. Reskinning this ride is going to take a lot of money, and a long downtime. Now if they do decide to keep it, they’re going to have to change the characters and songs which would cost much less than a complete overhaul, but they’re not going to be able to get away with keeping it exactly the same as it currently stands. Its still problematic characters and songs.

Well I see it being called off completely and I will go out on a limb and say that Splash Mountain will still be at Disneyland when the park celebrates its 75th in 2030. Nobody would complain if Disney called it off completely.

 

[New Mouse]

I do think it makes more sense at Disneyland. At Disneyland, Splash is right by New Orleans Square so Princess and the Frog makes sense there but I don’t see how it makes sense in Frontierland at MK.

To be honest, the parks need some more segmentation anyway. Having carsland only at California Adventure and Guardians breakout or whatever its called.... I like having unique experiences at each location. Going to DLP for.the first time was so refreshing bc even the old familiars were significantly different.

 

[Mit88]

Well I see it being called off completely and I will go out on a limb and say that Splash Mountain will still be at Disneyland when the park celebrates its 75th in 2030. Nobody would complain if Disney called it off completely.

Eh, I think a lot of people would complain. Company saying they’re going to do something progressive, and then say “nah, nevermind” would cause a lot of outrage. It’s one thing if the IP wasn’t what Splash Mountain is. But a lot of attention was brought to the background and origin of these characters this summer. With more people aware of the problematic background of the ride, its going to be nearly impossible to hope people just forget that they said they were going to fix it and just decide not to.

The reason its easier to do it in DLR and potentially not change it to PatF at WDW is

1) Because of the 50th anniversary at WDW. They’re going to need as many rides open at WDW over the course of the next 24 months, and by the time the 50th anniversary wraps up they could figure out a different way to change Splash without a complete overhaul

2) Disneyland is mostly locals. Theres a reason why DL can do the NBC overlay in Haunted Mansion and WDW cant. People go to WDW for the attractions. People go to DL for the theming. They can handle the crowds with having Splash down for a prolonged amount of time, especially with Galaxy’s Edge being brand new, and Avengers Campus coming within a few months of when the parks out there eventually open.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Splash doesn’t reopen with Disneyland

 

[Mit88]

To be honest, the parks need some more segmentation anyway. Having carsland only at California Adventure and Guardians breakout or whatever its called.... I like having unique experiences at each location. Going to DLP for.the first time was so refreshing bc even the old familiars were significantly different.

That’s why I kind of like what they’re doing with the Avengers attractions across the world. Some are lame overlays, but it still gives you a reason to go to the other parks around the world if you’re an MCU fan. I’m fine with Galaxy’s edge being the same on both coasts, and MMRR coming to DL is fine too. But I would not be a fan if they decided to retheme Dinosaur into Indy. I love that ride and its a big reason I look forward to going to Disneyland. Outside of it being Walt’s park, there’s becoming less and less difference between visiting DLR and WDW, especially if you’re not a big Disney fan.

I wasn’t bummed about them losing ToT since the one at DHS is far superior to the one out at CA, but I was worried that because the lack of time needed to retheme it to Guardians that it was just going to be a new exterior and some little things rethemed on the inside. How wrong I was. Mission Breakout is a fantastic attraction top to bottom. But I don’t want them to change it at DHS

 

[YesterDark]

Good question.
I don't think Disney even knows.

 

[CastAStone]

I wouldn’t be surprised if Splash doesn’t reopen with Disneyland

They are nowhere near far enough along on the project to start the redo in the next year. I would point you to Jim Hill and Len Testa's podcast on the subject from 7/5 or This post and this followup post from TP2000 on the Disneyland forum over at WDWMagic. .

 

[Mit88]

They are nowhere near far enough along on the project to start the redo in the next year. I would point you to Jim Hill and Len Testa's podcast on the subject from 7/5 or This post and this followup post from TP2000 on the Disneyland forum over at WDWMagic. .

That first post was a long, but really informative read. Thanks for directing me to it, I hadn’t seen that. Ill have to listen to Len Testa’s podcast later on. This whole thing is very fascinating to me. I feel bad for the party’s involved that were excited about working on the ride and had their plans leaked much earlier than they prepared to and now they’ll have to hear the comments “when is it coming? Disney said they were changing the ride and I havent seen any changes” until they’re given the green light to start the actual work

 

[ElyseInWonderland]

TBH I don't see this happening any time soon, if at all. I think the recent social climate forced them to announce *something* about Splash Mountain but I don't know if I see it fully playing out for several years at least.

 

[Indy #1 Fan]

Eh, I think a lot of people would complain. Company saying they’re going to do something progressive, and then say “nah, nevermind” would cause a lot of outrage. It’s one thing if the IP wasn’t what Splash Mountain is. But a lot of attention was brought to the background and origin of these characters this summer. With more people aware of the problematic background of the ride, its going to be nearly impossible to hope people just forget that they said they were going to fix it and just decide not to.

Nobody asked for this and none of the characters are problematic. Disney has gone back on announcements many times and cancelling this would/will be no different. I also expect Song of the South to finally be available on Blu Ray within the next 15 years and I can guarantee that the whole Disney company will be broken up by Capitol Hill under antitrust and Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, ABC, ESPN, everything the company bought the last decade will be taken away leaving Disney with only its homegrown properties. All of big tech will be broken up. Twitter and most of social media won't exist by 2030. Disney is in serious financial trouble anyway because of the pandemic. What are they gonna do when Splash Mountain stays and/if Song of the South finally gets released? Boycott all Disney products?

 

[iheartglaciers]

Eh, I think a lot of people would complain. Company saying they’re going to do something progressive, and then say “nah, nevermind” would cause a lot of outrage. It’s one thing if the IP wasn’t what Splash Mountain is. But a lot of attention was brought to the background and origin of these characters this summer. With more people aware of the problematic background of the ride, its going to be nearly impossible to hope people just forget that they said they were going to fix it and just decide not to.

I agree that they can't go back on the announcement, so they'll eventually redo both DL and WDW Splash Mountains. But I also think we're years away. I don't think the project was far along, and they certainly don't have the money right now.

 

[disneylover102]

Nobody asked for this

Actually, there was an online petition to change it to PATF.

 

[madhavok]

My guess is this will be after the 50th. I can't see it closing for at least two years.

 

[NKHarris329]

Nobody asked for this and none of the characters are problematic.

There are a number of people who have asked for this change, and specifically because Song of the South is problematic. Even at the time of it's release there were grumblings about racist portrayals... and now? It's definitely time. I get that it is a classic ride, and that there aren't overtly racist things happening in the actual ride (no "tar baby" or Uncle Remus depictions), but let's not pretend there is no reason to find the theme problematic.

I am going to miss the ride as it is today. I have some great memories on this ride, of my kids on this ride. It makes me happy. However, I do think a re-theme is in order, and I think PatF is the most logical option. PatF would make a great water flume ride, and it won't be difficult to tie the interior to a swampy/New Orleans style theme. The exterior is where I think the big problem is going to be with making this change (for WDW). PatF doesn't have a frontier feel, and I can't see a solution that doesn't involve shifting the lands around. I don't see that being well received.

As far as time frame, that's hard. I agree Land will happen before World, and World won't happen until after the 50th. I suspect we will see movement with Land as soon as financials make even a little bit of sense.

 

[thingaboutarsenal]

My question about this is: If it's so racist that it needs to be rethemed, why isn't it closed until the retheme? Is the racism of the ride acceptable for a couple more years just for capacity concerns?