Have Fans Figured Out the Closing Date For Disney’s Second Splash Mountain?

Since the recent closure of Splash Mountain at the Walt Disney World Resort last month, many fans who hold fond memories of the drop ride are wondering when Disney will announce the closing date for its successor at Disneyland. Now, this speculation has prompted a few viable candidates for Splash Mountain’s final run within the United States.

First introduced at the Disneyland Resort in 1989, the thrilling log flume ride took Guests on an adventure alongside the animal characters from Song of the South (1946) ’s animated folktale scenes, such as Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Bear, and Br’er Fox, culminating in a 49′ drop! However, Disney Parks decided to close both versions of the attraction due to mechanical issues due to age, as well as criticisms that the ride glorifies or romanticizes the horrific atrocities of slavery and the Reconstruction Era’s Jim Crowe laws in the South.

Credit: Matthew Cooper Photography (www.thetimethespace.com)

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Although the exact same ride system and much of the show building will remain when Disney transforms the area into the highly anticipated Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction by next year, many fans remain heartbroken by the loss of their favorite activity at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. As a result, some fans from the East Coast are even planning trips to Southern California, where the second Splash Mountain continues operation… for now.

Indeed, Disneyland has not yet announced an exact date for Splash Mountain’s final run, but as Walt Disney Imagineering has promised Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will be operational by 2024, fans know it has to be coming soon. But when?

Credit: Disney

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Well, that’s what many Guests have tried to figure out, with local California news station KTLA even interviewing popular Disney fan personalities on social media about their predictions for Splash Mountain’s last day. Walt Disney World’s Splash Mountain closed on January 23, 2023, leaving many theme park bloggers, like Megan Heneghan of “The Magical Millennial,” to predict Disneyland’s would close on or around the same time., which obviously didn’t happen.

In fact, KTLA quoted Heneghan as stating: “I have a feeling Splash Mountain will close in late January or early February for this extended ride transformation,” which means this could be the last month Splash fans get to hop on their favorite ride. However, other interviewees, like theme park journalist Carly Caramanna and content creator David Vaughn, predict the ride will close later in the spring so as not to “somehow overshadow the launch of Disney100,” AKA Disney Parks’ 100 Years of Wonder Anniversary Celebration which launched at Disneyland on January 27.

Credit: Disney

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In addition, Disneyland closed nine attractions last month, with many remaining shuttered for extended refurbishment such as Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye, Tarzan’s Treehouse, and Radiator Springs Racers, leaving both Parks lacking E-Ticket entertainments besides Splash Mountain, one of the theme park’s most popular thrill rides. Moreover, as Grizzly River Run is not slated to reopen until March 17, some fans posit that Splash will stay open until then so that Disneyland retains at least one water-based thrill ride going into the warmer California months.

For now, US fans can still enjoy a Zip-a-dee-doo-dah Day. When do you think that day will end?