Walt Disney World Splash Mountain

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Splash Mountain is a log flume ride at Tokyo Disneyland. It was formerly located at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. The attraction is based on the animated sequences of Disney's 1946 film Song of the South. The ride experience begins with a peaceful outdoor float-through that leads to indoor dark ride segments, with a climactic steep drop into a "briar patch" followed by an indoor finale. The drop is 52.5 feet (16.0 meters).
In June 2020, it was announced that the U.S. versions of the ride would be receiving a new theme based on Disney's 2009 film The Princess and the Frog.[2][3] The Magic Kingdom version of Splash Mountain closed on January 23, 2023, while the Disneyland version closed on May 31, 2023. The new ride, which is titled Tiana's Bayou Adventure, is scheduled to open in summer 2024 at Magic Kingdom and later in 2024 at Disneyland.
Story
The plot behind Splash Mountain is a composite of several Uncle Remus stories as taken from the animated segments of the film Song of the South. The attraction tells the story of Br'er Rabbit, a mischievous trickster who leaves his home in search of adventure. Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear, the antagonists of the story, are determined to catch him. The sharp-witted Br'er Rabbit avoids a snare trap (as described in "Br'er Rabbit Earns a Dollar a Minute") and uses it to trap Br'er Bear instead. Br'er Rabbit continues on his journey to find his "laughing place". Out of curiosity, his foes follow only for Br'er Rabbit to lead them into a cavern of bees. Br'er Fox eventually catches Br’er Rabbit and threatens to eat him. Br'er Rabbit uses reverse psychology on Br'er Fox, begging him not to throw him into the briar patch (as described in "The Tar Baby"). Br'er Fox then throws Br'er Rabbit into the briar patch (represented by the ride's flume drop); Br'er Rabbit escapes uninjured. Br'er Rabbit resolves to remain at his longstanding home in the briar patch while the other animals rejoice at his return and Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear are last seen narrowly escaping the jaws of Br'er Gator.
Two differences in the attraction's plot compared to the film are the exclusion of the Uncle Remus character as a storytelling device (he is replaced by Br'er Frog as a narrator) and changing Br'er Rabbit's method of capture from being stuck in tar to being stuck in a beehive.
History
Splash Mountain was originally conceived in 1983 by Imagineer Tony Baxter. He wanted to attract guests to the often-empty Bear Country land in Disneyland, with its single attraction being the Country Bear Jamboree (1972-2001), plus a souvenir shop, and make use of the Audio-Animatronics figures from the Disneyland attraction America Sings (1974-1988), which was also poorly attended. It was Dick Nunis (then-president of Walt Disney attractions) who insisted that the Imagineers create a log flume for Disneyland, but the Imagineers were initially unenthusiastic about it, feeling that log flumes were too ordinary a theme park attraction to include in a Disney park. While trying to solve the issues of including a log flume, bringing people into Bear Country and reusing the America Sings figures, Baxter thought of Song of the South.
According to Baxter, the name of the ride was originally going to be Zip-a-Dee River Run. However, at the same time that the ride was being developed, Walt Disney Studios was coming out with the film Splash (1984). The studio executives saw the Imagineers' plans, and since it was a water-based attraction, urged them to include Daryl Hannah's mermaid character from Splash in the ride. Baxter refused, stating that the mermaid did not fit in with the Br'er Rabbit story. So the executives instead asked Baxter to name the ride Splash Mountain.[7] The character figures from America Sings were used in many scenes, though the Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear figures were specifically created for Splash Mountain.
Plans to build the ride were unveiled in January 1987. At the time of its unveiling, Disney officials stated they would not be expecting criticism for its Song of the South theming due to the ride only including the film's animated characters.[8] Construction began at Disneyland in April of that year. By that time, Splash Mountain, whose budget had risen to $75 million, had become one of the most expensive projects created by Walt Disney Imagineering. The entire park cost around $17 million to build in 1955, which translates to around $80 million in 1987. According to Alice Davis (wife of Disney animator and Imagineer Marc Davis), when America Sings closed in April 1988, production of Splash Mountain had gone far over budget. The only way to recover was to close down America Sings and use the character figures from that attraction.[9] In anticipation of the opening of Splash Mountain, Bear Country was renamed Critter Country in 1988