Splash Mountain Ride Photos & Video
Splash Mountain is one of our favorite attractions at Walt Disney World. Splash Mountain is a log flume attraction that is based loosely on the controversial animated film Song of the South. It shares common characters and the overarching story is similar. The attraction tells the story of the mischievous Br’er Rabbit, as he leaves his home in the briar patch to look for his “laughing place.” Much to his chagrin, the villains of the story, the commanding Br’er Fox and oafish and lovable Br’er Bear, wish to catch and eat him. If this sounds like it might be a little gruesome for children, don’t worry, as references to eating Br’er Rabbit are mostly subtle (such as a rabbit cookbook on the ground in one of the scenes). It’s definitely a family-friendly attraction, at least for those children 40 inches and taller.
Splash Mountain is one of the top E-Ticket attractions in the Magic Kingdom, and rightfully so. At around 13 minutes, the attraction is long; it has wonderful sets with well-done Audio-Animatronic figures; great and catchy songs in “How Do You Do?, “Ev’rybody’s Got a Laughin’ Place,” “Burrow’s Lament,” and “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah;” and even offers some thrills along the way as your log ride vehicle plunges down watery drops. All told, there are over 100 Audio-Animatronic br’er critter figures.
As I mentioned at the outset, Splash Mountain is one of our favorite attractions in Walt Disney World–definitely in our “Top 5.” It is incredibly well done, with gorgeous sets and a great soundtrack. We notice new details each time we ride that we hadn’t seen before (one of the biggest marks of a great attraction, to us). Unfortunately for us, a lot of other people feel the same way, and Splash Mountain can attract some really long wait times. Because of this, we recommend visiting early in the morning. In fact, we usually rush for Frontierland at rope drop (an alternative is starting in Tomorrowland with Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear’s Spaceranger Spin), grabbing a FastPass for Splash Mountain and then riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Lines aren’t as long late at night or in cold months, and you also won’t get as wet at these times, as Disney turns off water canons that can seriously soak you when heading up the first lift hill. It is important to note that you’ll get a little wet no matter when you visit Splash Mountain, but it’s usually not too bad!
Overall, Splash Mountain is an attraction that no one should miss, as it is a true highlight of great Imagineering and contains elements that will appeal to the whole family. The last drop might be too intense for some, but we highly recommend that everyone do this attraction at least once. It’s really that good, and worth putting fears aside to experience!
Video:
There are literally hundreds of videos of Splash Mountain out there, but this is HD and most importantly, has a 180-degree field of view, which allows you to see more of the attraction all in one frame and replicates a human’s field of vision. In other words, it feels like you’re actually there. You won’t see another Splash Mountain ride-through video like this on the web!
Photos:
[Note: as you may have gathered from Disney Tourist Blog’s YouTube Channel, we recorded some attraction videos while we were in Walt Disney World as a test. Based upon feedback and demand, we may record more. Please let us know if attraction videos/reviews are something you’d like to see more of on DisneyTouristBlog.com.]
Your Thoughts…
Are you a fan of Splash Mountain? Share your thoughts in the comments!
I love riding Splash Mountain at DisneyLand because it’s my favorite ride. It was my favorite ride of all time 🙂
Hey, Tom! Love the blog and I’m very happy that you mentioned your YouTube page, which is also terrific. Keep the blogs, photos and videos coming!
Love Splash Mountain. Keep up the good work.
I have to say I’m a little surprised by the positive response to the ‘test’ attraction page. It looks like we will be doing more of these in the coming months. Expect Disneyland to receive its attraction pages first, with Walt Disney World to follow. All subject to change, of course.
Great article, Tom. Really nice job with the video! Matter of fact, it’s one of the best on ride videos I have seen. I have some specific questions for you on it, but I’ll shoot you a flickr mail.
I love Splash mountain as well, one of my very favorite rides. I love your capture of the ride adn story-wiithout even watching the video I feel like I’m on the ride! Well done!
LOVED the attraction video and would definitely like to see more.
Thanks for the review and awesome pics (as always)!
I also like Splash Mountain at DisneyLand 🙂
It has been 15+ years since the last time I rode Splash Mountain. I had forgotten about most of what the ride was about other than the big drop everyone sees as they walk past in Frontier land. Thank you for reminding me of what a great attraction it is. I’ll be sure to make sure my family rides it when we’re in WDW next week 🙂
Love the pictures, really enjoyed the video. I’ve read up on dark ride photography, but what about Splash Mountain, where the camera may get wet? Do you put it in some sort of plastic bag? Also do you feel like it’s secure on the big drop? Do CMs ever say anything about having your camera out? Thanks!
Tom, I’m amazed, why haven’t I found your site sooner!! You make me so excited to visit, and because it may be colder, we may not be able to ride Splash Mountain, so I can live vicariously through your video. The pictures are simply wonderful! You capture the magic, better than anything I’ve ever seen!
I enjoyed this ride immensely my first time.
In fact, it inspired me to “stumble” upon a copy of Song of the South.
After watching the movie, I appreciate the ride exponentially more. If you find a copy of the movie, I would recommend watching it.
Loving the ride reviews and the videos! Splash Mountains is definitely Disney parks at its best!
Stunning images!
I am loving these fisheye videos! You get more of a sense of being on the ride with that wide angle.
Re: Splash Mountain – I love this ride. It would probably be in my top 3 rides at WDW, but… I hate getting wet when in ‘regular’ clothes. Absolutely hate it. Don’t even know why. And yet, I still ride Splash Mountain… just goes to show how awesome the ride is.
This is probably the best flume ride on earth because the drops are just an added bonus. Most flumes at other parks are all about the drop. To me, Splash would still be amazing without the flumes due to the incredible sets and music along the way.
When I first got on Splash Mountain, I was scared at first but I loved it ! And I want to get on it again & again! 🙂