Will Splash Mountain Close at Tokyo Disneyland?

Splash Mountain could be reimagined at Tokyo Disneyland, per the operator of Japan’s Disney parks. This post covers comments from OLC and why we think the ride is unlikely to close–plus photos of Critter Country, which is basically “Splash Mountain Land.” (Updated October 8, 2024.)

Tokyo Disneyland’s Splash Mountain is now the only operational version of the attraction in the world, after the versions of the ride closed at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland and were reimagined into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The reimagined ride picks up the story of The Princess and the Frog after the film, joining Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure also has a bunch of cute critters, creating an ‘expanded universe’ of sorts for The Princess and the Frog. The reimagined ride also features Audios Animatronics of recognize characters from the movie, including Tiana, Louis the Alligator and Mama Odie. As discussed in our Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Ride Review: Failure, Flawed or Fantastic?, the attraction is a mixed bag.

Given the guest reception and reviews of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, as well as the movie’s lack of popularity in Japan, it’s highly unlikely that the attraction will be cloned at Tokyo Disney Resort. There’s a near-certainty that representatives of Oriental Land Company (OLC), which owns and operates Tokyo Disney Resort, have already experienced and rejected Tiana’s Bayou Adventure on that basis by now.

Per news reports in Japan, Oriental Land Company stated that discussions were underway on whether to change the popular attraction at Tokyo Disneyland. An Oriental Land Company representative said they were aware of the proposed change for the U.S. parks, adding that consideration was being given about what to do with the ride at Tokyo Disneyland.

That occurred around the time when Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was first announced for Walt Disney World and Disneyland, and there have been no subsequent announcements, updates, or even rumors. However, OLC has since started work on an overhaul of Space Mountain, which will debut in 2027.

Not only that, but OLC is reimagining the popular Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters into a Wreck-it-Ralph ride and is giving “it’s a small world” an elaborate Marvel overlay. All of this indicates that overhauling Splash Mountain is not high priority for Tokyo Disneyland. If it were, it would’ve happened before this trio of projects–going down shortly after Fantasy Springs opened at Tokyo DisneySea. Obviously, that did not happen.

For some reason, this isn’t the end of the Splash Mountain ‘saga’ at Tokyo Disneyland, though, as there are new rumors as of Fall 2024…

Before we get to that, some quick background that serves as important context. For those who are unfamiliar with it, Splash Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland is essentially its own land. The attraction itself is largely a plussed clone (unquestionably the best version of Splash Mountain), but the land that was built around it is wholly unique.

It was one of the first major expansions embarked upon by Tokyo Disneyland, and its engaging and layered design represents an antidote to the large expanses of flat pavement and wide walkways throughout the park’s early formulaic copy and paste years.

As noted above, Critter Country could just as well be called “Splash Mountain Land” at Tokyo Disneyland, as everything is woven into the main attraction. Beaver Brothers Explorer Canoes, Rackety’s Raccoon Saloon, Hoot & Holler Hideout, and Grandma Sara’s Kitchen are all part of Splash Mountain.

These venues are all inextricably intertwined, and it’s unlikely one component could change without the rest following suit. (See our look Inside Disney’s Splash Mountain Restaurant for more.) In other words, if there is a change, it’ll be the entire land that’s redone, not just the ride.

We’re skeptical that Tokyo Disneyland will reimagine Critter Country for a few reasons. The first is just in reading between the lines with an understanding of the dynamic between Oriental Land Company and the Walt Disney Company, coupled with how Japanese companies operate.

Japan’s corporate culture (and social norms in general) is very different than that of the United States. Japanese business people are known for being polite, and will express keen interest and attention in the proposals being presented to them. This is purely superficial and for the sake of conveying respect, but is often misconstrued by foreign business partners as genuine enthusiasm.

There are amusing anecdotes of this happening between executives of the Walt Disney Company and Oriental Land Company. In fact, American Disney leaders misreading their Japanese counterparts has been the genesis of several rumors over the years. Cars Land “almost” being green-lit to replace Westernland or MagicBands coming to Tokyo Disneyland are prime examples of this. Even before that, Disney pitched OLC on a studios park as a second gate for years, thinking that OLC loved they idea. (Narrator: they did not.)

OLC and Walt Disney Attractions Japan teams will almost always visit new additions to Walt Disney World and Disneyland and hear sales pitches from Disney executives and Imagineering creatives. Disney wants to “sell” OLC on all of these additions, but the latter is very picky about what’s right for its audience. Again, this is important context for the the latest rumors as of Fall 2024.

That’s simply the nature of the beast, with OLC being the purchaser and Disney the vendor. (That puts it in cold terms, but that’s precisely the dynamic here and why Disney has a vested interest in trying to sell OLC on cloned attractions/land.) It doesn’t mean anything will come of it.

If I were invited for a weeklong trip aboard a super yacht under the condition that I listen to a super yacht sales pitch and consider buying one, I’d absolutely do it. However, even if I do “consider” it, there are obvious impediments to consummating the purchase. While OLC does have superyacht money, they have flying pirate ship tastes.

Anyway, the latest rumors as of Fall 2024 are that OLC has agreed to replace Splash Mountain. There are a number of variations on this rumor floating around among both Japanese and U.S. fans, and honestly, “rumor” should be in air quotes. For whatever it’s worth, I’ve heard absolutely nothing in talking to people I know in the U.S. and at Walt Disney Attractions Japan (I don’t know anyone at OLC).

In a nutshell, the “rumor” is that Disney and OLC have agreed to terms to replace Splash Mountain. That OLC repeatedly refused previous pitches, but eventually received enough concessions and (supposedly) funding from the Walt Disney Company to replace the attraction.

Some variations of this have claimed that Disney has forced OLC to replace Splash Mountain. Others claim that Disney offered to foot the entire bill. That’s quite the range of outcomes!

Honestly, I still not believe it. Splash Mountain is hugely popular at Tokyo Disneyland, to the point that it has one of the longest wait times in the entire park and is a Disney Premier Access attraction (their version of Lightning Lane Single Pass). The attraction is in excellent shape; it has decades of useful life left in its ride system and components.

The notion that Disney can unilaterally require OLC to replace attractions is hogwash. If they had that contractual capacity, they already would’ve exercised it. Or, they would do it all the time, requiring OLC to buy new rides and lands whenever Disney wants to spread out development costs.

What Disney could do is prevent future licensure of the Brer characters for merchandising and other purposes. I can’t recall the last time I saw a meaningful presence of Splash Mountain merchandise at Tokyo Disneyland in the first place. The attraction doesn’t even have a gift shop–just a small kiosk. Disney could also prevent OLC from using the music in new entertainment. But that’s forward-looking; a totally different ballgame than requiring them to remove an operational attraction that meets or exceeds show standards.

Conversely, there’s very little incentive for Disney to foot the bill, in all or in part, for what would be a $100 to $200 million project. To whatever extent there’s controversy over the existence of a remaining Splash Mountain, it has passed. The news cycle moved on when Disney replaced the two versions in Florida and California.

This is not going to be a cultural flashpoint or garner headlines in the mainstream media. Disney spending a single dollar to redo Splash Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland would be wasted money. (Not that it really matters–just look at recent projects from most shows on Disney+ to CommuniCore Hall. Disney seems perfectly fine with misallocated resources.)

Regardless, there’s no reputational exposure risk in letting Tokyo Disneyland retain its Splash Mountain like there was in the domestic parks. The moment for that is over, and Tokyo’s version wasn’t a major story even at its peak. The notion that either side is seriously pressing for a replacement at this point strains credulity. Disney would be better off pushing for a different cloned attraction to help split development costs.

Ironically enough, the likelihood of Tokyo Disneyland replacing Splash Mountain actually might’ve been higher before Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opened. One of OLC’s big 10-year initiatives is making its parks more unique and distinct from the U.S. parks, and it’s endeavoring to replace or reimagine its cloned rides as a result.

That would’ve included Splash Mountain a few years ago. Now it does not. This is the last Splash standing. I’m still skeptical that it would’ve been on the chopping block even then as, again, Critter Country was a purpose-built land for Tokyo Disneyland and not just a copy and paste clone. There are countless other attractions that would make more sense for replacement prior to turning attention to Splash Mountain.

Once again, I know nothing at all and haven’t heard anything. But when I see these supposed rumors about Splash Mountain being replaced at Tokyo Disneyland, they give me flashbacks to the stories I’ve heard over the years about miscommunications between OLC, Imagineers, and Disney representatives. Perhaps the latter believe that OLC loves a certain pitch…but that doesn’t mean they do. We’ve been through this before.

This brings us to Japanese culture, in general. Again, Japan is obviously very different than the United States, and has its own unique problems. While it is slowly starting to change as demographics shift, Japan remains socially insular and traditional. (There’s much more to it than that, but it’s beyond the scope of this post.)

The other half of this is that while Splash Mountain is a step removed from its source material in the United States, it’s essentially two steps removed from that in Japan. The cultural baggage from Song of the South just isn’t the same. For Tokyo Disneyland’s guests, Splash Mountain is exclusively a cute singing animal attraction, which squares perfectly with kawaii culture.

If Splash Mountain is changed at Tokyo Disneyland, we’d expect it to happen far down the road rather than in the near-term. There’s the perception that OLC has deep pockets and spares no expense on their two parks, but that’s only part of the story. (If not a complete misconception.) We’d contend that a more accurate view would be that OLC is more deliberate and slower-moving than Disney.

There is very little tinkering with attractions, toying with tech, or risky expansion. Tokyo Disneyland never got interactive queues, its Haunted Mansion doesn’t have “plussed” scenes that now appear dated due to bleeding edge technology that didn’t age well, etc. Popular attractions seldom change without a clear nexus between cost and increased attendance. (A good example here for multiple reasons is Pirates of the Caribbean. Johnny Depp was added but no other scenes have changed in decades.)

I can’t think of a single cloned attraction that was green-lit for Tokyo Disney Resort before debuting and proving popular in the U.S. parks. To the contrary, many such additions come years after they’ve been added elsewhere, and are iterated upon to remove troubled effects or to polish the experience.

Indiana Jones Adventure is a prime example; many of the ambitious and envelope-pushing effects were eliminated, which might seem like a matter of budget cuts. In actuality, it’s because those never worked reliably at Disneyland, so they didn’t make the cut when the ride was ported. Indiana Jones Adventure is still a blockbuster attraction with its own unique components at Tokyo DisneySea. Same goes for Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, and Soaring: Fantastic Flight.

So perhaps OLC has agreed to take a look at the Lion King log flume ride coming to Disneyland Paris, and might agree to that if it turns out to be popular among guests. But in that case, we’re talking about a replacement for Splash Mountain in the 2030s. That’s not what the current rumors are suggesting.

Over a long enough timeline, I’m willing to agree that Splash Mountain will be replaced at Tokyo Disneyland, sure. OLC has wrapped up its big expansion cycle and is clearly focused on ride reimaginings going forward. Land is limited, and it’s only a matter of time before Splash Mountain is the next logical target for a reimagining that features characters and movies that are popular in Japan. I’m just personally skeptical that’s already happen–or will occur before the 2030s. I could very well be wrong, but my suspicion is that the current rumors are either speculation or a misunderstanding.

Ultimately, that’s our view of what the decision-making process will look like at Tokyo Disneyland for Splash Mountain. It’s one thing for Oriental Land Company to release a brief statement that they’re considering making the same changes or to entertain Imagineering’s pitches for ride reimagining concepts. That’s the respectful thing to do, and Japanese businesspeople are all about respect.

However, the eventual decision will likely come years from now–and it will not be Tiana’s Bayou Adventure since that ride isn’t good enough and the IP isn’t popular in Japan. Whatever OLC does will be largely predicated upon economics and the cost versus benefits of making a change. Is there an IP that’s sufficiently popular in Japan and works with the existing ride to justify the change? Will OLC view investing significant funds in redoing multiple components of Critter Country to be fruitful when the cute animals are very popular? There’s a non-zero chance they will, but probably not much more than zero. Short of extraneous forces, it’s difficult to see a change within the next 5 years at Tokyo Disneyland.

Planning a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort? For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea Trip Planning Guide! For more specifics, our TDR Hotel Rankings & Reviews page covers accommodations. Our Restaurant Reviews detail where to dine & snack. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money post. Our What to Pack for Disney post takes a unique look at clever items to take. Venturing elsewhere in Japan? Consult our Ultimate Guide to Kyoto, Japan and City Guide to Tokyo, Japan.