|
DISNEYLAND
Anaheim, California (Abbreviation: DL)
Walt Disney Theme Parks
---- THE LATEST BUZZ ----
(6/3/2023) Disneyland Closes Splash Mountain / Panic Stricken Rider Leaps From Moving Log (MORE...)
(5/29/2023) Adventureland Treehouse Update (MORE...)
(4/30/2023) Adventureland Treehouse Construction Update (MORE...)
(4/23/2023) Fantasmic! Dragons Self-Destructs In Flames
(4/22/2023) Disneyland Opens New DVC Lounge In Tomorrowland (MORE...)
Ride Rehabs - These dates are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as refurbishments are subject to change.
Splash Mountain - NOW CLOSED through Late 2024 to become Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Adventureland Treehouse - NOW CLOSED through Sometime in 2023
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride - June 5 through June 15
Alice in Wonderland - June 5 through June 15
Peter Pan’s Flight - June 5 through June 29
Dumbo the Flying Elephant - July 3
Monorail - July 5 through TBD
Alice in Wonderland - July 5 through TBD
 General Park News - (4/23/2023) “Fantasmic!” fans at Disneyland may be out of luck for awhile,as the local reports confirm that a fire broke out on the island during the last performance of the show on Saturday night. The fire in question actually started with the massive Dragon animatronic used for the finale of the show, with the fire first breaking out on the dragon’s face before spreading to engulf the rest of the dragon’s body.
With the finale’s dragon out of commission for the time being, it’s likely that the show will remain closed until repairs can be made.
(4/22/2023) For many years now, and especially since the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, many Disneyland fans have been waiting to see if the park was ready to demolish the former Carousel of Progress / America Sings building that was last used as the home to the Star Wars: Launch Bay experience from 2015 to 2020. The large building sits on prime real-estate that could be used for a large new Tomorrowland attraction in the future, or combined with other nearby space taken up by the Autopia and Submarine Voyage to even build something as big as a whole new park land if need be.
Unfortunately, don’t look for this building to go anywhere for at least a few more years, as Disneyland has just turned the upper floor of the structure into a new DVC lounge area for their premium tier guests. This article points out that Tomorrowland is home to a number of other unused empty spaces that could have been used for the lounge instead, such as the former Magic Eye theater space, or the upper floor of the Starcade. For now, at least this gives the building purpose… unless Disneyland is ready to move on to the park’s next big phase of expansion.
(4/9/23) If you’ve ever wondered what Disneyland’s Peter Pan ride looks like with the lights on… wonder no more. A video short posted to TikTok shows off one of the rooms with the lights on after the ride broke down. Ignore the obnoxious audio added to the clip, but it’s interesting to see all the wires and tech exposed in the light.
The video does leave you begging to know the answer to one particular question… who is “Bill” and how did he earn such a place of honor / dishonor at Disneyland?
(3/19/2023) The Indiana Jones Adventure attraction has returned after a great refurbishment, and has added some new enhancements to the special effects along the journey. Check it out in the video clip below from MiceChat. In addition to some projection map enhancements in some scenes, it looks like the old “Rat Room” scene (the dark room between leaving the big cavern and the blow dart room) has been totally replaced with a fantastic new pair of back-to-back scenes and effects. Check it out!
(3/16/2023) Good news for Disneyland fans, as we’ve been told that the park’s fantastic Indiana Jones Adventure dark ride is expected to reopen from its refurbishment this Friday.
(2/12/2023) Disneyland has announced that they are delaying the official reopening of Mickey’s Toontown from the previously announced March 8th date back to March 19th. They have cited heavy rainfall taking place in the area lately as being the cause for the necessary delay.
Of course the small section around the newly opened Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction will continue to be open to guests while crews work to finish up the refurbishment to the rest of the land. Speakling of which, follow the link above to see a comparison of the two versions of Runaway Railway.
(2/4/2023) You don’t see this thing happen often at a Disney theme park, but according to this news report Disneyland has quietly rolled-back some price increases for experiences at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge that rose during the Bob Chapek era. According to the report the Lightsaber building experience has rolled back to $220 from $250, and the Droid Depot building experience has gone back to $100 from $120. According to the article, both prices were just increased back in October, just prior of Chapek’s departure from the company. I can only imagine that guests have spoken with their wallets and been less interested in these products and experiences since the increase.
Of course, if people still turn their noses at these prices, perhaps they’ll roll them back to the original prices that were in place when Galaxy’s Edge first opened in California, which was $200 for the saber experience and $100 for the Droid Depot. The new current prices are said to match the prices for the same experiences being offered at the Walt Disney World version in Florida.
(1/28/2023) A video featuring footage of the new Wondrous Journeys nighttime show at Disneyland, as seen from various locations throughout the park, can be seen below.
(1/9/2023) According to this article a small fire broke out at Disneyland early in the morning of Dec. 29th that caused some damage to the New Orleans Square railroad station. Cast Members on site called in the fire at about 3:29am, with firefighters arriving and putting out the fire very quickly. While no one was hurt the fire damaged the train station’s “radio house” that is used as a break room and a water tower used to refill the steam engines.
(12/30/2022) While the details of what happens during attraction refurbishments are seldom made public, we do know that when the Indiana Jones Adventure ride closes for a few months the attraction will be getting a new giant 10-foot tall snake animatronic to lunge as the riders. A picture of the new animatronic un-crated sitting backstage awaiting installation can be seen here, ahead of the closure which begins on Jan. 9th.
(12/26/2022) Disneyland has revealed a sneak peek behind the scenes of the park’s new “Wondrous Journeys” nighttime spectacular show that will take place at the castle as part of the Disney 100 Years of Wonder celebration starting on Jan. 27, 2023. Guests will be surrounded by crazy projection mapping effects, magical lighting and awesome fireworks in the sky, as the show promises to include references from every film released by Disney over the past 100 years.
In other news, traditionally the end of the Haunted Mansion Holiday edition would cause the attraction to close to transform back into its normal self shortly after New Years Day. Not so this year, as the Haunted Mansion Holiday will stay open throughout most of January, delaying the annual closure until Jan. 30th, 2023.
(11/13/22) According to a local news report, Disneyland has added a couple of new figures into their “It’s A Small World” attraction along with the transformation into the Holiday version of the ride. The interesting thing is that the two new child themed characters are in wheelchairs. Disney says this is part of an enhancement effort at the park to reflect a “more accurate representation of diversity around the world.” So even once the Holidays are over and the regular version of Small World returns, the new figures will remain.
They go on to say that similar dolls will be added to the Small World attractions in Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris next year.
(8/28/22) The Haunted Mansion is now closed for conversion into the annual Nightmare Before Christmas themed version of itself that will remain open from Sept. 2, 2022 through to the start of 2023 before they shut it down again to return the mansion to its normal self. Jump on over to DisneyGeek to check out all the awesome extra decor that has been added to the outside of the mansion and grounds ahead of the opening on Friday.
(7/3/22) Disneyland has posted another look at the returning Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage attraction this week which will feature the addition of Hank from Finding Dory. From the sound of things, Hank will within eyeshot of the existing Seagulls on a nearby rock who cry “Mine! Mine! Mine!” all day, and serve only to irritate Hank to no end. Disney has also now confirmed that the attraction will reopen to guests starting on July 25, 2022.
(7/2/22) As predicted, Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland has finally reopened after closing for a lengthy refurbishment back in March. Over that long period of time the world decided to follow along with the broadcast of the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and former spouse Amber Heard. In terms of the attraction, Depp is best known for playing the role of Captain Jack Sparrow, which led some to fear that fallout from the trial could result in Depp’s character being removed from the attraction.
The good news is that it seems very little has changed within the Pirates attraction, and Captain Jack Sparrow is still right at home as he was before. As intended the attraction simply underwent some major refurbishment work that has resulted in some small improvements here and there, but overall the attraction is still the same one you enjoyed before the shutdown.
2023 - Magic Happens Parade - (12/4/2022) Disneyland confirms on Twitter that the popular “Magic Happens” will be returning to the park starting Feb. 24, 2023, following a very limited run in 2020 that was cut short due to the arrival of the pandemic. During that time, it was already considered to be one of the best parades Disneyland had ever created, so its return is highly anticipated.
2023 - Adventureland Treehouse - (5/29/2023) Some new construction pictures of the Adventureland Treehouse project inside Disneyland have been posted to DisneyGeek this week. Scaffolding is still everywhere, lined with crew working on the conversion of the former Tarzan Treehouse attraction. While I think most hoped this would be open by now, based on the look of things it looks like they may need a few month months to finish this up.
(4/30/2023) Disneyland still hasn’t posted any kind of official timeline to open the remodeled Adventureland Treehouse, but crews do appear to be working on it currently. Or at least working to replace wood and other worn sections that were in place when it was known as Tarzan’s Treehouse. You can see pictures taken this past week over at DisneyGeek.
(11/13/22) In an interesting bit of news, it was revealed that the closed Tarzan’s Treehouse in Disneyland will return in 2023 as the “Adventureland Treehouse”, with a theme inspired by the 1960’s film Swiss Family Robinson. If this sounds familiar, you may recall that before it was Tarzan’s Treehouse the attraction was originally built and opened as the “Swiss Family Treehouse” way back in 1962. Similar looking Swiss Family Treehouse attraction as also still standing at the The Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World , Tokyo Disneyland, and even Disneyland Paris.
While more details will be released in the future, the Adventureland Treehouse will return with a look very similar to the 1962 original, and feature a number of “rooms” in the Treehouse, such as Mother’s music den, the son’s nature room and daughter’s astronomer’s loft, along with a ground floor kitchen and dining room area along with Father’s art studio room.
(4/24/22) Disneyland has confirmed that Tarzan’s Treehouse (formerly the Swiss Family Treehouse) which has been closed since 2020’s COVID closure of the park will be getting a new theme before it reopens. The problem is, Disney did not reveal exactly what new theme they planned on giving to the attraction, or when it may be ready to reopen.
For now the most popular theory from the rumor mill is that Disney could be seeking to take advantage of their recent popular hit, Encanto. While the story of Encanto mostly takes place without and around the family’s enchanted house, one charter’s magical room does contain a giant tree full of animals that could serve as the new theme of the treehouse, along with speakers to play the catchy tunes from the film’s soundtrack while you explore.
2023 - Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway / Updated Tootown & Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin -
(3/19/2023) Take a quick walking tour around the remodeled and reopened Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland in the video clip below from Theme Park Insider.
(2/24/2023) Good news for Disneyland guests this week, as it was announced that the park is no longer requiring guests to use the Virtual Queue system to ride the new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction. Yes, this means the standard walk-up “Stand-By” queue system is now open for the new attraction only a few weeks after it opened.
While this is a surprising change to see Disney remove the Virtual Queue system so soon, the idea for the Virtual Queue system was to try and keep long-lines from getting out of control on the park’s newest attractions, so clearly this hasn’t been a huge issue for Runaway Railway. Given the location of the attraction in the back of the park, semi-hidden from view in Toontown, this could be one reason. Keeping in mind that this was designed to be a high-capacity attraction that is essentially a clone of an existing ride in Florida, we might also assume that downtime issues have been minimal as well.
Either way, enjoy this moment and keep in mind that Spring Break is still just around the corner, and the park can opt to turn the virtual queue system back on if they deem that the demand would be there to require it. Also, for those who don’t want to wait in line, there will still be the option to pay a little extra and purchase a Lightning Lane pass.
(2/12/2023) While the initial videos of the new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction shows off something that looks fairly identical to the original Florida version, new side-by-side comparison videos do show some very interesting differences. While the overall main scenes are the same, there are a few very subtle differences in timing, as well as some small changes to the transitions between the main scenes that do affect the flow of each version in unique ways. Check out the video below and see if you prefer one version over the other.
(1/27/2023) Laughing Place has posted a video showing off the Pre-Show Experience and an on-ride POV of the new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disneyland. From what I can tell, the ride experience itself appears to essentially be the same as the oroginal version at Walt Disney World.
(1/19/2023) According to a local news report, and as you might expect, when Disneyland opens the new Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway attraction in about a week, the theme park will be requiring guests to use a virtual queue system found in the Disneyland park mobile app. This will be the big lottery style system it seems, much like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance where there will be two waves of virtual tickets issued to ride that will happen at 7am and 1pm daily. This will be your only way to ride the new attraction as there will be no “Stand-By” line to use.
For Lightning Lane fans, Disney did confirm that admission to the new attraction will be added to the park’s Lightning Lane attraction’s list.
(11/19/22) Disneyland has confirmed that Mickey’s Toontown will reopen to guests starting on March 8, 2023. Toontown has been closed since last year to allow for the construction of the new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction, along with the ability to reimagine and update other sections of the land.
You’ll notice the new El CapiTOON Theater building, which will service as the entrance to the new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction. While the rest of Mickey’s Toontown wont open until March 8th, the Disney Pars Blog says that the new Runaway Railway attraction will actually open to guests starting on Jan. 27, 2023 as part of the Disney 100 Years of Wonder Celebration.
As for the rest of Toontown, there will be a few changes. One such update to Toontown will be the new “CenTOONial Park space near the entrance to Toontown, that will feature two interactive play experiences: an interactive fountain and a “dreaming tree” that will provide spaces for children to crawl and explore. Other new and updated attractions will include Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard, including a visit inside Goofy’s house, the updated Donald’s Boat house, and the former Gadget Go-Coaster will be rebranded as ‘Chip ‘n’ Dale’s GADGETCoaster”.
Of course the always fun Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin dark ride will return as well, but if you are feeling hungry the land will offer a couple of new places to tackle your snack cravings: Cafe Daisy (a sidewalk table eatery) and the Toontown Farmers Market at Good Boy! Grocers, which will offer quick grab-and-go snack items.
(3/6/22) New construction pictures from Toontown have been posted to DisneyGeek ahead of the closure of the land next week, showing off the progress on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway and other items. As you can see the framework for the new theater themed facade that will serve as the entrance to the attraction is now in place.
(2/19/22) We know Mickey’s Toontown is closing on March 9th to make way for renovations leading to the opening of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction next year, but what I had not heard before was that certain other elements of Toontown will also be re-imagined during the closure. While Mickey and Minnie’s houses will remain, it has been reported that Goofy’s House, Donald’s Boathouse and the Gadget Go-Coaster attraction will be “re-imagined for when the land reopens in 2023. Anyone know more about what may be planned to take place?
(2/6/22) Some great new construction pictures of Mickey and Miniie’s Runaway Railway attraction, as seen from ToonTown, have been posted to Disney Geek this week. You can see how the massive building has taken over the skyline of ToonTown at this point as workers set up the framework to install the new facade scenery backdrop. I’m assuming that the landscape will return to having the look of lush green hillsides once again, as it did when ToonTown first opened.
Elsewhere in the park, it looks like crews are working on renovations to the Fantastmic water screen projections systems as we get closer to seeing the show return to life for guests this Spring.
(12/12/21) Disneyland added a few of those anticipated changes to Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin this week, including the new Detective Jessica Rabbit character figures. Check out the video below for the new POV of the ride, as it currently stands. No telling how long it will be open however, as Disneyland also announced previously that all of Toontown would close in 2022 for a complete overhaul ahead of the opening of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway in 2023.
(11/17/21) Along with the opening of the new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction in Toontown in 2023, Disney announced that the entire Toontown land would be closing in 2022 to undergo an overhaul in time for the new reopening in 2023. We’ve already heard how more changes were expected to come to Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, but I guess we’ll have to wait another year to see them finished as well. Look for this along with more playful activities in the land, including CenTOONial Park, a new natural green space featuring a fountain for kids to play with along with “water tables”. After dark, the fountains in the land will put on a “unique spectacle”.
Disney confirmed that the existing Toontown will close in 2022 to begin this final transformation, so you’ve got a few months to see things as they are before the big change comes.
(9/16/21) Disneyland is now making some new changes to the Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin ride. I had already seen reports from guests who rode the other day noticing that the Jessica Rabbit animatronic that was tied up in the trunk of a car was now missing. Disney says this is part of a small reboot they are doing to the ride that will re-purpose Jessica Rabbit as a new female lead character of a revamped story for the ride.
Instead of being the damsel to be rescued, kidnapped by the weasels, Jessica will now be a Private Eye looking to put an end to a new crime-wave affecting Toontown. As such, many of the scenes in the existing ride that involved Jessica Rabbit are in the process of being updated, including the aforementioned car scene and a new twist on the ride’s finale. This will also serve as a fun upgrade to the attraction as part of the larger update coming to Toontown along with the opening of the new Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction in 2023.
(6/26/21) Demolition crews are now at work inside Disneyland’s Toontown removing some of the buildings to make way for the future entrance to the new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction.
(10/23/20) A great picture of the huge building that will be home to the new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction in Toontown was posted to Twitter this week. The original version built in Florida was design to fit into that park’s pre-existing Great Movie Ride building structure. So it should be interesting to see if this new version built from scratch will make any changes to the overall building design or layout of the attraction, as they have been given the opportunity to custom build it from the ground up.
(9/4/20) Construction on the new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction at Disneyland is now well under way. Disneyland President posted a picture and some timelapse footage of the construction site as the first big vertical steel piece has been put into place. They have also set a new timeline that will see the new attraction ready to open in 2023 after work was delayed by the pause in construction caused by the pandemic.
(11/18/19) For anyone curious, a great aerial photo over Disneyland shows off the large cleared space behind Toontown where Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will go.
(8/27/19) The Disneyland version of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will take place inside the El CapiTOON Theater in Mickey’s Toontown, where you arrive for the premier of a brand new Mickey short called “Perfect Picnic”. Before you know it, you are whisked off on a “zany, out-of-control adventure filled with surprising twists and turns.”
(4/24/19) Disney has confirmed this past week the rumor that a copy of the “Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway” attraction under construction in Florida will also appear inside Toontown at Disneyland in the near future. Look for the attractiton to open in 2022 where guests will be taken into the cartoon world of Mickey, Minnie and friends.
“With an original story and lovable theme song, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway uses state-of-the-art technologies and dazzling visual effects to transform the cartoon world into an incredible and immersive multi-dimensional experience.”
(10/31/18) While Disneyland has not yet confirmed anything, the latest rumor making the rounds this week claims that a clone of the Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction under construction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios park in Florida will be coming to Disneyland’s Toontown as the next big attraction to open inside Disneyland probably about three or four years after Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens in 2019.
The attraction's large ride building is said to be built almost entirely backstage so that none of the existing attractions will have to be removed, with the exception of a retail space that is likely to be lost to make room for the attraction's entrance and exit pathways.
2024 - Star Tours - New Adventures - (4/12/2023) Disney has confirmed that new adventures will be coming to Star Tours in 2024 at Walt Disney World, Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. No solid details were given as to what locations will be added to the randomizing adventure machine, but ever since the second generation Star Tours attraction opened, new adventures in all new locations have been added on a regular basis. Past additions were timed to go along with adventures and locations from the new films as they were released, so if I had to guess I wouldn’t be surprised if we encounter some of the new people, places and ships from the various Disney+ series in one form or another. This could mean appearances by Mando and Grogu, Ahsoka Tano, Admiral Thrawn, Andor and more, so stay tuned!
(6/13/22) According to news released at the Star Wars Celebration event in California, Disney Imagineer Scott Trowbridge, who has overseen the creation of Galaxy’s Edge confirmed that more new sequences / scenes will continue to be added to Star Tours going forward. No further details were given as to what new locations might be added to the attraction, though the last few sequences added to the attraction involved locations from the final trilogy in the series. Since then, with the launch of Disney+, the Star Wars universe has been expanded again through shows like The Mandorlian, The Boot of Boba Fett and the new Obi-Wan Kenobi mini-series. With more Star Wars projects on deck like Andor, Ahsoka, The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew, it would seem to be a good bet that any of these could serve as the inspiration for new Star Tours segment locations.
Without a timeline as to when the next addition could appear, it’s hard to even guess what it could be, as Disney will likely tie the launch of the new segment(s) into whatever new programming is about to air on Disney+ at that time.
Late 2024 - Tiana’s Bayou Adventure - (6/3/2023) Disneyland epic Splash Mountain is now closed for good, so if you missed it, a great POV video of it can be found below. That said, the days of the ride did not go without some kind of drama, but not the kind you might have expected. Instead a rider captured an odd sight on video of a young woman (claiming to be having a panic attack) who had made the unwise decision that it was safe to try and leap from her log onto the pathway next to it while the ride was in motion.
Seriously dangerous… and she could have been killed had things gone wrong by taking this course of action. The riders who were shooting the footage pass by and ask her what she is doing as she takes the pathways down a flight of nearby stairs and into the mountain itself saying “I can’t!” with hands visibly shaking.
Take it from first hand experience, as I was once evacuated from Splash Mountain many many years ago, and our group somehow ended up going unescorted (don’t ask…) through the various tunnels and stairways in an attempt to find a way out. It’s a bit of a maze in there, so hopefully she was found and escorted out the right way.
(4/13/2023) Disneyland fans… the time has come. Disneyland has finally confirmed that Splash Mountain will be closed forever starting on May 31st, 2023.
(1/12/2023) While we still don’t have a closing date for the Disneyland version of Splash Mountain, the Imagineering IG site posted a new picture confirming that the French Marker in New Orleans Square will be transformed into Tiana’s Palace later this year. The existing French Market Restaurant (and Mint Julep Bar) will close starting Feb. 17, 2023.
(9/10/22) D23 is already teasing details for some upcoming attractions coming to the Disney theme park. A model of how Disneyland’s Splash Mountain will be transformed into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has been seen, which essentially still looks very much like the old Splash Mountain at least, but with the addition of more green trees and shrubs everywhere along with some splashes of color from various blooms, along with the addition of a water tower near the top of the first lift out of the station that says “Employee Owned Tiana’s Foods Est. 1927”
In another nod to the Disneyland conversion, they have also revealed concept art for a new retail store opening in the park’s New Orleans Square area called “Eudora’s Chic Boutique Featuring Tiana’s Gourmet Secrets”. Look for the new store to open on Sept. 20th, where it will also feature the “Blue Skies & Sunshine Guaranteed!” on the outside in reference to the song, “Dig a Little Deeper” from the film.
(7/22/22) Disney has finally come forward with more details about the planned transformation of the current Splash Mountain attractions in Disneyland and Florida’s Magic Kingdom parks into what they are now calling Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The plan is to convert and open both new attractions in late 2024.
The announcements actually came from Disney reps attending the “ESSENCE Fest” in New Orleans this week, which you can see more of at the Disney Parks Blog post. As far as the attraction itself goes, they say it will serve as “a love letter to New Orleans” and be full of the music and culture of the city.
“Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will take guests on a musical adventure inspired by the beloved story and characters from the fan-favorite film. Picking up where the film left off, guests will join Princess Tiana, Naveen and jazz-loving alligator Louis on an adventure through the bayou as they prepare to host a one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras celebration where everyone is welcome. Along the way, guests will encounter familiar faces, make new friends and travel through the bayou to original music inspired by songs from the film as they are brought into the next chapter of Tiana’s story.”
I didn’t see any mention of when they planned to actually close the existing Splash Mountain rides however to begin the conversion, but I’m guessing they’re probably going to give these projects an 18-24 month timetable, so to make that late 2024 opening means each Splash Mountain will likely have to close sometime between December 2022 to May 2023. So get your last rides in while you can.
(6/3/22) It seems that the voice actress (Anika Noni Rose) who plays Tiana in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog was on a talk show on Thursday and the subject about visiting Disney theme parks came up. Without getting too specific, the topic of conversation turned to new attractions, when the actress mentioned that the new Princess and the Frog attraction was coming in 2024. Little else was said after this, as she implied she wasn’t supposed to talk about it, but this seems to at least be our first mention of a timeline for the conversion of Splash Mountain into Princess and the Frog.
As most of the conversation seems to be about experiences at the Disneyland Resort, we can assume this is also the timeline for the Disneyland conversion, as the Walt Disney World conversion would likely take place under an entirely different timeline. Our only other hint has been a mention on Twitter that more details may be released this July.
(12/13/21) According to this report, Splash Mountain will close for winter rehab on January 10 and is expected to remain closed for 30-60 days. The article confirms that this is simply just a standard winter rehab for the ride, and not part of the future makeover into a Princess and the Frog theme. There still is no timeline for that project.
(8/25/21) Another piece of concept art and a round-table discussion by Disney Imagineers about the plans to transform Splash Mountain into a new ride themed to The Princess and the Frog has been released. According to the talk, Tiana will invite guests to go along on an adventure with her in the bayou, so the new experience will be one where the guests are included in the action, instead of just watching the action unfold in front of them.
(6/27/20) I’m not quite sure where to begin with this post, but Disney dropped a bombshell of an announcement this week that I was not really expecting. Disney announced that they are planning to retheme the Splash Mountain attractions at Disneyland and The Magic Kingdom parks to The Princess and The Frog animated film.
I’ll let that sink in for a moment… Brer Rabbit and the whole Zippey-Do-Da-Gang are being removed, and the ride will be rethemed around the world of Princess Tiana and friends. According to the Disney Parks Blog this new story will begin just after ‘the final kiss’ from the film where riders will “join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure - featuring some of the powerful music from the film - as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.”
As someone who grew up and was a huge Disney park fan throughout my early years, this kind of shocked me. I’m not the biggest fan of changing some of the Disney attractions, just for the sake of change. The older the attraction is, the more of an attachment I think I might have had to it from my childhood. Case in point, I wasn’t a fan of the idea of changing the classic auction scene in Pirates to the current version where “Redd” is now a pirate.
I do not hate the new scene, as it is well done, but like any major change, I think it just takes some getting used to the idea and seeing the new version in the end to appreciate it. After all, like many of you, I grew up for decades chanting ‘We wants the red head’, which is now only part of the Disney history books.
I was a teenager when Splash Mountain was first built… in fact I had no idea it was even going to be a thing at all until visiting Disneyland during my Grad Nite event in 1988. I could see the huge steel structure rising into the night sky, surrounded by construction walls promoting the new ride to open in 1989. While I was already a fan of Disney parks, it was this moment that made me interested in the process of how Disney designed and built massive new attractions like these. My curiosity was sparked that night, which obviously had an effect on me for years to come.
So understand me when I say that upon first seeing the announcement this week, I probably dropped an F-bomb in disbelief. It didn’t help that a few weeks ago some news outlets were reporting that there was an online petition of activists asking Disney to do this very thing, but according to Disney this is actually a project that the Imagineers “have been working on since last year”.
I’m still surprised… but not entirely. Splash Mountain always had a rather interesting choice of IP in using the characters and theme from the film, The Song of the South. This is the one film that Disney has chosen to lock away in their vaults forever, with no plans to ever release it again, not even on Disney+. The 1946 film is a mix of live action and animated segments set in the old South following the end of the American Cival War and the abolishment of slavery. The film became criticized over the years since then due to the depiction of the Southern African-American characters and their animated counterparts as being potentially racist or offensive.
Despite this, the IP was tapped as the theme to build not just one, but three Splash Mountain attractions at Disney parks across the world. The original Splash Mountain opened in Summer 1989 in California followed by another in Walt Disney World in 1992 and a third at Tokyo Disneyland, also in 1992. There is no reference to the film at all, and the ride seeks to tell its story through the various animated characters from the film mixed with some new friends, that were actually retired Animatronic figures from Disneyland’s America Sings attraction. It is safe to say that the attraction has been a smash hit for Disney parks ever since, and as the ride system itself is staying, it will continue to do so, even with a new theme. The attraction was designed to carry riders through the various scenes accompanied by a fantastic musical soundtrack, so I can easily see how it can be rethemed and ‘plussed’ by Imagineering in this endeavor. If you take a look at the concept art you can see the classic look of Splash Mountain will be altered to look more green and lush, especially at the top of the drop where the old tree stump will now become Mama Odie’s House, featuring a full tree holding the broken boat high in the branches above where the logs emerge and take their plunge.
As a concept, I can easily see how many aspects of the current Splash Mountain layout and scenes can be changed to The Princess and The Frog. The report that this all takes place after the “last kiss” does make me hope that they can somehow include the return of Dr. Facilier (aka: The Shadow Man) as I’d love to see the scenes in the belly of Splash Mountain’s from the mid-drop up to the approach to the big drop be given over to create a scene with the voodoo man and the forces from “the other side”. Of course we all know the ending scene of Splash Mountain with the River Boat will probably be kept and updated to be a Mardi Gras celebration with Tiana and Louis, which is only fitting.
So with all this in mind, I can see how the overall ride experience may actually be improved here by going forward with a new theme. I know how tempting it is to say you wont like it just because it isn’t the ride you grew up with, but look at just how many people seem to enjoy the Guardians of the Galaxy version of the former Twilight Zone attraction at Disney California Adventure now. Many say that the Guardians version was a dramatic improvement over California’s Twilight Zone version, so we really will just need to wait and see what happens.
My only final thoughts here have more to do with the overall theming of the lands and such involved. Clearly changing Splash Mountain to now have a New Orleans theme in Disneyland is a no brainer, as the modified look of the new attraction will fit right like a glove positioned next to The Haunted Mansion there, creating an extension of the existing New Orleans Square theming, and leaving Pooh at the solitary inhabitant of Critter Country. In Walt Disney World however, the change is going to be a bit more disturbing to the current theming of that park where Splash Mountain is set smack in the middle of Frontierland, positioned between Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the Frontierland buildings that are home to The Country Bears attraction and the Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe. I don’t have a solution or answer to this particular issue, so I’m curious to see how WDI will address it.
It is also interesting to note that, for now at least, Splash Mountain will live on in Japan, as there has been no plans posted to update or change the version at Tokyo DIsneyland at this time. At this point in time, Disney has given no time-table as to when we may expect to see this transformation process begin at either park, but hopefully there will be time to have a few more final rides on Splash Mountain before the old version is gone for good. (Now if maybe Disneyland can work in a plan to modify their trough system to use the same double-wide boats that WDW uses, that would be great as well...)
 |
