BACKSTORY (JULY 17, 1989—MAY 31, 2023): Edited from Wikipedia:
Stuck in rush hour traffic, Imagineer Tony Baxter conceived of Splash Mountain in the summer of 1983. He wanted to attract guests to poorly attended Bear Country and use the Audio-Animatronics from the unpopular America Sings. Dick Nunis insisted the Imagineers create a log flume, but they were initially unenthusiastic about it, insisting log flumes were too ordinary for Disneyland. While trying to solve these problems, Baxter thought of “Song of the South” (1946). At $75 million, Splash Mountain was one of the most expensive Walt Disney Imagineering projects. According to Alice Davis, production had gone far over budget, which caused the closing of America Sings for the re-use of its characters (the two vultures seen just before the final drop are the same ones used as the Boothill Boys in America Sings). Baxter and his team developed the concept of Zip-a-Dee River Run, incorporating “Song of the South” scenes. The name was changed to Splash Mountain after then-CEO Michael Eisner's mostly-ignored suggestion that the attraction be used to help market the film “Splash” (1984). The main characters were specifically designed for Splash Mountain. Dave Feiten was brought in to animate and fix story and staging problems. Feiten moved nearly all of the animatronics to new locations and then removed 10 AA figures to improve the show.
The Attraction: Uncle Remus sayings are featured throughout the queue, which winds around a barn structure and reaches the loading area where passengers board “logs” with six single-file seats, depart the loading area, and ascend two conveyor-type lifts before floating gently through scenery designed to evoke a Georgia river. The three main characters’ homes are incorporated into the landscape, along with an instrumental version of “How Do You Do?” Before the logs enter the indoor portion, snoring is heard from Brer Bear's cave (a tribute to the original entrance to Bear Country where a bear named Rufus was heard snoring from a cave). After a short drop down "Slippin' Falls", guests enter the indoor portion of the attraction, where various AA animals sing “How Do You Do?” Brer Rabbit (voiced by Jess Harnell) is seen laughing at Brer Bear's misfortunes, preceding a "dip-drop" into the surreal Rainbow Caverns, where characters sing "Everybody's Got a Laughin' Place." Brer Fox then manages to trap Brer Rabbit in a beehive. The mood turns ominous as two mother characters sing the "Burrow's Lament." The logs climb up the final lift hill, passing beneath two taunting vultures. Just before the attraction’s climactic drop, Brer Rabbit is seen about to be eaten by Brer Fox. The Rabbit outsmarts Brer Fox and Brer Bear by tricking them into throwing him into the briar patch (where he was born and raised). Riders are sent down the final drop into the briar patch, mimicking his fall. A photo is taken as the log begins to fall, and it can be purchased after the ride. From the top of the hill, riders looking toward the splashdown point will notice a full pond of water ahead. The log then 'dives' under the water into an underground runout. The collective weight of the riders generally determines the degree to which they get wet. An indoor segment follows, after which the logs make a final entrance into a section of the mountain named "Doo-Dah Landing", where a full cast of AA figures sing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" and the respective fates of Brer Rabbit (reclined happily at home) and the antagonists (fending off a hungry alligator) are seen. Riders are given a preview of their final drop picture via an overhead screen. Professor Barnaby Owl, an overhead Audio-Animatronic, calls the riders' attention to the screen as he remarks on their expressions. After disembarking from the log, riders preview their photo before exiting.
The attraction closed on May 31, 2023, so that it could be rethemed to the Disney animated film, “The Princess and the Frog” (2009), with the new name of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
