Splash Mountain hits a 3-hour wait on its final day of operation at Wat Disney World

Jan 22, 2023 in "Splash Mountain"

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Posted: Sunday January 22, 2023 10:40am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Guests flocked to Walt Disney World's Splash Mountain this morning as the classic Magic Kingdom ride began its final day of operation.

Splash Mountain exterior

The standby line quickly reached 3 hours, and the Genie+ Lightning Lane hit capacity after just 3 minutes. Magic Kingdom is open until 11pm tonight.

Splash Mountain exterior

Splash Mountain will reopen in late 2024 as Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure - Concept art of first drop into the bayou

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imagineer976 hours ago

Ok, let's try this again: From a Tokyo thread: Can't they just leave it alone???

More than that, her name is an actual word, though admittedly one I’ve never encountered in another context: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maleficent https://www.etymonline.com/word/maleficent

Eric Graham8 hours ago

I honestly really enjoyed the Cruella remake a lot to be honest.

McMickeyWorld9 hours ago

If they go for the easy route, they could just swap the figures for Duffy and Friends animatronics and that's it. With the IP, they don't need a very complex plot to work and be fun. It would sell millions in merchandise, a total success.

UNCgolf9 hours ago

If they do re-theme it in Tokyo, I wonder what it will be. I don't think OLC will be on board with changing it to Tiana; they'd probably want something different.

BocabearMar 22, 2024

I had forgotten about that, and the first one was cute... but none of the other live action remakes seem to be that great...it feels like all the sequel movies Disney was churning out in the late 90s, early 200s... Cinderella 2? Those were serious garbage...and now these live action remakes seem the same to me...

mickEbluMar 22, 2024

So are we finding out Dr. Facilier is making an appearance in TBA tomorrow or will it be just another mind boggling marketing decision from Disney when it comes to this attraction? Having a whole segment devoted to Keith David/ Facilier at the same event where they are doing a deep dive on the attraction would make zero sense unless he's in it.

James AlucobondMar 22, 2024

Cinderella is better, I think, but it’s really the only one, mostly because it didn’t concern itself with following the original story. The others are either unasked for facsimiles or weird attempts to make evil characters sympathetic (though I chuckle at Maleficent glossing over the fact that her name is literally meant to invoke the opposite of “beneficent”).

brb1006Mar 22, 2024

I really enjoyed the 1996 live-action adaptation of 101 Dalmatians.

BocabearMar 22, 2024

I can't think of one live action remake that was better than the original...I won't count Cruella because that was really something different.... There were things to like about the Cinderella and the BATB... but in general they never quite did it for me...Both of those movies had a dress problem... Cinderella's garish blue dress was so immense it wore her, and Belle's Golden gown was completely wrong period...Looked more like 1940s and way too demure... Actually Cinderella's Godmother gown was much prettier than what she conjured for Cindy...Almost like they made the white one for Cinderella and then changed their mind and decided to match the blue dress that was sold as Halloween costumes... The other live action remakes I think have all been terrible...

Rich TMar 22, 2024

Yes. And the remake isn’t strong enough (IMO) to be particularly memorable in script or visual style to stand out in its own. As lightweight as the animated classic is, it is very entertaining and memorable. That’s the whole problem with the remakes. Instead of presenting something original, cohesive and memorable, they’re chained to the curse of having to hit mandatory nostalgia-check-boxes even if doing so maybe isn’t the wisest move. Disney wants to have its cake and eat it too. And so we get a Little Mermaid remake with hideous CGI sidekicks and a Jungle Book where CGI characters are forced to perform clumsy, forgettable versions of songs that were wonderful in the original animated film.

Rich BrownnMar 21, 2024

Of course the cartoons are recognized more. The remake featured animals that looked like.. well, animals. They aren't a funny sketch version of them.

Rich TMar 20, 2024

I think the Jungle Book remake was definitely one of the better ones, certainly helped by the original animated film being so comparatively (and intentionally) lightweight. That said, the remake in retrospect (IMO) now seems kind of bloated, style-less and forgettable. Certainly, the CGI characterizations of Baloo, Bagheera, Shere Kahn, Louie and Kaa have not left even a tiny blip on the pop culture landscape, while the 1960’s hand drawn versions are still recognized and embraced. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out Disney actually is aware that the remakes don’t have the staying power of the originals, and is perfectly content to just let them serve their purpose as short-lived cash-grabs. It sure would be nice if all that time, money and talent went toward the creation of something original and wonderful.