Splash Mountain
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Splash Mountain is a log flume attraction at three Walt Disney Parks, based on characters, stories, and songs from the 1946 Disney film Song of the South. Each Splash Mountain begins with a peaceful outdoor float-through that leads to indoor dark ride segments, with a climactic steep drop into a "briar patch" followed by an indoor finale.
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[edit] Story
The different versions of Splash Mountain feature similar stories, albeit with small differences. Each ride presents scenes taken from the animated segments of Song of the South. It tells the story of the adventures of Br'er Rabbit, a mischievous rabbit that leaves his home in the briar patch to look for his "laughing place." Unfortunately for him, Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear, the antagonists of this story, are determined to catch him.
[edit] Disneyland version
Passengers ride aboard seven-seater logs with six single-file, two side by side in the back (adult and small child), individual so they can fit in their seats. The log departs the loading area, winding peacefully through scenery designed to evoke the feeling of a river in the Southern United States. Models of small riverside shacks and aged equipment are incorporated into the landscape, along with music emanating from hidden speakers along the waterway. There are several lifts that raise the log up to higher levels in the mountain, using friction on rubber-like conveyor belts to lift the logs.
After a short drop, guests enter the indoor portion of the attraction, where various audio-animatronic animals (mainly geese) sing the attraction's first musical number, "How Do You Do?". Br'er Rabbit (voiced by Jess Harnell) is seen laughing at Br'er Bear's misfortunes in several scenes preceding a drop (unique for its roller-coaster-like hills at the base) into the surreal Laughing Place, where "Ev'rybody's Got a Laughing Place" can be heard. Br'er Fox then manages to trap Br'er Rabbit in a beehive (originally planned, as in the original stories, as a depiction of the Tar Baby sequence, and altered to avoid the negative connotations associated with the image). The mood rapidly turns ominous as two mother characters sing the "Burrows Lament." The logs begin climbing up the final and longest lift hill, passing beneath two vultures that taunt guests and tell of foreboding danger. Shortly before the attraction's climactic drop, Br'er Rabbit is seen alongside the hill, about to be eaten by Br'er Fox.
But Br'er Rabbit outsmarts Br'er Fox and Br'er 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. The top half of the drop is highly visible from the adjacent areas of the park. A photo is taken as the log begins to fall, and it can be purchased after disembarking into a long splashdown that sends variable amounts of water into the logs. (The collective weight of the riders can have some impact on whether they are drenched.)
An indoor segment follows the drop, after which the logs make a final entrance into the mountain, where a full cast of audio-animatronic figures sing "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" and the respective fates of Br'er Rabbit (reclined happily at home) and the antagonists (fending off a hungry alligator) are seen before the return to the loading area.
[edit] Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World version is a little different from the Disneyland version. Without a Critter Country in Walt Disney World, Splash Mountain is located in Frontierland, across the way from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Because of the ride's location in Frontierland, the soundtrack is more western, with banjos and harmonicas, mostly in the outdoor flume segment of the ride. In this version, riders are seated two in a row in a four row log making it a total of 8 passengers per log (although exceptions can be made to accommodate three riders). The log first turns and begins to climb a small lift hill. An audio-animatronic of Brer Frog greets guests and tells them that they will be traveling to a wet story. It seems to most that this is the big drop. After the initial climb is over, however, the log dips downwards and turns so that it is in the water in front of the drop. You then approach a barn-like structure. Lucky people may become wet from the splash made by the logs that have completed the big drop before entering the barn. The log then climbs a small hill and comes to the other side of the mountain where thematic props set the mood, and music comes out of rocks. The log eventually reaches the first drop, know as "Slippin' Falls". However, unlike Disneyland's version, although the outdoor flume segments are identical in layout, in that version, the logs make an 'S' turn to the Slippin' Falls drop, but not on the Disney World version. This drop leads to a cave full of audio-animatronics of animals singing different songs from Song of the South. One of these animals is Brer Rabbit who is being chased by Brer Fox and Brer Bear. The log reaches a dark tunnel in which Brer Rabbit is hiding from the two other evil animals. Inside this completely dark tunnel, a bigger drop follows, with a sudden high speed climb after it. The log travels a very small path in which a smaller drop is revealed. Then, singing turtles and dancing water fountains guide you to a dark area in which Brer Rabbit has been caught by Brer Fox in a cave of stalactites and stalagmites. Just after that, your log begins the longest and final climb of the ride in which vultures are anxiously waiting for your death at the "laughing place". A big splash is produced when the log reaches the end of the 5 story high (52 1/2 feet) drop, sending you down the 45 degree slop at a maximum speed of 40 mph. [1] After another outdoor flume segment, the log enters another cave in which all the animals are singing "Zip-a-dee Doo-Dah" because Brer Rabbit got away from the evil clutches of Brer Fox and Brer Bear. Brer Fox and Brer Bear are seen trying to fend off a hungry alligator, like in the Disneyland version. At the end, Brer Rabbit is seen smiling with Mr. Blue Bird, telling guests that he learned his lesson. Riders may purchase after unloading the log a picture of their log falling at the final drop.
[edit] History
At the time it was built, Splash Mountain was one of the most expensive projects created by Walt Disney Imagineering ($75 million). Imagineer Tony Baxter wanted to attract guests to the often empty Bear Country land and make use of the audio-animatronics from America Sings, which was receiving poor attendance. According to Alice Davis (wife of the late Marc Davis), when America Sings closed in April 1988, production of Disneyland's Splash Mountain had gone way over budget. The only way to recover was to close down America Sings and use the characters from that attraction.[2] Baxter and his team developed the concept of Zip-a-Dee River Run, which would incorporate scenes from Song of the South. The name was later changed to Splash Mountain after then-CEO Michael Eisner's mostly-ignored suggestion that the attraction be used to help market the film Splash.[3] The characters from America Sings were used in many scenes, though all of the main characters were specifically designed for Splash Mountain.
When the ride was first put together, nearly all the animatronics were wired and put in place. Dave Feiten was then brought in to animate and fix story and staging problems. Feiten then moved nearly all of the animatronics to new locations and then took out 10 animatronic figures and removed them from the ride completely to improve the show.[citation needed]
Like a number of Disney attractions, much of Splash Mountain takes place outside of park boundaries. Guests are kept oblivious to the transition between the visible Chickapin Hill and the warehouse-like show building that houses most of the experience, and clever landscaping within the park prevents guests from glimpsing the behind-the-scenes structures.
In the Walt Disney World version, there is a "Hidden Mickey" during the showboat scene toward the end of the ride. Mickey can be seen lying on his back in the clouds. Also, there is a Hidden Mickey in the room with jumping water, the hole in which Chickapin Hill flows is a side profile of Mickey's head and there is a birdhouse with an icon cut out of it in the garden scene. Furthermore, there is one near Br'er Frog when he is fishing on the alligator, visible as you pass him, and one composed of three barrels half-way up the second hill. There is also a hidden Dumbo in the first part of the cave.
[edit] Soundtrack
The ride features variations of the three songs found in the animated segments from Song of the South though not in the same order. In the order heard in the attraction's ride-through segments;
- "How Do You Do?"
- "Ev'rybody's Got a Laughin' Place"
- "Burrow's Lament" ("Laughin' Place" in a minor key)
- "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah"
The soundtracks for all three Splash Mountains are unique. In Disneyland, the score uses an orchestra, playing whimsical arrangements similar to those found in cartoons and retaining many elements of their original Song of the South arrangements. This suits the attraction's fantastic Critter Country location. This version is the only one where "Burrow's Lament" is sung. Not an actual song from the movie, it is a version of "Ev'rybody Has a Laughin' Place" played in a minor key. Originally, the song, "Sooner or Later", (also exclusive to the attraction,) was arranged for this purpose, however, it was excluded, replaced with "Burrow's Lament", and redone to serve as Critter Country's main area music. "Sooner or Later", along with many songs from Song of the South are played and heard in the exit portion of the attraction.
The mountains in Florida and Japan (in the more realistic Frontierland and Critter Country park areas, respectively) share an identical underscore. It is in a setting-appropriate country-western style, featuring instruments like banjos, fiddles and harmonicas. The vocals, however, are completely different between the two parks. The secondary characters are altogether different, the show scenes (and the specific verses sung in them) are in dramatically different orders, and choruses and back-up vocals arranged with different harmonies. Additionally, dialogue and lyrics in Tokyo are Japanese for "How Do You Do?" and "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah", but English for "Ev'rybody's Got a Laughin' Place". In both instances, "Burrow's Lament" is heard as an instrumental track, using the original Disneyland soundtrack, with dramatic orchestra and choir.
[edit] Releases
Despite being released on CDs attributed to the Magic Kingdom or Walt Disney World in general, as well as often bearing specific track attribution (such as "from Walt Disney World's Splash Mountain"), the country-western style soundtrack actually found at the Florida and Tokyo parks has never been released on CD. (Fan-Credited versions of the country-western version from The Magic Kingdom have however surfaced as MP3 downloads online. No Tokyo Disneyland versions have surfaced though.) All of the tracks listed below represent arrangements or medleys of the Disneyland score.
- The Official Album of Disneyland and Walt Disney World (1991 CD): "Ev'rybody Has a Laughing Place" & "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah"
- Disneyland/Walt Disney World: The Official Album (1997 CD): "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" & "Ev'rybody Has a Laughing Place"
- Walt Disney World Resort: The Official Album (1999 CD): "Ev'rybody Has a Laughing Place"
- Walt Disney World Resort: Official Album (2000 CD): 7-minute medley. Attributed to Magic Kingdom.
- Official Album: Walt Disney World Resort Celebrating 100 Years of Magic (2001 CD): 8-minute medley. Attributed to Magic Kingdom.
- Disneyland Park: The Official Album (2001 CD): 8-minute medley.
- A Musical History of Disneyland (2005): 12-minute medley.
- Disney's Happiest Celebration on Earth (2005): 8 minute medley.
- Disneyland Resort Official Album (2008): 10.5-minute medley.
[edit] In popular culture
In the sing along songs video Disneyland Fun, during "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," Splash Mountain was one of the rides the kids rode on. In 1989, Ernest Goes to Camp aired during The Magical World of Disney. Prior to the movie a special called "Ernest at Splash Mountain" aired in it Ernest was seen training for, and finally riding, the newly opened Splash Mountain. The end result had Ernest bewildered and collapsing to the ground, leaving guests to step on him while boarding the attraction.
In Scary Movie 4 as Cindy is looking at pictures of the man and the woman, there is a brief photograph of them going down the drop of Splash Mountain.
Roger Rabbit's animated short Trail Mix Up makes several visual references to Splash Mountain. At one point, though extremely briefly, it can be seen that the log Roger and Baby Herman are riding has a bumper sticker that reads "We Visited Splash Mountain."
Despite Disney's great attention to detail and audience management, the monitoring represented by both security cameras and the strobe cameras have not proven wholly successful at eliminating one of the most salacious phenomena of the "Splash Mountain" experience. Hoping to make illicit use of the in-ride photographs that Disney later sells to ride patrons, some riders briefly expose themselves (e.g., a woman baring her breasts) during a particular descent.[4] Collected on a website called "Flash Mountain" in the mid-to-late 1990s, the shots continue to circulate online. The "Flash Mountain" controversy at both Disney parks was used as a segment & was seen on TMZ on Cinco De Mayo, May 5, 2009.
[edit] See also
- List of current Disneyland attractions
- Magic Kingdom attraction and entertainment history
- Tokyo Disneyland attraction and entertainment history
[edit] External links
- Disneyland Park - Splash Mountain
- Walt Disney World Resort - Splash Mountain
- Splash Mountain at the Internet Movie Database
- L.A. Times article about "Flash Mountain"
- The Unofficial Song of the South website: Splash Mountain page
- Walt Disney World Magic
- "Amusement ride for traveling down a water chute with reduced splash - Patent #5,613,443". US Patent & Trademark Office. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=5613443. Retrieved on November 17 2005. - Patent for reduced splash logs used in Tokyo.
- Disneyland Splash Mountain construction photos
[edit] References
- ^ "Splash Mountain" Disney Reporter - Where the Magic Lives
- ^ Song of the South.net - Splash Mountain: History
- ^ The "E" Ticket, Summer 2009. Page 13-14
- ^ "For Disney, It's a Case of Unzip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" at L.A. Times
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Coordinates: 35°37′50.51″N 139°52′58.56″E / 35.6306972°N 139.8829333°E
