10
Perhaps the biggest Magic Kingdom controversy of the decade has been Splash Mountain.
The attraction was permanently closed in January to make way for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which is set to open in 2024. For more than 30 years, Splash Mountain has taken Disney World Guests on a gentle drift through a colorful Southern bayou along with happy-go-lucky Br’er Rabbit as he looks for his “laughing place,” with Br’er Bear and Br’er Fox are in hot pursuit of the wayward hare. On the ride, you glided by over 100 adorable Audio-Animatronics geese, frogs, raccoons, possums, bees, alligators and other down-home critters as they sing classic Disney ditties, including “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” and “Ev’rybody’s Got a Laughing Place.”
However, the themes from the ride were based on the controversial Disney film, Song of the South (1946), and Disney ultimately made the decision to change it to a Princess and the Frog theme.
While millions of Disney Park fans begged the company to reconsider, Disney moved forward with its plans to close the Magic Kingdom attraction.
Though he has been retired, Br’er Rabbit could still remain in Magic Kingdom
Though Walt Disney World Resort isn’t likely to include a Br’er Rabbit animatronic on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and the character himself isn’t going to be coming back for a meet and greet, there is one aspect of Br’er Rabbit that will remain in the Disney Park.
You may not have ever noticed that the top of Splash Mountain is actually a silhouette of Br’er Rabbit.
This TikTok, shared by @mike_the_bee, shows the silhouette.
@mike_the_bee #wdw #waltdisneyworld #splashmountain #disney #hiddenmickey #magickingdom #disney #disneyadult #fyp #foryourpage
At this point, Disney has not shared plans to change the formation of the top of the attraction.
As a matter of fact, the concept art and model shared at the D23 Expo showed the attraction with a similar structure at the top of its hill, and this would likely point to character at least still having a place in the Disney Park, even if it’s about as subtle as possible, moving forward.
It is possible that Disney will remove the silhouette, but a model can’t ensure this one way or another. Since we know that the attraction will still relatively the same mechanically, it would make sense if the logs at the top remained the same, as well.
While Splash Mountain is closed to make way for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Disney World Guests can still enjoy plenty of iconic attractions like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, “it’s a small world”, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Space Mountain.
As crowds pick up, especially this spring and summer, there is an expectation that wait times could skyrocket on attractions with no Splash Mountain around to draw in Guests. If you’re planning a trip for this spring or summer, make sure you plan accordingly, and you might even want to look into purchasing Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane to bypass some of the standby line queues.
What do you think of Br’er Rabbit staying in Magic Kingdom? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments!