Disneyland's Most Iconic Ride Is Being Torn Down

There are many famous attractions and rides in the ever-changing wonderland that is the original Disneyland Park, all of which are regularly shut down for minor refurbishments (or maybe to save the company some embarrassment) or to be revamped.

splash-mountain-disneyland — Credit: Disney

However, it is much more rare for a decade-old Disneyland attraction that is practically synonymous with the Disney Park experience to be torn down. That is exactly what’s happening right now.

As you can see from Twitter user Disneyland News Today, Disneyland’s Splash Mountain is finally being destroyed.

Dismantling of Iconic Splash Mountain Tree Begins at Disneylandhttps://t.co/cSFzD8VGji

— Disneyland News Today (@dlnt) July 19, 2023

Of course, we knew that this was coming. It was announced all the way back in 2020 that Splash Mountain was being decommissioned and replaced with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, a new attraction based on The Princess and the Frog (2009).

A scene from Princess and the Frog showing Princess Tiana kissing Prince Naveen — Credit: Disney

But knowing it was going to happen does not really lessen the impact of seeing Disneyland’s Splash Mountain covered in scaffolding and being dismantled piece by piece, starting with the iconic tree at its peak.

Splash Mountain was opened in Disneyland’s Critter Country in 1989 (along with counterparts in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, later) and was thematically based on Song of the South (1946), one of the Disney films that has aged most poorly, to say the least. While Disney has never come right out and said it, the uncomfortable racial implications of a log flume ride based on the Uncle Remus stories of Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox, and Bre’er Brear came to be a problem for the company, hence the replacement.

Br'er Fox and Br'er Rabbit — Credit: Disney

Reportedly, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was initially supposed to utilize the tree feature of the former Splash Mountain, which makes sense considering it is too massive to be removed in a single piece, and it would be logistically easier to work it into the narrative of the ride.

However, apparently, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has done away with the tree along with the rest of Splash Mountain. It was time for it to go, but still, it is a little heartbreaking to see it in pieces.

Will you go to the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? Let us know in the comments below!