Splash Mountain closed 1/2-3/19/13

[Gator]

I haven't seen this posted anywhere here, so I'll deliver the bad news. From what I'm reading in several places, Splash MT will be down from Jan 2 - March 19.

Not sure why it's so long this time. I know it usually goes down for all of January, and it seems like it went down for a few months not that long ago. 3 months - sheesh. Suddenly glad I booked a trip for the Christmas season.

[EDIT BY MODERATOR] From the official site:

Splash Mountain - Closed For Refurbishment [ Friday, February 01 - Tuesday, March 19 ]

[ransam]

Are you kidding?
that is so not right.....i didn't get to ride it last year and was so looking forward to it.

[taleasoldastime]

What the heck! It was closed the last time i was there! Im cursed! :(

[Gator]

What the heck! It was closed the last time i was there! Im cursed! :(

I know that feeling. It was closed 2 trips in a row, and was going to be for a 3rd. So I moved my trip into February so the kids could finally ride it. But a refurb that's this long .... there's no working around it. I truly feel bad for you and everyone else wanting to ride it next year.

[Melanie]

Folks, seems like we have this same conversation every year. :beat:

Splash is showing it's age. There are constant threads and comments about the "dead" animatronics and certain elements of the ride not working. I can only hope that this announced, extended length refurb is what's needed to get everything in working, pristine order. And with all the next gen, FastPass+, interactive queue stuff happening at WDW, who knows what else they've got planned.

Because Splash is a water/flume ride, it is only logical that it would go down in the winter months. We traveled to WDW in January for many years, always with the expectation that a handful of rides would be down, not only because of cooler weather, but also because of lower crowds. IT MAKES SENSE! Maintenance has to be done. Good thing there is enough to do at WDW to keep you busy for a month.

[TinkerbellT421]

Folks, seems like we have this same conversation every year. :beat:

Splash is showing it's age. There are constant threads and comments about the "dead" animatronics and certain elements of the ride not working. I can only hope that this announced, extended length refurb is what's needed to get everything in working, pristine order. And with all the next gen, FastPass+, interactive queue stuff happening at WDW, who knows what else they've got planned.

Because Splash is a water/flume ride, it is only logical that it would go down in the winter months. We traveled to WDW in January for many years, always with the expectation that a handful of rides would be down, not only because of cooler weather, but also because of lower crowds. IT MAKES SENSE! Maintenance has to be done. Good thing there is enough to do at WDW to keep you busy for a month.

:ditto::exactly::beat: :thumbsup:

[Aurora]

:ditto::exactly::beat: :thumbsup:

:number1:

[buzznwoodysmom]

We will be down during that time, but it doesn't really bother me.

Of course we go at all different times of the year, so we've been able to ride it very recently. As a matter of fact I don't remember the last time it was down while we were in WDW, probably years ago.

I do feel bad for those looking forward to it, only for it to be closed again. Hopefull one day you all will get to ride it again.

[faline]

Some rides have to be down sometimes. I think Big Thunder was undergoing an extensive rehab the last time we were there. It wasn't the end of the world - we just rode other rides. Like Melanie, I've read any number of posts from folks complaining about featues that are not working on Splash Mountain. Perhaps this extensive rehab will result in a like new ride!

[Buttercup]

:ditto::exactly::beat: :thumbsup:
:thumbsup: Exactly!

[Melanie]

Oh, and the dates posted are incorrect, and I've corrected in the title and in original post to avoid confusion. Rehab is only for a month and a half, starting Friday, February 1st and ending Tuesday, March 19th.

[taleasoldastime]

The date change you made actually means it will be open when i am there. YAY!!!! :party:

[DizneyFreak2002]

I don't know about the Feb 2 date... I have also heard, was told, and read reliable sources as January 2 being the closing date... I NEVER trust the WDW website...

[Quadstriker]

Sounds like good news to me.

[Dopey's Girl]

Sorry for those that will miss out on Splash, but anyone who has ridden (or commented) on Splash in a while knows that it needs a bit of TLC. They aren't going to take it down in the summer. It's another excuse for planning another trip right?

[Gator]

I don't know about the Feb 2 date... I have also heard, was told, and read reliable sources as January 2 being the closing date... I NEVER trust the WDW website...

Yeah, I just found it on yet another site that it's going down early January. But maybe they're all wrong. I hope for the sake of all those going in Jan it's still open. But trusting the WDW site....

And this ain't beating a dead horse. A 3 month (or 2 month) refurb is a lot different from it's typical 1 month refurb. Plus, a lot of people come here for info. Just sharing - that's all.

[joonyer]

I just hope they fix it completely and make it right, like new this time. We'll be back to WDW in Feb. so we'll miss riding it on our next trip. And . . . it is our favorite WDW attraction. But, if this refurb will restore it to it's former glory, I'll live with missing it next trip.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Yeah, I just found it on yet another site that it's going down early January. But maybe they're all wrong. I hope for the sake of all those going in Jan it's still open. But trusting the WDW site....

And this ain't beating a dead horse. A 3 month (or 2 month) refurb is a lot different from it's typical 1 month refurb. Plus, a lot of people come here for info. Just sharing - that's all.

Very possible they got the dates wrong... But with what has been rumored to be done, I don;t think 2 months is enough time.. 3 seems right... But, guess we shall see... Good news is, they are going to really work on this ride and seemingly give it the love it needs... :)

[A Big Kid]

Folks, seems like we have this same conversation every year. :beat:

. We traveled to WDW in January for many years, always with the expectation that a handful of rides would be down, not only because of cooler weather, but also because of lower crowds. IT MAKES SENSE! Maintenance has to be done. Good thing there is enough to do at WDW to keep you busy for a month.

Here is where I think you are absolutely wrong calling it beating a dead horse.

No one denies it requires maintenance. Ths disagreement is that it is down the same time every year. And the time it is down, is not some random date on a calendar. It goes down every year just before marathon weekend when they are expecting 10s of thousands of extra guests. And they usually wait until the marathon weekend is just about sold out to make the announcement.

[TinkerbellT421]

Here is where I think you are absolutely wrong calling it beating a dead horse.

No one denies it requires maintenance. Ths disagreement is that it is down the same time every year. And the time it is down, is not some random date on a calendar. It goes down every year just before marathon weekend when they are expecting 10s of thousands of extra guests. And they usually wait until the marathon weekend is just about sold out to make the announcement.

It's beating a dead horse because every year a thread starts about how it's going to be down. I believe that's what Mel meant by saying it was beating a dead horse, frankly, it is. But I digress.

Secondly, splash hasn't been down in two years come January. And for someone (me) that never rode splash until this past trip in January, I can even tell you that this ride probably needs more like a 6 month refurb, in my opinion. And thirdly, every year I went and it was down, I have found out it to be down, on the Disney site for refurbish, by this time. Cause every year dbf and I would joke about come October we would find out that splash was down again.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Yeah, I just found it on yet another site that it's going down early January. But maybe they're all wrong. I hope for the sake of all those going in Jan it's still open. But trusting the WDW site....

And this ain't beating a dead horse. A 3 month (or 2 month) refurb is a lot different from it's typical 1 month refurb. Plus, a lot of people come here for info. Just sharing - that's all.

Gator, just to back you up a little more on your date.... The January 2nd dates comes from the Hub... So the Hub (the Disney employee intranet site) says Jan 2, the WDW site says Feb 1... Why do I have a feeling someone inverted the 1 and the 2 on the main WDW site?

[Melanie]

YAnd this ain't beating a dead horse. A 3 month (or 2 month) refurb is a lot different from it's typical 1 month refurb. Plus, a lot of people come here for info. Just sharing - that's all.


Here is where I think you are absolutely wrong calling it beating a dead horse.

Here's the thing, and yes, this has turned out to be one of those 'hot topic' issues on these boards. A thread announcing rehab dates for a major attraction at WDW is very welcome. It's always good to get it out there as soon as it's announced so folks can plan accordingly. After all, that's what we do here - help people plan magical vacations.

That said, every year this thread/topic sways from presenting the facts (dates, what will be done in rehab) into how vacations are ruined and how terrible Disney is for doing this rehab at the same time every year. :beat: That just really doesn't get us anywhere.

There are many Disney attractions (thinking over both domestic parks) that have annual rehabs/closings at the same time every year. Splash is one of them, for good reason. Speaking of marathon time, I remember a few years back it was sleeting at race time. Not a day I'd want to ride Splash Mountain, and again, why it's fair to expect this ride to be down in the winter months. I know that was an extreme weather situation, but not one you'd ever encounter in July. I can't even imagine the uproar if it went down in May or even October. I think it's a safe bet that Splash will continue to go down annually, at least until an extensive rehab is done to get everything in tip top shape. Who knows when that will be. Maybe this is the year? :fingers:

As for the OFFICIAL dates - all we have "officially" to go by at this time is on the WDW website. There has been no announcement on the media site or our other official source. We get all of our information directly from Disney. It is very true that the WDW site isn't always accurate, and we'll be watching closely for when the official dates are announced and will update accordingly.

[mydisneygirls]

All I know is that for the latter part of our recent trip, it was down a good deal of the time (and a couple time Big Thunder was down at the same time). I kept thinking, it must need a good overhaul. This could be there reason it will be closed for so long.

[BigThunderFan]

I hope for once the official Disney site is right! My kids have been to Disney 4 times and EVERY time Splash Mountain has been closed. Just keep it open through Jan 12, please!! :mickey:

[MNNHFLTX]

There are many Disney attractions (thinking over both domestic parks) that have annual rehabs/closings at the same time every year. Splash is one of them, for good reason. Speaking of marathon time, I remember a few years back it was sleeting at race time. Not a day I'd want to ride Splash Mountain, and again, why it's fair to expect this ride to be down in the winter months. I know that was an extreme weather situation, but not one you'd ever encounter in July.

Which is always what comes to mind every year when we talk about Splash being down for refurb. I can't even tell you the last time I went on it (WDW or Disneyland) in January or February. Sure they tone it down a bit in winter months, but walking around wet in 93-degree heat in August is an entirely different experience than walking around wet when the temps are 60 or colder. The lines usually reflect this too. It only makes sense to have it down in the cooler months.

[Jared]

For what it's worth, Splash Mountain didn't go down last year.

Also for what it's worth, I believe that all refurbishments should be celebrated, especially ones that last three months like this one. The overall good of the parks is considerably more important to me than my own individual trips. There will always be more trips -- I want the parks to be in as good shape as possible when I take them. A closed Splash Mountain is better than Splash Mountain in its current state. Right now, it shouldn't be operating.

[readytogo2]

Nooooooo my favorite closed a week before we get there oh well it did need some work done

[VWL Mom]

WDW website now shows


Splash Mountain - Closed For Refurbishment Wednesday, January 02 - Tuesday, March 19

[Melanie]

So indeed it has been changed. Good! Hopefully all the 'broken' elements will be fixed. :thumbsup: