Splash Mountain closed in Jan!

[Dsnygirl]

I can understand your frustration and disappointment... my girls' favorite ride in all of Disney is Space Mtn., and it will be down while we are there in October... and it will have been down since spring. Sure, we could have gone in December after in re-opens, but we just assured them that there would be plenty of other fun things/rides to do to make up for it, and it'll be open next time, so it gives them something to look forward to.

When we were there two years ago, our personal favorite was down -- BTMRR... and 3 years ago, on our girls first trip, PoC was down, and it was all we'd talked about -- "wait 'til you ride Pirates!!" etc., etc.

Sure, we were all disappointed and we missed riding "our" rides, and I can certainly understand how frustrating it is when your DD hasn't even had the chance to ride her favorite ride yet... but I'll bet you can find a way to make it not so bad, esp. if you find something else fun for her to focus on.

I hope you guys have a great trip, even with Splash down... and remember, we've all been there!!

[Dopey's Girl]

While I'm sorry you are going to miss out on Splash, I really wouldn't let it ruin your whole trip. It stinks that Splash seems to close every year in January, but they need to do rehabs on everything from time to time, if they didn't the whole resort would be a wreck!

I know your daughter will be dissapointed, but if you let your anger show, it's only going to make it that much more of an issue.

[Jeri]

I just wonder....are they shuting a "water ride" down for two months so they don't have to man the ride during the winter months?

I doubt that is the case otherwise they would shut Kali down at the same time too.

[MNNHFLTX]

Yes, as several people have mentioned, January and February are the months that Splash Mountain is typically down for rehab. Nothing out of the ordinary, I'm afraid, although I'm sorry for your daughter's disappointment.

Just a question--since you live in California (although I know Modesto is a bit of a drive from Anaheim), Disneyland's Splash Mountain sounds like a good alternative to the WDW version. Maybe for a weekend jaunt?

[Anthony007]

Are you disappointed or scarred of your daughter throwing a tantrum?

As many have said, we have all had a vacation where somthing significant has been closed. In each of my trips I have had at least one of the following closed:
Small World
Pirates
Haunted Mansion
Spaceship Earth
Space Mountain/TTA AND Living with the Land

and probably many more that I can't remember. I'd rather have it closed for 1 trip than to have it malfunction and someone get hurt, just my opinion.

At the end of the day, its Disney and there is ALWAYS something awesome to do.

[Gator]

Just a question--since you live in California (although I know Modesto is a bit of a drive from Anaheim), Disneyland's Splash Mountain sounds like a good alternative to the WDW version. Maybe for a weekend jaunt?

I'm thinking about it. But since I'm dropping $3K+ on this trip, I'm having trouble spending another $500 (tickets, hotel 2 nights, gas, and food) for one day at DL. But I'm thinking about it anyway since WDW stiffed us. The thing about DL is that I can go at any time. I don't have to book flights, hotels, and ADRs so far in advance. Then I would be sure not to miss Splash. In that regard, DL wallops WDW for us left coasters. I'd almost rather not go back to Orlando and have the same thing happen on the next trip.

[diastrophic]

that s a big disappointment, but you can do other things too, the park will be completely open soon

[gueli]

I'd almost rather not go back to Orlando and have the same thing happen on the next trip.

You act as if they are just doing this to ruin your trip.
Refurbs happen.
sounds like they are doing long refurbs of Major attractions- space mountain for a good chunk of this year, 2 months for splash mtn next year, PoC 3 years ago, space ship earth 2 years ago- oh wait it sounds like they do this all the time...
So do they never refurb anything in DL ?

Lighten up, or spend a few extra bucks, and change your plans...
None of this is worth crying about- the glass isn't half empty- we just have to get a little more

[DisneyFr33k]

And I can't a find a single place to log complaints with Disney. I'm sure they've managed to eliminate any mention of one on all the search engines. I've never been this mad. Someone's gonna hear about this.

When I had an issue last year, I called WDW and asked how I could express my concerns. they told me to e-mail them at: [email protected].
Someone did call me back to discuss everything with me. I at least felt heard.

Sorry you're going to miss out on the one thing you were looking forward to most. Maybe you can turn this around and begin to get excited about other attractions/experiences. Who knows, maybe this will be the best trip you've ever been on! It's all about how you frame it!

[Meteora]

I don't have to book flights, hotels, and ADRs so far in advance. Then I would be sure not to miss Splash. In that regard, DL wallops WDW for us left coasters. I'd almost rather not go back to Orlando and have the same thing happen on the next trip.

I see where you're coming from and I am sorry that your daughter will be disappointed. However...it's not like this was a huge surprise. As others have said, Splash goes down pretty much every January. It's a very predictable rehab. Disney isn't exactly springing this on guests out of nowhere; there's huge precedent for it, and if one looked quickly to check historical rehabs, it would be figured out very speedily. If they've decided to keep it closed through February (including Presidents' week, one of their busiest weeks), it probably means it really does need that long to be rehabbed. I feel your pain because we often visit in January, and when you visit in the offseason and get far better crowd levels, the trade-off is shorter park hours and some rides being closed for rehab. Honestly, you're lucky that it's just Splash. I remember years where multiple big attractions were closed. And Splash is my sister's favorite ride--but she has often chosen to go in January anyway, because she thinks the lesser crowds are worth it even if she can't go on Splash. Another thing to consider--we also go in December, and in the winter months, temperatures can be in the 40s and low 50s with wind, which is not getting-wet weather. Even if it were open, there's no guarantee that the weather would be suitable for a water ride.

So closing Splash is obviously Disney's decision, but whether you can enjoy your vacation without it is yours. As you said, you've invested a lot of time and money in this trip, and letting one ride being closed ruin it for you would be a shame. The sooner you can reframe this positively for yourself and not be livid over something you can't change and that will not change (though I certainly understand the impulse), the happier you and your family will be. And if a ride being closed really will ruin your entire vacation, then maybe you're right and you shouldn't plan another one for that much money, because Disney CAN and DOES do rehabs all the time, most of them much less historic than Splash.

[TheVBs]

I am really sorry about your disappointment. We traditionally go during an off-season so we know that something will be down for refurb and try to plan around that.

If you are as upset as you seem, you may want to look into what it will cost you to change your plans. Sometimes you can get airline credit for a future trip.

If you opt not to change your plans, perhaps there's something else special you can plan? Does she have any other favorite characters? If not, when you get to WDW try explaining to a CM how special Song of the South is to your daughter and how disappointed she is that she won't be able to ride Splash Mtn. They may be able to direct you to where some of the characters from that movie will be so that your daughter can get her picture with them and maybe an autograph.

[BlueTinky]

Rides go down every once in a while. When I went down this summer and neither the TTA or Space Mountain were open due to a long refurbishment that is lasting longer than 2 months, I didn't get all bent out of shape about it. I didn't hate Disney; I was disappointed, yes, but I let it go and went on and enjoyed the trip without those rides. You're going on a trip to Disney. That should be good enough in and of itself. Let this go and just keep in mind that Splash Mountain goes down around that time of year and try to plan around it. Doing some research and finding out what rides will be down when will help things like this from happening when planning a trip in the future.

[Grim Grinning Marathon Runner]

I'll try and not be too harsh here too, but I've just got to say, what lessons is this teaching your little girl? How do you know this will ruin her trip?

And you said that you're spending over $3,000 on this trip and you're angry about your daughter's favorite ride being closed. Understandable. But think about how many people would love to have an extra $3,000 right now, much less $3,000 that they could spend on a vacation and not necessities.

I hope that you can focus on the magic you can find on this trip, and have a good time.

If you'll be there on marathon weekend, January 7-10, I believe, spend some time watching the half marathon or the marathon. There are some incredible life lessons that you can see, such as Team Hoyt (you can google Team Hoyt or Dick and Rick Hoyt) or many of the charity runners who run for causes such as children with leukemia who would love to be able to spend even a day in Disney World - especially a pain or cancer free day.

Again, I don't mean to be harsh, but it was once told to me that you can tell a lot about someone's character not by how they act, but how they react.

[kathiep]

I can understand your frustration. My kids favorite ride is TTA. It was scheduled to open while we were there in August so we had talked about the rehab and how much fun it would be to go on it and see what had changed.

Of course, the opening was delayed beyond the dates of our stay. I wasn't quite sure how to explain this to my kids. I kept putting it off.

When I finally did tell them, the reaction was "ok". Nothing more, nothing less. I tried to take their lead and tried not to dwell on the disappointment.

We had a fantastic trip. Sure, we had a moment of sadness seeing the cars stationary when we first walked through Tomorrowland but we quickly moved on and focused on enjoying our trip.

I hope you can do the same!

[Gregandmel]

I understand what you are saying to a degree. For some of us...there is that "ONE RIDE" that is a defining Disney moment for our kids that is the anticipated highlight of the trip. We get huge excitement out of seeing our kids excitement and building on it. When the "one thing" isn't going to be available, then it really can put an initial damper on things. The "one ride" for my 9 year old was Tower of Terror. That was ALL he could talk about before we went last October (his first trip - and very first ride in all of Disney). I was absolutely petrified that the ride might be down for some reason when we got there. I checked the refurb schedule daily, tried to get info on when it was last refurbed to get an idea of the possibility of it being down, etc... Thank goodness we were first in line and got to ride it multiple times on our trip. I was sooo relieved - anything else could've been down - but not THAT one. So - I kind of understand your reaction and level of frustration because I would probably feel the same way initially. But remember - you DO have options. IF this is a "make or break" for your trip, then consider changing your dates to accomodate the refurb so it doesn't interfere...otherwise, it may end up being a thorn in your side the whole time and take away from the excitement of planning your trip with your DD. Perhaps you could tell her what's happening and ask her if it's worth it to postpone or change the trip. You may be very suprised at her reaction - especially because there will be SO many wonderful things for her to enjoy while she is there. Kids are pretty resiliant!

[coneygoil]

I just wonder....are they shuting a "water ride" down for two months so they don't have to man the ride during the winter months?

Since it's pretty darn cold down there during the winter, I'd say it was the best time to refurb the water rides. A couple weeks ago when I was at WDW, I got the WETTEST I have ever gotten on Splash Moutain. My dress was literally dripping for 30 minutes, even after I wrung it out. I can't see how people would want to ride a water ride like that when it's 50 degrees, you'd probably get a cold. And with rides running 24/7 all year round, I'm sure they need ALOT of maintance and it probably takes a while for the Disney workers to refurb rides that big.

Let this be a good excuse to go back to WDW sooner than you may have As a kid/teenager, Splash was closed a couple times when I went. I'd have the pit in my stomach from it, but then I'd look around and say, "I'm at Disney where I'll have fun no matter what!" And even if it too a couple years, I always knew I'd be able to ride that ride when we went back.

[jillluvsdisney]

So many of us have been at WDW when our favorite attractions/pools/restaurants have been closed for reburbishment. Sadly, it's just the nature of the beast.

[mrsgaribaldi]

Disney didn't "stiff" you, they are doing rehab. You better be prepared, any ride can break at any time, even while you're there. You're going to Disney with your family and you'll have a wonderful time anyway. My friend's 6 year old nephew is lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life right now. Let's remember what's important in life. Your trip will be magical without Splash! It's what you make of it.

[ChipNDale79]

I'm thinking about it. But since I'm dropping $3K+ on this trip, I'm having trouble spending another $500 (tickets, hotel 2 nights, gas, and food) for one day at DL. But I'm thinking about it anyway since WDW stiffed us. The thing about DL is that I can go at any time. I don't have to book flights, hotels, and ADRs so far in advance. Then I would be sure not to miss Splash. In that regard, DL wallops WDW for us left coasters. I'd almost rather not go back to Orlando and have the same thing happen on the next trip.

At least DW is letting you know months in advance that its going to be closed. Why not rebook your trip sometime if your that upset? I'm sure you can rebook with disney and with the airline.

I gotta say for Disney, better to be safe than sorry when it comes to rides.

[fupresti]

You schedule a trip for January, notorious for being refurb time due to colder weather and low crowd levels and you are surprised they are actually refurbishing?

Space Mountain was closed when I went two weeks ago and you know what I did? I rode all of the other rides. Personally, I would just enjoy a trip but if one ride being down is going to sour your experience, do your family a favor and just not go.