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View Full Version : Splash Mtn to Reopen in June-Will Hold 5 instead of 7



awinner
04-15-2002, 10:52 PM
Directly from Laughing Place.com & OC Register:

Splash Mountain's June reopening will bring longer waits

Splash Mountain, one of Disneyland's most popular summer rides, will reopen in June with a new seating configuration, park officials said Thursday. Disney's Web site indicates it will be ready June 15, but spokesman Ray Gomez did not have a definite date. Instead of straddling one long seat in the log, riders will sit in five seats with backs. That diminishes capacity from seven adults to five, and will make for longer waits in line.

The themed ride, which invites riders to find their "laughing place," was closed in March for refurbishing. Disney officials considered several enhancements before settling on seats with backs.

Uncle Dick
04-15-2002, 11:02 PM
Originally posted by awinner
The themed ride, which invites riders to find their "laughing place," was closed in March for refurbishing. Disney officials considered several enhancements before settling on seats with backs.
"Enhancements", eh? :rolleyes:

Oh well. If we get a single rider pass out of this, it will have all been worth it.

Morrigoon
04-15-2002, 11:18 PM
Well, on one hand, one less ride to snuggle with your honey on (but I have no honey so no big loss there), and on the other hand- no more getting squished *yay!*

With backs though? how tall? will we be able to see?


For those who said it would never happen.... just more evidence that Al, while opinionated, *does* know what he's talking about!

Iceman
04-16-2002, 06:38 AM
Nope, shows me that Al was playing Chicken Little again, like with today's update. For all his bluster about over-the-shoulder restraints, this doesn't sound like that at all. I think he just enjoys getting people all fired up and soaking in the attention...

socabch
04-16-2002, 06:44 AM
Does anyone know if they are putting in restraints? If they do I hope it's only seat belts like Matterhorn. I wish they would post a picture of the new log.

Also why did they stop using the old entrance as a queing area?It was great because you could see people coming down the shoot. You know the path that winds back and forth in all the rocks and bushes.

hbquikcomjamesl
04-16-2002, 07:37 AM
Well, I don't think the reduced capacity affects me much: I only ride the bloody thing on rainy days. (The lines are shorter, and [especially now that I have a sou'wester that sort-of matches my rain parka] I'm dressed for it.)

justagrrl
04-16-2002, 07:42 AM
Originally posted by socabch
Does anyone know if they are putting in restraints? If they do I hope it's only seat belts like Matterhorn. I wish they would post a picture of the new log.

Also why did they stop using the old entrance as a queing area?It was great because you could see people coming down the shoot. You know the path that winds back and forth in all the rocks and bushes.


According to Al's article - no restrainsts at all! at least for now?

But it's going to be closed again for another 6 months after summer.

Bill Catherall
04-16-2002, 09:29 AM
Are they changing the hight restriction? If not, where do the little kids sit? Can they still sit with an adult or do they have to sit by themselves?

My kids love that ride, but there's no way they'd be willing to get on it if they can't sit right on front of me and have me hold them. And there'd be no way I'd let them on if I can't hold them.

MammaSilva
04-16-2002, 09:46 AM
I'm with you Bill I can't think of anything they could actually do to Splash that would let me be comfortable if I couldn't supervise my daughters safety personally, but 'if' what we are reading comes to pass then I don't see Splash in our future anymore :( and it is one of my daughters all time favorite rides, I see a lot more time over at DCA at the GRR for us :(

downingfamily1
04-16-2002, 12:44 PM
I agree totally that there is nothing that they could do to make my kids safe enough when I can't be right by them. No restraint is foolproof and a child who gets frightened (even those that enjoy the ride can get frightened at the drop)may do something that will cause them to be unsafe. I am very disappointed at the thought that my children will have to miss such a fun ride because the supposed safety features have made the ride unsafe for them.

Hyperboy
04-17-2002, 12:41 AM
Originally posted by Iceman
Nope, shows me that Al was playing Chicken Little again, like with today's update. For all his bluster about over-the-shoulder restraints, this doesn't sound like that at all. I think he just enjoys getting people all fired up and soaking in the attention...

He was just saying that they were CONSIDERING it -- you have to see by now that nothing is set in stone with Disney management. There have been things that Al has mentioned that haven't come to pass. But this doesn't mean that Disney wasn't bouncing those ideas around at the time it was reported.

socabch
04-17-2002, 08:02 AM
I am very disappointed at the thought that my children will have to miss such a fun ride because the supposed safety features have made the ride unsafe for them

I understand what you are saying. We can all thank our sue happy society and bloodthirsty lawyers for changes like this. Disneyland has a good safety record by comparison yet everyone is afraid of lawsuits. It's been said before here in MousePad, some people have to be protected from their own stupidity. If an accident happens DLR will be blamed for not taking the proper steps to protect the guest.

Luckily for me my kids are old enough and big enough to ride all the rides alone. But it's the kids who still need parents to reassure them with hugs that they are safe on a ride will lose out.

Disneyfreak
04-23-2002, 03:58 PM
I know what you guys are saying but I just went on the disneyland web site and they took off the refurb sched for splash mountain so I guess this means that they might take even longer than june 15th to reopen.

I think they will open late june early july.
As for the log seats go, when I was little I went on that ride and the drop seems like 200 feet to kids and they do need parent supervision.

Someone You Dont Know
04-24-2002, 07:52 AM
True, Splash Mountain wasn't listed on the refurbishment schedule, but did you notice that "It's a Small World" was typed in complete lowercase while the others were not? It seems to me that whoever was in charge of the update for that date did a half-assed job and was rushing it.

tabacco
04-24-2002, 08:42 AM
Have you ever looked at the sign for it's a small world? It's SUPPOSED to be all lowercase.

Someone You Dont Know
04-24-2002, 08:08 PM
I think the answer to that question is obvious. :crying:

Disneyfreak
04-24-2002, 09:08 PM
Also they will have to put more water than usual because there is much less weight in the log. Thats a bummer to people who really want to be drenched.

coronamouseman
04-24-2002, 09:41 PM
Although I can understand the desire for some of you to want to be able to be near your small children on a ride like Splash Mountain, should you really be taking them on a ride where you feel like they may not be safe unless you are there with them?

My kids were small once too and most definitely they liked the Matterhorn and Space Mt. because they could be close to me or my wife but we would never have taken them on the ride if we felt that they would not be safe without parental supervision. If some of you feel that you would not want your younger children riding Splash Mt. without you being there to hold them in, then I would have thought that risk should have been one which you would have been unwilling to take lest there be any doubt about your child's safety.

It's one thing to be there to experience a ride with a child who might be reluctant to ride without a parent being close by - it's something else if the parent is riding with the child because they feel that the child may not be safe on the ride unless the parent goes along with them. This situation also includes those parents who try and get their kids on rides where those kids don't meet ride height requirements - they are only putting the kids at risk as opposed to doing them any favors.

If a parent is worried that a smaller child might do something foolish on a ride where there is no seat belt or other restraint, then that parent is taking on a lot more risk than they should be comfortable with as regards their kids. Although that parent might have the best intentions, should their child do something that that parent can't control then that parent will have essentially been responsible for putting that child in that situation - that seems like the kind of risk that any parent with such concerns would never expose their child to ............

downingfamily1
04-25-2002, 08:40 AM
Kids are kids and as such they don't always make the right decisions. As a parent I feel that I should be there to help my child remember the rules and make sure that he follows the safety rules. I don't think that because my child is 6 and loves Splash Mountain that I am putting him in danger by taking him, even if I would not trust him to go alone. That drop is intimidating and without me to reassure him I don't trust that a safety restraint on its own is good enough. He loves the ride and he is a good kid, but he is my kid and my responsibility. I would not send him on any ride alone, including it's a small world. I don't think that iasw is dangerous, but children need parental supervision. The risk to me is trusting that a small child will make all of the right decisions. There are some rides that I will not let my child ride on because even though he meets the height requirements I don't believe he is ready. I just hate to tell him that although he loves Splash he is no longer ready to ride it.

-Julie