Disney: Where Splash Mountain changes stand

[Disney4me]

Melissa Valiquette, VP of Magic Kingdom, gives update on Splash Mountain, which will get "Princess and the Frog" theme.

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Disney: Where Splash Mountain changes stand

Major changes at Splash Mountain, announced last year, will give the Magic Kingdom ride a theme based on 'The Princess and the Frog' movie. (Disney/Disney)

 

In June 2020, Walt Disney World announced dramatic changes to Splash Mountain, the water ride with a steep drop at Magic Kingdom. In July 2020, the theme park reopened from its pandemic shutdown in its previous mode, which features animatronic bears and other singing animals, climaxing with “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.”

Thirteen months later, Br’er Rabbit remains in place, and there’s no sign of shifting from the “Song of the South” characters to music and scenes inspired by “The Princess and the Frog.”

In a recent episode of the Theme Park Rangers Podcast, Melissa Valiquette, vice president of Magic Kingdom, gave an update during the interview.

“When we are re-imagining a new attraction or a new area of our parks, this can be a lengthy process. There’s a lot of work that goes into it. So, I’m in a lot of meetings right now around Splash Mountain,” Valiquette said.

“Of course, our guests haven’t seen any changes yet; that’s going to take some time. But the sequence of these things is that sometimes, you know, the decisions can be made many, many months, even years before any of that will be seen on stage. So, it’s going to take us a little bit of time to re-imagine Splash Mountain,” she said.

When the changes were announced in 2020, no timeline was given for the project. A post on the official Disney Parks Blog said the storyline of the revamped ride would take place after the events of the 2009 film.

“We pick up this story after the final kiss and join Princess Tiana and Louis [a trumpet-playing alligator] on a musical adventure — featuring some of the powerful music from the film — as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance,” the blog post said.

In the podcast, Valiquette said some selections around music and animatronics had been made. Tiana and the Magic Kingdom vice president are both Louisiana natives.

“It was really important to me, as I’ve been meeting with our Imagineers, that this story gets portrayed honestly and accurately. They’ve done such a remarkable job of that — especially during a time when they’ve not been able to travel to a great degree — and really have created something that I believe will capitalize on what’s already special about the ride, Splash Mountain, but we’ll turn it into something that our guests will really cherish for generations into the future,” she said.

The attraction opened in Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland in 1992. The Disneyland version, which debuted in 1989, also will receive an update.

“I think this is one example of something where our guests are going to have to put a little bit of trust into us for a bit because we promise not to let you down. We’re going to deliver a wonderful attraction that is inspiring and beautiful and worthy of this princess, Princess Tiana,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a perfect addition back there.”

Valiquette took over the Magic Kingdom reins in March. Her previous role was vice president for Epcot, where she worked for more than five years.

Her Disney career began right on Main Street in City Hall, and she was also appointed a Walt Disney World ambassador. In the podcast, she talks about the magnetism of Magic Kingdom and also talks about the updates to Jungle Cruise, the upcoming Tron ride, the golden 50th-anniversary statues, the “Disney Enchanted” nighttime spectacular that debuts Oct. 1, her happy places at Magic Kingdom and the 25th-anniversary birthday cake castle. Hear the full interview wherever you get podcasts.

 

 

 

Dewayne Bevil

Orlando Sentinel