Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World

Splash Mountain is one of the most instantly recognizable rides at Walt Disney World, but not necessarily because it's one of the most classic. The Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean have been around for much longer.

But its prominence is due to the fact that when the ride first debuted in 1989, it was promoted non-stop on television, mentioned in films and short films such as, "Trail Mix Up" starring Roger Rabbit, and even worked into plot lines of some prominent sitcoms at the time such as, "Full House". It was a huge undertaking and according to Wikipedia it cost at least 75 million dollars which was the most expensive ride ever constructed at Walt Disney World back then. So the marketing team really went to work earning their money back.

Splash Mountain is an incredibly chipper ride, and it holds a pleasant surprise for people who have never ridden it before. It's long! Most people just assume that it takes a couple of quick trips around the outdoor log flumes and then goes up for that legendarily steep drop. But in fact, the ride is a very lengthy indoor dark ride before the drop and there's a fair amount of ride after it as well.

There are several songs featured, all from the film, "Song of the South". Just as a warning, they will get stuck in your head after you ride, but there's nothing wrong with that since you're at Disney World anyway. There is intricate lighting, lots of animatronic animation, all the main characters from, "Song of the South", and of course that big finale that takes you down the steep drop and is guaranteed to get you absolutely soaked.

This ride is a blast and leaves you with an amazing feeling of positivity when you depart. It's well worth the long line, and please know this; there will definitely be a line. Sometimes a long line is an indication of a great ride. But by all means, take advantage of the Fastpass in this situation. Shaving any time off at all is a good thing. Also, I find this ride line to be particularly claustrophobic at times, because in several locations the theme is an underground tunnel. It's a little too effective.

One way to fight that claustrophobic feeling and cut your wait time down by a lot is to make this your first ride of the day. All the other rides that I mentioned in the first paragraph of this ride review have lines that move efficiently and are constantly loading. This ride loads a little slower than those, and because it's located in a corner of the park, it tends to get jammed with traffic.

If you make this the first ride of the day and get there before the park opens, you'll be able to get right on with no line at all. Maybe even twice in a row if you play your cards right. Doing Splash Mountain first can save you time later in the day, and also save you the agony of a sometimes unpleasant wait. This ride is well worth the strategy. It offers a roller coaster thrill with all the benefits of a dark ride and all the relief of a water ride. Don't miss it!