Incidentally (though to also get back on topic), where did the alleged $50 million budget come? I saw a couple of people post this amount earlier in the thread, but I don't know where they got it from.
According to Google, the original Splash Mountain at Disneyland cost $75 million. While a significant portion of the animatronics were reused from America Sings, it was still a completely new show building, ride system and elaborate rockwork and scenery. I don't know what the versions at WDW and Tokyo cost. They use a considerably different ride system and track layout with more elaborate scenery and rockwork compared to Disneyland. A lot of the minor generic character animatronics were cloned from the Disneyland version, though they are fewer in number. That said, WDW and Tokyo also added a handful of more advanced and better designed figures for the main Brer Rabbit, Bear and Fox characters (particularly an expensive hopping figure). So I'm unsure how this evens out in terms of budget compared to Disneyland's.
That was well over three decades ago. If Disney built Splash Mtn (or a ride with comparable scenery and animatronics) in 2020, I would assume the price would be 5-6 times greater at absolute MINIMUM.
For something more comparable to what they're planning with the Princess and the Frog overhaul, I went back to see if I could find a stated budget for the Frozen overlay of Norway. Back in October 2014, Photodave219 stated that the budget for the Frozen overlay project at Epcot was $75 million. This is presumably the "final" budget (after being slashed 40%). This also includes the new restrooms and M&G next door. But it is likely that a significant portion of that budget went to the ride, around $50 million sounds fairly accurate. If insiders know otherwise, feel free to correct this.
So if this is accurate, one can imagine what $50 million would bring to the table. Also keep in mind however that this was over 5 years ago, so you would likely get even less out of $50 million today than back then. Epcot's Frozen is a FAR smaller ride with fewer and immensely less detailed scenes and animatronics than Splash Mtn. The scenes on the second floor in particular are very desolate empty hallways with projections on the walls. So it's troubling to think of how a full interior gutting and redesign of Splash Mtn's scenes would turn out with a similar budget.
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