Splash Mountain Update

[ms9220]

I was at Splash Mountain on the Fourth Of July At the beginning of the ride on Splash Mountain the Frog wasn't there. Does anybody know Why? I don't if this has been posted yet I just got back home today.

 

[DisneyDellsDude]

I think he's been gone for a little while now. Thanks for the update!
Hopefully he's getting a good fixing!

 

[tinkerblonde11]

Ya he's probably just getting a little refurb of his own. Maybe touching up his color or making sure any audio is correct. Hope he comes back soon looking a good as new!

 

[dxwwf3]

Also the Welcome Home Br'er Rabbit hanging as you enter the riverboat scene was gone when I was there last week.

 

[krankenstein]

Br'er Rabbit wasn't hopping all the time I was there on the 4th and 5th. It was very hit or miss.

 

[Toddster]

They call that the " Million Dollar Rabbit", by now they have spent over a million dollars of all the times they have "tried" to fixed it.

 

[bgraham34]

Might be cheaper just to hire a real frog.

 

[RiversideBunny]

Maybe he croaked.

 

[Jerm]

Actually don't tell anyone :lookaroun they needed more frogs legs in France at EPCOT. That is also why you have not seen a green muppet around much either

 

[disneydata]

Brer Frog - out for refurb. He's been out for a few weeks.
"Million Dollar Bunny" - the rumor is that he cost $1M to make. He's always hit-or-miss. Just today I rode 4 times and 2 he worked, 2 he didn't.
Welcome Home Banner - after the last refurb, they put the banner back up and hand stitched it up. It fell down not too long after. It is being worked on and will be back.

Anything else?

 

[SiriusBlack]

Maybe he croaked.

:ROFLOL:

 

[dhoywdw20x]

My experience with Splash Mountain is that they work on major problems very quickly over there. Last year I went three days in a row.
Day 1: In the final room the walls were all OK
Day 2: In the final room, one of the walls had water damage and paint was chipping off.
Day 3: The bubble and paint chips had been removed and repainted. And the water smelt better.

 

[lilclerk]

Br'er Rabbit wasn't hopping all the time I was there on the 4th and 5th. It was very hit or miss.

I saw him hop for the first time in March. I was so excited :lol:

 

[DisneyExplorer]

Why does this attraction always seem to have something missing or not working? Is it because there are so many different pieces involved in the puzzle? By the way, how long does it take to fix a little frog? And shouldn't Imagineering have tested the "Million Dollar Rabbit" before putting it in the attraction?

No matter what the condition though, I will always love this ride. You really can't beat it.

 

[Rob562]

Why does this attraction always seem to have something missing or not working? Is it because there are so many different pieces involved in the puzzle? By the way, how long does it take to fix a little frog? And shouldn't Imagineering have tested the "Million Dollar Rabbit" before putting it in the attraction?

No matter what the condition though, I will always love this ride. You really can't beat it.

Testing something before installation and long-term reliability are two different things. In many cases, there's no way to accurately test/predict how something will operate years down the road. Especially in an indoor environment that has a lot of water flowing through it. They just did the best they could, and it is what it is.

As for it happening or not happening from one day to the next (or sometimes even one ride to the next), sometimes the logs are too close together for Rabbit to hop for every log. He can't reset fast enough before the next log trips the sensor.

The last time I went, it appeared that they had removed the "hedge" that he hops along that hides his support arm. You could see the support arm behind him quite clearly. Perhaps the hedge was one of the reasons for his frequent downtime, as the arm has to reach the far end of the hedge before it can rotate him around, down and back to start. If he were to turn too early, he'd crash into the hedge. He's easily the most complex AA figure in the attraction. And while I doubt the figure *cost* $1-million, with all the continued maintenance that goes into him, it's always possible that they've spent a million over the years keeping him running...err, hopping...
(Or perhaps to the maintenance budget people it just *seems* like a million)

-Rob

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

hopped out for a quick tab break perhaps>:shrug:

 

[DisneyExplorer]

Testing something before installation and long-term reliability are two different things. In many cases, there's no way to accurately test/predict how something will operate years down the road. Especially in an indoor environment that has a lot of water flowing through it. They just did the best they could, and it is what it is.

As for it happening or not happening from one day to the next (or sometimes even one ride to the next), sometimes the logs are too close together for Rabbit to hop for every log. He can't reset fast enough before the next log trips the sensor.

The last time I went, it appeared that they had removed the "hedge" that he hops along that hides his support arm. You could see the support arm behind him quite clearly. Perhaps the hedge was one of the reasons for his frequent downtime, as the arm has to reach the far end of the hedge before it can rotate him around, down and back to start. If he were to turn too early, he'd crash into the hedge. He's easily the most complex AA figure in the attraction. And while I doubt the figure *cost* $1-million, with all the continued maintenance that goes into him, it's always possible that they've spent a million over the years keeping him running...err, hopping...
(Or perhaps to the maintenance budget people it just *seems* like a million)

-Rob

Thanks for the explanation. I would have thought indoor AAs would be easier to maintain due to reduced exposure from the elements, but I can easily see how nearby water could pose as an even tougher challenge. My one thought though is, if he worked in the beginning, he should work now if Disney keeps him maintenanced properly. Him not resetting quickly enough could be the key element though, as sometimes the boats do get too close together, and where him working and not working appears to be so random, that is probably the most logical reasoning at the moment. I for one didn't realize the animatronics were triggered by the boats. I assumed they were just on a continuous cycle, so thanks a lot Rob for expanding my common knowledge of the attraction!!!!

 

[Tigger 68]

I rode Splash Mountain on July 3rd in the morning and the hopping Brer Rabbit was stuck in the middle. He was just hanging there lifeless with his head dangling like someone snapped his neck. I thought to myself that Brer Fox and Brer Bear finally caught Brer Rabbit. I rode the ride later again that night and Brer Rabbit was gone.

 

[jonnyc]

It really is a long ride, and it has so many different things going on within it, it's not surprising they never all work. I hope the Welcome Home banner is there when i arrive in August .

 

[Rob562]

I for one didn't realize the animatronics were triggered by the boats. I assumed they were just on a continuous cycle, so thanks a lot Rob for expanding my common knowledge of the attraction!!!!

Well, it depends on which animatronics you're talking about. Some are on a continuous loop, mostly the ones that are singing like the "How Do You Do" and Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah scenes. The music just keeps looping, and the AAs sing along.

But most of the ones that have dialog are triggered by the logs so that each log is ensured of hearing the dialog or seeing the particular action. Most of these AAs also have a "standby" action loop that they perform between the times that they're saying lines.
A good example of this is the little girl rabbit who is sweeping. Her line is triggered by the boats, where she turns and refers to the shadow projection of Rabbit, Fox and Bear running over the hill. In between the lines, she just stands there sweeping until the next boat comes along. And if the projection isn't working, her dialog is turned off and she just stands there sweeping the whole time.

-Rob