Zip-a-dee-doo-BLAH, let's track its progress

[tirian]

This is news, but it's not the sort that usually gets everyone excited. A few days ago, Kevin Yee posted an article about the sorry state of Splash Mountain. I rode it twice today, and I'm sad to say it's actually in worse condition than he wrote.

Literally half of Splash Mountain barely functions. Almost every animatronic from the Geese to the Laughing place is barely moving. The lighting is completely misaligned. The final riverboat scene was okay, but every single show scene leading up to it was terrible.

I'm posting this in hope that enough bad publicity will get around for management to fix this attraction. I know the MK needs all the E-tickets it has during the busy summer months, but I can't believe Splash is even considered to be "show ready"; most attractions wouldn't open with this many broken effects.

Here's a brief overview of the problems I noticed today. You'll notice I'm not nitpicking; every issue is extremely noticeable. Maybe we can track the progress as everything is fixed. I don't even think Six Flags would operate a dark ride in this condition.

Kevin's article: http://miceage.micechat.com/kevinyee/ky061411a.htm.

Outdoors:
• Brer Frog isn't functioning at all, not even rocking his foot.
• The gardens and props are so faded, the lettering is barely legible.

Indoors:
• ALL lighting misaligned.
• Frogs either missing (I hope it's for refurb) or not moving at all.
• Geese hanging over with open mouths, obviously broken down.
• Blue Bird not moving mouth.
• Brer Rabbit barely moving.
• Momma Rabbit not moving. Child Rabbit barely moving.
• Porcupine not moving.
• Brer Fox not moving mouth while talking to Brer Bear, who isn't swinging in the trap.
• Hopping Brer Rabbit down (no surprise here).
• Frog on gator not moving.
• Brer Roadrunner not moving and not lit.
• Two of three possums not moving.
• Brer Fox's head didn't move while shoving Brer Fox through the hole.
• Brer Bear barely shaking in bee hive.
• Most bee hives not functioning.
• Brer Fox's eyes were stuck half-opened while holding the hive over Brer Rabbit, whose mouth did not move.
• NO water effects working properly in the Laughing Place, from fountains to jumping streams.
• Only two gophers appeared.
• Trapped Brer Rabbit's mouth didn't move. Brer Fox's head looked completely out of socket.
• The buzzards barely moved. Their mouths didn't move at all.
• The roast/skin/hang dialogue was out of sync with Brer Rabbit's response (again, a fairly common issue).
• Brer Fox shadow not working.

Outdoors again:
• Rocks around bottom of drop obviously need repainting.
• Chewing gum everywhere.

Indoors again:
• Final Brer Fox/Brer Bear scene not functioning at all. No pushing, no alligator motion.
• Light left on behind Brer Bear clearly shows backstage.
• Blue Bird not functioning at all.

 

[tirian]

By the way, almost everything else in the MK was functioning perfectly well. POTC and HM were uncommonly fluid (and the stretching room didn't begin until after the door was closed—bravo!), and even the little things in SWSA were working. Every element in the WTP rainstorm functioned properly.

Maintenance is obviously doing its job everywhere else, so what's up with Splash Mountain?

 

[NoChesterHester]

Didn't they just do a pretty substantial refurb? bad.

 

[ABigBrassBand]

It's really sad to see Splash in such a terrible state

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Wow, i'm pretty stunned. At least MOST of those effects were working just a couple of months ago when i visited. Only things i noticed was one of the beehives not spinning, and Brer Rabbit would be both broken and working during the course of several days (and even sometimes during the course of several back-to-back ridings). Same with the silhouette of shadows animation (would sometimes work, and sometimes not work). All this stuff just seems to have cropped up suddenly around the same time. Stunning. And the ride just got a refurb too, not likely to see these fixed unless they can do it overnight or something.

Something you can add if it's still messed up is the voices you get before the roller coaster drop. Brer Bear will say something like "there's nothing but bees in here". And Brer Rabbit will laugh loudly and madly as you get ready to fly over the drop. Last i rode it months ago, these voice clips were horrible quality. They sounded like water got into the speakers or something. Very static-y, like coming from a badly tuned radio or crappy megaphone.

 

[Sassagoula]

Unbelievable. How could so many show elements be broken or otherwise faulty all at the same time? They couldn't have gone on the fritz all at once. Just shameful. Disney needs to give the boot to whoever is in charge of maintenance.

When I went on Splash just after refurbishment in January, all elements were working perfectly except the water effects in the Laughing Place. I thought that was bad enough. Sad that just five months later, it's in far worse shape.

 

[tirian]

Unbelievable. How could so many show elements be broken or otherwise faulty all at the same time? They couldn't have gone on the fritz all at once. Just shameful. Disney needs to give the boot to whoever is in charge of maintenance.

When I went on Splash just after refurbishment in January, all elements were working perfectly except the water effects in the Laughing Place. I thought that was bad enough. Sad that just five months later, it's in far worse shape.

I just remembered a few other issues with Splash Mt and added them to the first post.

I was shocked at its state of disrepair. The majority of figures were static, and those that did move looked more like department store window displays than animatronics. Only the animals on the showboat and the three singing alligators were in good condition.

 

[tirian]

Something you can add if it's still messed up is the voices you get before the roller coaster drop. Brer Bear will say something like "there's nothing but bees in here". And Brer Rabbit will laugh loudly and madly as you get ready to fly over the drop. Last i rode it months ago, these voice clips were horrible quality. They sounded like water got into the speakers or something. Very static-y, like coming from a badly tuned radio or crappy megaphone.

I didn't notice any audio problems, other than the missing frog voices in scene 1. I assumed that perhaps the audio was cut since most of the frogs weren't there anyway.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

This is news, but it's not the sort that usually gets everyone excited. A few days ago, Kevin Yee posted an article about the sorry state of Splash Mountain. I rode it twice today, and I'm sad to say it's actually in worse condition than he wrote.

Literally half of Splash Mountain barely functions. Almost every animatronic from the Geese to the Laughing place is barely moving. The lighting is completely misaligned. The final riverboat scene was okay, but every single show scene leading up to it was terrible.

I'm posting this in hope that enough bad publicity will get around for management to fix this attraction. I know the MK needs all the E-tickets it has during the busy summer months, but I can't believe Splash is even considered to be "show ready"; most attractions wouldn't open with this many broken effects.

Here's a brief overview of the problems I noticed today. You'll notice I'm not nitpicking; every issue is extremely noticeable. Maybe we can track the progress as everything is fixed. I don't even think Six Flags would operate a dark ride in this condition.

Finally, here's a link to Kevin's thread: http://miceage.micechat.com/kevinyee/ky061411a.htm.

Outdoors:
• Brer Frog isn't functioning at all, not even rocking his foot. (actually looked like he was moving, but having a seizure)
• The gardens and props are so faded, the lettering is barely legible.

Indoors:
• ALL lighting misaligned. (some was, but I don't think it is this severe)
• Frogs either missing (I hope it's for refurb) or not moving at all.
• Geese hanging over with open mouths, obviously broken down. (only saw one with a problem)
• Blue Bird not moving mouth.
• Brer Rabbit barely moving.
• Momma Rabbit not moving. Child Rabbit barely moving.
• Porcupine not moving.
• Brer Fox not moving mouth while talking to Brer Bear, who isn't swinging in the trap. (the bear was swinging)
• Hopping Brer Rabbit down (no surprise here). (worked fine yesterday and today)
• Frog on gator not moving.
• Brer Roadrunner not moving and not lit.
• Two of three possums not moving.
• Brer Fox's eyes were stuck half-opened while shoving Brer Fox through the hole.
• Brer Bear barely shaking in bee hive.
• Most bee hives not functioning.
• NO water effects working properly in the Laughing Place, from fountains to jumping streams.
• Only two gophers appeared.
• Trapped Brer Rabbit's mouth didn't move. Brer Fox's head looked completely out of socket.
• The buzzards barely moved. Their mouths didn't move at all.
• The roast/skin/hang dialogue was out of sync with Brer Rabbit's response (again, a fairly common issue).
• Brer Fox shadow not working.

Outdoors again:
• Rocks around bottom of drop obviously need repainting.
• Chewing gum everywhere.

Indoors again:
• Final Brer Fox/Brer Bear scene not functioning at all. No pushing, no alligator motion.
• Light left on behind Brer Bear clearly shows backstage.
• Blue Bird not functioning at all.

I rode it twice today as well...noticed some of what you said but not all of it.

I highlighted things that I noticed as well in red. Some things on your list I saw working...and some of the animatronics that you said were barely moving seemed to be the same as always from what I can tell.

On a more fun note, when I came down the drop once today I noticed someone in the banks of the river. Seems like she dropped her camera and decided she was going after it...my guess is that she is no longer allowed in the park.

 

[tirian]

I rode it twice today as well...noticed some of what you said but not all of it.

I highlighted things that I noticed as well in red. Some things on your list I saw working...and some of the animatronics that you said were barely moving seemed to be the same as always from what I can tell.

:shrug: Maybe they're on the fritz—kind of like how the hopping Brer Rabbit will and won't work in the same day. I ride Splash every time I go to the MK, and I'm definitely familiar enough with the attraction to notice when something's wrong. As for the lighting, when almost every animal is in the dark, I consider that severe. :wave:

Trust me, I'd like nothing more than for this thread to be obsolete next week.

On a more fun note, when I came down the drop once today I noticed someone in the banks of the river. Seems like she dropped her camera and decided she was going after it...my guess is that she is no longer allowed in the park.

Now THAT is funny. :lol: I doubt she was thrown out the park, though, especially if she magically couldn't speak English.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

:shrug: Maybe they're on the fritz—kind of like how the hopping Brer Rabbit will and won't work in the same day. I ride Splash every time I go to the MK, and I'm definitely familiar enough with the attraction to notice when something's wrong. As for the lighting, when almost every animal is in the dark, I consider that severe. :wave:


Now THAT is funny. :lol: I doubt she was thrown out the park, though, especially if she magically couldn't speak English.

I don't know...she was waste deep in Rivers of America muck right near the turn after the drop. It was right next to a camera for the ride, so she was definitely seen. Of course I have no idea what the consequences are, but it seems like that might be grounds for something.

 

[dxwwf3]

I was in WDW last week and I was in shock of the state of Splash Mountain. It had more missing effects than Dinosaur and that's almost unheard of. I knew a major article would be written about it.

It was embarrassing

 

[The Duck]

Didn't they just do a pretty substantial refurb? bad.

As far as I know, the last refurb was in January, 2011 when the lapbars were installed. I rode SM about 2 or 3 days after it reopened and I noticed a few things amiss but nothing this bad. How could it have gone down so much in such a short span of time?

 

[progroupie]

I don't know...she was waste deep in Rivers of America muck right near the turn after the drop. It was right next to a camera for the ride, so she was definitely seen. Of course I have no idea what the consequences are, but it seems like that might be grounds for something.

I doubt they would kick her out for that. Probably just ask that she get out. Unless of course someone had tried to stop her or if she was asked to get out and didn't, etc. Disney doesn't kick people out right and left, it takes an awful lot to be ejected from the park.

 

[PlaneJane]

When I rode in March I did notice that it was kinda run down, but the Hopping Brer Rabbit was hopping along, of course I could see his stick that he is attached to. First time the kids rode it was fun still.

 

[WDWFigment]

In mid-May we noticed a lot of these same issues. Oddly, there seemed to be no consistency with when some of the effects would work and some would not. One day, the bees weren't spinning nor was the "FSU" AA moving up and down (but his audio was still played), and another ride they were.

Point being, it doesn't surprise me that tirian and DisneyInsider had different experiences of what did and didn't work at similar times. Regardless of some effects on this list working some of the time, this is still unacceptable. Proper operation on some things "some of the time" is not enough.

 

[acr123]

If I had the luxury of being close enough to the park where I could visit regularly, I would be making my voice heard about this. I would be going to City Hall and complaining and I would voice my concerns upon exiting the ride. If they dont think that we notice these issues they arent going to fix it anytime soon. It appears that people voicing convern over the lights being on in the TTA tunnel has resolved the issue? This issue sounds much more severe and I think warrants some loud complaining. Maybe then it will become a priority on the maintinance crews list of fixes.

By the way, is the Thunder Mountain boulder fixed yet??

 

[BrittanyRose428]

I'm going next week and I'm going to go on Splash Mountain for the first time! Hopefully everything will at least be working enough for me not to notice?:shrug:

 

[PlaneJane]

If I had the luxury of being close enough to the park where I could visit regularly, I would be making my voice heard about this. I would be going to City Hall and complaining and I would voice my concerns upon exiting the ride. If they dont think that we notice these issues they arent going to fix it anytime soon. It appears that people voicing convern over the lights being on in the TTA tunnel has resolved the issue? This issue sounds much more severe and I think warrants some loud complaining. Maybe then it will become a priority on the maintinance crews list of fixes.

By the way, is the Thunder Mountain boulder fixed yet??

I don't think voicing your concern at the end of the ride is going to do anything except make the CM's day even harder than it already is. I mean if it is a manager maybe say something, but things like this need to be addressed to city hall since that is one of their responsibilities..

 

[janoimagine]

I think it's great Kevin wrote this. When you consider Splash was down for a refurb in January, it should be all the more embarassing for TDO and Park Management. This being said I would love to see Jason Garcia write something about it as well in the Orlando Sentinel. The more pressure that can be placed on management, the more chance of seeing a real change and maybe better and stricter preventative maintenance procedures being put into place, something has to spark a change.