Of all the Disneyland mountains, Splash Mountain might just be my favorite. Sure, Space Mountain is a fantastic compact coaster, and the Matterhorn yeti makes me jump with excitement, but where else do you get the thrill of a drop, hundreds of animatronics, and the possibility of getting soaked? And I mean, REALLY soaked. That’s where our memory takes us today!
For years now I’ve brought a full change of clothes with me specifically for Splash Mountain and Grizzly River Run, because, well, who likes soggy clothes? Even on a scorching Southern California day, walking around in wet clothes is the worst. So, I bring along clothes and sandals so I can enjoy the rest of my day free of chlorine and sogginess.
My fiancee and I changed into our splash grubs, exchanged our FastPasses, and walked through the queue. Now, I’m 6’1”, so I’m used to sitting in the back of the log. But, for some reason, the cast member directed us to numbers 1 & 2, and I ended up sitting in the very front. I LOVE being in the front, but, of course, it doesn’t happen much. The other folks filed in behind us, and, “sure as you're born,” we were off.
We enjoyed the leisurely float in the sun, sunglasses on, and even joked about how we wished for a good soaking in the heat. Little did we know how much we’d get!
The first drop is outside the mountain, and we definitely got wet. My feet were soaked, and a good portion of my shorts. But, nothing crazy or out of the ordinary. we continued floating through the ride, chilled in the whimsical and wonderfully air conditioned flume. We approached the backside of Brer Bear, ready for the quick, fun drop (well, I was… Katy had forgotten it was coming!).
Now, there’s a reason bigger folks aren’t usually seated in the front of the log. The laws of physics dictate a weighted object hitting a body of water at high rate of speed will inevitably lead to waves. Waves that, if large enough, can crest a 3’ tall log.
“You may get wet!”
Yes, yes we may. We were soaked, more than any other water ride I’ve taken. And we were freezing!
We log crept up to the grand finale - the 50’ drop into the Briar Patch. We quickly checked for our snorkels. Darn, no dice. I crossed myself and braced for the Disney tsunami.
My shirt, my shorts, my underwear - all soaked. Our hair looked like we’d just gotten out of the shower. We were dripping wet. And I’m not exaggerating - any passersby would have guessed we’d just stood under a waterfall for 45 minutes. We were those people you saw walking by that made you second guess getting on the ride.
As we exited the ride I pulled out my wallet, and, no joke, the money inside was wet.
Have I mentioned we got wet? That darn Brer Rabbit didn’t say anything about getting SOAKED!
We changed and walked to the Blue Bayou for our lunch reservation, to, well, dry off apparently. We had a fantastic, bare-footed lunch as our skin tried to abandon it’s pruniness.
Now THAT is a water ride! What’s your favorite memory of Splash Mountain? Have you gotten that soaked? How long did it take to dry off? Tell us your story in the comments!