Splash Mountain: What You Need to Know

Splash Mountain is Disneyland's water ride: a half-mile trip with five drops ending in a final, 52-foot-tall, 45-degree, 40-mile-per-hour plunge. It was inspired by the 1946 animated film "Song of the South," which was based on the Uncle Remus tales that go back to the late 1800s. 

The ride follows Brer Rabbit, who leaves the briar patch to find his laughing place. Pursued by Brer Fox and Brer Bear, he outsmarts them for a while but is caught and put in Brer Fox's cave atop 87-foot-tall Chickapin Hill. From there, a sharp drop ends the ride and the Splash Mountain story.

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What You Need to Know About the Splash Mountain Ride

Going Down at Splash Mountain

Betsy Malloy Photography

  • Location: Splash Mountain is in Critter Country.
  • Rating: ★★★★★
  • Restrictions: 40 inches (102 cm). Regardless of height, children under age seven years must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older.
  • Ride Time: 11 minutes
  • Recommended for: Families with kids tall enough to ride. Adults who don't mind getting wet.
  • Fun Factor: The ride is slow at the beginning, but exciting at the end when you plunge downward. Splash Mountain is one of the best rides at Disneyland.  Here's the rest of the list.
  • Wait Factor: High. Use a Fastpass to shorten your time in line.
  • Fear Factor: Low until that last big drop
  • Herky-Jerky Factor: Moderate. The drop is not for anyone with neck or back trouble, heart problems, or for expectant mothers.
  • Nausea Factor: Low
  • Seating: Ride vehicles look like hollowed-out logs. Riders straddle a center seat, sitting one behind another with a backrest between them. Each vehicle can hold up to 5 people, and whoever sits in the front will get the wettest. You have to step down from the boarding platform.
  • Accessibility: If you're in a wheelchair, ask a Cast Member for directions to the boarding area. You have to transfer into the ride vehicle, step over the edge, and straddle the center bench. Service animals are not allowed on Splash Mountain. More about visiting Disneyland in a wheelchair or ECV.
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02 of 03

How to Have More Fun

Splash Mountain
KeithJ/Flickr/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

A responsible person must accompany children under eight.

Splash Mountain has a Single Rider option that may help you get on faster. Cast Members use single riders to fill in otherwise empty seats. If you're willing to split up from the rest of your group while riding, it can shorten your wait time significantly.

You're going to get wet. The ride has hidden sprinklers that add water to make the splash more dramatic. Some people say they turn the sprinklers down during colder weather, but that won't keep you dry.

You will get wetter if you sit in the front rows than if you sit in the back.

If you ride late in the day in winter, you'll go around soggy and cold afterward. Ride early when it's warmer or make Splash Mountain your last ride of the day.

If you want to know how wet you might get, see for yourself: After they splashdown, the ride vehicles pass under a small bridge on their way to the unloading area. Look for the Harbor Gallery across the street from Splash Mountain, walk behind it to the bridge and you can look down on the poor soggy souls.

Take plastic ponchos or use the old trick of cutting holes in a big garbage bag. It will protect your clothing from splashes, but the seat may be wet when you get in - which means your seat will be damp when you get out.

Got curly or frizzy hair? Try taking a shower cap. You might look a little silly in the ride photo, but you'll look good for the rest of the day.

Try to smile as you go over that last big drop. You're getting your picture taken.

Put away your glasses and hat, or you may lose them.

Splash Mountain is pretty at night if you don't mind getting wet. More of the best night rides.

You can see all the Disneyland rides at a glance on the Disneyland ride sheet.

While you're thinking about rides, you should also download the recommended Disneyland apps (they're all free!) and get some proven tips to minimize your Disneyland wait time.

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03 of 03

Fun Facts

Splash Mountain at Night
Nathan Rupert/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Characters from the closed attraction "America Sings" were recycled for use at Splash Mountain.

About 20,000 gallons of water per minute are pumped through the half-mile-long flume.

Some riders are tempted to expose things for the camera that are... well... inappropriate. Disney removes those photos before they make it to the display screens.