Splash Mountain faithful turn out for last rides on attraction’s final day at Disneyland

A soaking wet Alisson Smith was emotional as she got off Splash Mountain, her favorite ride since she was a kid, for the last time on Tuesday, May 30.

“I cried,” said Smith, 33, of Covina. “I was getting emotional walking through the line. As we passed the characters I just said goodbye to all of them.”

The Splash Mountain faithful flocked to Disneyland on Tuesday for their last chance to hop inside a hollow log and float through a musical bayou to Br’er Rabbit’s Laughing Place.

SEE ALSO: Splash Mountain water sells on eBay for $200 after Disney World ride closes

The Splash Mountain attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World will undergo “Princess and the Frog” makeovers and return in 2024 as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

Splash Mountain wait times were modest in the 30- to 60-minute range early Tuesday morning as a light rain fell on the Anaheim theme park and temperatures remained in the low 60s under May Gray skies. By 2:30 p.m. the wait had grown to three hours.

At 5:45 p.m. the park stopped using the single-rider line and by 6:15 p.m. the wait time ballooned to 230 minutes, or nearly four hours. For context, the wait for phenomenally popular Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance was 95 minutes and Space Mountain was 100 minutes.

The Splash Mountain queue stretched to the entrance of the Haunted Mansion shortly after rope drop when the park opened. Fans sprinted through the Adventureland entrance at 8 a.m. rope drop to be the first in line to ride Splash Mountain on the last day for the attraction.

Early riders made it through the queue in under 20 minutes before the line stretched to 65 minutes. Paid Lightning Lane skip-the-line passes were still available for Splash Mountain at 10 a.m. Tuesday — but going fast. The Single Rider line was available for those looking to shave a few minutes off their wait times.

Social media influencers offered play-by-play descriptions from the Splash Mountain logs as they recorded videos destined for YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.

“I took my final ride on Splash Mountain at Disneyland and got wet and cold,” YouTuber Exploring Attractions wrote on Twitter.

Josie Garcia of Riverside made a special trip to Disneyland on Tuesday to ride Splash Mountain on its final day and brought her two sons and mother.

“It was exciting — and bittersweet,” said Garcia, 38. “I’m not too excited about the changes.”

The Garcias were among the approximately two dozen people in line around 9 a.m. to spend $3 on three pennies stamped with Splash Mountain-themed images. And of course, many of the flattened coins were available for purchase on eBay at a sizable markup.

Even Jon Hale of Brea, who says he has ridden Radiator Springs Racers an astounding 13,702 times, got in line for Splash Mountain immediately after rope drop. Hale said he climbed aboard when it debuted in 1989.

“I wanted to ride today on closing day since I was here on opening day,” he said.

Hale rode twice Tuesday, bringing his final tally on the attraction to a not-quite-Radiator Springs Racers total of 35.

Disneyland will close at 11 p.m. on Tuesday — the last day of operations for Splash Mountain. Disneyland tradition holds that if you are in the queue at closing time you get to ride — even if the wait time extends after the park is officially closed.

Splash Mountain offers Lightning Lane access for visitors who purchase the Disney Genie+ skip-the-line service.

SEE ALSO: Disneyland fans blast plans for Splash Mountain makeover as ‘tedious’ and ‘boring’

The reimagining of the Splash Mountain rides will remove thematic elements related to “Song of the South” — the controversial 1940s animated film criticized for perpetuating racist stereotypes that has been disowned by Disney.

Ryan Ostrander showed up at rope drop to ride Splash Mountain and planned to stay all day.

“It was always my favorite ride,” said Ostrander, 35, of Los Angeles. “I’ll stay until the end.”

Ostrander is sad to see Splash Mountain close.

“I wish they weren’t changing it,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to be the same.”

Anthony Szpajer flew from Florida for “One Last Splash” — as his t-shirt said.

By midday, he’d been on Splash eight times — each time with his arms wrapped tightly around Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear stuffed animals.

“I just kept going as a single rider,” said Szpajer, 50, of Davenport, Fla.

Szpajer rode Splash more than 15 times on the day the ride closed at the Magic Kingdom in Florida — and hopes to match the total on the final day at Disneyland.

The twin Tiana’s Bayou Adventure rides will tell an extension of the “Princess and the Frog” story that picks up after the final kiss between Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen. The new backstory for Splash Mountain will follow Tiana and Louis the trumpet-playing alligator as they prepare for their first Mardi Gras performance.