Need to hear from chickens who did Splash Mountain

[sunshine1]

Sit at the front of the log if you can - the final drop doesn't cause ya stomach to flip flop as much.

 

[Jaime4004]

I'm not really a chicken. But I do hate the big drops. So I don't do splash or ToT anymore, but go on everything else. The theme on both are good but not good enough for the drop to make it up for me.

 

[Dis703]

Thanks for all for all of the responses! It sounds like for most people they can handle it even if they don't love it. I do know it's short, which is what I'm always reminding myself. I actually sit and watch the boats come down and count in my head and try to convince myself even if it feels like the worst thing ever it's only 2 or 3 seconds. I even do this whole talk in my head "You carried twins for the most miserable 8 months of your life and you delivered them two different ways and survived it, you can handle 3 seconds of a drop on a Disney park ride!" Lol

It's interesting the methods people use that help them handle it more. I actually found a little method that helps me on the drops on rides like Kali, POTC, and 7DMT. I actually straighten my legs as much as I can and brace them hard in front of me and completely relax the rest of my body from the waist up. It seems to make a difference. It's not perfect but it's better. Years ago on a log flume, I tensed up so hard for the drop that I hurt my neck. So that makes me a little nervous as well. It wasn't anything serious but I ended up in pain the rest of the day.

I think we are about 37 days out so I have a little time to keep giving myself the pep talks! Thanks again for sharing!

 

[caroline1851]

I hate the big drop so much but i do it because it's over with quickly

 

[MareSINY]

I hate drops... HATE drops! I love the non-drop portions of Splash Mountain but that drop at the end TERRIFIES me!! I start freaking on the slow climb up to it and when we start going over the edge I want to puke and pee my pants and jump off the ride! LOL!! I have gotten to the point where I don't normally do this ride, I might be talked into it once per trip, but it's few and far between. Splash and TOT are the two rides I just can't handle, no amount of begging and pleading will ever get me back on TOT and just because I like the other parts of Splash I might brave it once... but just once!

 

[SuperPreparo]

I am a super chicken about roller coasters, but this is my absolute favorite ride at WDW. I really don't mind the drop. It's over pretty quickly, and I'm usually more focused on trying not to get soaked!

 

[OKW Lover]

I have skipped most of the thrill rides at Disney for many years. I have bad motion sickness and don't like drops.

With use of Bonine I can do BTMRR, 7DMT, Dinosaur and recently started going on TT and Soarin'. There are some rides that I just know I'll never enjoy or tolerate, but I'm on the fence about Splash Mountain.

For motion sickness, Splash is a non-event. The movement is very smooth as your log drifts through the scenes. As far as drops go, the big one might bother you but its more so the anticipation than the actually drop. Give it a try. This is a great attraction with lots of good storytelling happening.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

it's over in two seconds

Technically speaking, the drop is longer than 2 seconds.

I've been on the DIS a long time! and OP's question has been asked many times.

A simple way to fight something like ride phobias is to count during the parts that you find scary.

OP, I promise the big Splash drop is less than 5 seconds. To put the drop in perspective, count off five seconds: one Mississippi, two Mississippi, ...

Most WDW rides are only about 3minutes long, so as rides go, Splash is one of the longest rides. (My old WDW guide book says 12minutes long.) If you want, any CM at the attraction can tell you the ride length of any ride.

Also, the Splash drop is a only a little longer than the drop on PotC. (I want to say 10 feet? but please verify that with a search, because I'm not positive that number is correct. I think POTC is 70 feet to Splash's 80feet). So that's another way to put Splash in perspective, except that the big Splash drop is significantly steeper than the PotC drop.

Another reason the Splash drop looks intimidating is because WDW's ride designers were wonderfully skilled. One reason the drop looks intimidating is because the bottom of the drop is hidden behind landscaping. In truth, the bottom of the drop is just below where you can see. When you can see the bottom, your mind makes it out to be worse than it actually is.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I even do this whole talk in my head "

You might do best if you get a FP for early in the morning. Get it over and done before you have time to think it over.

However....if you are going to WDW for multiple days, then consider waiting at least until your second day. That way the motion of other rides can desensitize you a bit.

Last, eat healthy. Avoid any foods that test your gut, like breaded-fried garbage. If motion sickness is the enemy, avoid all the junky carbs that don't sit well. You know, classic theme park foods.

 

[DisneyOma]

I am such a chicken I almost got out of the log the first time I went on splash mountain.
Don't mind me, you enjoy the ride, I'm just going to take these stairs...
Once i did it I was much less afraid. It does give you that awful belly dropping feeling, but it's over quickly. One thing that helps me feel more comfortable with the ride is knowing that you are going down at a 45 degree angle which is not so steep. They make it look like you are just dropping off the top of a mountain, but it is actually a reasonable downhill slope.

Thank goodness you didn't try to get out of the log - a guy died doing that! And even if you got out safely, the ride would shut down, you'd be escorted out of the park (and may be banned) and that would be the end of your vacation.

So, to anyone who thinks they may bolt - don't attempt to ride it.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I'm kinda chickeny, but I try to ride it at least once per trip. The animations and music make it worth facing my fear of drops.

I brace myself when I see and hear the vultures. I used to close my eyes, but last trip, I felt bold and kept them open. It's super scary for a second or two, but then you feel the log floating and it's all good.

 

[suzicute20]

I was a big chicken and still don't ride most coasters. But, I wanted to challenge myself. I went on Splash Mountain and really liked it. The drop at the end was really scary, but now I've done it a lot and it is not as bad. I stood out and counted how long it took for the logs to get down the big hill. It's a 4 count drop. So, when I go down it, I count out loud to 4 as my scream. I also still close my eyes - although my husband made me keep them open one time. I do think it's fun and one of the best ride at Disney.

 

[kellyarms20]

The part that chickens me out about this one is getting wet. How wet do you get? (On average). I was shocked to get SOAKED on Pirates at WDW which is a completely dry ride at Disneyland.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Thank goodness you didn't try to get out of the log - a guy died doing that! And even if you got out safely, the ride would shut down, you'd be escorted out of the park (and may be banned) and that would be the end of your vacation.

So, to anyone who thinks they may bolt - don't attempt to ride it.

Good advice, but it bears mentioning that the accident you mention happened before the lap bar restraints were added.

 

[piglet1979]

I hate drops and did not go on splash the first the first year we went to Disney. I had an excuse. My daughter was only 4 and either not tall enough or she just was afraid of it and I wasn't going to push her. Our second trip she was 6 and was much more of a thrill seeker but wold only do the rides if I did. I sucked it up and rode the ride. I really like the ride. It is very cute and slow/tame until the drop. The drop was better then I thought and is over before you know it. There are a few smaller drops in the ride but not much more then the one in Pirates if I remember correctly. I have been on all the rides in Disney except Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller coaster. Those I know are too much for me. I will not go on Space or Expedition Everest again. Space is not that bad but I did not like not being able to see what was coming and Everest was fine until you go backwards. i did not like that feeling. I tried it twice and my feelings on it has not changed.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

The part that chickens me out about this one is getting wet. How wet do you get? (On average). I was shocked to get SOAKED on Pirates at WDW which is a completely dry ride at Disneyland.

This is slightly hard to answer, because there are multiple spots on this where you could potentially get a little wet.

1. In the old days, if you watched the big drop from the bridge, it appeared that the drop caused a big splash. In reality, the actual splash came from water cannons located near the drop. They fired when a log passed them. I think there were 3 cannons, and they blasted variable amounts of water. Even still, it was never the dropping log that got blasted. The blast went up and off to the side and hit another log that was in the blast zone (in the post drop section of the ride). WDW has always retained the ability to turn them off. Typically, on cooler days, CM's always turned them off. (Who wants to walk around MK wearing soaked jeans in 50 degree weather?)

I can't say this with 100% certainty, but it is my experience that WDW no longer turns the water cannons on at all. On a very hot summer day, they were off. I think folks generally didn't love getting wet. In addition to actually getting hit by the water cannons, the log seats used to have big puddles, so riders would exit with wet bottoms. Again, I suspect this was probably unpopular with guests.

The ride still retains a few other ways to get slightly wet, but much depends on random timing and where you are seated in the log.

2. You get a little wet on the drop. I think the front seats take the brunt of this.
3. Just pas the water cannons is a waterfall. On busy days, they add extra logs, and those get backed up at the end of the ride (same as IaSW and PotC). If you pass the waterfall quickly, noody gets wet. If your log gets stuck holding beside it, the person closest to the falls gets a little wet.
4. Sometimes, when you get on the ride, your log is damp. Last time we rode Splash, our log had a definite musty smell.


I think those are the main spots worth mentioning, but I could be forgetting something. All in all, as long as the water cannons aren't running, you don't usually get more than a sprinkle.

 

[Catvondita]

I'm no chicken but my friends husband is. He was terrified of going on and we had to distract him when we passed by the big drop to hope he wouldn't notice it. He kept seeing the warning signs and figured it out. He still went but he was protesting a lot. He ended up alive and well but was left slightly shaken. This was at DL but the experience at WDW should be similar.

 

[GXIncognto]

Also, the Splash drop is a only a little longer than the drop on PotC. (I want to say 10 feet? but please verify that with a search, because I'm not positive that number is correct. I think POTC is 70 feet to Splash's 80feet). So that's another way to put Splash in perspective, except that the big Splash drop is significantly steeper than the PotC drop.

The height of the drop on Pirates is 14 feet, Splash Mountain is 52.5 feet. Splash's drop is far, far faster, higher, and more frightening.

Regarding a ride chicken's perspective riding Splash...I am a chicken, BTMRR is right before the line where a ride turns from "thrilling" to "scary" for me. On Splash, I really enjoy the entire ride, except for the big drop. I'm happy throughout, even going up the final lift, thinking this isn't going to be bad, I've got this...then for the 2 seconds of the drop I literally feel like I'm going to die. And I don't mean "literally" like a teenager would say it. I actually feel like my life is coming to an end. But once we splash down, I feel great at having "conquered" it and get off the ride feeling fatntastic!

 

[DisneyOma]

Good advice, but it bears mentioning that the accident you mention happened before the lap bar restraints were added.

I've never felt like the "restraints" were actually holding me in - more just like something to hold on to. I could definitely get out from the log if I wanted to.

 

[Cinderella94]

My mom is a chicken for sure (and wouldn't be upset with me for saying so ) she doesn't ride Space, and wouldn't ride BTMRR for a while, but she always does Splash and loves it. You can do it!