Splash Mountain is fantastic for so many reasons, but one of my favorites is because it's such a long ride with so much to see and so much anticipation! Two of my favorite WDW memories occurred there.
First, during my 2010 trip, I went with DH and his family (11 siblings total) and the first night we ran through the MK like kids, buzzing from one ride to the next. We happened to time our ride on Splash Mountain perfectly and peaked just as Wishes was going strong. Seeing those fireworks from the top of Splash Mountain was magnificent.
During my March 2011 trip we went with my family and and me, DH, my brother and his girlfriend decided to do a quick run on Splash Mountain because there was virtually no line. Mind you, it had been drizzling a bit, but that didn't scare us off. Since much of the ride takes place inside, we didn't realize until we reached the final descent that the drizzle had turned into a torrential monsoon. When our boat reached the crest of the hill we all saw some of the hardest rain in the world pounding down and knew that we were about to get more drenched than you would likely get if you road Splash Mountain from opening until closing. A few expletives later (it was an all adult boat), we were careening down the hill laughing our heads off. Then after the plummet, we sat in the inevitable line just to get back inside. The only bummer is that our picture was "washed away" because of the amount of rain blocking the camera lens!