- The boat began to take on water at the popular attraction towards the end of the ride Sunday.
The guests and riders at Walt Disney World were sunk, well, not exactly. They did start taking on water though and soon got out.
Video footage shows those on board evacuated as their seats were flooded with water. Riders stood on a small path alongside the track and watched their empty boat submerge underwater.
Guests were heard speaking to a cast member about their sunken ship, as it were.
“We deadass almost drowned,” one Twitter user tweeted.
Another tweeter, Skyelar Ingersoll, said that a Disney cast member scolded her and other riders for not staying inside the boat.
“So we got out of our boat because it was sinking while we were stuck there and the disney world employee decided to tell us that we should’ve stayed in the boat but it went under as soon as we all stepped out… nice #DisneyWorld #splashmountain #MagicKingdom #disney not okay????”
In a video, you can hear Ingersoll ask “See the boat?” And the staff member responds, “I understand that but this is a safety hazard.”
This incident happened just a month after Disney announced plans too reimagine Splash Mountain at both the California and Florida parks.
“The retheming of Splash Mountain is of particular importance today,” the release explained. “The new concept is inclusive – one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year.”
Splash Mountain is currently based on the 1946 Disney movie Song of the South, which has been criticized because of its portrayal of the post-Civil War South and its racist stereotypes. Several petitions have been going around on change.org urging Disney to rebrand the ride.
One petition read “Re-theme Splash Mountain to Princess and the Frog,” We shall see.