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The Splash Mountain ride at Walt Disney World officially closed for good on Jan. 23 and it will get an upgrade with a new theme. After the ride’s final run, sellers on eBay started to list what they claimed to be water from the log-flume ride.
One seller listed a small 4 oz. jar of water – claiming it was taken from the ride on its last day – for $20.00. Another 10 oz. batch is going for $27.00, and a baggie of water is listed with a starting bid of $25.
“I have many bottles that my friends and I got on the last day of splash mountain,” the seller of the baggie wrote, claiming the water was collected on Jan. 23. “It’s very nostalgic to have a part of Disney from your younger days. I will ship them in the pictured sealed containers.”
Other sellers have seized the opportunity to sell Splash Mountain paraphernalia, including plastic bags with Splash Mountain branding, and an old, invalid “fast pass” ticket to the ride, going for $1,300.
Another seller listed a baggie of water for a whopping $25,000 – but admitted the water came from a sink, not the ride. “This is obviously just for fun and to make fun of the people who are really selling water from a ride,” the seller wrote in the eBay description.
“I’m a Disney fan but come one people has the world gotten so doomed that people would buy water from a ride. [Shaking my head] if you really want this water buy it. I’ll even do free shipping!”
Disney announced in 2020 it would be reimagining the theme of the ride, after a Change.org petition urged the park to update the ride, which was based on the 1946 film, “Song of the South.” The ride, like the movie, included racist tropes and stereotypes.
The film, which included racist portrayals of former slaves after the Civil War, was removed from Disney+ in 2019.
The creator of the petition proposed that the ride’s theme be changed to “The Princess and the Frog,” a 2009 animated Disney movie that featured the company’s first Black princess, Tiana, voiced by Anika Noni Rose. The film takes place in New Orleans and is a version of the German folklore story “The Frog Prince” by the Brothers Grimm.
“Splash Mountain is located in Critter Country/Frontierland in the parks, an area very close to New Orleans Square in Disneyland,” the petition reads. “It would be fairly easy to transition the ride into the bayou of New Orleans considering the location of the ride in each park.”
With 21,319 signatures, the petition was victorious – not only was the old Splash Mountain shut down, it will be reimagined as a “The Princess and the Frog” ride. Disney announced the ride will be updated in both Orlando’s Disney World and Anaheim, California’s Disneyland, though the company has not yet closed the West Coast version.
“We pick up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance,” the company said in a news release in 2020.
“Tiana is a modern, courageous, and empowered woman, who pursues her dreams and never loses sight of what’s really important. It’s a great story with a strong lead character, set against the backdrop of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou,” the company said.
Disney did not mention the petition in their media release, but said the “retheming of Splash Mountain is of particular importance today.”
“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,” the company said.
