At any given time, at least one attraction at Disney World is closed for refurbishment. If I remember correctly, the last time I was there It's A Small World was closed, which was only a minor tragedy. A classic ride, yes, but not on too many people's top 10 lists. Unfortunately in January 2011, Splash Mountain will be undergoing its annual face lift and I won't get to ride it.
Splash Mountain is the best ride. Not the best ride at Magic Kingdom, not the best ride at Disney World, just the Best Ride. For those who've not experienced it, it's a flume ride themed to Disney's 1946 Song of the South, a movie best remembered today for its grotesque racism classic tune "Zippity Do Da." I honestly don't know what the movie is even about since it was never released on video. I vaguely remember the story from a Disney picture book I had as a child, and I believe Br'er Rabbit keeps picking fights with a fox and a bear, and somehow a Tar Baby is involved.
The story is incidental to the ride, which is a masterpiece of tone and pacing. Press play on the video at the top of this post.
0:30: Start by getting into one of the logs and and floating down a lazy river, where you meet Uncle Remus who, while an grandfatherly black man in the original story, is now an animatronic frog (less racist?)
0:49: Ride around outside for a little while, listening to jaunty songs and meeting various cute woodland creatures.
3:45: You then go back in the mountain and meet Br'er Rabbit, who gets into a series of increasingly dangerous predicaments, all the while maintaining an attitude of hubristic non-chalance. The tunnel becomes darker, and the incessant laughing moves from charming to sinister.
Now ordinarily in these dark rides there is anticipation in the unknown. The rider doesn't know what is coming next, and is bracing himself for whatever, be it turn, loop, or drop. The genius of Splash Mountain is that you know EXACTLY what is going to happen, as you have been watching logs drop out of the mountain every 30 seconds for the last hour you've been standing in line.
6:32: The ascent up the inside of the mountain, accompanied by a scary choral soundtrack and a pair of vultures who sneer "time to be turning around, if only you could."
7:01: Then the drop, which is admittedly a little short, but satisfying plot-wise.
8:20: You survived, Br'er Rabbit survived, and now you go in the mountain one more time and see a riverboat with 75 animatronic animals singing a reprise of "Zippity-Do-Dah."
They are not messing around.
No comments:
Post a Comment