Disney World guests’ escape from sinking Splash Mountain log boat caught on video

Guests were caught on camera escaping from a moving log boat on Disney’s Splash Mountain attraction as it was sinking in what is the third sinking incident at the theme park in two years.

Ted Klein caught the latest sinking on camera in a video he shared on the Annual Passholders – Walt Disney World Facebook Group. Klein was in the log that followed the sinking vehicle.

The video, first shared by FOX 35 Orlando, shows a log ride vehicle submerged in water, still moving, as guests attempt to hop out of the vehicle. A second log bumps into the back of the sunken log and appears to hit guests.

No one was injured in the incident. According to Inside the Magic, guests evacuated, received dry clothing and were given free Lightning Lane passes. 

Splash Mountain is set to undergo a lengthy refurbishment before rebranding the attraction as “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure,” inspired by Disney’s The Princess and the Frog.

On June 25, 2020, California’s Disneyland and Florida’s Disney World announced it would remodel Splash Mountain after amid calls to remove what critics called racist stereotypes from the “Song of the South” theme.

“The all-new adventure which will bring guests into the world of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ film ‘The Princess and the Frog’ like never before is coming to Magic Kingdom in Florida and Disneyland Park in California in late 2024,” Disney said in a news release. 

Walt Disney Imagineers traveled to Louisiana to conduct research for the rebranding of the ride. Disney said the new attraction will preserve “the heart and soul of the city that inspired Princess Tiana’s story.”

The ride will pick up from where the 2009 movie left off and follow Princess Tiana, Naveen and the jazz-loving alligator Louis on an adventure through the bayou as they prepare for a Mardi Gras celebration.

“Along the way, guests will encounter familiar faces, make new friends and travel through the bayou to original music inspired by songs from the film as they are brought into the next chapter of Tiana’s story,” Disney said. Disney did not announce a specific date when the ride will officially be revamped.

Splash Mountain has been in Walt Disney World since 1992 and in Disneyland since 1989. “Song of the South” was released in 1946 and re-released in theaters in 1986.

Walt Disney World declined to comment on the incident at Splash Mountain.