As with many rides in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Florida, there is always interest in potential secrets for each ride. Most of the secrets for attractions in the park are just basic things that are not fully known by most guests. In this article, we cover potential secrets for Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World resort in Florida.

Splash Mountain Secrets

There are no “secrets” that Splash Mountain has when compared to a game ride like Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. However, we have located some information that can be considered to be a secret because the information is not widely known. Splash Mountain has one important secret that is part of the ride. The rest of the secrets are mostly factual information about the water log attraction. The secrets are listed below, with the main secret listed first.

The FSU Gopher

The most important secret for Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World is the existence of the FSU gopher featured during the cavern scene. During the scene, a gopher that pops out from the top of the cavern says “FSU.” A Disney Imagineer programmed the gopher to say FSU in reference to the university that they attended, Florida State University. That is one of the best secrets in the Magic Kingdom and throughout Walt Disney World. In addition, the Tokyo Disneyland version of the ride also features the FSU gopher. To learn more about the gopher, visit this page.

The Walt Disney World is similar to the Tokyo Disneyland version

When you compare the Walt Disney World version to the Tokyo Disneyland version, you can see that they have many similarities. The track layout is similar; however, they seem to be mirror images of each other. They both also have the FSU gopher that says “FSU” during the ride. The reason for the similarities is likely due to the fact that they were both the second and third versions of the ride and were approved by the company during the same time period.

Construction of Splash Mountain Required the Company to Move the Train Station

When the construction of Splash Mountain commenced, Walt Disney World had to relocate the Frontierland train station to make room for the attraction. As a result of the changes, the Frontierland train station was closed, and the train was unable to operate in the full circle configuration. According to several sites, the train was operated from what is now Fantasyland to Main Street in a shuttle configuration until the construction was completed.

Original Name of For the Ride Was to Be Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah River Run

This is actually a Disneyland secret; however, since the naming of that edition of the ride would have affected the Walt Disney World version, this is also a secret for the attraction. Disney Imagineers had planned to call the ride Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah River Run in reference to one of the theme songs for the ride; however, Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner suggested that the ride be named Splash Mountain to help promote the release of the movie Splash. The Imagineers decided to go with the Splash Mountain, which seems to have been a great choice.

There is a Kids Play Area at the Exit

At the exit for Splash Mountain, there is a small playground for children that are not tall enough to ride on the attraction or do not want to ride the attraction with their party. This is a secret attraction that does not get too much attention; however, it is listed on the Walt Disney World website.

Above photo of the "secret" Splash Mountain Playground for kids by d.k.peterson on Flickr. Photo modified by NavFile and released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Following Cast Member Directions can Lead to Earning FastPasses

If you follow Cast Member directions for Splash Mountain, you may be able to earn free FastPasses. In the past, some of our team members have obtained a FastPass for the ride just by obeying a Cast Member’s direction to wait at a certain point. Those types of events do occur at Walt Disney World, especially around the Holiday season, and it is one of the super kind gestures that makes Walt Disney World magical. However, that type of situation is a rare event, and we are not sure if Walt Disney World still gives out paper FastPasses.

When riding on an attraction at Walt Disney World, follow Cast Member instructions, be friendly, and you might receive a FastPass or a magical gift.