New WDW Splash Mountain Video from 1992 Emerges

It’s fun to see how attractions looked when they were first opened in pristine condition. Having the opportunity to see those types of videos often reveals everything that was intended to be experienced, effects that were once important but now are no longer available. Perhaps the most notorious of these is Expedition Everest in which the riders in the first few months were able to see and feel the full impact of what Imagineers once hoped would be a forever delivery. A moving yeti, bursts of steam, tiny birds that are now oft forgotten… rides at Disney Parks come with many parts that sometimes fall to neglect over time.

The farther back in time we go, the harder it is to get a first-person view of what an attraction was like near opening day. As technology shrinks with time, going into the past means that technology size has to grow. Thus, getting good video of a ride is difficult because cameras were once very large and very expensive pieces of equipment. It’s not until the mid-90’s that we get to camera sizes in the mainstream that are suitable for use on an attraction. When you add to that the issue of taking these pieces of equipment onto a ride that splashes guests… well, you can imagine that few people were interested in destroying expensive cameras that way.

That’s why it’s newsworthy that we have a video that has surfaced from 1992 at Disney World’s Splash Mountain — the same year the ride originally opened. Not only that, but the video is extremely high quality for the time it was taken. The capture shows us the quality of the ride very near to its very beginning. A huge thank you to Lea Handler for sharing these moments from the nineties with us and our readers. Enjoy:

What do you spot in the video that is no longer working or seen in the current version of Splash Mountain? How would you grade Disney World’s upkeep of the attraction? Let us know in the comments below, and keep checking That Park Place for all the latest!