“Everybody’s got a laughing place (high ho!).
   A laughing place to go-ho-ho! (high ho!).
    Take that frown, turn it upside down
    And you’ll find yours we say-hey-hey.
 And soon you’ll find you’re here to stay!” – Everybody has a Laughing Place – Splash Mountain

Whenever we visit the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, The Fam and I love the mountains!  Tomorrowland’s Space Mountain and the twin peaks of Frontierland – Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain.  A visit to the Magic Kingdom wouldn’t be complete without hitting these three rides at least one time.

The strategy for our mountain conquering expedition always involves arriving before the park opens and heading for Frontierland first – we’ll hit Splash and Big Thunder before the standby lines grow too long (more than 30 minutes), then use a FastPass later in the day for Space Mountain (if necessary).  I’ve mentioned before our best-loved things about Big Thunder and I’ll save Space Mountain for another day – right now, I present to you….

FIVE Great things about Splash Mountain (Note: must be 40″ to ride):

1. It’s one of the most highly themed rides in the World!  So. Many. Details – This ride (based on the 1946 Disney movie Song of the South) tells the story of Br’er Fox’s attempts to capture Br’er Rabbit.  Of course, Br’er Fox is assisted by his bumbling side-kick, Br’er Bear.  Following along on their adventures adds an extra element of fun to this attraction – which lasts a whopping TEN minutes!

2. Dark ride, log flume!  It’s a dark ride, but unlike most (Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain) – this is not a scary ride!  It’s a bit like riding in a little log boat through a cartoon.  Br’er Frog starts the ride off with a little speculation about what he thinks will happen.  As you bob along, you’ll meet a great number of adorable musical creatures who add to the tale.  As you go, a couple of little dips and drops prepare you for the main event: The 50 foot plunge!  At 40 miles an hour!  Yes, you will get wet, but it’s totally worth it!

3. SO many animatronics.  In addition to the main Br’er characters, Mr. Bluebird and many other birds are singing and playing instruments, there are frogs, turtles (riding geysers), ‘possums, gophers – just bunches of creatures to see and hear….and that’s not all!

4. Little houses, little mailboxes, little clothes drying on the line – the animals aren’t the only fantastic details that make up this great ride.  There are honeybees, briar patches, even a huge paddle-wheeler-grand-finale!  This ride’s got everything and…

5. Catchy tunes!  Along with The Laughing Place song and other great tunes, who doesn’t love Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah?  There’s enough variety of happy music, it doesn’t get monotonous (I’m not pointing fingers *cough*smallworld*cough). And the songs add so much to the experience, you’ll find yourself toe-tapping and singing along.

“Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, Zip-a-dee-ay!
My oh my, what a wonderful day!
 Welcoming back Br’er Rabbit today.
We always knew that he’d get away.”

What do YOU love most about Splash Mountain?