New canvas "ceiling" at Splash loading zone (pics)

Splash Mountain closed abruptly for a couple of days recently, and while there was no public announcement, the inside scoop is that there was a problem. A fake boulder - part of the mountain's theming - had fallen off, reportedly on (or near?) the control booth, which you can see in the "bridge" above you when the logs are dispatched.

The ride is open again now, and it now sports large canvas "sails" that are stretched out over the entire loading zone. It looks like a billowy ceiling, and it's obviously there to catch any falling debris in case the mountain decides to fall apart some more.

Is it temporary? No one knows for sure. The netting at the Tree of Life was supposedly temporary also, but it's still there (and that netting was installed for the same reason - to catch falling pieces of permanent structures - see the complete coverage here).

In fact, the two stories are closely related. I should just refer to this as the Tree of Splash netting (or Splash of Life??)

Splash is going down for a longer rehab in January. Let's hope they can fix this!

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Kevin Yee is the author of numerous independent Disney books, including the popular Walt Disney World Earbook series and Walt Disney World Hidden History.