While Disney fans enjoyed one last ride on Splash Mountain before its closure at Walt Disney World on Sunday, waiting in line for as long as four hours for their turn to ride, some took the opportunity to make a quick buck.
A few clever entrepreneurs are putting water from the famous log ride up for sale on eBay.
One listing for a 16.9oz bottle of water from the last day running is currently going for $1,025 with two days until the auction ends. The listing started with a price of $9.99 but ballooned to over $1,000 with 11 bids placed as of Wednesday morning.
Another listing is offering 4oz jars of water from the ride, also taken on the last day, for $25 each, plus $10 for shipping. The seller originally had 24 jars of water available, but 15 have already sold.
Another seller, who managed to scoop up some water using their daughter's water bottle, is looking to sell 10oz for $27, plus $7.99 shipping. Two of these are available.
Yet another seller used a plastic sandwich bag to grab some water from the ride's last day. Bidding starts at $25 or you could instantly buy for $35, with free shipping. The listing says the water will be shipped in a sealed container.
"I have many bottles that my friends and I got on the last day of splash mountain," the seller says. "It's very nostalgic to have a part of Disney from your younger days."
One seller also managed to grab some rocks with water "from the pool area" of the ride. The listing says they were "allowed to take two gallons of water and one pound of rocks from the ride with the assistance of a Disney employee." The item also comes with a certificate of authenticity, with bids starting at $15.50.
Another seller, who has seven mason jars of Splash Mountain water going for $50 a piece, says they "did not see too many people scooping water on 1/22/2023, just a handful of park guests."
Multiple other listings purporting to sell water obtained from the ride's last day are going from $10 to $400. Is the water actually genuine or did it just come from someone's tap? That's the gamble you take when placing a bid.
The iconic ride in the Magic Kingdom closed for good on Sunday for an extended period so it can undergo a complete makeover and return as "The Princess and the Frog" themed ride called Tiana's Bayou Adventure.
Built in 1992, Splash Mountain drew inspiration from the 1946 animated film "Song of the South," which has been criticized for its romanticized view of the post-Civil War South and racial stereotypes of African Americans.
In 2020, Disney announced that Splash Mountain would be renovated and "completely reimagined" based on the 2009 animated film which featured the company's first Black princess, Tiana. Disney said the new concept for the ride is "inclusive – one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year."
The Splash Mountain ride at California's Disneyland, which opened in 1989, is also slated to close soon to undergo similar renovations, though a date has not yet been announced.
Both rides are expected to reopen in late 2024.
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