Smile-e-e : Disneyland to Take Instant Pictures of Breathless Riders on Splash Mountain

Smile! Come this spring, you could be on the Disney camera.

Disneyland officials plan to install a special video camera on Splash Mountain to take photographs of the riders just as they begin the scary, high-speed plummet down the flume. The pictures will then to offered to the riders--for a price.

The idea came from Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael Eisner, who was impressed with press photographs of himself riding Splash Mountain when the attraction debuted in July, 1989. He asked whether a camera could be mounted to take pictures of guests at the top of the five-story, 46-degree drop near the end of the ride.

John Cora, a Disneyland vice president, said Disney has been testing the camera for several months. He said the theme park hopes to have the camera installed in time for the Easter holiday. The sales price of the photos has not been determined yet.

The new camera system will solve the problem of how to take closeup photos of family and friends on the popular ride, which is located in the park’s Critter Country area.

“Because you don’t see the boats coming, you have to have split-second accuracy,” Cora said.

Another Disneyland official said some shutterbugs have stood for more than an hour outside the ride, waiting for the brief instant when a friend or loved one came hurtling down the flume of the man-made mountain.

The camera will capture the image of people as they duck their heads under a mist cloud before they begin their descent, Cora said.

The image will be transmitted electronically to a video screen at the end of the ride, where guests can view the picture. If they want to buy one, a Disney employee can have one instantly printed out.

“We’re going to try it on this attraction. We might expand it to other parks, too,” Cora said. “We’re designing a whole new area at the end of Splash Mountain.”

For guests who insist on taking their own photographs of friends or family riding Splash Mountain, Disneyland intends to build a raised platform at the base of the mountain that will be closer to the action.

On busy days, large crowds gather at the base of the mountain’s longest drop and sometimes block the walkway, officials said.

Cora said early tests of the video camera have been promising. “It’s going to be the greatest,” he said.