Mountain had gone far over budget. The only way to recover was to close down America Sings and use the characters from that attraction. Splash Mountain was originally planned to open in January 1989, but this was delayed to mid-February due to technical issues. The ride's opening was delayed again, to mid-July, due to boat problems. Test riders made up of company executives were getting soaked rather than lightly sprayed, so the boats were re-designed to be lighter, hold up to seven passengers instead of eight, and have an underwater scoop to keep too much water from leaking in. Splash Mountain opened in Disneyland on July 17, 1989. To celebrate the opening, a television special was made called Ernest Goes to Splash Mountain. Actor and comedian Jim Varney returned to play the title role of Ernest in the special. Plans to install a camera that took photos of guests as they went down the final drop were unveiled in November 1990. On January 14, 1990, Disney announced that Splash Mountain would be added to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. In 1991, construction began for the attraction at Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland. On July 17, 1992, soft openings began at Magic Kingdom. The two versions of Splash Mountain officially opened within a day of each other in October 1992: the Tokyo Disneyland attraction opened on October 1, and the Magic Kingdom attraction opened on October 2. As Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland never had an America Sings attraction, all of the animatronic figures were created specifically for their respective versions of Splash Mountain, similar in design to the Disneyland figures. In the late 1990s, the attraction at Disneyland received the nickname "Flash Mountain", as some female riders would briefly expose their breasts during the descent, hoping to make illicit use of the in-ride photographs that Disney later sells to ride patrons. In January 2011, the Magic Kingdom location received lap bars for its ride vehicles. Each row of two to three passengers shares one lap bar. Meanwhile, Tokyo Disneyland received individual lap bars, which makes the height restriction 5 inches shorter than the other two versions. During the 2018 season, the Magic Kingdom location received a new sponsorship by Ziploc. The company created custom plastic bags to protect belongings for guests who rode the attraction. In June 2020, it was announced that the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom attractions would be