News, announcements and information about Disney

Wednesday, March 27, 2003
Text and images by Adrienne Vincent–Phoenix, MousePlanet staff writer

Disneyland previewed its new The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction in Critter Country during a “soft opening” preview yesterday afternoon. This was the first in a series of public and private previews before the ride officially opens on Friday, April 11. Soft openings allow the ride—and the newly trained cast members—to experience real–world operating conditions before the media blitz begins in earnest.

Signs at the entrance to the ride inform guests that they are in for a treat — and possibly a wait.

Imagineer Bruce Gordon, the producer of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride, provided a room–by–room description of the ride for MousePlanet several months ago. We can now add images and additional narration to his description, and let you experience this new ride in a quick photo tour.

Pooh and friends welcome their first visitors.

The ride vehicle look like a giant beehive.

The 22 ride vehicles, each with its own Pooh-themed name, are built on a motion platform. As they travel through the show building, the beehives bob and roll in a gentle, wave motion.

Each ride vehicle can hold up to seven comfortably with two each in the front two rows, and three in the last row. It can, however, accommodate up to nine, with three petite passengers in the first two rows and three average-sized adults in the last row. In addition, very small children are being allowed to sit on their parents' laps.

The best view of the new Pooh ride is from the front row.

Each of the 22 ride vehicles has its own name, which is imprinted on the back of the ride unit.

What looks like a shelf full of honey pots is in actuality the ride operator's control panel, cleverly disguised and well-themed for the ride.

The Blustery Day

As you pass through the front entrance, a series of doors opens to reveal the first scene, The Blustery Day. Bruce Gordon said, “The wind blows through the first portal, which is based on a story and a song of the same name, and there is the song called The Blustery Day.”

In fact, you can feel the wind as you pass through that scene. Pooh looks to as if he is enjoying his balloon ride, but the other characters are getting blown about a little too much.

A series of doors hides the first scene of the ride.

Pooh seems to be the only character enjoying the blustery day.

The Floody Place

“As you go around the corner,” Gordon said, “The wind brings the rain, so now you're in the Floody Place where 'the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down' song plays, and we have all these special effects as the rain's coming down.” The rain effects are created with fiber optics, which drip from the ceiling.

Piglet tries to help Tigger in the Floody Place.

Kanga and Rabbit rescue Roo from the flood.

Pooh's house

To get out of the rain, you enter Pooh's house. “Pooh is in his house. Pooh falls asleep, and now Pooh (is) having his dream about Heffalumps and Woozles, and about honey, and you hear Tigger warning Pooh, 'beware of Heffalumps and Woozles — they steal honey.”

Once you pass the sleeping bear, the transition into the next room is similar to the hedgehog scene from the Alice in Wonderland ride. A projected image of Pooh floats across the wall, and emerges in the next room.

Pooh falls asleep, and starts to dream of honey snatchers.

Heffalumps and Woozles

The next room is decorated with bright colors and psychedelic patterns. Gordon explained that the scenes are from the film. Pooh floats in a hot air balloon, suspended from the same spot that Teddi Berra once made her grand debut in the Country Bear Jamboree, the attraction that this new Pooh ride replaced.

Pooh floats where Teddi Berra once used to swing as she sang her song.

Black lights and fluorescent paint make for a very real nightmare scene.

Rivers of honey run through the Heffalump and Woozle room.

Honey Heaven

“Pooh sort of gets over the Heffalumps and winds up now in Honey Heaven,” Gordon said. “So he's now just surrounded by nothing but honey. This is where Pooh wants to be.”

This is also the spot where the Imagineers placed a tribute to the departed Country Bears. On the back of a wall just inside Honey Heaven, you can spot the three animal heads that once graced the walls of the Country Bear Playhouse. Max, Buff and Melvin are behind and above the ride vehicle, so they may not be visible to people in the back row.

Be prepared once you reach this spot in the ride...

If you turn around, you can see a tribute to the show that the Pooh ride replaced.

Pooh wakes up in Honey Heaven.

Gordon concludes, “And then you hear his friends calling his name — 'Wake up Pooh, wake up, it's your birthday.' And you come around the corner and there's the big birthday party for Pooh, and then you leave the ride, through all the gifts that have been given to Pooh by his friends, which are of course, all big pots of honey. So it's all he wants, the honey.”

As you exit the building, another series of doors opens to let your vehicle back outside. These doors are covered with gifts and cards for Pooh.

Pooh's friends wake him up for his birthday party.

Eeyore is conspicuously absent from the party.

The exit doors are covered with Pooh's birthday presents.

“So it's kind of a perfect day. It's windy, then it rainy, you fall asleep and you wake up and it's your birthday. What more could you want from a day?” Gordon said. “Within that we got all the characters and all the songs and all the stories and all the scenes. So, it's pretty cool. We're very excited about it.”

If you head down to Disneyland to catch this newest adventure, be prepared for anything. Disneyland is not releasing daily operating hours for the ride, and the ride may close at any time for repair, training, or even filming. However, the park was issuing Fastpass tickets for the ride on Tuesday, so if something happens and you miss your opportunity to ride, you can still go home with a pre-opening souvenir.

Workers inspect the ride during another “operational difficulty.”

Contact Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix at this link.

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