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.”
