20,000 "Poohs" Rumor

Empress Room

Empress Room

Active Member
Original Poster
A competing website is reporting that Disney is planning a Winnie the Pooh play area and a new trail/path to Toon Town in the old 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea area.

What isn't clear is whether or not this would be the "temporary" development of the area until a new e-ticket ride/attraction is developed or whether this is what the permanent "fix" is. If the latter, it sure seems like a waste of space to me.

Anyone heard this?
 
Empress Room

Empress Room

Active Member
Original Poster
mattb said:
Oh God no! Not 20,000 Poohs! I can barely handle one without getting angry about Mr. Toad!
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I'm not exactly sure why Disney thinks that the Winnie the Pooh brand is so popular - I just don't see it either. We can argue about whether Mr. Toad should or should not have been replaced by the Pooh ride; however, I cannot imagine any marketing surveys that would support yet another area devoted exclusively to WTP.
 
Kwit35

Kwit35

New Member
Even though my daughter would problably love it, I think disney could come up with something better then a play area.
 
doop

doop

Well-Known Member
NOOOOO!!!!! That would be a bad use of land in my opinion. Another E Ride is needed in MK, and I don't think that would be a good choice. I hope they don't make a mistake. :(
 
M

matt&helen

New Member
Pooh is a money machine for Disney. Forbes recently did a top survey on fictional characters that made the most money this last year. Disney had three of the top five spots.

1. Mickey & Friends 5.8 Billion
2. Pooh & Friends 5.6 Billion
3. Lord Of the Rings 2.9 Billion
4. Harry Potter 2.8 Billion
5. Finding Nemo 2 Billion

Also in the top ten is Disney Princess Collection. Now I don't know if this rumor is true, but the above numbers reflect the popularity of Pooh.
 
G

General Grizz

New Member
BrerPenguin2 said:
If only they would rebuild Mr Toad there, then there would be justice in the World. ;)
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Ironically, Disney was looking at filling 20K lagoon in the 90s and putting Pooh there, keeping Mr. Toad. They found it cheaper to "sabotage" the Toad attendance and keep 20K undeveloped.

Anway, we were expecting this for quite a while - some sort of garden area with a meet and greet, I'm sure. Pooh's just across, so it does make sense.
 
dandaman

dandaman

Well-Known Member
Disney should have kept the lagoon, they could have put in a water ride (heck, maybe even a Nemo sub ride)... Then again, maybe that'll happen, considering the pattern they're following of "outpromote the top 5 so they'll get old quick"...
 
Hakunamatata

Hakunamatata

Le Meh
Premium Member
General Grizz said:
Ironically, Disney was looking at filling 20K lagoon in the 90s and putting Pooh there, keeping Mr. Toad. They found it cheaper to "sabotage" the Toad attendance and keep 20K undeveloped.

Anway, we were expecting this for quite a while - some sort of garden area with a meet and greet, I'm sure. Pooh's just across, so it does make sense.
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Maybe they will do the right thing and put a memorial. Something like - On this site once operated a really good attraction but now you get a park full of pooh. With a bronze statue of one of the 20k subs. That would be really nice.
 
SpenceMan01

SpenceMan01

Well-Known Member
BrerPenguin2 said:
If only they would rebuild Mr Toad there, then there would be justice in the World. ;)
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Ditto. I could totally see them putting a new version of MTWR. Maybe use the Indy/Dino ride system, and upgrade the figures to 3D and whatnot. I would absolutely love that! I think that Disney could really redeem itself if they were to put it in. I really doubt that they would though. The Toad characters just aren't up to the sales par that WTP and others have set. :(
 
ZHoyt

ZHoyt

New Member
This was reported on these boards quite some time ago. What was established back when the rumors floated around at that point was that the Pooh play area / meet and greet was the temporary fix until a major attraction could be put in. It is supposedly going to be themed to the 100 acre woods. I think it's a nice solution to fill space temporarily until funds are ready for a new massive project in the MK.

Just think rationally... would Disney really waste all of the resources to demolish 20k (not to mention the precious real estate) just to make a play area / meet and greet or walkway to what is IMO one of the saddest excuses for a themed area Disney has ever produced (mickey's toon town)? It just doesn't add up. Mark my words, there will be something worthwhile replacing 20k. I know most people won't be happy with it because anything that replaces an old favorite is pretty much universally disliked here, but I'm looking forward to it. Honestly, I always thought 20k was a lot more entertaining to look at the submarines than it was to ride the ride. Not to mention that awful switchback queue, ugh!
 
Nicole

Nicole

Well-Known Member
It seems like an awfully big space to use for a play area. However I do think the walkway to MTTF needs to be revamped. It would be great if they could have a couple of different pathways to get there - one from the 20K area and the other exisiting pathway, and put a new attraction along the way too.

Sorry for those who don't like Pooh, though who knows if the rumors have any validity, but I have to agree that Pooh & friends are a big attraction for little kids at WDW, so I can see where the idea might come from. Not saying I agree - but there has got to be some security for the powers-that-be in going with a tried and true theme.
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Here's an explanation.....

In order to drain and tear out 20K it cost X dollars, probably in the millions.

Now, whatever attraction they want to finally put there wont have to foot the bill of tearing out 20K and wont have that added cost.

Of course, the cost of a capital improvement of a new attractions wont happen for awhile. Definetly not for another fiscal year. My speculation is that it probably wont even start construction until the tail end of the 50th celebration.
 
speck76

speck76

Well-Known Member
General Grizz said:
They found it cheaper to "sabotage" the Toad attendance and keep 20K undeveloped.
Click to expand...

Yes, because sabotage is needed.
:rolleyes:


As I have stated a million times, replacement is all that is needed at the Magic Kingdom at this time. The park is never at capacity, and as long as that is the case, new rides that do not replace old rides are not really needed.

Read this
 

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