Changing Critter Country to Match Frog Mountain

Rich T

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I would love to see Disney build a Tiana’s Palace restaurant/AA show on the site of Hungry Bear and Pooh—Basically bringing the movie’s finale to life.

Having a top-notch Louis AA leading a band through renditions of the film songs plus some jazz classics would not only represent Disney Imagineering at its best, but would help expand kids’ musical horizons (and maybe those of their parents as well).

There’d also be outdoor window ordering for those who just want to eat n’ go and a substantial PatF gift shop.

How would you alter the area? (And please don’t say “by not doing the PatF overlay at all”—That’s another thread. Several other threads.)
 
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BuzzedPotatoHead89

Well-Known Member
I’d probably expand New Orleans Square up to the Splash Mountain Area. Would retain the Splash Mountain name but add a new subtitle like “Splash Mountain: Tiana’s Bayou Barge Adventure” or something.

Would retrofit Harbor gallery as a new P&TF quick service restaraunt serving finger foods like beignets and Muffaletta sandwiches but I’d expand the seating and add a deck with additional seating and M&G character interaction overseeing the “splash down”. I also would change the design and look of the logs as well as the volume of the splash to “tone down the wetness” in the night and winter months and add a lighting package with fireflies projected on Mama Odie’s tree. With the goal of “driving traffic“ to the ride at night when it’s usually dead.

Remnants of critter country would be renamed and lightly retouched to Hundred acre wood. Hungry Bear restaurant would remain, as would Pooh corner and M&G shops. The canoes would get renamed to “Christopher Robin explorer canoes” with perhaps with minor references/drawings from the characters.
 

DavidDL

Well-Known Member
Re-theming the surrounding area to a Bayou seems to make the most sense. To this end, Critter Country sort of just becomes a more "wild" extension of New Orleans Square. An updated Country Bears or entirely new attraction replacing Pooh would be in order to fit the theme of the new area. I'd actually like to NOT see the hungry bear turned into a Tiana themed restaurant. Not that I'm against the idea, but I just feel like it would be out of place in the wilderness like that and the type of food served there would be better suited/themed/make more sense staying in New Orleans Square. I'd like to see it remain a sort of "feral" food stop run by the creatures and critters that live in the Bayou. I suppose it would then, make sense to have Louis involved at most. Maybe the eatery becomes somewhere run by Louis or the gang of alligators we saw in the film? Instead of being pristine and high end like Tiana's palace.

I also like the idea of this area becoming a Bayou because the imagery sort of lends itself to Dagobah from Star Wars. Familiar but "other-worldly". Lots of creatures and critters, trees, etc. we aren't acclimated to seeing out in the swamp.. so the transition to the wild outpost in Galaxy's Edge feels even more natural now.
 

SSG

Well-Known Member
I think with the Splash re-theme, there will just be some re-drawing of the borders between lands and not wholesale changes.

The PatF ride becomes part of NOS.

The Pooh ride, Hungry Bear and the Pooh themed shop stay as Critter Country. It's a very small land now, but I don't see it being cancelled. For the near term, at least.

Harbour Galley and the canoes become part of Frontierland. They never made sense being in Critter Country anyway.
 

George Lucas on a Bench

Well-Known Member
I don't see how you separate the lands seeing as how the Poo stuff is directly across from Tiana's Bargain Mt. I guess the only way to do it is to retheme Poo to New Orleans with a new opening scene where you are transported to Poo land similarly to POTC, which begins in Norleans and ends up in the Caribbean through a series of caves.
 

chadwpalm

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Remember, Splash and Pooh aren't the only attractions considered to be in Critter Country. Current park maps have Davy Crockett's Canoes as part of Critter Country, and Harbor Galley in there as well.

The other thing to consider is that both the entrance and exit of Splash are deep into CC. Neither can be moved. Even though the entrance to Splash is often located closer to the HM (especially on hot days when the line is long), you still have to walk a considerable length alongside CC territory. Unless you put up walls or rockwork, you can't avoid that.

With that said, CC has to (or should) be integrated into NOS as a sub-land. It would be weird to be in CC (or Hundred Acre Woods) then go on a Tiana-based ride in NO, then exit the ride and be back in CC/HAW again right next to a CC/HAW store. Unless you all are okay with Pooh and his gang moving to New Orleans, I agree they may need to change it out. I like Pooh, but out of context, it doesn't work for me. Then what happens to the canoes? Can it be annexed into Frontierland? I mean, FL does wrap around the perimeter of the river all the way up to Harbor Galley anyway. IDK, I don't envy the Imagineers' task of making this all cohesive...if they even try at all. I have a feeling they will change the ride and do nothing else with the area and make it all one incohesive cluster-muck.

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mickEblu

Well-Known Member
I think with the Splash re-theme, there will just be some re-drawing of the borders between lands and not wholesale changes.

The PatF ride becomes part of NOS.

The Pooh ride, Hungry Bear and the Pooh themed shop stay as Critter Country. It's a very small land now, but I don't see it being cancelled. For the near term, at least.

Harbour Galley and the canoes become part of Frontierland. They never made sense being in Critter Country anyway.

I agree with all except your last point. geographically I don't see how they would do that when the things are two lands away
 
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mickEblu

Well-Known Member
I don't see how you separate the lands seeing as how the Poo stuff is directly across from Tiana's Bargain Mt. I guess the only way to do it is to retheme Poo to New Orleans with a new opening scene where you are transported to Poo land similarly to POTC, which begins in Norleans and ends up in the Caribbean through a series of caves.

They only way to do is to say KABLAM in a Disney parks blog
 

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Remember, Splash and Pooh aren't the only attractions considered to be in Critter Country. Current park maps have Davy Crockett's Canoes as part of Critter Country, and Harbor Galley in there as well.

The other thing to consider is that both the entrance and exit of Splash are deep into CC. Neither can be moved. Even though the entrance to Splash is often located closer to the HM (especially on hot days when the line is long), you still have to walk a considerable length alongside CC territory. Unless you put up walls or rockwork, you can't avoid that.

With that said, CC has to (or should) be integrated into NOS as a sub-land. It would be weird to be in CC (or Hundred Acre Woods) then go on a Tiana-based ride in NO, then exit the ride and be back in CC/HAW again right next to a CC/HAW store. Unless you all are okay with Pooh and his gang moving to New Orleans, I agree they may need to change it out. I like Pooh, but out of context, it doesn't work for me. Then what happens to the canoes? Can it be annexed into Frontierland? I mean, FL does wrap around the perimeter of the river all the way up to Harbor Galley anyway. IDK, I don't envy the Imagineers' task of making this all cohesive...if they even try at all. I have a feeling they will change the ride and do nothing else with the area and make it all one incohesive cluster-muck.

View attachment 480421


Yeah its a slippery slope. Id rather deal with the akwardness then have them mess up the rest of Critter Country/Hungry Bear and that's most likely what we ll be getting.
 

1HAPPYGHOSTHOST

Well-Known Member
Agreed although I wouldn’t be shocked to see it stick around for 5 years or more
Oh yeah. Totally. It won't be right away. They have other fish to fry first. I would expect it would be after Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway opens, but the countdown officially begins because having Pooh there will no longer make sense. Once the overlay officially starts, I'm afraid Mr. Pooh is not long for this world.
 
Honestly, I'm all for retheming Pooh. In Critter County it worked loosely sort of with the woodsy theme. But now in the bayou? Eh, not so much.

What other IPs that fit the South/Swamp/Bayou could they use to retheme Pooh's bee-hives?
 

SSG

Well-Known Member
I agree with all except your last point. geographically I don't see how they would do that when the things are two lands away
That is a bit of license on my part, true. But they are both on the river, which is part of Frontierland. I don't think it's a giant stretch for today's Disney.
 
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Nirya

Well-Known Member
Feels like they could take some of the AAs from Splash that they get rid of and bring back the old Critter Country 500 concept. Just call it the Bayou 500, add a few new catchy songs, and turn the area into a bayou-themed extension of NOS. Really, as long as you don't use any of the Brer figures, you should be fine. Then turn Hungry Bear into a PatF-themed eatery.

I'd think they want to keep Pooh around in some form though. I'd imagine this as part of a longer-term change, turning Fantasyland Theater into a Hundred Acre Woods subland of Fantasyland, with a Pooh ride closer to Pooh's Hunny Hunt and a more expansive M&G area. Feels like an easy sell to the pencil-pushers in that you'd get better revenue from that area.
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
They can almost pull this off an DLR. It doesn't stand a chance of making sense in WDW though.

This is one of those things where the Imagineers up in Glendale were only thinking about Disneyland 40 miles down the freeway, instead of Disney World 2,500 miles east.

Splash Mountain at WDW is in the middle of Frontierland. In theory they've got a lot of work ahead of them to make it fit in Frontierland, but knowing how WDW does things they'll probably not care and just turn it into Tiana' Bayou Bash N' Splash and still leave the cowboys out in front...

woody-and-jessie-in-parade-near-splash-mountain-frontierland-magic-picture-id612573066
 

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