How many people actually prefer Winnie the Pooh over Mr. Toad's Wild Ride?

[Heppenheimer]

At WDW? When did they end that? I loved doing that at Disneyland, but don't remember that it was offered at WDW.

This is an imprecise answer, but sometime between 1989 and 1996. I remember loving it on our 1989 trip, then it not being offered the next time we visited in 1996. Like most of these kinds of attractions, the entertainment level was highly dependent on the showmanship of the guide.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

At WDW? When did they end that? I loved doing that at Disneyland, but don't remember that it was offered at WDW.

The MK had canoes until 1994. That pivotal year that perhaps more than any other divides WDW history into two halves.

For a pet peeve, Once Upon a Time the MK featured two paddlewheel steamboats, canoes, keelboats, submarines as the central focus point of FL and Swan Boats in the hub and AL. So many boats lost, so much water gone (an abundance of fountains in AL and TL, a lake in FL, a moat in the hub). So much kinetic energy gone. One would canoe past Big Thunder and look at the people in the Swan Boats from the Treehouse.

 

[ChrisFL]

Since we got the cheap Pooh version, definitely have to go with Toad. If we had the Tokyo version of Pooh, I would HAVE to go with that.

 

[sgtmgd]

I'm surprised the voting is this close, I like pooh...but would much prefer Toad or Snow White

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Since we got the cheap Pooh version, definitely have to go with Toad. If we had the Tokyo version of Pooh, I would HAVE to go with that.

Losing the best version of Mr. Toad in favour of the 2nd best Winnie the Pooh ride was not a good trade off.

We wouldn't be having this discussion if we had gotten the much better Hunny Hunt.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Losing the best version of Mr. Toad in favour of the 2nd best Winnie the Pooh ride was not a good trade off.

Putting it like that rubs salt in the wound!

WDW Pooh isn't bad. It's a nice dark ride with some good effects and moments.

But Toad was two dark rides, that were closed to make way for one dark ride and a gift shop. Back when this was considered the height of sophisticated revenue increasing strategy.

The small resort, DL has got both Toad and Pooh. Albeit it the cost of losing the Bears. While the massive WDW resort with all the space in the world only agreed to open Poo if it could close another ride. So the world's best two Toad rides were ripped out for a gift shop while right across the closed former 20k plot just sat there unused. Big enough to host multiple rides, shops and restaurants.

 

[Seabasealpha1]

As far as the Winnie the Pooh attractions go...I prefer Anaheim over Orlando. But I easily prefer Toad over both. Besides, a trip to Hell with pooh would be controversial. A trip to Hell with Mr. Toad IS AWESOME!

 

[Robbiem]

I can never understand why toad was built in Florida. If you were building rides from Disneyland rather than different ones as per the original plan then i would have thought Alice would have been a more popular fit than mr toad. Dont get me wrong being British i grew up with wind in the willows but its just not something id ever associated with disney and is one movie ive never seen

 

[Beacon Joe]

This is an imprecise answer, but sometime between 1989 and 1996. I remember loving it on our 1989 trip, then it not being offered the next time we visited in 1996.

The MK had canoes until 1994.

That makes sense. My first visit to WDW was cold and ended early due to the FL-MD Christmas snowstorm in 1989, so it makes sense that I wouldn't have taken a canoe trip that trip. I next went in Spring of 1990, but I guess I didn't want to paddle at the time. Thanks for clarifying my memories.

 

[utterlunacy]

While I really enjoy(ed) and prefer Mr. Toad my 3 girls (2/4/6) all love everything Pooh. They have seen Wind in the willows (they love Ichabod), so they would get it, but its not Pooh.

 

[rkleinlein]

The small resort, DL has got both Toad and Pooh. Albeit it the cost of losing the Bears. While the massive WDW resort with all the space in the world only agreed to open Poo if it could close another ride. So the world's best two Toad rides were ripped out for a gift shop while right across the closed former 20k plot just sat there unused. Big enough to host multiple rides, shops and restaurants.

Spot on. This is the real shame. WDW has so much room but not enough attractions. Why not keep Toad and add Pooh? Keep Snow White and add the Mine Train? Keep Maelstrom and add Frozen? I'd keep Star Tours too.

 

[Scooter]

Judging by the wait times, Pooh wins by a landslide. I was in the parks several times the last few years Mr Toad was open and it was always a walk on. My wife and I road it a few times when we were the only ones on the entire ride. That being said we always go in the off seasons and it may have been busier in the peak times but now it seems like for Pooh there's a long wait no matter what the season, month, day,or time.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Judging by the wait times, Pooh wins by a landslide. I was in the parks several times the last few years Mr Toad was open and it was always a walk on. My wife and I road it a few times when we were the only ones on the entire ride. That being said we always go in the off seasons and it may have been busier in the peak times but now it seems like for Pooh there's a long wait no matter what the season, month, day,or time.

Toad had two tracks and no FP. My guess was capacity was higher (after 1993 they switched from two seat to four seat cars) and MK had a lower annual attendance in the 90s than it does today.

 

[aladdin2007]

Judging by the wait times, Pooh wins by a landslide. I was in the parks several times the last few years Mr Toad was open and it was always a walk on. My wife and I road it a few times when we were the only ones on the entire ride. That being said we always go in the off seasons and it may have been busier in the peak times but now it seems like for Pooh there's a long wait no matter what the season, month, day,or time.

fastpass, which toad never had, and today you have mass crowds in there year round compared to back then.

 

[aladdin2007]

Toad had two tracks and no FP. My guess was capacity was higher (after 1993 they switched from two seat to four seat cars) and MK had a lower annual attendance in the 90s than it does today.

yes this, sorry didnt read first before posting a response lol. but my vote goes with toad, the pooh ride has the worst queue with flat planks of board (yes toad did as a well but it was done much better). the queue and the ride itself need a makeover. Things dont work and its looking shotty in general.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Toad was the kind of unique, off-beat Disney attraction that ended up working its way into popular culture. Pooh is just... fine.

 

[ChrisFL]

I'm surprised the voting is this close, I like pooh...but would much prefer Toad or Snow White

If this poll was done within a year or two of Toad closing and Pooh opening, it would be interesting to see the results.

 

[rkleinlein]

Why go to hell? Why not go to hell?

Vintage MK was a very different beast from today's park. The castle looks the same and some other stuff looks similar, but the MK has changed immensely in character. Today's park is a girlie, kiddie toddler playground. Vintage MK had a subversive edge, was an adult park.

The Jungle Cruise skipper fired at the animals with his pistol. The pirates pillaged and burned and raped.The Mansion was scary. Snow White was a horror movie. 20k was a claustrophobic death trap under actual water, fighting undersea beasts. Above was the Skyway. Small kids dangling 50 feet above ground in open buckets. Main Street had actual cars. Ariel was topless, bare breasted. If You Had Wings had boys and girls dancing in skimpy bikinis and trunks. Lots of replica toy guns were for sale in Adventureland and Frontierland. You had to physically row your canoe. Psychedelic bands played in Tomorrowland. And Toad was a drugged up DUI ride to hell.

The Empress Lilly, this is the funniest and most perceptive post I've read on here.

Now I have a better understanding of why my own kids don't love Disney like I did when I was their age: because it IS a kiddie playground with very little that's unexpected or subversive.

Your post made me think of my first trip to WDW in the late '70s when I was in third grade. I remember a contraption in the Penny Arcade where you grabbed two doorknobs to see how long you could hang on. You didn't know ahead of time what was going to happen which was part of the appeal. They started vibrating, gently at first and then with increasing intensity. It was so violent you had to let go because it actually hurt. My horrified mom said, "Did it electrocute you?" Then we all laughed and my younger sister wanted to try. I still remember it 40 years later.

I also remember running into Donald Duck (this was before you had to wait in line or book an appointment to see characters) and tugging on his tail. He quacked and spun around. I kept doing it and at one point he spun around and swatted my hand, making contact. It was gentle, of course, but I was momentarily stunned until everybody laughed. If that happened today there'd be a lawsuit for assault.

The subversive edge you so accurately and vividly describe is not just appealing to adults. Kids like those thrills and surprises too. Thrills and surprises that are more subtle, unexpected, and subversive than rollercoasters or free falls; thrills like a beloved character that might hit a bratty kid or innocent-looking doorknobs that could shake a little boy's arms right out of their sockets.

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

Rode them both. Incredible charm in both. Loved Winnie even before we had kids but once we had our little boy we saw how much kids love the ride and appreciated it even more. Then once we had our little girl we got to see her fall in love with it also all over again. I also always love looking back in the ride and seeing Mr. Toad giving away the deed and I always love leaving the Haunted Mansion and looking at Mr. Toad up in the graveyard.

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

Mr. Toad looks bad because it was built in 1955. Winnie the Pooh should be so much more advanced than it is considering when it was built.

Then again, I don’t like to take technological advancement too far on dark rides. The lack of tech is part of the charm, IMO. Compare these two rides to Frozen Ever After or Na’Vi River Journey. I enjoy the latter two, but I wouldn’t call them “charming.” They’re just aesthetically pleasing.

The simplicity of Winnie is where the charm is at for me. I really just feel like Frozen is almost a sort of stop gap afterthought of an attraction that was just thrown together to meet the incredible demand for ANYthing Frozen at the time. Not that Frozen is a "bad" ride but I just think if Disney had felt like they had more time to develop it then it would have been much more advanced and immersive than it wound up being. I actually think the loading area is maybe more charming than the actual ride itself. Kids still love it though and ultimately that was the goal of it anyway. I still prefer Pooh to Frozen as a ride and IP though.