Is Critter Country getting a rename?

[Homemade Imagineering]

Honestly they could just rename that entire small Winnie the Pooh area to Pooh Corner, add a cute sign as well, while splash blends into New Orleans Square as a bayou section and the nature like theming of the Bayou can easily blend into this Pooh Corner mini land.

 

[DLR92]

Disney could do that similar done with Frontierland and NOS with interaction of Rivers of America. NOS will have lower part of the land while the upper rest of the land would be Pooh own land.

 

[Disneysea05]

Maybe just leave it as is, the setting isn’t changing, the mountain will still be inhabited almost entirely by Bayou animals. Splash Mountain will be an even better transition between the two than it was before.

 

[D.Silentu]

I think Critter Country can stay. The Princess and the Frog literally has a critter in its title and there are enough animals within the movie to excuse its residency. Personally, I hold out hope that many of the animal animatronics survive this alteration. In its own way, the ride could serve as a sort of transition from one land to the other.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

Disney will try to burn as many bridges as it can with SoTS and even if they keep Critter Country relatively the same there will definitely be a few small changes.
1. Say bye to the Briar Path (duh)
2. Say bye to the Critter Country soundtrack that's entirely comprised of SOTS tunes
3. Maybe even the name, it's very easy to find through a simple google search that the name is inspired by a quote from SOTS. Again assuming that they don't retheme it at all (especially since the Parks Blog post made it sound like PaTF will be apart of NOS) I expect something like Fantasy Forest or something similar that'll allow pretty much whatever they want there.

 

[TDL]

Isn't it possible/likely that long term, once Splash is rebranded and integrated into NOS, that Pooh goes away and that space is added to Galaxy's Edge as some sort of expansion?

I don't see how Pooh just exists on its own isolated like that.

 

[mickEblu]

Isn't it possible/likely that long term, once Splash is rebranded and integrated into NOS, that Pooh goes away and that space is added to Galaxy's Edge as some sort of expansion?

I don't see how Pooh just exists on its own isolated like that.

Exactly. Long term it either goes to a Galaxies Edge or is rethemed as an IP that fits the NOS theme. Short term (years still in this case) it probably just sits their awkwardly. Either way, with the Splash Mountain entrance being where it is it will always be awkward. Nothing about that side of the land says NOS with all those huge pine trees.

 

[TDL]

Exactly. Long term it either goes to a Galaxies Edge or is rethemed as an IP that fits the NOS theme. Short term (years still in this case) it probably just sits their awkwardly. Either way, with the Splash Mountain entrance being where it is it will always be awkward. Nothing about that side of the land says NOS with all those huge pine trees.

Well I think short term nothing is changing because this proposed PatF changeover is likely not happening for a year or two, especially with COVID stalling other projects.

Eventually once Splash is part of NOS, the entrance can easily change (technically it already exists closer to HM). It's also possible they could somehow funnel the exit a bit differently if they wanted to; possibly even back into the actual square near the HM FP machines and the train station? (not that it wouldn't require a bit of work).

In the long term, what I was thinking is that the entirety of the rest of Critter County gets paved over for a Galaxy's Edge expansion. Possibly completely removing that dead end path and just forcing people to continue on from the front side of Splash past the current Hungry Bear and into Galaxy's Edge. It is certainly possible they -just- convert the Pooh show building to Galaxy's Edge, but why not take all of that space? That entire dead end has honestly not been the best use of space anyway. They could easily fit another E-ticket in that space, or alternatively a couple of smaller attractions.

Overall though I definitely don't see the non-Splash attraction parts of Critter County integrating into NOS... it would really stretch the premise of it being, you know, a Square... much more than it already is of course.

 

[mickEblu]

Well I think short term nothing is changing because this proposed PatF changeover is likely not happening for a year or two, especially with COVID stalling other projects.

Eventually once Splash is part of NOS, the entrance can easily change (technically it already exists closer to HM). It's also possible they could somehow funnel the exit a bit differently if they wanted to; possibly even back into the actual square near the HM FP machines and the train station? (not that it wouldn't require a bit of work).

In the long term, what I was thinking is that the entirety of the rest of Critter County gets paved over for a Galaxy's Edge expansion. Possibly completely removing that dead end path and just forcing people to continue on from the front side of Splash past the current Hungry Bear and into Galaxy's Edge. It is certainly possible they -just- convert the Pooh show building to Galaxy's Edge, but why not take all of that space? That entire dead end has honestly not been the best use of space anyway. They could easily fit another E-ticket in that space, or alternatively a couple of smaller attractions.

I hope not. I was ok losing the pooh building to a Star Wars dark ride but not the remaining Critter Country land. As far as the entrance to Splash I'm talking about the entrance into the first building where the marquee is as your are in the middle of Critter Country. That is the awkward point. The queue entrance all the way by HM (that I haven't used in years) is not really an issue. I don't think there is enough room ro desire to change the Splash queue but I could be wrong

 

[TDL]

I hope not. I was ok losing the pooh building to a Star Wars dark ride but not the remaining Critter Country land. As far as the entrance to Splash I'm talking about the entrance into the first building where the marquee is as your are in the middle of Critter Country. That is the awkward point. The queue entrance all the way by HM (that I haven't used in years) is not really an issue. I don't think there is enough room ro desire to change the Splash queue but I could be wrong

Sure but if you take Splash and Pooh out of Critter Country what else is left? Essentially a pathway with a gift shop/candy store, meet and greet space, and a churro cart. Once Splash is gone it just doesn't make sense to have a land entirely dedicated to one ride. And if they remove Pooh it especially doesn't make sense. I am sure they are going to want to expand GE at some point and the limited possibilities and its adjacency to the current GE just makes it too easy to absorb in, unfortunately for Pooh.

The current Marquee isn't really a problem because that can extremely easily go away. If that whole area is turned into part of GE, likely that part of the queue would be "sealed up" and anyone who doesn't know would be completely unaware that there once was an entrance right there in the middle of the new modified queue. (And Regardless of any queue relocation or modification like we are talking about, I am sure it is going to be extensively re-themed at minimum to better fit PatF.)

Again, talking long term here. But assuming that space is reworked into part of GE, I also assume there would be new rockwork and maybe even a relocation of the current southern entrance. Point is they could be flexible with that space if they wanted to. They don't have to adhere to the existing layout/geography.

 

[mickEblu]

Sure but if you take Splash and Pooh out of Critter Country what else is left? Essentially a pathway with a gift shop/candy store, meet and greet space, and a churro cart. Once Splash is gone it just doesn't make sense to have a land entirely dedicated to one ride. And if they remove Pooh it especially doesn't make sense. I am sure they are going to want to expand GE at some point and the limited possibilities and its adjacency to the current GE just makes it too easy to absorb in, unfortunately for Pooh.

The current Marquee isn't really a problem because that can extremely easily go away. If that whole area is turned into part of GE, likely that part of the queue would be "sealed up" and anyone who doesn't know would be completely unaware that there once was an entrance right there in the middle of the new modified queue.

Again, talking long term here. But assuming that space is reworked into part of GE, I also assume there would be new rockwork and maybe even a relocation of the current southern entrance. Point is they could be flexible with that space if they wanted to. They don't have to adhere to the existing layout/geography.

Best case for me personally (if they go ahead with PatF) is that they leave it named Splash Mountain and don’t absorb it into NOS. At least Critter Country is a fictional place and can be viewed as an extension of NOS next door. If they move it over to NOS it opens up a big fan of worms.

Sure the marquee can be sealed up and the land can be absorbed into GE (puke). I was operating under the assumption/ desire that that area will stick around in its current layout/ iteration.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Heah she comes! Swingin' Teddah Barrah!

 

[TDL]

Best case for me personally (if they go ahead with PatF) is that they leave it named Splash Mountain and don’t absorb it into NOS. At least Critter Country is a fictional place and can be viewed as an extension of NOS next door. If they move it over to NOS it opens up a big fan of worms.

Sure the marquee can be sealed up and the land can be absorbed into GE (puke). I was operating under the assumption/ desire that that area will stick around in its current layout/ iteration.

It's certainly possible they could do that, but with PatF taking place in New Orleans and the current ride existing literally just outside of NOS... it seems logical that it would be absorbed into that land, which would lead to all these other potential dominoes falling.

And like I said, I think Disney is going to want to expand GE at some point (beyond just a potential additional eatery) and not many other areas make as much sense.

 

[No Name]

Pooh is a pretty good ride in my opinion. Not sure why people here treat it like the leftover cantaloupe at the bottom of the fruit salad.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Pooh is a pretty good ride in my opinion. Not sure why people here treat it like the leftover cantaloupe at the bottom of the fruit salad.

It’s not a terrible ride, but it’s not as good as the other dark rides.

I think some of us prefer the Pooh area to the actual Pooh ride. Together with everything else, the ride works because the area blends so well together. I think if it stood on its own without the ambiance, it would be worse off.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Poo is nothing special. It reminds me of Monsters Inc. and most of the Little Mermaid ride. They're all very "Blah."

The 80s versions of the DL dark rides are more exciting and interesting than those, which slowly pass by boring scenes. Even with plywood, cutouts and static mannequins, the old rides somehow seem better.

 

[TDL]

The park already has a lot of other dark rides, and Pooh is probably the worst one. The fact it is in such an isolated location is just an added negative for it. It's kind of wasting space in a way not entirely dissimilar to Monster's Inc over in DCA. I'd argue it's the one attraction in the park that wouldn't be a huge loss in some way. I'd prefer if they created a new Pooh ride somewhere over in Fantasyland instead, personally, whenever they inevitably rework and expand that land.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

Why do people keep calling my name?

But also - the pic reminded me what a stunningly beautiful woman Nichelle is. ♥

 

[SSG]

Pooh may get re-themed at some point but I have my doubts it becomes part of GE. Disney invested a lot of time, money, and effort to isolate GE from the rest of the park (and vice versa). This included blocking out the DLR and cutting sightlines in/out of GE. So I don't think they'll put a GE attraction right next to Splash and the railroad tracks. I don't think Disney is giving up on the Batuu 'immersion' just yet, nor will they spend the money to isolate the Pooh show building from the rest of the park.

 

[TDL]

Pooh may get re-themed at some point but I have my doubts it becomes part of GE. Disney invested a lot of time, money, and effort to isolate GE from the rest of the park (and vice versa). This included blocking out the DLR and cutting sightlines in/out of GE. So I don't think they'll put a GE attraction right next to Splash and the railroad tracks. I don't think Disney is giving up on the Batuu 'immersion' just yet, nor will they spend the money to isolate the Pooh show building from the rest of the park.

The land that is currently Critter Country could be "isolated" in the same way if it is merged into GE. Paths and entrances can be changed. The railroad that passes through can be enclosed into a tunnel of some sort like it already is in other parts of its journey. In theory from inside that "new" part of Galaxy's Edge you wouldn't see Splash Mountain. I'm not arguing for a reduction in the "immersion" of Batuu.

The Pooh show building itself is already basically isolated from the rest of the park and could easily be made to be reverse-entered so the queue begins from the Resistance forest, just past where you currently enter GE. Conservatively, they could simply do that and gut Pooh to make a similarly-sized dark ride. But if they go a bit bigger like I'm suggesting, they could use the entirety of the current Critter Country land (Splash Mountain aside) for a larger attraction, or several attractions, and different pathways.