Hello everyone again,
Mattyice16 here. Thank you for all of the wonderful comments I have received from my last post about my ideas for a possible "It's A Small World" refurbishment, at Disney's Magic Kingdom! My next thread that I will be posting is an idea that I had in mind for a long time: an expansion of Critter Country at Disneyland. This expansion will be very similar to New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom park. The purpose of expanding Critter Country, was not only to refurbish the rides that are already there, with the addition of creating new attractions, but to also bring back some Disney experiences from the past that have been really popular, and incorporate them into New Critter Country I was originally going to send these ideas to Walt Disney Imagineering, but finding out that I could not send ideas to Disney, my dream of hearing their feedback slowly vanished. So, due to the positive feedback I received on my last thread, I felt that this would be the appropriate time to share with you an attraction detailed tour of New Critter Country, right from start to end! And now, without a further or do, sit back, relax, and enjoy, as I present to you: New Critter Country. Here we go!
New Critter Country Attraction Detailed Tour
When you first enter New Critter Country, you will pass by The Critter Country Greeting Sign, but it will not only include random critters holding the sign, the Disney Characters representing Critter Country are also helping out. The first sight that you will pass by before entering NCC is Chick- A Pin- Hill from Splash Mountain. The mountain itself will stay the same, but the scenes inside and the ride vehicles, ( Logs), riding down the mountain will look like WDW’s and Tokyo’s.
As you continue your way into NCC, you will soon encounter The Hungry Bear Restraunt, found near the Splash Mountain Fast pass station.
The First attraction that I will be giving to you full detail about is the new and enhanced Pooh Ride, Hunny Hunt River Rapids, a river rapids version of “The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh” attraction!
HHRR: When you first encounter the attraction, you will still see the regular red shed- type building, but the sign will be changed to say the ride’s new title, with the remaining Pooh characters holding the sign. When you first enter the attraction, instead of walking in the outdoors, you will find yourself in Christopher Robin’ s Cottage, (Similar to Pooh’s Hunny Hunt). As you walk through the queue, guests will be able to interact with the many things that are found in his room, but most of the stuff, (The Pooh and Friends Dolls), will be for display. After you walk through the queue, you will then finally enter the outdoors, where your ride vehicle awaits you, (A Hunny Pot). Your ride vehicle will accommodate 6 guests per vehicle. The hunny pots used in the ride will have different colors added to them, according to the style of the Winnie the Pooh Characters, and have the name of a Random Pooh character in front. While you are waiting in line, Tigger will say the regular safety spiel, and the queue’s music will perform selections from most of the Pooh Movies. The water used in the ride will have yellow coloring to give off the effect of Honey itself.
After you board your hunny pot, you will first encounter a story book page with a video of the Winnie the Pooh in his Thinking spot and going to see Piglet scene from Winnie the Pooh and The Blustery Day (narration will be included). After, your ride vehicle will enter The Blustery Day scene of the ride. (The scenes and audio animatronics in HHRR are very similar to what you find in Pooh’s Hunny Hunt). In this scene, you will first find Gopher who pops out of his hole and wishes the guests a Happy Windsday. Most of the elements that you find in this scene are straight from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, (i.e. Pooh holding a string from a scarf to catch Piglet, Rabbit getting caught in the wind, and is nervous by protecting his garden, Owl babbling about his family and relatives in his house, (which unfortunately is being tossed around by the wind), Eeyore’s House getting knocked down by the wind, and Kanga trying to rescue his son, Roo, by kite.) Guests will also feel the motion of wind in this scene (hidden fans the room). “A Rather A Blustery Day” plays in this scene. Soon the scene is transitioning from Day to Night, and the next Pooh character we encounter is none other than Tigger, who has invited us to bounce with him. (“The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers” plays in this scene). Guests will approach Tigger a total of 5 times in the ride. The final time they see Tigger, he will say to them to go over that house (Pooh’s House) right over there. Then we soon find Tigger, who has pounced on Pooh, in his night cap and pajamas, telling him to beware of Heffalumps and Woozles stealing Hunny, which makes Pooh nervous. Then our Honey Pot sails into Pooh’s house where the narrator quotes from the movie Winnie The Pooh And The Blustery Day, “Pooh kept his lonely vigil, hour after hour, after hour, until at last Pooh fell fast asleep and began to dream,” when Pooh falls asleep. Then Guests find Pooh fast asleep, (behind him is his window where it’s raining outside). As our ride vehicle gets closer and closer, Pooh’s bedroom vanishes and just like in Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, a star field appears, and a Peppers Ghost Silhouette of Pooh magically floats into the air, as we hear Tigger say “Heffalumps and Woozles, Heffalumps and Woozles!!! Steal Honey!! Beware!! Beware!!” while spooky and mystical music plays. As this happens, we still see the floating Pooh silhouette magically floating in the air, as our ride vehicle is now riding up a small chain lift. The star field is still there, and we also see the mysterious faces of Heffalumps and Wozzles peek in and out, (through projections). Then, our honey pot exits the chain lift, as we approach 2 wozzle jack in the boxes, which is the entrance to the Heffalumps and Wozzles Scene of the ride. This scene will appear like the version depicted in Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, but will incorporate elements from all 3 Pooh rides. Your ride vehicle soon becomes trackless, with the addition of the yellow-colored water (Aquatopia @ TDS). The regular theme song plays in this scene, but there will be more surprises (the 2 mirrors and the canon ball) inspired by the film, (i.e. the ballroom dance between the pink Heffalump and the white Woozle, the encounter of the 3 honey pots that begin the song) There will be one surprise that every ride vehicle is required to go through, before leaving the scene. That element is a scene which is taken from the Hong Kong version of the ride, which has a Heffabee taking a picture of the guests. When we reach the heffalump’s trunk ( the scene finale, found on the right side of the scene), instead of riding it backwards we ride it forwards to encounter yet another surprise, 2 watering canons squirting out actual live water at us . We then go down a small drop, similar to the drop from Legoland Windsor’s Fairytale Brook Ride. We then visit Pooh’s house again to find Pooh looking at his mirror finding out that it’s raining. This encounters us into the 2nd to last scene of the ride -the rain scene. “The Rain, Rain, Rain Came Down, Down, Down” plays in this scene, and our ride vehicle soon starts to float. This scene is very similar to the WDW and HK version of the ride, but with a few differences- Tigger will sit on the trunk of a nearby tree, hoping he doesn’t fall and drown, and Pooh will rescue Piglet from the Waterfall. Then, as our scene transitions from Rain to shine, for the very first time in the Pooh Ride, we find an audio animatronic Christopher Robin, declaring Pooh as a hero for rescuing Piglet. Then our narrator tells the guests, that after a rainy day, everyone gathered together to say,( a pair of doors that show a rainbow soaring over the area open as we enter the final scene of the ride- the Hero party) “Horary!” Everyone shouts. “Horary for Pooh too.” Says Piglet. Then we soon encounter Pooh for the very last time, as he eats his Hunny in the dream where he sings “Everything is Honey”, and he bids the guests farewell. “Everything is Honey” plays in the finale. Then our Honey Pot returns to the loading area. Before we exit the ride, our ride attendant gives Guests a Honey Pot shaped Cookie, that was created from the Hero Party. From there guests can go purchase Pooh-related merchandise and their photo from the Pooh Corner shop or get a bite at Hunny Moon Caverns, a restaurant inspired by the 2011 Winnie the Pooh Movie.
This is the new Winnie-the Pooh section of Critter Country. Now as we continue our way into NCC, we then encounter the entrance to Splash Mountain. Now this is where I will get into the new experiences.
The next attraction we encounter is The Country Bear Jamboree-found on the right side. The entrance to this attraction will look very similar in the style to the Country Bear Hall from the movie, “The Country Bears”. When you walk inside the building instead of entering the theater, you enter the main lobby and are greeted by Henry Dixon Taylor, the bear owner of Country Bear Hall. In this case, he is unseen, and heard on a speaker coming from the sound booth to the lobby. He also welcomes everyone to Country Bear Hall. He then tells you why this place was so popular, and gives you a brief history of the band that successfully performed here,- The Country Bears. But, the thing he is excited to tell you is that you are one of the very first audiences to see them live on stage after a lot of years of decreased popularity, (Note: This next sentence is a spoiler alert to those who haven’t seen the movie yet. The film ends when the very first audience comes to see the return of the bears performing on stage.) Soon, he asks the group of guests if they are ready to see the show. When they say yes, they soon enter the theater, and tells them that he will be the Master of ceremonies for the concert. When you first enter the theater, you will notice these differences from previous attractions. The theater is expanded, to the size of Country Bear Hall from the movie, but the design of the stage is kept the same from previous attractions. You may also notice that there are souvenir kiosks on the sides of theater selling Country Bear Jamboree Merchandise. They are open before and after the show. You may also find that the three animal heads of Melvin The Moose, Buff the Buffalo, and Max The Deer are hanging on the right side of the theater, where their normal position is from previous Country Bear attractions. The show will be done in the same style as Magic Kingdom’s version, but will also include special appearances by Beary Barrington, Tennesse O’ Neal, Zeb Zoober, and Ted and Fred Bedderhead, stars of the Country Bears Movie. The holiday-overlay of the show will return, with a few revisions, due to the new plot.
Now, I will give you another ride layout of the next attraction on our left - Where the Red Fern Grows- Billy Coleman’s Hunt Adventure.
WTRFG-BCCHA: This new Disney attraction is inspired by the Disney film adaption of Wilson Rawl’s Where The Red Fern Grows. The entrance of the attraction will have 2 trees on the left and right side of the ride, and on the middle top is the sign which resembles a piece of tree bark that reads the ride’s name. As you enter the queue area, you soon find yourself in the woods, (the ride’s queue area). As you walk through the queue, you’ll hear the voice of Will Coleman, (Dave Matthews), who tells guests that they are about to go on the adventure of their lives, but he warns them to beware of Mountain Lions and other animals on this fierce journey. He also does the ride’s safety spiel. The music that will be played in the queue is the beginning music from the film. The queue also shows clips from the film. Before you know it you’ll soon enter the loading area of the ride, which is similar to the load area used in Madcasgar- A Crate Adventure in Universal Studios Singapore, but will look more woodsy. Your ride vehicle is a boat very similar to It’s A Small World, but it’s made out of wood. The scenes and audio animatronics in the ride are made very similar to the style of The Great Movie Ride. As soon as you enter your boat, the ride begins. The scenes will take place in a show building. The first scene that you encounter is a scene where we find an older Billy Coleman fixing the wound of Redbone coonhound, who was attacked by another neighborhood dog. The boat will stop during this scene and the Wilson Rawls type guy in the film tells guest the first part of the story. When the narrator gets to the part about Billy’s flashback, the boat starts to move, and similar to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh @ Disneyland, you enter through 5 pairs of doors, but instead of resembling to leaves and wooden doors, they are pages from the novel that lead into the next scene. This will lead us into the next scene of the ride, where we find Billy Coleman interested in buying the 2 Hounds of Ben Kyle and Hud Wellington. The 2 men are talking to Billy’s parents, who are nearby the house. After that our boat makes a half circle around the Coleman house, which leads into the very back where we find Billy having a conversation with his father about the 2 hounds. After that, the boats transport us to a scene similar to the end of the Monsters Inc Ride @ DCA, where Roz is able to talk to guests. Instead the scene takes place @ Grandpa’s store, where we find 2 other characters for the ride, Rubin and Rainie Pritchard. They think that it’s not a very smart idea for Billy to get hounds, and they ask the riders if they agree with them. Then we find Billy talking to his wise Grandpa about the hounds. Soon, the same Wilson Rawls type narrator from the film tells guests that Billy has found an ad to buy hounds, and he worked hard for 2 years to get enough money to buy them. After that this will transport us into the next scene where Billy has finally bought the 2 hounds, he has always wanted. The next scene shows the night when Billy was sleeping in the woods with his 2 hounds and hears the scary noises of a Mt. Lion, and Billy trying to scare him away with fake fire. The next couple of scenes that riders go through show when Billy is practicing his -hunting skills with Old Dan and Little Ann, in time for the -Hunt Championship Competition, (This will also include the scene where Billy is trying to cut down the tree with the axe, with the wind blowing it away.) Then we enter the -hunt Championship, where we are in the woods, and the 2 hounds are constantly chasing the for the competition. By the 6th night of the competition, we find the judge, Will, Grandpa, and Billy trying to search and call out for the 2 pups to come back during a blizzard. When the scene transitions from night to day, the 2 hounds finish up the completion by chasing down the last raccoon, and they fortunately win the competition. Soon confetti is shot and our boat reaches the 2nd to final scene of the ride, when Billy wins the gold cup, and wins the entire championship, while everyone is cheering for him. He also wins enough money from the competition for his family to move to Tahlequah. Like the end of the DL Pooh ride, we enter through yet another set of 5 doors, but instead of presents, these doors resemble shelves of Billy’s trophies and awards, as we hear that same narrator say that Billy had won the competition, and he will always remember Old Dan and Little Ann- the best 2 hounds he has ever had. Then we enter the final scene of the ride, where we find Billy Coleman and his family riding in the distance in a carriage to start their new life in Tahlequah, and the final element that we see in the ride from the film is that red fern that grows between Old Dan and Little Ann’s gravestones, (this ride does not include the death scene of Old Dan and Little Ann, because it would be too inapproiate for young riders.) Then, before we come to the loading area we come to 4 more doors that resemble pages that conclude the story that say these final phrases, (“I could still hear the wind and the trees. (1) I hope to go back one day (2) in that valley by the river (3), Where the Red Fern Grows (4).) Finally, our boat enters the loading area, and we exit the ride, that segues to the gift shop, Grandpa’s Store
That was Where the Red Fern Grows- Billy Coleman’s Hunt Adventure.
Now, as we continue our way down into NCC on our right, we soon appear to find the exterior of a huge circular arena that has bear skins covering around it, which hosts the attraction- Mordu Rocks!!!! This is Critter Country’s first ever rock concert. “Mordu Rocks” is a rock concert that will be very similar to Mad T Party @ Disney’s California Adventure, but instead it will be themed to Disney Pixar’s Brave, and inspired by the film’s main villain, Mordu. The rock concert will feature songs from the movie, including a rock-and-roll rendition of the hit song, “Touch The Sky”, along with new original songs created exclusively for the show. Just like with the Country Bear Jamboree, there will be souvenir kiosks, that will be located along the sides of the arena including 2 in the front, that will see “Mordu Rocks” and “Brave merchandise.
On the left hand sight, when you walk your way around NCC, you will then encounter the 2nd to last attraction of the land- The Legend of Bambi. You enter a tent themed to the wilderness, (the size of the Fantasy Faire Stage in Disneyland’s Fantasyland), and the show format is very similar to the Magic of Brother Bear and Enchanted Tales w/ Belle. Instead it’s a puppet show that features a narrator that tells shortened versions of Bambi 1 and Bambi 2. At the end of the show, Guests will have the chance to meet and greet w/ Bambi, Thumper, and Flower.
The Final new experience is another new attraction, The Most Ground-Breaking Wonders of Nature. This ride is inspired by an extinct Disneyland attraction called “ Nature’s Wonderland”, but will be enhanced for the 21st century. The attraction’s entrance is a wilderness cabin that you walk through as the queue area of the ride. When you walk through the cabin, guests will be able to experience what it was like to live in a house in the wilderness. They might also find heads of many critters on the walls too. In one part of the queue, you will find a talking deer head who is none other than Buck the Deer, who entertains guests in the queue area, (similar to Mr. Potato Head for Toy Story Mania@ Disney’s Hollywood Studios). You will also hear Larry the Cable Guy do the safety spiel. Then you will enter the loading area, which is in the backyard of the house. Your ride vehicle is an expanded Jeep, (similar to the Indiana Jones ride in Adventure land), and you’ll find a county-hunter skipper driving in the front of the Jeep.
When the ride begins, after you enter your ride vehicle, your ride skipper will give you a shortened reminder of the safety spiel. After that your Jeep will finally enter the woods (you’ll find small animals as you enter such as birds, chipmunks, squirrels, minks). Your ride skipper then tells guests, that ‘the woods is full of many different animals, some that are nice, and some that can be harmful, so beware if you’re are ever alone in the woods, and make sure to stay with someone’.
Then we hear something coming in the woods, as if something was running. Our skipper starts to get nervous, and thinks that it could possibly be a bear, but fortunately, we are safe, because we come across a herd of deer running in towards us. We soon stop the Jeep, to let them that they cross over. As this is happening, our skipper gives us facts about deer
Now our ride vehicle continues into the woods, and after 6 seconds, we soon hear the noise of a tree starting to shake, and a little bit of growling. Our ride skipper soon starts to get nervous, as our Jeep approaches a huge tall tree on our right that is about to fall. Soon, the skipper tells the someone who is knocking down the tree to come out where ever he is. After we soon see the face of a Brown Grizzly Bear peak through the right side of the tree. Before you know it, our ride skipper starts to get scared, and the Jeep runs full blast, while the bear chases us. We also see more Grizzly Bears chasing us. When they are gone, our skipper tells riders that Grizzly bears are the most harmful animals in the wilderness, and he/she sighs, indicating that they were that were almost going to get eaten by it.
Soon, we come to a wooden bridge on the left of our path, and decide to ride on it. On the left, we find none other to our surprise, but an adult female moose that is about to feed her babies, and drink water from a nearby pond, as her husband (western male) watches her. Our skipper then wants riders to talk to the moose, so she asks them to give out a moose call, (sound of a moose). After the count of 3, the skipper and the riders call out the moose’s sound. The moose in their own language say hello to the guests. Our skipper then wishes the moose a farewell, as our jeep travels in the distance. Our skipper then gives a few facts about the moose to riders.
Now as our jeep continues, we soon start to hear howls, and our skipper is sure to know that is the howl of a pack of wolves. Then the jeep soon slows down and then we find a pack of wolves, standing on top of the bark of a fallen tree, letting us know that we are their prey. Our ride skipper tells the wolves that these people mean no harm, and unfortunately, they keep coming closer at us, wanting to eat us. Our ride vehicle then takes off like a blast, as we get away from them.
Soon our Jeep approaches a flowing river, on the left side. Before you know it, we soon find a bunch of River Otters swimming around, and playing with each other. While we pass them, our skipper gives us a few facts about River Otters.
After that scene, our Jeep continues to run, and then we soon start to hear awful noises. When that immediately starts, the skipper blocks their ears, indicating that it was loud and so screechy. As our Jeep comes a little closer, we soon encounter a Fisher cat, on a branch on a tree, which is still making those awful noises. To tell him to be quiet, the skipper tells the riders to start to shush at him to keep his patience. As we continue to do this, our jeep stops, and finally it moves again. The ride skipper tells riders that this is the sound a fisher cat makes.
Then we soon smell the scent of something very awful, and it’s obvious that the scent comes from a group of skunks nearby, who are spraying this stinky gas at us. For the 3rd time our jeep starts to speed away again to get away from them.
Soon, we then start to hear the sounds of gnawing, and start to see cut down pieces of tree, and then we find a huge triangular stick lodge in a nearby lake, which is home to our 3rd to last animal of the ride- The Beaver, but there are about 4 of them we find scattered around. During this scene, the skipper tells facts to the guests about beavers.
Now as we say bye to the beavers, we head on over to visit the 2nd to last animal on our journey. As our Jeep continues, we soon find the last animal on our journey, the fox. In fact, we find a bunch of them on our left and right sides of the scene. We find some that are fighting with each other, some adult foxes that are trying to protect their babies and some that are calling out signals towards each other. During this the skipper will give riders facts about foxes.
Now, we come to the final animal of the ride, which “is” the most ground-breaking wonder of nature- THE AMERICAN EAGLE, who is sitting on a branch in a nearby tree. He salutes at us with his huge right feather, and then swoops over on us. While it salutes, the skipper, and the riders do the same thing, as a symbol of respect for our men who served for our country. After he swoops over, the song “This Land is your Land” plays in the background, and before you know it, we take a small left and right curve, leading us back into the loading area of the ride. Your skipper wishes everyone a final farewell as you exit the Jeep.
That is The Most Ground-Breaking Wonders of Nature, and this entirely wraps up the new and improved Critter Country. I hope you had fun as much as I did!
If these ideas are popular for New Critter Country, some of the attractions, like Where The Red Fern Grows: Billy Coleman's Hunt Adventure, The Legend of Bambi, and The Most Ground-Breaking Wonders of Nature might be incorporated into Tokyo Disneyland's Critter Country, as another possible expansion.
Mattyice16 here. Thank you for all of the wonderful comments I have received from my last post about my ideas for a possible "It's A Small World" refurbishment, at Disney's Magic Kingdom! My next thread that I will be posting is an idea that I had in mind for a long time: an expansion of Critter Country at Disneyland. This expansion will be very similar to New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom park. The purpose of expanding Critter Country, was not only to refurbish the rides that are already there, with the addition of creating new attractions, but to also bring back some Disney experiences from the past that have been really popular, and incorporate them into New Critter Country I was originally going to send these ideas to Walt Disney Imagineering, but finding out that I could not send ideas to Disney, my dream of hearing their feedback slowly vanished. So, due to the positive feedback I received on my last thread, I felt that this would be the appropriate time to share with you an attraction detailed tour of New Critter Country, right from start to end! And now, without a further or do, sit back, relax, and enjoy, as I present to you: New Critter Country. Here we go!
New Critter Country Attraction Detailed Tour
When you first enter New Critter Country, you will pass by The Critter Country Greeting Sign, but it will not only include random critters holding the sign, the Disney Characters representing Critter Country are also helping out. The first sight that you will pass by before entering NCC is Chick- A Pin- Hill from Splash Mountain. The mountain itself will stay the same, but the scenes inside and the ride vehicles, ( Logs), riding down the mountain will look like WDW’s and Tokyo’s.
As you continue your way into NCC, you will soon encounter The Hungry Bear Restraunt, found near the Splash Mountain Fast pass station.
The First attraction that I will be giving to you full detail about is the new and enhanced Pooh Ride, Hunny Hunt River Rapids, a river rapids version of “The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh” attraction!
HHRR: When you first encounter the attraction, you will still see the regular red shed- type building, but the sign will be changed to say the ride’s new title, with the remaining Pooh characters holding the sign. When you first enter the attraction, instead of walking in the outdoors, you will find yourself in Christopher Robin’ s Cottage, (Similar to Pooh’s Hunny Hunt). As you walk through the queue, guests will be able to interact with the many things that are found in his room, but most of the stuff, (The Pooh and Friends Dolls), will be for display. After you walk through the queue, you will then finally enter the outdoors, where your ride vehicle awaits you, (A Hunny Pot). Your ride vehicle will accommodate 6 guests per vehicle. The hunny pots used in the ride will have different colors added to them, according to the style of the Winnie the Pooh Characters, and have the name of a Random Pooh character in front. While you are waiting in line, Tigger will say the regular safety spiel, and the queue’s music will perform selections from most of the Pooh Movies. The water used in the ride will have yellow coloring to give off the effect of Honey itself.
After you board your hunny pot, you will first encounter a story book page with a video of the Winnie the Pooh in his Thinking spot and going to see Piglet scene from Winnie the Pooh and The Blustery Day (narration will be included). After, your ride vehicle will enter The Blustery Day scene of the ride. (The scenes and audio animatronics in HHRR are very similar to what you find in Pooh’s Hunny Hunt). In this scene, you will first find Gopher who pops out of his hole and wishes the guests a Happy Windsday. Most of the elements that you find in this scene are straight from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, (i.e. Pooh holding a string from a scarf to catch Piglet, Rabbit getting caught in the wind, and is nervous by protecting his garden, Owl babbling about his family and relatives in his house, (which unfortunately is being tossed around by the wind), Eeyore’s House getting knocked down by the wind, and Kanga trying to rescue his son, Roo, by kite.) Guests will also feel the motion of wind in this scene (hidden fans the room). “A Rather A Blustery Day” plays in this scene. Soon the scene is transitioning from Day to Night, and the next Pooh character we encounter is none other than Tigger, who has invited us to bounce with him. (“The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers” plays in this scene). Guests will approach Tigger a total of 5 times in the ride. The final time they see Tigger, he will say to them to go over that house (Pooh’s House) right over there. Then we soon find Tigger, who has pounced on Pooh, in his night cap and pajamas, telling him to beware of Heffalumps and Woozles stealing Hunny, which makes Pooh nervous. Then our Honey Pot sails into Pooh’s house where the narrator quotes from the movie Winnie The Pooh And The Blustery Day, “Pooh kept his lonely vigil, hour after hour, after hour, until at last Pooh fell fast asleep and began to dream,” when Pooh falls asleep. Then Guests find Pooh fast asleep, (behind him is his window where it’s raining outside). As our ride vehicle gets closer and closer, Pooh’s bedroom vanishes and just like in Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, a star field appears, and a Peppers Ghost Silhouette of Pooh magically floats into the air, as we hear Tigger say “Heffalumps and Woozles, Heffalumps and Woozles!!! Steal Honey!! Beware!! Beware!!” while spooky and mystical music plays. As this happens, we still see the floating Pooh silhouette magically floating in the air, as our ride vehicle is now riding up a small chain lift. The star field is still there, and we also see the mysterious faces of Heffalumps and Wozzles peek in and out, (through projections). Then, our honey pot exits the chain lift, as we approach 2 wozzle jack in the boxes, which is the entrance to the Heffalumps and Wozzles Scene of the ride. This scene will appear like the version depicted in Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, but will incorporate elements from all 3 Pooh rides. Your ride vehicle soon becomes trackless, with the addition of the yellow-colored water (Aquatopia @ TDS). The regular theme song plays in this scene, but there will be more surprises (the 2 mirrors and the canon ball) inspired by the film, (i.e. the ballroom dance between the pink Heffalump and the white Woozle, the encounter of the 3 honey pots that begin the song) There will be one surprise that every ride vehicle is required to go through, before leaving the scene. That element is a scene which is taken from the Hong Kong version of the ride, which has a Heffabee taking a picture of the guests. When we reach the heffalump’s trunk ( the scene finale, found on the right side of the scene), instead of riding it backwards we ride it forwards to encounter yet another surprise, 2 watering canons squirting out actual live water at us . We then go down a small drop, similar to the drop from Legoland Windsor’s Fairytale Brook Ride. We then visit Pooh’s house again to find Pooh looking at his mirror finding out that it’s raining. This encounters us into the 2nd to last scene of the ride -the rain scene. “The Rain, Rain, Rain Came Down, Down, Down” plays in this scene, and our ride vehicle soon starts to float. This scene is very similar to the WDW and HK version of the ride, but with a few differences- Tigger will sit on the trunk of a nearby tree, hoping he doesn’t fall and drown, and Pooh will rescue Piglet from the Waterfall. Then, as our scene transitions from Rain to shine, for the very first time in the Pooh Ride, we find an audio animatronic Christopher Robin, declaring Pooh as a hero for rescuing Piglet. Then our narrator tells the guests, that after a rainy day, everyone gathered together to say,( a pair of doors that show a rainbow soaring over the area open as we enter the final scene of the ride- the Hero party) “Horary!” Everyone shouts. “Horary for Pooh too.” Says Piglet. Then we soon encounter Pooh for the very last time, as he eats his Hunny in the dream where he sings “Everything is Honey”, and he bids the guests farewell. “Everything is Honey” plays in the finale. Then our Honey Pot returns to the loading area. Before we exit the ride, our ride attendant gives Guests a Honey Pot shaped Cookie, that was created from the Hero Party. From there guests can go purchase Pooh-related merchandise and their photo from the Pooh Corner shop or get a bite at Hunny Moon Caverns, a restaurant inspired by the 2011 Winnie the Pooh Movie.
This is the new Winnie-the Pooh section of Critter Country. Now as we continue our way into NCC, we then encounter the entrance to Splash Mountain. Now this is where I will get into the new experiences.
The next attraction we encounter is The Country Bear Jamboree-found on the right side. The entrance to this attraction will look very similar in the style to the Country Bear Hall from the movie, “The Country Bears”. When you walk inside the building instead of entering the theater, you enter the main lobby and are greeted by Henry Dixon Taylor, the bear owner of Country Bear Hall. In this case, he is unseen, and heard on a speaker coming from the sound booth to the lobby. He also welcomes everyone to Country Bear Hall. He then tells you why this place was so popular, and gives you a brief history of the band that successfully performed here,- The Country Bears. But, the thing he is excited to tell you is that you are one of the very first audiences to see them live on stage after a lot of years of decreased popularity, (Note: This next sentence is a spoiler alert to those who haven’t seen the movie yet. The film ends when the very first audience comes to see the return of the bears performing on stage.) Soon, he asks the group of guests if they are ready to see the show. When they say yes, they soon enter the theater, and tells them that he will be the Master of ceremonies for the concert. When you first enter the theater, you will notice these differences from previous attractions. The theater is expanded, to the size of Country Bear Hall from the movie, but the design of the stage is kept the same from previous attractions. You may also notice that there are souvenir kiosks on the sides of theater selling Country Bear Jamboree Merchandise. They are open before and after the show. You may also find that the three animal heads of Melvin The Moose, Buff the Buffalo, and Max The Deer are hanging on the right side of the theater, where their normal position is from previous Country Bear attractions. The show will be done in the same style as Magic Kingdom’s version, but will also include special appearances by Beary Barrington, Tennesse O’ Neal, Zeb Zoober, and Ted and Fred Bedderhead, stars of the Country Bears Movie. The holiday-overlay of the show will return, with a few revisions, due to the new plot.
Now, I will give you another ride layout of the next attraction on our left - Where the Red Fern Grows- Billy Coleman’s Hunt Adventure.
WTRFG-BCCHA: This new Disney attraction is inspired by the Disney film adaption of Wilson Rawl’s Where The Red Fern Grows. The entrance of the attraction will have 2 trees on the left and right side of the ride, and on the middle top is the sign which resembles a piece of tree bark that reads the ride’s name. As you enter the queue area, you soon find yourself in the woods, (the ride’s queue area). As you walk through the queue, you’ll hear the voice of Will Coleman, (Dave Matthews), who tells guests that they are about to go on the adventure of their lives, but he warns them to beware of Mountain Lions and other animals on this fierce journey. He also does the ride’s safety spiel. The music that will be played in the queue is the beginning music from the film. The queue also shows clips from the film. Before you know it you’ll soon enter the loading area of the ride, which is similar to the load area used in Madcasgar- A Crate Adventure in Universal Studios Singapore, but will look more woodsy. Your ride vehicle is a boat very similar to It’s A Small World, but it’s made out of wood. The scenes and audio animatronics in the ride are made very similar to the style of The Great Movie Ride. As soon as you enter your boat, the ride begins. The scenes will take place in a show building. The first scene that you encounter is a scene where we find an older Billy Coleman fixing the wound of Redbone coonhound, who was attacked by another neighborhood dog. The boat will stop during this scene and the Wilson Rawls type guy in the film tells guest the first part of the story. When the narrator gets to the part about Billy’s flashback, the boat starts to move, and similar to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh @ Disneyland, you enter through 5 pairs of doors, but instead of resembling to leaves and wooden doors, they are pages from the novel that lead into the next scene. This will lead us into the next scene of the ride, where we find Billy Coleman interested in buying the 2 Hounds of Ben Kyle and Hud Wellington. The 2 men are talking to Billy’s parents, who are nearby the house. After that our boat makes a half circle around the Coleman house, which leads into the very back where we find Billy having a conversation with his father about the 2 hounds. After that, the boats transport us to a scene similar to the end of the Monsters Inc Ride @ DCA, where Roz is able to talk to guests. Instead the scene takes place @ Grandpa’s store, where we find 2 other characters for the ride, Rubin and Rainie Pritchard. They think that it’s not a very smart idea for Billy to get hounds, and they ask the riders if they agree with them. Then we find Billy talking to his wise Grandpa about the hounds. Soon, the same Wilson Rawls type narrator from the film tells guests that Billy has found an ad to buy hounds, and he worked hard for 2 years to get enough money to buy them. After that this will transport us into the next scene where Billy has finally bought the 2 hounds, he has always wanted. The next scene shows the night when Billy was sleeping in the woods with his 2 hounds and hears the scary noises of a Mt. Lion, and Billy trying to scare him away with fake fire. The next couple of scenes that riders go through show when Billy is practicing his -hunting skills with Old Dan and Little Ann, in time for the -Hunt Championship Competition, (This will also include the scene where Billy is trying to cut down the tree with the axe, with the wind blowing it away.) Then we enter the -hunt Championship, where we are in the woods, and the 2 hounds are constantly chasing the for the competition. By the 6th night of the competition, we find the judge, Will, Grandpa, and Billy trying to search and call out for the 2 pups to come back during a blizzard. When the scene transitions from night to day, the 2 hounds finish up the completion by chasing down the last raccoon, and they fortunately win the competition. Soon confetti is shot and our boat reaches the 2nd to final scene of the ride, when Billy wins the gold cup, and wins the entire championship, while everyone is cheering for him. He also wins enough money from the competition for his family to move to Tahlequah. Like the end of the DL Pooh ride, we enter through yet another set of 5 doors, but instead of presents, these doors resemble shelves of Billy’s trophies and awards, as we hear that same narrator say that Billy had won the competition, and he will always remember Old Dan and Little Ann- the best 2 hounds he has ever had. Then we enter the final scene of the ride, where we find Billy Coleman and his family riding in the distance in a carriage to start their new life in Tahlequah, and the final element that we see in the ride from the film is that red fern that grows between Old Dan and Little Ann’s gravestones, (this ride does not include the death scene of Old Dan and Little Ann, because it would be too inapproiate for young riders.) Then, before we come to the loading area we come to 4 more doors that resemble pages that conclude the story that say these final phrases, (“I could still hear the wind and the trees. (1) I hope to go back one day (2) in that valley by the river (3), Where the Red Fern Grows (4).) Finally, our boat enters the loading area, and we exit the ride, that segues to the gift shop, Grandpa’s Store
That was Where the Red Fern Grows- Billy Coleman’s Hunt Adventure.
Now, as we continue our way down into NCC on our right, we soon appear to find the exterior of a huge circular arena that has bear skins covering around it, which hosts the attraction- Mordu Rocks!!!! This is Critter Country’s first ever rock concert. “Mordu Rocks” is a rock concert that will be very similar to Mad T Party @ Disney’s California Adventure, but instead it will be themed to Disney Pixar’s Brave, and inspired by the film’s main villain, Mordu. The rock concert will feature songs from the movie, including a rock-and-roll rendition of the hit song, “Touch The Sky”, along with new original songs created exclusively for the show. Just like with the Country Bear Jamboree, there will be souvenir kiosks, that will be located along the sides of the arena including 2 in the front, that will see “Mordu Rocks” and “Brave merchandise.
On the left hand sight, when you walk your way around NCC, you will then encounter the 2nd to last attraction of the land- The Legend of Bambi. You enter a tent themed to the wilderness, (the size of the Fantasy Faire Stage in Disneyland’s Fantasyland), and the show format is very similar to the Magic of Brother Bear and Enchanted Tales w/ Belle. Instead it’s a puppet show that features a narrator that tells shortened versions of Bambi 1 and Bambi 2. At the end of the show, Guests will have the chance to meet and greet w/ Bambi, Thumper, and Flower.
The Final new experience is another new attraction, The Most Ground-Breaking Wonders of Nature. This ride is inspired by an extinct Disneyland attraction called “ Nature’s Wonderland”, but will be enhanced for the 21st century. The attraction’s entrance is a wilderness cabin that you walk through as the queue area of the ride. When you walk through the cabin, guests will be able to experience what it was like to live in a house in the wilderness. They might also find heads of many critters on the walls too. In one part of the queue, you will find a talking deer head who is none other than Buck the Deer, who entertains guests in the queue area, (similar to Mr. Potato Head for Toy Story Mania@ Disney’s Hollywood Studios). You will also hear Larry the Cable Guy do the safety spiel. Then you will enter the loading area, which is in the backyard of the house. Your ride vehicle is an expanded Jeep, (similar to the Indiana Jones ride in Adventure land), and you’ll find a county-hunter skipper driving in the front of the Jeep.
When the ride begins, after you enter your ride vehicle, your ride skipper will give you a shortened reminder of the safety spiel. After that your Jeep will finally enter the woods (you’ll find small animals as you enter such as birds, chipmunks, squirrels, minks). Your ride skipper then tells guests, that ‘the woods is full of many different animals, some that are nice, and some that can be harmful, so beware if you’re are ever alone in the woods, and make sure to stay with someone’.
Then we hear something coming in the woods, as if something was running. Our skipper starts to get nervous, and thinks that it could possibly be a bear, but fortunately, we are safe, because we come across a herd of deer running in towards us. We soon stop the Jeep, to let them that they cross over. As this is happening, our skipper gives us facts about deer
Now our ride vehicle continues into the woods, and after 6 seconds, we soon hear the noise of a tree starting to shake, and a little bit of growling. Our ride skipper soon starts to get nervous, as our Jeep approaches a huge tall tree on our right that is about to fall. Soon, the skipper tells the someone who is knocking down the tree to come out where ever he is. After we soon see the face of a Brown Grizzly Bear peak through the right side of the tree. Before you know it, our ride skipper starts to get scared, and the Jeep runs full blast, while the bear chases us. We also see more Grizzly Bears chasing us. When they are gone, our skipper tells riders that Grizzly bears are the most harmful animals in the wilderness, and he/she sighs, indicating that they were that were almost going to get eaten by it.
Soon, we come to a wooden bridge on the left of our path, and decide to ride on it. On the left, we find none other to our surprise, but an adult female moose that is about to feed her babies, and drink water from a nearby pond, as her husband (western male) watches her. Our skipper then wants riders to talk to the moose, so she asks them to give out a moose call, (sound of a moose). After the count of 3, the skipper and the riders call out the moose’s sound. The moose in their own language say hello to the guests. Our skipper then wishes the moose a farewell, as our jeep travels in the distance. Our skipper then gives a few facts about the moose to riders.
Now as our jeep continues, we soon start to hear howls, and our skipper is sure to know that is the howl of a pack of wolves. Then the jeep soon slows down and then we find a pack of wolves, standing on top of the bark of a fallen tree, letting us know that we are their prey. Our ride skipper tells the wolves that these people mean no harm, and unfortunately, they keep coming closer at us, wanting to eat us. Our ride vehicle then takes off like a blast, as we get away from them.
Soon our Jeep approaches a flowing river, on the left side. Before you know it, we soon find a bunch of River Otters swimming around, and playing with each other. While we pass them, our skipper gives us a few facts about River Otters.
After that scene, our Jeep continues to run, and then we soon start to hear awful noises. When that immediately starts, the skipper blocks their ears, indicating that it was loud and so screechy. As our Jeep comes a little closer, we soon encounter a Fisher cat, on a branch on a tree, which is still making those awful noises. To tell him to be quiet, the skipper tells the riders to start to shush at him to keep his patience. As we continue to do this, our jeep stops, and finally it moves again. The ride skipper tells riders that this is the sound a fisher cat makes.
Then we soon smell the scent of something very awful, and it’s obvious that the scent comes from a group of skunks nearby, who are spraying this stinky gas at us. For the 3rd time our jeep starts to speed away again to get away from them.
Soon, we then start to hear the sounds of gnawing, and start to see cut down pieces of tree, and then we find a huge triangular stick lodge in a nearby lake, which is home to our 3rd to last animal of the ride- The Beaver, but there are about 4 of them we find scattered around. During this scene, the skipper tells facts to the guests about beavers.
Now as we say bye to the beavers, we head on over to visit the 2nd to last animal on our journey. As our Jeep continues, we soon find the last animal on our journey, the fox. In fact, we find a bunch of them on our left and right sides of the scene. We find some that are fighting with each other, some adult foxes that are trying to protect their babies and some that are calling out signals towards each other. During this the skipper will give riders facts about foxes.
Now, we come to the final animal of the ride, which “is” the most ground-breaking wonder of nature- THE AMERICAN EAGLE, who is sitting on a branch in a nearby tree. He salutes at us with his huge right feather, and then swoops over on us. While it salutes, the skipper, and the riders do the same thing, as a symbol of respect for our men who served for our country. After he swoops over, the song “This Land is your Land” plays in the background, and before you know it, we take a small left and right curve, leading us back into the loading area of the ride. Your skipper wishes everyone a final farewell as you exit the Jeep.
That is The Most Ground-Breaking Wonders of Nature, and this entirely wraps up the new and improved Critter Country. I hope you had fun as much as I did!
If these ideas are popular for New Critter Country, some of the attractions, like Where The Red Fern Grows: Billy Coleman's Hunt Adventure, The Legend of Bambi, and The Most Ground-Breaking Wonders of Nature might be incorporated into Tokyo Disneyland's Critter Country, as another possible expansion.
