Why is Winnie the Pooh a joke at Disneyland?

[Slippin' Falls]

People have told me that Winnie the pooh in Disneyland is almost always empty and there is never a line. I was shocked to hear this knowing that there is almost always a lengthy line at Pooh when I head out to MK in the summer. To those who have been to DL, why is their ride version less popular than the MK version?

 

[nicolita3]

i have been to the one in disneyland, i think that it might be because it is right next to splash mountain and that ride always is more popular and i think it is just because it is only like 2 minutes long and it can fit like 6 people in a car, its alright for adults i think that it is more for toddlers and stuff ive never been to the one in MK though.:animwink:

 

[DSNYKID]

We went to DL in May 05 and did go on the Pooh ride probably 4-5 times in a row. The ride is almost exactly the same as DW. The only difference I can think of is that the vehicles are alittle different. You also enter the ride from outside. As a side note, the Pooh ride in DL is where Country Bears used to be and in the ride they still have some of the animal heads. I didn't think of the ride as a joke, but we did wonder why the Pooh ride in DW always has a long line and the DL one didn't. We always get a fastpass for Pooh in DW so that our boys can go on it and not have to wait in such a long line. Anybody else know anything else? :wave:

 

[TTATraveler]

The DL Pooh cars don't bounce around like they do in WDW. It is also out of the way at DL near the exit of Splash Mountain.

 

[fudwrapper]

I went on pooh at DL last summer and thought it was very similar if not identical to the pooh at MK. I believe the reason for the difference in rider volume is that pooh at DL is kinda tucked away, behind the entrance to Splash Mountain. It's not right smack dab in the middle of everything, like pooh is at MK. But the area it is in at DL is kinda neat, very well themed, with a cute little waterfall tucked away in a corner that most people just miss. I have a picture of that waterfall, and if I knew how to upload pictures into these posts, I would share it! :hammer:

 

[disneywy]

The ride just doesn't have a cohiesive story or theme thru it like the WDW, HKDL, or TDL versions do. While it is similar in some areas to the WDW ride, it is definately not the same. WDW and HKDL have almost identical versions.

At DL you go in and it is windy and the bee hives you ride in start to move like you are in the flood scene. This movement continues thru the entire ride. Then you enter the flood scene. After that you see Pooh fall asleep and you move into a big room with the Heffalumps and Whoozles (sp?). When leaving that room you can look up and see the animal heads from The Country Bears. At this point you see Pooh eating honey and hear Piglet say "Wake up Pooh." Then lastly it is Pooh's birthday party and then you exit outside.

You can tell that they didn't have much of a budget to work with. It was never popular from day one and I have never seen the line past 10-15 minutes. They even removed its FastPass fairly soon after its opening. I will say that I enjoy its outside loading area, but the overall ride just doesn't hit the mark and is confusing.

 

[tirian]

The ride just doesn't have a cohiesive story or theme thru it like the WDW, HKDL, or TDL versions do. While it is similar in some areas to the WDW ride, it is definately not the same. WDW and HKDL have almost identical versions.

At DL you go in and it is windy and the bee hives you ride in start to move like you are in the flood scene. This movement continues thru the entire ride. Then you enter the flood scene. After that you see Pooh fall asleep and you move into a big room with the Heffalumps and Whoozles (sp?). When leaving that room you can look up and see the animal heads from The Country Bears. At this point you see Pooh eating honey and hear Piglet say "Wake up Pooh." Then lastly it is Pooh's birthday party and then you exit outside.

You can tell that they didn't have much of a budget to work with. It was never popular from day one and I have never seen the line past 10-15 minutes. They even removed its FastPass fairly soon after its opening. I will say that I enjoy its outside loading area, but the overall ride just doesn't hit the mark and is confusing.

Correct, except that TDL's Pooh uses the same trackless GPS guidance system as the Great Movie Ride. The characters are furry, too.

DL's version of Pooh was built on a significantly smaller budget than WDW's; and when it opened, park nuts noticed this. It also has a brief outdoor segment.

 

[TP2000]

I couldn't really tell the difference between the Disneyland Pooh and the WDW Pooh, aside from the obvious building/vehicle/landscaping difference. The "show" itself seemed nearly identical, although the sets are placed differently at Disneyland. Let's summarize the reasons why Disneyland's Pooh has a shorter line than WDW's Pooh, with a new reason thrown in that I don't think East Coasters realize;

1. Higher capacity. Disneyland's Pooh gets over 1,000 riders an hour with it's 6 person beehive vehicles. WDW's Pooh gets closer to 650 an hour with it's 4 person vehicles. Higher capacity, shorter line.

2. Disneyland has no Fastpass on Pooh. Without Fastpass, there is no stagnant Standby line. Fastpass makes longer, slower lines for those who didn't get Fastpass. It's a vicious circle really.

3. It's out of the way, tucked behind trees and greenery. Same reason why Country Bear Jamboree wasn't as popular at Disneyland.

And finally, here's something I don't think has been discussed yet, but is a big piece of the puzzle....

4. Pooh is just one of EIGHT traditional dark rides at Disneyland Resort. At WDW, it's one of only THREE traditional dark rides. There's simply not a lot of dark rides at WDW, and people still like dark rides in the 21st century. Disneyland just has a lot more dark rides, and by the time they get back to Critter Country the average Disneyland visitor has probably already been on 3 or 4 or 5 dark rides that day alone, and they don't feel the pressure to squeeze another one in to their busy day. Within a 10 minute walk of Winnie The Pooh, Disneyland guests also find these other dark rides; Peter Pan's Flight, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Pinnochio's Daring Journey, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, Alice In Wonderland, Snow White's Scary Adventures, and Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley To The Rescue.

The only other dark ride options at WDW are; Peter Pan's Flight and Snow White's Scary Adventures. And that's not just the list for Magic Kingdom, that's the dark ride list for the entire WDW property.

That said, I don't think you could compare any of the other three Pooh rides to the Tokyo version. I've been on the Tokyo version, and it's very much a big-budget E Ticket. The other Pooh rides are solid C Tickets. Tokyo's Pooh ride is amazing, and is in a completely different class compared to the other Pooh rides. No comparison.

 

[CThaddeus]

I want to start off by saying:
a) It's not a joke at Disneyland; some of us go on it all the time, and think it's a great attraction. It does suffer a bit, though, from the various reasons mentioned by others.
b) You mention you go to WDW in the summer. To be fair, every attraction at Disneyland has a line during the summer, too. Granted, Disneyland's Pooh line is never anywhere near the length of the line at the Magic Kingdom, but it does get its share of people during the typical busy times.

I always feel a twinge of anger toward it because it replaced the Country Bear shows, but I suppose that anger is really directed more toward Disney because I feel Country Bears could have stayed and a "Hundred Acre Wood" area could have been constructed where the usually dead Big Thunder Ranch now sits. If done properly it could have provided a nice link between Fantasyland and Frontierland, and I think might have gotten more visitors as they toured Fantasyland. Heck, with a little bit of redesigning, they could have made it a part of Fantasyland through the area that used to house the Skyway.
But again, I don't think anyone hates it or thinks it a joke. That honor probably goes to Paradise Pier (minus California Screamin').

 

[disneywy]

Correct, except that TDL's Pooh uses the same trackless GPS guidance system as the Great Movie Ride. The characters are furry, too.

DL's version of Pooh was built on a significantly smaller budget than WDW's; and when it opened, park nuts noticed this. It also has a brief outdoor segment.

GMR doesn't use the GPS navigation controls like Pooh in Tokyo. GMR is actually on a small track. I beleive the only Disney rides that use the GPS system is Pooh and Aquatopia, both in Disney Seas.

Also, I have a hard time believing that because it is tucked away that people don't go to the attraction. Granted that may be part of it, I don't think that is a major reason. People somehow still get back there to get Splash FP's and take pictures with Pooh. Country Bears was also not very popular when it closed, but was never as popular from opening day as it was in FL (from what I have heard). There were also two theaters running the Country Bears show in DL.

I do agree that it is hard to compare to Pooh in Tokyo and is one of many dark rides at DL, so guests have more options to pick from. All that being said, I ride it almost everytime I am there cause it is still kinda cute and like we said, never has a line, lol.

 

[carolina_yankee]

The only other dark ride options at WDW are; Peter Pan's Flight and Snow White's Scary Adventures. And that's not just the list for Magic Kingdom, that's the dark ride list for the entire WDW property.

I love all the dark rides at DL - and they seem to be much better maintained than the few at WDW (probably because of the 50th).

But, for clarification: What qualifies as a dark ride? Wouldn't Haunted Mansion and Spaceship Earth also qualify? Even the boat rides (pirates and such). I guess I'm mistaken, but I thought a dark ride was any indoor attraction in, well, the dark. Or do they refer only to specfic attractions?

Dirk

 

[darthjohnny]

I went on it and it did have somewhat of a lengthy line, and it was during a day when it wasn't that crowded.

 

[William Marsden]

I believe the reason for the difference in rider volume is that pooh at DL is kinda tucked away, behind the entrance to Splash Mountain. It's not right smack dab in the middle of everything, like pooh is at MK.

I agree. The Frontierland location for Disneyland's Pooh is close to Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain - more grownup attractions with height restrictions. I felt that Pooh looked a little out of place in its Disneyland location. However, I'm soooo grateful that they didn't take out Mr. Toad like they did in WDW. Another observation we've made - when we've been to WDW we've never seen Star Tours as crowded as it is in Disneyland. (We've never gone during Star Wars Weekend.:animwink

 

[TP2000]

I love all the dark rides at DL - and they seem to be much better maintained than the few at WDW (probably because of the 50th).

But, for clarification: What qualifies as a dark ride? Wouldn't Haunted Mansion and Spaceship Earth also qualify? Even the boat rides (pirates and such). I guess I'm mistaken, but I thought a dark ride was any indoor attraction in, well, the dark. Or do they refer only to specfic attractions?

Dirk

A "dark ride" is generally considered a small-scale attraction with a little cart that travels on a bus-bar type track past basic show scenes. Usually the scenes are lit with "black light" effects and the sets are painted in flourescent shades to emphasize the effect. Snow White, Pinnochio, Mr. Toad and Alice are all classic "dark rides". Peter Pan also qualifies, although it's always had the novel suspended vehicles rather than the cars on tracks. There are newer dark rides that have gimmicks or techno extras, such as the spinning cars on Roger Rabbit, the motion base cars on Pooh, or the onboard video/audio on Monsters Inc. But because they still basically ride on a track past little show scenes in the dark, they still qualify as "dark rides".

You don't have to be at a Disney park to see a dark ride; some of the older amusement parks still have a few dark rides, although they are rarely as well done as Disney's.

And I also noticed that the three WDW dark rides were not nearly as well maintained as the eight Disneyland dark rides. Even several years before the 50th, and all the paint and TLC Disneyland got, the dark rides at WDW paled noticeably in comparison when it came to maintenance. I thought that was odd, since there's only three of them to work on and I would figure that would mean they'd be in tip-top shape at WDW. But maybe because Disneyland has so many dark rides they have a bigger maintenance crew devoted solely to the maintenance and upkeep of "dark rides"?

Attractions like Haunted Mansion, Spaceship Earth, Buzz Lightyear etc. share similarities with dark rides in the way they stage their show scenes and the use of lighting. But since they are all on a larger scale, and/or use Omnimover vehicles or more advanced ride systems they are generally not thought of as traditional "dark rides".

A dark ride is generally thought of as a little C Ticket type experience. (Although you could argue a few, like Roger Rabbit and maybe Monsters Inc. are C+ or D Tickets) The Omnimover attractions are grander, and are usually D or sometimes even E Ticket experiences.

 

[DigitalDisney]

I'd definately blame the location for the ride's poor performance. Another factor is the constant rocking motion of the cars. I have no idea why they elected to do that instead of using WDW's bouncing during the Tigger scene, and rocking during the flood scene. Those are small touches that make the ride more interesting and fun.

I've also read that the vehicles are not well designed, and it's tough to see from anywhere but the first row, especially for a child.

 

[carolina_yankee]

A "dark ride" is generally considered a small-scale attraction with a little cart that travels on a bus-bar type track past basic show scenes. . . .

Thanks for the explanation. That was very helpful.

And I also noticed that the three WDW dark rides were not nearly as well maintained as the eight Disneyland dark rides. Even several years before the 50th, and all the paint and TLC Disneyland got, the dark rides at WDW paled noticeably in comparison when it came to maintenance. I thought that was odd, since there's only three of them to work on and I would figure that would mean they'd be in tip-top shape at WDW. But maybe because Disneyland has so many dark rides they have a bigger maintenance crew devoted solely to the maintenance and upkeep of "dark rides"?

After one visit to DL, but many visits to WDW, I'm begining to fell that the original gets all the TLC. I don't begrudge them, but it bugs me that WDW isn't keeping up. We were blown away by the brilliance of the blacklight, and the charm that gave the attractions is one of the many reasons we want to be sure visit DL again this summer.

Disney's getting to be an expensive habit . . .

Dirk

 

[Slippin' Falls]

I want to start off by saying:
a) It's not a joke at Disneyland; some of us go on it all the time, and think it's a great attraction. It does suffer a bit, though, from the various reasons mentioned by others.
b) You mention you go to WDW in the summer. To be fair, every attraction at Disneyland has a line during the summer, too. Granted, Disneyland's Pooh line is never anywhere near the length of the line at the Magic Kingdom, but it does get its share of people during the typical busy times.

I always feel a twinge of anger toward it because it replaced the Country Bear shows, but I suppose that anger is really directed more toward Disney because I feel Country Bears could have stayed and a "Hundred Acre Wood" area could have been constructed where the usually dead Big Thunder Ranch now sits. If done properly it could have provided a nice link between Fantasyland and Frontierland, and I think might have gotten more visitors as they toured Fantasyland. Heck, with a little bit of redesigning, they could have made it a part of Fantasyland through the area that used to house the Skyway.
But again, I don't think anyone hates it or thinks it a joke. That honor probably goes to Paradise Pier (minus California Screamin').

I'm sorry, in titling this phrase I shouldn't have used joke. Looking back I wish I hadn't. It was just that on the photo update on visionsfantstic.com the author continued to bash the ride and I remember hearing people bash it on a DL website once. Nonetheless, forgive me for my poor choice of words.:wave:

 

[CThaddeus]

I'm sorry, in titling this phrase I shouldn't have used joke. Looking back I wish I hadn't. It was just that on the photo update on visionsfantstic.com the author continued to bash the ride and I remember hearing people bash it on a DL website once. Nonetheless, forgive me for my poor choice of words.:wave:

I guess I get a little defensive about Disneyland, and I shouldn't. There are some attractions people either like or don't. Pooh does tend to get bashed around a lot, but this applies to the Magic Kingdom version as well. I don't get those who don't like it, as I feel that it is actually better than some of the other dark rides, but to each his own.
I mentioned one of the things I think has turned people off toward the Pooh rides in my last post - the former occupants of the attractions. In Disneyland, they took out the Country Bears, which I will never understand, but it won't stop me from riding it; in the Magic Kingdom, they took out Mr. Toad, which personally I didn't mind. I didn't think much of WDW's version of Mr. Toad when I rode it in 1996, and so when I came back in 2000 and Winnie the Pooh had taken over, I was actually quite happy. I enjoyed the ride a lot more and thought it was a major improvement for Fantasyland. I know I'm frequently alone in this regard, but again, to each his own.
Don't worry, I wasn't angry with you or your statement; I was just hoping to disspell a myth that everyone here in Southern California thinks the Pooh attraction stinks.

 

[BRER STITCH]

Ummm....I think the POOH ride at DL is pretty cool, actually, mainly because of the outdoor load/unload area, the cool ride vehicles, and the section of the park it is nestled away in!

He's never been a favorite character of mine anyway, so the disjointed scenes in the DL one don't bother me any more than they do at WDW.

 

[ScrapIron]

After one visit to DL, but many visits to WDW, I'm begining to fell that the original gets all the TLC. Dirk

If you haven't kept abreast of things over the past 5-6 years at DL, then I'm sure the irony of that statement will not be apparent. During the Paul Pressler/Cynthia Harris regime, things at DL were really sliding. There was a widely reported quote from a meeting a few years back where someone, I think Pressler, said, and I'm not making this up, "If it's good enough for 6 Flags, it's good enough for us".

I never thought much of Devo, but de-evolution seems to be happening with Pooh since there's a feeling among many that each version is less than the one before. When Matt Ouimet came aboard, he is said to have been less than pleased with Pooh, and they never really pushed it in advertising because of that.

Peter Pan has FP at WDW but not at DL, but the long waits are the same at both, so I don't think that's it. I'm surprised someone found Star Tours more crowded at DL; for the last few years I've never had a wait at night. Even when it had FP, I've had a CM wave me through without taking it due to the lack of a wait.

Cheers.