Guide Tour of Critter Country, Disneyland Park, California, United States

Critter Country is one of the “themed lands” at Disneyland Park and Tokyo Disneyland run by The Walt Disney Company and The Oriental Land Company. It was originally designed as Bear Country at Disneyland Park in 1972, with the Country Bear Jamboree as its centerpiece.

Formerly the area was home to Indian Village, where indigenous tribespeople demonstrated their dances and other customs. Today, the main draw of the area is Splash Mountain, a log-flume journey based on the animated segments of Disney’s 1946 film Song of the South. In 2003, a dark ride called The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh replaced the Country Bear Jamboree, which closed in 2001.

Critter Country was originally named Indian Village. From 1956–1971, this section of Frontierland featured Native American shows and attractions, including the Indian War Canoes. The area was rebuilt as Disneyland’s seventh themed land, Bear Country.

The new four-acre land, Disneyland’s first major expansion since the 1969 opening of The Haunted Mansion, cost $8 million to build. Located in the northwest quadrant of the park, Bear Country was themed to the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Country Bear Jamboree, which opened three weeks later, was the new land’s centerpiece attraction.

Bear Country was also home to the Golden Bear Lodge, an eatery which was renamed Hungry Bear Restaurant in 1977, the Mile Long Bar refreshment center, Teddi Barra’s Swingin’ Arcade, and Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes.

Critter Country was inspired by a quote from the 1946 film Song of the South: “Where the folks are closer to the critters and the critters are closer to the folks.” The land maintained some of its bear themes while incorporating other critters with their huts, nests, and burrows scattered throughout. Some of the land’s shops were renamed to de-emphasize the bear presence.

On roofs of buildings, such as the Briar Patch Store, there are small-scale critter houses of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet. Various types of trees have been planted to create a forestry atmosphere. Critter Country is somewhat small when compared to Disneyland’s larger lands. This westernmost area features a single pathway that wraps around the footprint of Splash Mountain, starting near the Haunted Mansion and terminating in a series of shops nestled against the Splash Mountain show building.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is a dark ride based upon the 1977 film of the same name, itself based on the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. After the rise in popularity of Walt Disney’s film adaptation of Winnie the Pooh, Disney Imagineers made plans in the late 1970s for a Winnie the Pooh attraction at Disneyland’s soon-to-be renovated Fantasyland.

Following the success of the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, plans were made for a new section of the park located behind Fantasyland. Called Mickey’s Toontown, this section of the park would recreate the Toontown that was seen in the film. One of the rides that would have gone on the east side of this land was a Winnie the Pooh dark ride.

The version of the ride at Disneyland is unique. The ride vehicles resemble beehives, rather than the honey pots found in other versions of the attraction. Upon leaving the outdoor load area, the ride vehicles arrive indoors into the Hundred Acre Wood where Pooh is swinging in the air with a balloon. With Eeyore and the other characters is Gopher, who appears out of his hole to greet the guests.

The ride vehicles move into the rain scene, moved from the second-to-last scene in Florida’s to the second scene in California’s. Most of the things at this point are identical to Florida’s version. The ride vehicles move into the shortened Tigger scene, before moving to Pooh’s bedroom, where a scene similar to Florida’s version occurs.

The ride vehicles move into the heffalumps and woozles dream sequence where woozles with jack-in-the-box necks watch the guests. A pink Tigger pins Pooh to the floor near some honey. Some of the effects at this part of the ride are similar to Florida’s. Another Pooh bobs up and down in a balloon suspended above a swirling whirlpool of honey.

As the ride vehicles leave this scene, a subtle tribute to Country Bear Jamboree is suspended above the archway. The vehicles enter the start of the finale scene where Pooh is enjoying a “smackerel” of honey. The heffalumps can be seen flying off into Pooh’s dreamland, before several of Pooh’s friends tell him to wake up. The ride passes Pooh’s bed before moving on to show Pooh’s friends (this time all sculpted figures with movement) celebrating his birthday. Several of the gifts Pooh received for his party are shown. The vehicles continue until they reach the unload area.

Splash Mountain
Splash Mountain is a log flume at Disneyland Park, based on the animated sequences of the 1946 Disney film Song of the South. The installation begins with a peaceful outdoor float-through that leads to indoor dark ride segments, with a climactic steep drop into a “briar patch” followed by an indoor finale.

The plot behind Splash Mountain is a composite of several Uncle Remus stories. Each ride presents scenes taken from the animated segments of the film Song of the South, telling the story of Br’er Rabbit, the protagonist, a mischievous character who leaves his home in search of adventure.

Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear, the antagonists of the story, are determined to catch him, but are repeatedly tricked into letting him free. The sharp-witted Br’er Rabbit avoids a snare trap (as described in “Br’er Rabbit Earns a Dollar a Minute”) and uses it to trap Br’er Bear instead. Br’er Rabbit continues on his journey to find his “laughing place”. Out of curiosity, his foes follow but only for Br’er Rabbit to lead them into a cavern of bees.

Br’er Fox eventually catches Br’er Rabbit in a beehive and threatens to roast him. Br’er Rabbit uses reverse psychology on Br’er Fox, begging the fox not to throw him into the briar patch. Br’er Fox then throws Br’er Rabbit into the briar patch; Br’er Rabbit escapes uninjured. The other animals rejoice to have Br’er Rabbit back home, while Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear are last seen narrowly escaping the jaws of Br’er Gator.

Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes
Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes is a free-floating canoe experience at several Disney theme parks. The oldest of the rides is located at the Disneyland park in Anaheim, California. Boarding from the park’s Critter Country section, up to twenty visitors paddle a canoe around the Rivers of America, accompanied by two guides. This is the only Disneyland attraction that is powered by park visitors. The attraction originally opened as Indian War Canoes on July 4, 1956 as part of Frontierland’s Indian Village expansion.

At the original Disneyland version of the attraction, riders embark and disembark from a small boat dock next to the Hungry Bear restaurant in the Critter Country section of the park. Each 35-foot-long (11 m) fiberglass canoe holds twenty guests, two per row. Each canoe has two guides dressed as frontiersmen at the bow and stern. These guides are referred to as the helmsman, bowman, and sternman.

Riders/rowers are given a short lesson on how to paddle the canoe to power the boat properly after leaving the dock. Small children are required to wear life jackets. Life jackets are also available for adults who cannot swim in the event the boat ever capsizes. As the canoe travels 2,400 feet (730 m) around Tom Sawyer Island, located in the center of the man-made river, the guides point out the sights along the way, such as a settler’s cabin and the Indian chief on horseback. The ride’s length depends upon how fast the paddlers are and how much other traffic is on the river.

Lacking tracks or a predetermined path to follow, they typically travel much faster than the large boats, like the Mark Twain Riverboat and the Sailing Ship Columbia which ride along submerged tracks and return by the last bend of Splash Mountain. The attraction operates year-round on weekends and includes weekdays during the park’s peak seasons. The canoes generally close at dusk as to prepare the Rivers of America for any night water shows such as Fantasmic!.

Country Bear Jamboree (Former attractions)
The attraction is a stage show with audio-animatronic figures. Most of the characters are bears who perform country music. Characters rise up to the stage on platforms, descend from the ceiling, and appear from behind curtains. The audience includes audio-animatronic animal heads mounted on the walls who interact with characters on stage.

Due to overwhelming popularity, The Country Bear Jamboree was given a “spin-off” show which appeared during the 1984 winter season at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. It was called The Country Bear Christmas Special. In 1986 it was given a summertime version called The Country Bear Vacation Hoedown. This version was so popular at Disneyland until the attraction’s closing in 2001. In 2002, a movie titled The Country Bears was released which was based on the attraction and its characters.

Hungry Bear Restaurant
Hungry Bear Restaurant is an American-style restaurant in the Critter Country land at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California in the United States. The Hungry Bear Restaurant is located in Critter Country, next to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The restaurant is two stories. the restaurant has a rustic feel. Customers order their food at the counter and the food is then brought to the customer at their table. The restaurant has patio dining, overlooking the Rivers of America.

The restaurant serves American cuisine and updates its menu with seasonal offerings, including themed foods based on special events and holidays at the park. Hungry Bear’s signature dishes are a Lemon Bumblebee Cupcake and a Fried Green Tomato Sandwich. Like all Disney restaurants, Hungry Bear offers a children’s menu, including healthier options like string cheese, sliced apples, nonfat yogurt, and crackers. Hungry Bear offers funnel cakes as dessert offerings, including a classic funnel cake topped with powdered sugar. They also offer a churro-type funnel cake, topped with cinnamon sugar.

Disneyland
The Disneyland Park, is the first of two theme parks built at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, opened on July 17, 1955. It is the only theme park designed and built to completion under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. It was originally the only attraction on the property; its official name was changed to Disneyland Park to distinguish it from the expanding complex in the 1990s. It was the first Disney theme park.

Since its opening, Disneyland has undergone expansions and major renovations, including the addition of New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country (now Critter Country) in 1972, Mickey’s Toontown in 1993, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019. Opened in 2001, Disney California Adventure Park was built on the site of Disneyland’s original parking lot.

Disneyland Park consists of nine themed “lands” and a number of concealed backstage areas, and occupies over 100 acres. The park opened with Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland, and has since added New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country (now known as Critter Country) in 1972, and Mickey’s Toontown in 1993, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019.