New Disneyland Paris Le Pays des Contes de Fées Attraction Poster

Say what you want about Disneyland Paris, but you can't deny that place has style! The new attraction poster for Le Pays des Contes de Fées (a French version of Disneyland's Story Book land Canal Boats) is a beautiful piece of Imagineering art. The attraction now features scenes from Frozen, Up, and Winnie the Pooh. Those of you who have not been to the most beautiful of Disney castle parks may not know this attraction comes with an added bonus: Casey Jr. Circus Train is a real live roller coaster. Family friendly? Absolutely- and much more charming than the Florida kingdom's Goofy kids' coaster.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

The Country Bears Introduce the Critter Country 500

Every once in awhile, someone suggests ripping out the Country Bear Jamboree from the Magic Kingdom's Frontierland. I hate that idea! It's a Florida Kingdom original, and it's one of the few musical Audio-Animatronic shows left. (Will they ever go back in style?) The other American version of the show got pulled out for Winnie the Pooh, leaving just a version of this humorous attraction in Tokyo Disneyland. 

How did it get pulled from California? Well, "The Happiest Place on Earth" had a big problem as its traffic patterns indicated that the once popular show seemed to have run its course. The country music fan base was just not as strong as in the South. Time for change had come for Imagineer Marc Davis' musical comedy.  

The Country Bears were to begin life here.

But the show- which began as an idea for Disney's Mineral King Ski Resort- had its fans. Fans in Imagineering, actually.

Many ideas were tossed about as they tried to come up with something fresh for those Hillbilly Bruins. A small flume type attraction was considered as well as a silly road race, shown above. (You can see more concept art for the race here.)

The great sounding "Critter Country 500", a fun road race for all ages was one of the ones with the best chance of making the cut. But it wasn't to be.  Even this rending by Christopher Merritt couldn't convince the suits. Pooh won out, taking his place at Disneyland.

(Oh yeah. Come back tomorrow for my trip report on Disney World After a Decade- Day Three at Epcot... then, the Magic Kingdom.)

(Concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Pooh and Piglet Give Thanks

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” 

                            A.A. Milne 

The author sure had the right idea! Even with its darkest moments, life is certainly something to be thankful for. God is so kind and so merciful to us- and He alone is deserving of our thanksgiving.

"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song." Psalm 95:1-2

May your heart be light and full of joy and thanksgiving on this day!

Disneyland Attraction Posters: The Critter Country Collection

With the smallest of Disney lands, comes one of the fewest number of attraction posters. The story of Critter Country aka Bear Country aka the Indian Village truly speaks to one of the constants of Disneyland's evolution: the park will always be changing, influenced by both the history of the Walt Disney Company and the future of it.

The grand opening of Walt Disney World and the Magic Kingdom in 1971 had a significant impact on Disneyland in California. Following several years of very impressive attractions and explosive growth in guest numbers, the focus shifted to Florida. With New Orleans Square, the Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion and the New Tomorrowland, the risk-taking Imagineers amassed an incredible string of stunning successes. The public was quick to respond with increased attendance and increased spending in shops and eateries. It was now time to focus on Florida where the company was opening an entire resort and not just an individual theme park.

Certainly, Florida's Magic Kingdom used Disneyland's primary attraction roster and general layout as its blueprint with several attractions being slightly tweaked due to placement in a new land compared to the west coast park (The Haunted Mansion) or adjusted for Central Florida's less hospitable weather (It's A Small World). There were a few new attractions for the Magic Kingdom, and one of these quickly made its way to California: the Country Bear Jamboree.

The show itself began life as an entertainment concept for Disney's proposed Mineral King development, but when those plans fell apart, the very corny but clever Audio-Animatronic theater show was placed into the Magic Kingdom's Frontierland. It's blend of country music and hillbilly bears made it an instant hit.

Back in the day when a few years between new attractions was unheard of, the Disney suits decided to clone this Florida gem back to the California park, adding one additional theater to handle the expected crowds. The Indian Village closed, and the bears moved in, bringing a north woods feel to this quiet corner of the park. Along with Teddi Berra's Swinging Arcade, the seemingly Mile Long Bar, and the Golden Bear (now Hungry Bear) Restaurant, the new show created a brand new land that drew in guests- for a season. Interestingly, it was the first time that guests could be in the park and walk beyond the boundaries created by the tracks of the Disneyland Railroad.

When Michael Eisner took over the reins at the Walt Disney Company, he was wise enough to see the parks needed an injection of attractions that would compete with the thrills found at other amusement parks in the area. The fading popularity of the old Tomorrowland show, America Sings, provided the perfect opportunity to further expand Bear Country.

Imagineer Tony Baxter and his team executed an idea for a log flume based attraction themed to Song of the South, an old Disney film filled with charm and controversy. With its deep storytelling, catchy music, repurposed animated characters, and a thrilling flume drop, Splash Mountain was destined to be another hit. The poster above celebrated its grand opening on July 17, 1989. The attraction continues to draw some of the longest lines at Disneyland regardless of the season.

Country Bear Jamboree was quickly losing an audience as guests from the west coast grew bored with the show's hillbilly flavor. The Imagineers tried to reuse the bears by creating a new thriiling attraction of a different flavor (go here), but the budget minded management- the same leadership involved with the creation of the disaster of California Adventure 1.0- vetoed the plan in favor of bringing another Florida attraction to California.

It was a silly old bear that created more change for this little corner of Disneyland. Winnie the Pooh remains a popular, beloved character in children's literature and in film. The Walt Disney Company opened a dark ride attraction in Florida which replaced Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in the Magic Kingdom.

Four years later in 2003, another version of Pooh's attraction appeared in Disneyland, replacing the Country Bear Jamboree, which had run its course of popularity. Had the suits and the Imagineers planned better, Country Bear Jamboree could have stayed open if reduced to one theater, and Winnie the Pooh could have still been designed using the available space more creatively. This would have resulted in two attractions for children and families who chose not to ride or couldn't meet Splash Mountain's height restrictions. Bear Country became Critter Country to better reflect the home of its newest inhabitants. The new attraction's poster, however, did not appear until many years later, when Disneyland management continued to build a fan base for this less than wonderful dark ride.

Editor's note, July 2014: Above the 25th anniversary poster of Splash Mountain!

As you can see, changing tastes affect the popularity of the park's attractions, and this in turn changes what ends up in the parks. What will come next to this area of Disneyland? Who knows, but my bet is the Imagineers still have some new tricks up their sleeves.

Next stop on our grand circle attraction poster tour- the Old and Wild West!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Disneyland's Road Race to Nowhere

"The Happiest Place on Earth" had a bit of a glaring problem. At least it was obvious to the suits watching the park and its traffic patterns. Marc Davis' sweet but amusing Country Bear Jamboree seemed to have run its course with park visitors. Numbers continued to decline.

The attraction occupied a big and beautiful wooded piece of real estate at Disneyland, just around the bend from the Haunted Mansion. It wasn't front and center as in the case of the attraction's location at Walt Disney World's Frontierland, but it was still a substantial chunk of the very small original kingdom. What to do?

Henry in his new role!

The Imagineers with a soft spot for the attraction began coming up with some new concepts to save the Hillbilly bruins. Among the considerations were a small flume type attraction and a silly roadrace. 

And the winner is... no one.

Ultimately, even the terrific "Critter Country 500" with its rending by Christopher Merritt, couldn't save the bears from a quick and out of place swap out with another little cub. With the show leaving Disneyland, it was the beginning of guests losing musical Audio-Animatronic shows. (See the article here.)

The singing bears were now only to be found in Tokyo Disneyland and at Florida's Magic Kingdom. Oh, Pooh!

(Concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Journeys to Nowhere in Particular

Just what is Mr. Toad up to? If you'd like to know, you either have to read The Wind in the Willows, the book by Kenneth Grahame, or visit one of two Magic Kingdom style parks.

The most fulfilling journey will come from those taken at Disneyland in California. In fact, it is the only place you can actually hop aboard an old motorcar for a brief but thrilling excursion through Toad Hall and then London itself. (Imagineering's David Naylor created the painting above in 1982.)

Sadly, Walt Disney World's version of Toad's travels closed in the late 1990's to make way for the blustery adventures of a silly ole bear. The Magic Kingdom is the poorer for it, as Florida's version had not one but two separate journeys! I always did like taking two rides through upon each visit. Of course, you get always visit via web! For extensive details and photos, go to Widen Your World . For an on line ride thru, head to Virtual Toad.

The only other place to go and experience a bit of Toad is at Disneyland Paris. In this beautiful French park, although the exteriors of Toad Hall look the same, the residence is actually a British restaurant! The detail is still stunning, and if you look around, you'll find one of many little charming touches: a portrait of Mr. Toad himself sits on a wall above diners. Look carefully- here Mr. Toad is envisioned by great European artists: Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and da Vinci. The painting magically transforms before your eyes every minute or so. Delightful!



Before I sign off, I must mention the images above come from the terrific book, Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality. It is written by Alain Littaye and Didier Ghez. Alain is the blogmaster of the great Disney and More website. I believe the book is still available- and is very well worth your hard earned money. It is the best source for Imagineering concept art for the Paris park. Stunning!

(Artwork copyright The Walt Disney Company.)