June 16, 2009

The Critters are Moving in....

Originally the Indian Village of Frontierland when Disneyland first opened in 1955, this area of the park has gone through many changes in the 50 plus years of operation. In 1972, the Indian Village was re-themed, and renamed to Bear Country, a land that was themed to the forests of teh Pacific Northwest. With the land redo, a new attraction opened as well, the Country Bear Jamboree on March 4th of that year.

Then, less then 20 years later, the land went through another "refurbishment" and was updated. In 1988, the land formally known as Bear Country was renamed Critter Country in preparation for the addition of the new attraction, Splash Mountain, opening the next year. On Disneyland's 39th Anniversary, Splash Mountain officically opened in Critter Country.

Meanwhile this "new" land was making its way over to Tokyo Disneyland for its Splash Mountain as well. Opening in 1992, this land was built specifically for Splash Mountain, no other attractions are in this area. Other than the Beaver Brothers Explorer Canoes. In this land there are a few restaurants though, themed to various "critters", such as Rackety Raccoon's Saloon. As well as having a few shops. This land is known in the park for having spacious areas to walk through and is a great relaxing place to just sit and people watch.

In 2003, the long running, and much beloved Country Bear Jamboree was replaced in Disneyland with THe Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Many Disney Fans, were not happy with such a great and beloved attraction being replaced with a not so great dark ride. The Pooh attraction happens to be the least popular of all of the Pooh attractions around the world.

With this land only being present in two Disneyland parks, it is considered a "classic". Many disney fans speculate that it will be moving to Disneyland Paris soon. Because the Splash Mountain attraction was never built in Paris, and the Imagineers have always left a spot for it to go that can be easily cleared. If Splash Mountain was to be built in Disneyland Paris, it would go over Paris' Indian Village, so it would be like Disneyland land as well. Also, many peopl speculate that if Disneyland Paris was to build Splash Mountian and Critter Country, that a Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction would be not that far away, but time will tell...
That is if for today... Stay Tuned tomorrow for Pics and Pins of Critter Country....

No comments:

Post a Comment