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View Full Version : Trip Report Sun 4/13: Pooh, RoA, Matterhorn



blusilva
04-13-2003, 11:07 PM
So I finally got back to the park after a hiatus of several months. I met up with a friend in Town Square a few minutes after the gates opened at 8 and then we hightailed it over to Pooh. I never realized before what a hike that is!

Spoilers for Pooh ahead....

Brace yourselves: I liked Pooh. It wasn't squeal-inducing, but I thought that for a dark ride, it was cute and clever. It could have used more fiber-optic effects (which I adore in dark rides - I think they really enhance the experience in Snow White and Pinocchio). Maybe to make the honey sparkle?
But, overall, I didn't think it was too "kiddy" or too "cheap". I'd put it on a par with any of the dark rides in Fantasyland with the exception of Peter Pan.

I was impressed with the the disembodied Dream Pooh effect. I thought the combination of Pepper's Ghost and film projection was suprisingly well done - although wouldn't that be kind of scary for little kids? Especially with the hallucinogenic room right afterwards? I thought the psychedelic Tigger sitting on Pooh's chest was disturbing. I guess I have issues.

Thanks everyone for the "heads up" on Buff, Max and Buck. I looked straight up as we entered the honey room and there they were!

I did find the ride vehicles a bit cramped. But then, I'm a whole lotta woman and was sitting in the seat with a very tall man.

I could also see where the buzzing beehive at the end of the ride would unsettle people with bee-phobia. Now that I think about it, there's sort of a bee-theme running throughout Critter Country, what with the Laughing Place and Pooh. It could be nightmare land for the bee-phobic.

The new candy/Pooh shop was very well-themed and the staff there was extremely eager to assist us in our shopping needs. :)

Then we had a nice leisurely breakfast at the Riverbelle Terrace - no AP discount, but good food, great service and a terrific view.

A ride on the Mark Twain came next. They've added railings to the front of the boat. I never would have noticed if my friend hadn't said "hey, there used to be chains up here, now there's railings!" He didn't like them; I thought it was nice to have something solid to lean on. :)

The River itself seems a little low - perhaps it takes a while to fill up all the way? And they really did some hack and slash on the trees. But the "wildlife" looked all refreshed and shiny and the ducks seemed very happy to be home again.

Then we checked out King Arthur Carrousel. It looks beautiful to me. The much-maligned sun shade wasn't in place. I watched some over-sugared child sit on a horse and repeatedly try to pull the pole out of its socket. God, I just wanted to smack it. Where was its parents and why was it allowed to do that to such a beautiful piece of art? *ahem* Anyway...

Next stop was the Matterhorn. We did the left side. To be honest, I didn't notice much of a difference. They moved the safety spiel from the first ramp, thank God, to the launch area. That's an improvement. Overall, though, it was...well, the Matterhorn.

We also hung out at Redd Rocket's, hit the Pirates exhibit up in the Gallery (and I bought $40 worth of t-shirts) and then went on BTMM before heading home. All in all a great day!

MammaSilva
04-14-2003, 04:11 AM
Thanks for the report! :)

Ghoulish Delight
04-14-2003, 09:54 AM
I totally agree with you about Pooh. I have been purposely avoiding any comments about it until I got to ride it, which I finally did yesterday. And I thuroughly enjoyed it. First off, it was bright and colorful. Secondly, there were some really great effects. Things that come to mind are the rain with the puddles, the ones blusilva mentioned, and the giant swirling pool of honey.

It was an excellent example of a classic dark ride. And proof that you don't need fancy new effect to make a good ride. Remember, Pepper's ghost wasn't even a new trick when they used it in the Haunted Mansion. They just used it in a new and creative way. Same with the disembodied Pooh. And the subsequent "croquet effect" also not a new concept, but executed better using some digital technology. Taking the old, making it new, continuing a long and storied dark ride tradition of using simple theater tricks.

Perhaps it might have benefited from a more cohesive storyline, but that was hardly enough to detract from it. Afterall, has anyone ridden Snow White recently? THERE'S a ride that needs a storyline.

Big thumbs up. I put it up there with all the Fantasyland dark rides, with NO exceptions.