Fantasyland
is probably best associated with its "dark rides." These are a category of
attraction where you sit in a two- or four-person vehicle and ride through
an indoor venue viewing scenes from whatever Disney movie that particular
attraction represents. Snow White's Adventures is a classic example of
this type of attraction. Although each has its own unique variations (most
notably Peter Pan's Flight, in which your ride vehicle is suspended from a
track above you) they are all very similar in look and feel. They are a
staple of all three Disney Magic Kingdoms, and although they have received
cosmetic facelifts over the years the basic presentation is unchanged from
when Disneyland first opened almost 50 years ago.
Enter Pooh's Hunny Hunt, an attraction based on the adventures of Winnie
the Pooh. Pooh's Hunny Hunt could be referred to as "Fantasyland: The
Next Generation," and although its core definition is the same as previous
Fantasyland dark rides the execution is entirely new.
 What sets Pooh's Hunny Hunt apart from previous attractions of this genre
are the ride vehicles. Fashioned to resemble honey pots, each holds up to
5 people (although 4 is the norm). Previous dark-ride vehicles are guided
along an easily-visible track, moving at a constant speed. The Pooh's
Hunny Hunt vehicles have no visible (or even perceptible) means of guidance
and appear to move through the attraction independently, starting,
stopping, reversing direction, spinning, and generally acting as through
they have a mind of their own.
As you leave the boarding area you are in a group of three cars,
deceptively moving
together as though they were linked like a train. After rounding
the first bend you find yourself stopped and watching the attraction's
introductory scene, a short video of Christopher Robin giving Winnie the
Pooh a balloon. The other two cars are now parked beside you, and
everyone has a front row seat. The scene ends, and one by one the cars
peel off into the first major room of the attraction, the Blustery Day.
This is a large room with lots going on. Don't worry about cranking your
head around to see the whole room, your honey pot will take you around to see
everything one bit at a time. There are several other cars in this area
with you, all choreographed to visit various parts of the
room independently, stopping, starting, changing directions, and somehow magically
avoiding each other.
The ride progresses through several more delightful and amazing sequences.
In one scene you see Tigger bouncing by, and you're bouncing along with
him—literally. In another sequence you are inside Winnie the Pooh's
dream, surrounded by giant Heffalumps and Woozles and spinning seemingly
out of control.
The technology that makes the Pooh's Hunny Hunt ride vehicles so great also
makes the attraction superior as a whole. One of the problems with the
traditional Fantasyland dark rides is that you are whisked by each scene
so quickly there is no time to really enjoy it. Not so with Pooh's Hunny
Hunt. The individual scenes are presented on a much larger scale, and
because of the vehicles' independence of movement you are able to get an
eyeful of all of the elements of each scene as the vehicle gives you
something of a guided tour, moving you around and pausing briefly at key
moments. Unlike traditional dark rides where the vehicle is simply a means
of moving you through the attraction, in Pooh's Hunny Hunt the ride
vehicles are a major part of what makes the attraction the wonderful
experience that it is.
Pooh's Hunny Hunt has been Tokyo Disneyland's most popular attraction since
the day it opened. It is so
popular that its reach extends to other parts of the park, with Winnie the Pooh souvenirs to be found in every land.
You'll even find themed food items
like honey flavored popcorn. Because of its popularity you need to plan your
visit carefully. Your best bet is to make your first stop of the day the
Pooh's Hunny Hunt FastPass line. These FastPasses go quickly, and if you're
not there in the very early part of the day to get one you won't get one
at all,
and you will be relegated to having to wait in the standby line; on a busy
day this can mean a wait of two hours. Here's a tip though, the standby
lines are their shortest during the evening parade—if you can't get a
FastPass, this is the time to go. Don't think you can sneak on 5 minutes
before Park closing like you can with most other attractions. If
the standby line is 90 minutes long and the park closes at 10 PM, they will
close the entrance to this attraction at 8:30 PM to accommodate everyone by
park closing.
Another thing that makes
Pooh's Hunny Hunt a must-see is that it is exclusive to Tokyo Disneyland. Although Disney World
and Disneyland have opened up Pooh-themed rides of their own, both use
more traditional ride vehicles and neither has the magic or excitement of
Tokyo Disneyland's Pooh ride. It doesn't matter how many other theme parks
you've been to, you haven't ridden anything like
Pooh's Hunny Hunt. |
