The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Review
Another dark ride in Magic Kingdom which is fun for the entire family? Another dark ride in Magic Kingdom which is fun for the entire family
Ahh, Pooh, everyone loves that cute, fluffy bear and his friends. When we look at him in 2024 a few things come to our minds. Honey, classic stories and also that… very unusual… Pooh movie that came out in 2023. Oh yeah, when things become public domain, we get to see a lot of crazy stuff, but let’s forget about this. We are here to review Pooh’s ride, after all.
As it’s the case with many rides in Magic Kingdom, this is a classic, traditional dark ride which is perfect for the entire family. The ride is, in fact, based on the original Winnie the Pooh book which was written in 1926. That explains why guests enter vehicles that resemble honeypots and the first thing they see are colorful walls adorned with book pages, which tell a bit of the story of that cute bear and Cristopher Robin.
Winnie the Pooh is pretty similar to other two dark rides in Magic Kingdom: Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid and Peter Pan’s Flight. Instead of coming face to face with Ariel or Tinker Bell, you meet Pooh, Tiger, Piglet and a bunch of other characters I can’t remember the name of. They all look great, as you’d expect from Disney, with well made animatronics that look charming and nostalgic.
The Good
This ride is adorable and really makes you feel like you're stepping into a fairy tale. Plus, there's even a narrator who chimes in every now and then, making it feel like we're part of a storybook adventure.
There is also a lot going on in this ride. The setpieces aren’t as big as what you’d see on Hollywood Studios’ Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, or even Journey of the Little Mermaid, but the compact scenery makes it so that animatronics are focused on central points and you have an easier time following the story.
There are also a lot of projections which interact with the animatronics. They are used sparsely, so it never feels like they are the star of the show instead of the animatronics. There is even a really cool scene where Pooh falls asleep and you see a visual effect of his own projection drifting away from his body, which is actually a classic scene from the Winnie the Pooh movie.
Whether you prefer Pooh over Journey of the Little Mermaid or Peter Pan’s Flight will vary on your personal opinion and which characters you like the most. I do wish that there were more songs on the Pooh ride, but I can appreciate that they decided to use a narrator here instead of classic Disney songs, which also gives this ride a few points in originality.
Will Kids enjoy it?
This is a very colorful tour, which sometimes reminds me of the Cat in the Hat dark ride at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Toddlers usually enjoy their time here, since there are so many visual effects and so much happening at once in a real feast for the eyes.
It’s important to point out that Pooh features an interactive queue, which is very much appreciated for couples and their young children. You can find walls covered in “digital honey” where you can try and write your name with the tip of your finger, and there are oversized veggies for your kids to squeeze and play with. Definitely a good idea to have a queue that can entertain the little ones until it’s time to board the vehicle.
