Winnie the Pooh is a character created by A.A. Milne who makes appearances in many of the Disney theme parks. He is a popular character from his franchise, along with Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga and Roo.
History[]
Background[]
Origins[]
"Winnie the Pooh" was a stuffed bear toy which belonged to young English boy Christopher Robin in the 1920s/1930s. Winnie the Pooh along with live and childish representations of Christopher Robin's other pets lived in the "Hundred Acre Wood", sometimes depicted as existing within a Winnie the Pooh book, due to magic and/or child's imagination and some of its locations appearing to exist on and between large book pages.
Within the Hundred Acre Wood, Winnie the Pooh lives within a tree with a sign identifying it as "MR SANDERS" (sometimes taken as being a past resident of the home). Pooh has a love of honey and would often go on whimsical or harebrained adventures to go about getting more honey. At some point, Pooh seemed to have met the English mole "Moley" as a portrait hung in Owl's house shows Mole tipping his hat to Pooh outside of Pooh's home.
Many Adventures[]
One day in the Hundred Acre Wood, the East Wind traded place with the West Wind resulting in a very Blustery Day, while Pooh was using a balloon to try and float up to a beehive of honey. After this, Pooh encountered Tigger who pounced on Pooh at Pooh's home before warning him about "Heffalumps and Woozles", creatures which steal honey. Pooh stayed up that night with a toy gun to protect his honey, only to fall asleep and have a nightmare about Heffalumps and Woozles.
When Pooh woke up, he found that rainfall was flooding the Hundred Acre Wood so intensely that it was even washing away words on the storybook's pages. During this incident, Pooh found himself stuck inside of a tree looking for honey. After this, the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Woods had a party which included them celebrated Pooh, which Pooh insisted they start without him as he had found a tree with a large quantity of honey inside. Pooh would also have a birthday party thrown for him in his home where he was given many honey related gifts.
Critter Country[]
Many of the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood would also visit/live in "Critter Country", a region of the Southern United States founded in 1889 (seemingly around Chickapin Hill), which was home to various animal characters. In Critter Country there would be a barn with Eyeore's house outside and several beehives/honey pots, which served as a kind of portal to the Hundred Acre Wood. Pooh and his friends could often be found in Critter Country at a place called "Pooh's Thotful Spot".
Also in Critter Country was "Pooh Corner", a shop which included "Pooh's Hunny Mixer" machine, a house seemingly used by various Hundred Acre Wood characters on the upper level, and the birdhouse of Mr. Bluebird from Chickapin Hill outside.[1] Also hung in Pooh Corner were portraits of Pooh meeting various members of the "Country Bear Jamboree" associated with the Critter Country region such as Pooh using his balloon to float alongside Teddi Barra's swing, and Pooh sitting atop Gomer's piano on stage drinking Gomer's alcoholic honey. Part of the upper levels of Pooh Corner were also identified as belonging to Teddi Barra as "Teddi Barra's Swingin' Arcade".
Later history[]
Pooh and his friends would also be residents of Fantasyland, a realm connected to the Hundred Acre Wood.
Appearances[]
Disneyland[]
Critter Country[]
The Briar Patch[]
A sack of mail has appeared on a shelf containing various letters between Winnie the Pooh and his friends.[2]
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh[]
Winnie the Pooh is the protagonist of this attraction.
Pooh Corner[]
The sign for "MR SANDERS" appears over a door on the second level of Pooh Corner with various mailboxes, referencing the home of Winnie the Pooh.[3] Inside, there are also sculptures and portrait depicting Winnie the Pooh.
Disneyland Railroad[]
The announcer mentions Tigger and Winnie the Pooh as inhabitants of Critter Country.
Founder's Statue[]
At Halloween time, Pooh's likeness was used to depict the Critter Country Jack O'Lantern.[4]
Disneyland Paris[]
Winnie the Pooh and Friends, too![]
Shanghai Disneyland[]
Carefree Corner[]
Pooh has a mailbox here.[5]
Tokyo Disneyland[]
Pooh's Hunny Hunt[]
Walt Disney World[]
EPCOT[]
Living with the Land[]
A Winnie the Pooh themed picnic was added to the greenhouse area for Epcot's 2024 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival.[6]
U.K. Pavilion[]
There is a meet 'n' greet themed to Christopher Robin's bedroom where Pooh can be found.[7] At the Kidcot station themed to the base of the Royal Adventurers's Society, there is a plushie of Winnie the Pooh.[8]
Magic Kingdom[]
Fantasyland[]
Hundred Acre Goods[]
Pooh and Piglet holding hands appears on the sign. Pooh's likeness also appears inside the story, including on a sculpture of him floating with his balloon.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh[]
Winnie the Pooh is again the protagonist of this attraction. In the queue, his home can be found and entered by younger guests. Pooh's likeness also appears on book pages throughout the queue.
Frontierland[]
The Briar Patch[]
In the upper levels was a small plush of Winnie the Pooh.[9]
Trivia[]
- In Pooh's Corner at Disneyland, there are paintings of him alongside Teddi Barra and Gomer from the Country Bear Jamboree, the attraction which took up the space occupied by the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Similarly, in Owl's House in the Magic Kingdom's Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, there is a portrait which shows Mole tipping his hat to Winnie the Pooh as tribute to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
- In the Disneyland version of Pooh's nightmare, the heads of Melvin, Buff, and Max from the Country Bear Jamboree make a cameo appearance.
- There is a popular myth that Mister Toad's tomb outside of the Haunted Mansion which reads, "Here Lies Toad, it's sad but true. Not nearly as marketable as Winnie the Pooh".
- Inside of Pooh's house in the queue for the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in the Magic Kingdom, there is a small carving of the Nautilus submarine hidden in the woodwork. This is a tribute to extinct attraction 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage.
- In the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, the effect of Pooh's dream-self leaving his body became an internet meme. The effect itself is accomplished via "Pepper's Ghost", the same illusion famously used to portray many of the ghosts in the Haunted Mansion.
- While typically used in EPCOT to represent the UK Pavilion, in EPCOT's Surprise in the Skies Winnie the Pooh was used to represent the Canada Pavilion. This is likely due to the real-life bear which inspired A.A. Milne's creation of the character having been a female bear named Winnipeg/Winnie, named for the Canadian city of Winnipeg, Manitoba where the bear came from.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Voice Clips[]
Voice Reel Demos[]
Voice Sounds[]
References[]
- ↑ https://duchessofdisneyland.com/disneyland/mr-bluebirds-house/
- ↑ https://photos.mouseinfo.com/DLR-News-and-Info/January-22-2019-DLR-News-and-Info/i-5SWvnn8
- ↑ https://duchessofdisneyland.com/disneyland/mr-sanders-house/
- ↑ https://www.thepkpway.com/disneyland-details-halloween-time/
- ↑ http://disneyatwork.com/2020/09/shanghai-disney-retail-magic-part-i/
- ↑ https://wdwnt.com/2024/02/winnie-the-pooh-picnic-and-more-added-to-living-with-the-land-for-2024-epcot-international-flower-garden-festival/
- ↑ https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2019/09/23/winnie-the-pooh-meet-and-greet-returns-the-uk-pavilion-at-epcot/
- ↑ https://jungleskipper.com/sea/attractions/uk-pavilion-epcot
- ↑ https://steinhouseofmouse.com/mouse-ellaneous/f/dis-signing-the-50-best-hidden-mickeys-throughout-all-of-disney?blogcategory=Mouse-ellaneous