Pooh's Hunny Hunt
Encyclopedia
Pooh's Hunny Hunt is a unique 'trackless' dark ride
located at Tokyo Disneyland
. It is based on the adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh
, and is Fantasyland's most popular attraction.
, Disney Imagineer
s made plans in the late 1970s for a Winnie the Pooh attraction at Disneyland's soon-to-be renovated Fantasyland. However in 1983, when the renovated Fantasyland reopened, a Winnie the Pooh attraction was notably absent. Seven years later, during a period when the character was undergoing a resurgence in popularity, plans for a Winnie the Pooh attraction were approved at Walt Disney World
. Planners utilized an existing structure, that of the Fantasyland attraction Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
.
The next version of the attraction, considerably different in configuration, was Pooh's Hunny Hunt, which opened in Tokyo Disneyland. Due to a closure of all of the Skyways at Disney Parks across the world, including Tokyo, a space was left where the Fantasyland Skyway station once stood. With a budget of over $130 million, and featuring a never-before-used 'trackless' ride technology, Pooh's Hunny Hunt opened in late 2000 to large crowds and praise by many Disney internet fansites. To date, the attraction continues to have some of the longest wait times of any attraction at the Tokyo Disneyland
Resort.
Upon leaving the station, and making a left into the ride, the Honey pots stop in a line in front of a short video which has Christopher Robin giving Pooh a balloon. The vehicles then enter a very large room themed to the blustery day. There are many sights in this room, and the vehicles take turns visiting the various scenes. Pooh is seen flying around on his balloon. Kanga and Roo, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, and Piglet are getting blown about the wind. As the vehicles unite to leave the room, Tigger bounces up and down behind a bush.
The honey pots then enter a dark room with three screens surrounded by trees. A swarm of bees flies through all three before Tigger comes in and starts singing and bouncing. The entire room, the trees, and the honey pots then begin to bounce with Tigger as he bounces from screen to screen. He then jumps up into one of the trees and the swarm of bees reemerges. The honey pots then go backwards down a hallway filled with branches. Tigger is seen clinging to one with a beehive stuck to his head.
The honey pots enter Pooh's house, where he is seen asleep with the balloon next to him. As he mumbles, the balloon grows the ears and eyes of a heffalump and the entire room vanishes into a starfield. Pooh then floats up into the air.
The vehicles then enter Pooh's dream sequence. This big room is filled the heffalumps and woozles that Pooh dreams about. This room is by far the most vibrant as the honey pots dance in circles with each other to the music as colored lights and disco balls spin throughout the room. There are lots of vehicles in this room and whenever three enter, three leave. The leaving vehicles exit through the trunk of a giant heffalump which contains a tunnel. The vehicles go down the tunnel backwards as Pooh spins (otherwise, in real life, he could not escape & get hurt) above and projections of Heffalumps and Woozles spin along the walls.
The last room is filled with honey and Pooh eats his fill while saying how much he loves to eat it. There is a scent of honey in this room. The vehicles then pass a big, closed storybook of the adventure and then return to the unloading area.
computer
generates a random path and ‘steers’ the honey pot in real-time, so as the cars roll through the ride the vehicles are, in fact, being told where to go. Because this system is in real-time, they can maneuver accordingly in just fractions of a second. This also allows for spontaneous yet synchronized ‘honey pot choreography’ with groups of honey pots (as many as 8 in a single show scene) appearing to ‘dance’ with the others, often timed with ‘beats’ in the music. Due to limitless variations possible, each journey through the attraction is unique.
(at Tokyo DisneySea
just next door) is the only other ride in the world to use a variant of this groundbreaking ride technology. It is unknown if this ride system will ever be built outside of Tokyo, although a ride based on Disney's Beauty and the Beast
using the LPS system (teacups instead of honey pots) was designed by WDI before Hunny Hunt, yet still remains unbuilt. Pooh's Hunny Hunt has been rumored at having a budget of around $130 million, although this cost included the development and testing of the never-before-built LPS ride system.
According to multiple sources, a new E ticket
attraction
will be opening in the Walt Disney Studios Park
at the Disneyland Resort Paris
in or around 2012, based on the 2007 hit movie Ratatouille
. It is rumored that this ride will use the LPS technology as well. A planned fourth version of Journey into Imagination
is also rumored to be based on the LPS system.
Dark ride
A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music, and special effects....
located at Tokyo Disneyland
Tokyo Disneyland
is a 115 acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be built outside of the United States and opened on April 15, 1983...
. It is based on the adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
, and is Fantasyland's most popular attraction.
History
After the rise in popularity of Walt Disney's film adaptation of Winnie-the-PoohWinnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
, Disney Imagineer
Imagineer
Imagineer may refer to:* Disney Imagineer, a position at the Walt Disney company* Imagineer Systems, a visual effects software company* Imagineer , a Japanese video game, mobile, software company...
s made plans in the late 1970s for a Winnie the Pooh attraction at Disneyland's soon-to-be renovated Fantasyland. However in 1983, when the renovated Fantasyland reopened, a Winnie the Pooh attraction was notably absent. Seven years later, during a period when the character was undergoing a resurgence in popularity, plans for a Winnie the Pooh attraction were approved at Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
. Planners utilized an existing structure, that of the Fantasyland attraction Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is a dark ride at Disneyland Park. It is one of the few remaining attractions that was operational on the park's opening day in 1955. The ride's story is based on Disney's adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, one of the two segments of the film The Adventures of Ichabod and...
.
The next version of the attraction, considerably different in configuration, was Pooh's Hunny Hunt, which opened in Tokyo Disneyland. Due to a closure of all of the Skyways at Disney Parks across the world, including Tokyo, a space was left where the Fantasyland Skyway station once stood. With a budget of over $130 million, and featuring a never-before-used 'trackless' ride technology, Pooh's Hunny Hunt opened in late 2000 to large crowds and praise by many Disney internet fansites. To date, the attraction continues to have some of the longest wait times of any attraction at the Tokyo Disneyland
Tokyo Disneyland
is a 115 acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be built outside of the United States and opened on April 15, 1983...
Resort.
Ride-through
The queue for the ride zig-zags in front of the entrance, which is shaped like a giant story book. Once inside, the rest of the line is made up of the pages of the story book which tell various parts of the story. Guests then board big, 5-seater honey pots. These Honey pots travel through the ride in groups of three.Upon leaving the station, and making a left into the ride, the Honey pots stop in a line in front of a short video which has Christopher Robin giving Pooh a balloon. The vehicles then enter a very large room themed to the blustery day. There are many sights in this room, and the vehicles take turns visiting the various scenes. Pooh is seen flying around on his balloon. Kanga and Roo, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, and Piglet are getting blown about the wind. As the vehicles unite to leave the room, Tigger bounces up and down behind a bush.
The honey pots then enter a dark room with three screens surrounded by trees. A swarm of bees flies through all three before Tigger comes in and starts singing and bouncing. The entire room, the trees, and the honey pots then begin to bounce with Tigger as he bounces from screen to screen. He then jumps up into one of the trees and the swarm of bees reemerges. The honey pots then go backwards down a hallway filled with branches. Tigger is seen clinging to one with a beehive stuck to his head.
The honey pots enter Pooh's house, where he is seen asleep with the balloon next to him. As he mumbles, the balloon grows the ears and eyes of a heffalump and the entire room vanishes into a starfield. Pooh then floats up into the air.
The vehicles then enter Pooh's dream sequence. This big room is filled the heffalumps and woozles that Pooh dreams about. This room is by far the most vibrant as the honey pots dance in circles with each other to the music as colored lights and disco balls spin throughout the room. There are lots of vehicles in this room and whenever three enter, three leave. The leaving vehicles exit through the trunk of a giant heffalump which contains a tunnel. The vehicles go down the tunnel backwards as Pooh spins (otherwise, in real life, he could not escape & get hurt) above and projections of Heffalumps and Woozles spin along the walls.
The last room is filled with honey and Pooh eats his fill while saying how much he loves to eat it. There is a scent of honey in this room. The vehicles then pass a big, closed storybook of the adventure and then return to the unloading area.
Ride system
Although track-based traditional dark rides based on Pooh do exist at Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, and the Magic Kingdom, Pooh's Hunny Hunt is a different attraction entirely and is exclusive to Tokyo Disneyland.Vehicle
The ride vehicles are fashioned to resemble honey pots; though these pots have wheels, they are completely hidden, giving the pots the appearance of "gliding" across the show scene's floors. Traditionally, dark ride vehicles are guided along an easily-visible track, and move at a (more or less) constant speed. The Pooh's Hunny Hunt vehicles have no visible means of guidance and appear to move through the attraction independently. Wildly stopping, starting, reversing direction, and even spinning, giving the ride its trademark whimsical and dreamlike visuals.Track
This 'trackless' ride system is achieved not by GPS, as widely rumored, but by a custom LPS (local positioning system). The patented system works by directional data being relayed from a master control computer directly to each individual honey pot car through a complicated matrix embedded within the actual floor tiles. Every few seconds, the mastercomputer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
generates a random path and ‘steers’ the honey pot in real-time, so as the cars roll through the ride the vehicles are, in fact, being told where to go. Because this system is in real-time, they can maneuver accordingly in just fractions of a second. This also allows for spontaneous yet synchronized ‘honey pot choreography’ with groups of honey pots (as many as 8 in a single show scene) appearing to ‘dance’ with the others, often timed with ‘beats’ in the music. Due to limitless variations possible, each journey through the attraction is unique.
Other LPS Uses
AquatopiaAquatopia
Aquatopia is an attraction at Tokyo DisneySea theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Chiba, Japan. Located in the Port Discovery area of the park, it is notable as being the second of only two attractions in the world to use a new trackless ride system designed by Walt Disney Imagineering.It is...
(at Tokyo DisneySea
Tokyo DisneySea
is a 176-acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just outside Tokyo. It opened on September 4, 2001. It is owned by The Oriental Land Company, which licenses the theme from The Walt Disney Company. Tokyo DisneySea attracted an estimated 12 million visitors in...
just next door) is the only other ride in the world to use a variant of this groundbreaking ride technology. It is unknown if this ride system will ever be built outside of Tokyo, although a ride based on Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
using the LPS system (teacups instead of honey pots) was designed by WDI before Hunny Hunt, yet still remains unbuilt. Pooh's Hunny Hunt has been rumored at having a budget of around $130 million, although this cost included the development and testing of the never-before-built LPS ride system.
According to multiple sources, a new E ticket
E ticket
The phrase E ticket refers to an unusually interesting, thrilling or expensive experience. It derives from the admission ticket system used at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom theme parks before 1982, in which the E ticket admitted the bearer to the newest, most advanced, and/or most popular rides...
attraction
Ratatouille Ride
The unnamed Ratatouille Ride is an upcoming, unannounced dark ride based on the Disney/Pixar animated film Ratatouille in Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris, France that is currently pending construction.-History:...
will be opening in the Walt Disney Studios Park
Walt Disney Studios Park
Walt Disney Studios Park is the second theme park to open at Disneyland Paris, owned and operated by Euro Disney S.C.A.. It is located to the west of the hub, next door to Disneyland Park at the heart of the resort in Marne-la-Vallée....
at the Disneyland Resort Paris
Disneyland Resort Paris
Disneyland Paris is a holiday and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The complex is located from the centre of Paris and lies for the most part within the commune of Chessy, Seine-et-Marne....
in or around 2012, based on the 2007 hit movie Ratatouille
Ratatouille (film)
Ratatouille is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005...
. It is rumored that this ride will use the LPS technology as well. A planned fourth version of Journey into Imagination
Journey Into Imagination
Journey Into Imagination With Figment is an attraction which is contained within The Imagination! Pavilion at the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World and opened on March 5, 1983. It has been through three incarnations over the years, two of them featuring Figment, a small purple dragon, as a...
is also rumored to be based on the LPS system.
See also
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the PoohThe Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (attraction)The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is a dark ride based upon the film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, itself based on the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. The attraction exists in slightly different forms at the Magic Kingdom in the Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland, and Hong...