Thursday, July 12, 2012

New Winnie the Pooh meet and greet areas

While I was on vacation, the new meet and greet area for Winnie the Pooh opened, right next to the line for the attraction.



This was the former Tigger's Bounce Pads area, and never designed for a meet and greet originally. The Bounce Pads were soft-opened very quietly and for only a short time (perhaps as short as a single day), but presumably the lawyers found them too dangerous to allow. It's a wonder they were even built.

After months of sitting untouched and vacant behind potted plants, the area was finally put behind refurb walls this spring, and now the result has been unveiled: a meet and greet area with slight rain coverage (for the character) and a probably boring switchback queue to wait in for everyone else. This is a win, however, in that the line is not out and about in everyone's way. Having a dedicated character spot is a great thing.




Meanwhile, over in Epcot, the Pooh meet and greet area has ALSO been upgraded. The "bedroom" area has been redone to look more like Christopher Robin's bedroom with additional props and new colors.



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Kevin Yee is the author of numerous independent Disney books, including the popular Walt Disney World Earbook series and Walt Disney World Hidden History.