Critter Country at Disneyland

Critter Country is a cul-de-sac. There is one way in and the same way out, which shapes everything about how you use it: the walk in and out costs you more time in the middle of the day than the queues do, and the whole area is quieter than its content deserves because casual foot traffic never passes through.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure is the reason to come. It opened in November 2024 in the flume that housed Splash Mountain from 1989 to 2023, keeping the lift hills and the roughly fifty-foot final drop — the largest drop at Disneyland — and replacing everything inside with a new story, new animatronics, and a brass-heavy score. It requires 40 inches and it soaks you.

The other two attractions are opposites. Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes are real canoes that guests paddle around the Rivers of America, on a limited daylight schedule, and are the most physically satisfying thing in the park. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is a short, modest dark ride that routinely posts the shortest wait of any ride at Disneyland, which makes it quietly one of the most useful attractions here.

The Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree sits on two decks over the water at the end of the path. Take the lower deck — it is shaded longer, closer to the river, and most guests never walk down to it.

Do not miss

Tiana's Bayou Adventure and its animatronic band finale
Paddling Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes in the morning
The lower deck at the Hungry Bear over the river
Winnie the Pooh as the shortest ride wait in the park
Waterfront tables at Harbour Galley facing Tom Sawyer Island

Critter Country tips

Ride Tiana's Bayou Adventure first thing or last thing. The dead-end walk is what costs you time midday, not the posted wait.
You get properly soaked, not damp. Seal your phone and consider waterproof shoes before you queue.
The Explorer Canoes only run in daylight on busier days. If you see them loading, go now.
Critter Country closes earlier than the rest of the park on many nights, restaurants included.

Attractions in Critter Country

Tiana's Bayou Adventure

40"102cm

Water ride · 11 min · Multi Pass

A log flume through a Louisiana bayou with a 50-foot final drop — the biggest drop at Disneyland and a 40-inch requirement.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure opened at Disneyland in November 2024 in the flume that had housed Splash Mountain since 1989. The story picks up after the events of The Princess and the Frog: Tiana is preparing a celebration and needs ingredients, and the ride follows a trip into the bayou with Louis the alligator and a cast of animal musicians, ending in a full band performance.

Tips for Tiana's Bayou Adventure

You will get properly wet, not lightly damp. Bring a poncho or accept it, and put your phone in a sealed bag rather than a pocket.
The back row is marginally drier than the front but nobody stays dry. If you want to minimize it, ride first thing in the morning when the flume water is lowest and skip the front two rows.
Ride early or late. Critter Country is a dead end, and the walk in and out costs you more time midday than the queue does.
Take your shoes into account. Standing in a footwell of water for eleven minutes ruins canvas sneakers for the rest of the day — sandals or waterproof shoes are the right call.
The 40-inch requirement matches Magic Kingdom's version exactly, so a child who rode in Florida clears it here.
There are lockers and a bag-drop area near the load area. Use them for anything that must stay dry.

Full guide to Tiana's Bayou Adventure →

Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes

Any height

Boat ride · 12 min

Real canoes that you actually paddle around the Rivers of America — the only attraction at Disneyland powered by guests.

These are genuine fiberglass canoes, not boats on a track, and the reason they move is that twenty guests paddle them. Two cast members ride fore and aft to steer, set the rhythm, and provide commentary, and the circuit takes about twelve minutes around the same Rivers of America the Mark Twain uses.

Tips for Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes

Go in the morning. They stop running well before dark and shut down entirely in rain or wind.
Sit toward the middle if you want to enjoy the view; sit toward the front if you actually want to work and get a clear look at Tom Sawyer Island.
Ask the cast member at the dock how many boats they are running. When only one is in the water the line moves slowly even though it looks short.
You do get splashed by other people's paddles, especially in the back. It is not enough to change clothes over.
This is a superb thing to do with an eight-to-twelve-year-old who has run out of patience for queues, and almost nobody with young kids thinks of it.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Any height

Dark ride · 3½ min

A short, gentle dark ride in a honey pot, notable mainly for being the shortest wait of any ride in the park.

The Disneyland version opened in 2003 in the building that previously housed the Country Bear Jamboree, and it is a straightforward retelling of Hundred Acre Wood stories in about three and a half minutes: a blustery day, a flood, a heffalump dream sequence, and a birthday party finale.

Tips for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

It almost always has the shortest ride wait in the park. If you are in Critter Country for Tiana's Bayou Adventure, tack this on rather than saving it.
The heffalump dream sequence uses shifting colored light and is the only part that bothers small children. It lasts under thirty seconds.
Look for the honey pots in the queue that kids can climb into and turn — the queue has more to do than the ride does, which tells you something.
Ask for the accessible vehicle at the entrance, not the platform. Requesting it at the load belt means backing out and starting over.

Eating in Critter Country

Quick service · Critter Country

Harbour Galley

A tiny dockside window at the edge of Critter Country selling clam chowder in a sourdough bowl, with waterfront seating.

$Mobile order

CuisineSoups and bread bowls
ReservationsNo reservations

Quick service · Critter Country

Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree

Two decks of riverside seating in Critter Country serving barbecue plates — the best view from any counter-service restaurant here.

$$Mobile order

CuisineBarbecue and American
ReservationsNo reservations

Snacks worth stopping for

Clam Chowder Bread Bowl

Harbour Galley

$14.49

New England style clam chowder served inside a hollowed sourdough loaf at a small dockside window on the Rivers of America.

Our take: Ordinary chowder in an exceptional spot — take it to the waterfront tables facing Tom Sawyer Island, which are among the quietest seats in the park. The bread is a real sourdough loaf, not a token shell.

Near the top of the list Savory

Nearby

Disneyland Park map See where this land sits All attractions Every ride in Disneyland Park Main Street, U.S.A. The turn-of-the-century street every guest walks down twice a day, with the park's best coffee, its worst evening crowd crush, and more detail than anyone stops to look at. Adventureland The narrowest, most congested land in the park, and home to its single best-built attraction queue and its roughest ride.