Disneyland Hidden Disney: Secrets & Details

Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - Max, Buff & Melvin

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: As you leave the Heffalump & Wuzzle honey room, turn around look up. Mounted high on the wall are the three stuffed heads of a stag, a buffalo and a moose. Named Max, Buff & Melvin, the animatronic heads pay homage to The Country Bear Playhouse and Mile Long Bar that originally occupied the location.

Pooh's Corner - Country Bear Portrait

There are a pair of Country Bears portraits, inside the confectioner's kitchen in Pooh's Corner. This painting of Winnie the Pooh and Gomer, the piano playing bear, pays homage to the Country Bears Jamboree.

From 1972 to 1986, the Country Bear Jamboree was the centerpiece of Disneyland's Bear Country. In 1986, the Vacation Hoedown show replaced the jamboree in the Country Bear Playhouse. Bear Country was renamed Critter Country in 1988, three years later in 2001, the Country Bear Playhouse was permanently closed.

Pooh's Corner - Country Bear Portrait

There are a pair of Country Bears portraits, inside the confectioner's kitchen in Pooh's Corner. This painting of Winnie the Pooh and Teddi Barra acts as a reminder of the Country Bears Jamboree, Bear Country's main attraction from 1972 to 1986.

Pooh's Corner - Teddi Barra

Pooh Corner: The Swinging Arcade sign refers to Teddi Barra, one of the stars of the Country Bears Jamboree, Bear Country's main attraction from 1972 to 1986.

During Teddi Barra's act, she sang a few songs after being lowered from the ceiling on a swing.

Mr. Sanders

Pooh Corner: Many Winnie the Pooh fans should recognize the name Mr. Sanders. It appears on the sign hangs above Pooh's doorway. Left by the home's previous resident, it seems that Pooh Bear hasn't quite gotten around to replacing it.

Note: There is some debate to where the name Mr. Sanders actually comes from. Frank Sanders was a noted publisher in London, but A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928) were published by London's Methuen Publishing, Ltd. Instead, illustrator Ernest H. Shepard may have simply added Mr. Sanders to his original drawings - a jab at personal friend, Frank Sanders.

Mr. Bluebird's House

Pooh Corner: Mr. Bluebird on my shoulder... Just outside the Critter Country store is Mr. Bluebird's bird house. It's a detail tied to the song Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah from Walt Disney's Song of the South (1946). The film was based on the Uncle Remus folk tales written by Joel Chandler Harris, and the folksy Br'er Rabbit stories also serve as the character theme for Splash Mountain.

Note: Harris' works include Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings: The Folk-Lore of the Old Plantation (1880), Nights with Uncle Remus (1881 & 1882), Uncle Remus and His Friends (1892) and Uncle Remus and the Little Boy (1905).

Fowler's Cellar

Splash Mountain - Just after surviving the five story drop, soggy Splash Mountain riders may notice an area marked Fowler's Cellar. The doorway is adjacent to Fowler's Harbor, a dry dock for the S.S. Columbia.

Fowler's Harbor, Fowler's Inn and Fowler's Cellar are all named as tributes to Admiral joe Fowler, a retired Navy Officer and close friend of Walt Disney, who was integral to Disneyland's construction.

Splash Mountain - Mr. Bluebird

He might not be on your shoulder, but Mr. Bluebird can be found hidden in Splash Mountain's paddle boat scene.