Disneyland Critter Country CLOSED 2024 – New Closures ADDED, Why It’s Happening

Critter Country at Disneyland is closed for an extensive refurbishment in preparation of the opening of the newly reimagined Splash Mountain. Construction in this area of Disneyland has resulted in closures of attractions, shops, and dining in Critter Country to prepare for Tiana's Bayou Adventure opening later this year.

Critter Country is not the only area in Disneyland undergoing refurbishment. New Orleans Square has been under construction since January 2024 as Disneyland works to expand the queue for the Haunted Mansion and build a better merchandise location for this iconic ride.

Disneyland has announced more recent closures for Critter Country which also impact walkways that connect this area of the theme park. Keep reading for all the most up to date details on these closures and how they might impact your visit plus our thoughts on when this work will be finished! At Mickey Visit we are at Disneyland every single week to bring you the most up to date information from the parks.

Disneyland Critter County Closure

Most of Critter Country is currently closed as Disneyland prepares for the opening of Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Tiana's Bayou Adventure is the reimagining of Splash Mountain and the prior attraction had a strong presence in Critter Country which included its own merchandise location. This is the reason why this construction has such a large impact on Critter Country.

As of May 29th, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Pooh's Corner and Briar Patch are all closed as part of this construction progress. These closures are related to the process (more on this below!) of retheming the merchandise locations in the area to The Princess And the Frog theme.

We recently received an update that on July 8, 2024 the rest of Critter Country will close and this will also impact some of the major walkways in Disneyland.

On July 8th, Hungry Bear Restaurant, Davey Crockett's Explorer Canoes and the bridge from New Orleans Square to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge will all temporarily close as the work on Tiana's Bayou Adventure continues. This is the walkway alongside the edge of the Hungry Bear Restaurant outdoor dining section by the restrooms. 

Disney has shared that the Hungry Bear closure is related to a kitchen refurbishment. This makes sense to handle now as the area will basically be a dead end until all of this work is complete. Perhaps they are also getting ready to make some more Tiana's-themed foods in this area? Beignets anyone?

This announcement confirmed my prior prediction that the reason Disneyland changed their Fantasmic! dining packages (to replace Hungry Bear Restaurant with Rancho del Zocalo) was because an upcoming closure to the restaurant was on the horizon.

It is unclear if we will see the Hungry Bear Restaurant dining package for Fantasmic! return after the closure. Personally, I'd be happy if we kept Rancho del Zocalo as the grab and go option since the our review of the food for that dining package was far more positive than our previous Hungry Bear experience.

👉🏻Read more about the recent Haunted Mansion closure and when we expect a reopening date for this fan favorite attraction!

Why Is Critter Country Closed?

The main reason for all these closures is the work being done to transform Splash Mountain into Tiana's Bayou Adventure which is located in Critter Country and has a large impact on this area of Disneyland.

One of the first steps is to retheme the shops in this area to A Princess and the Frog theme. Most notably the previously named Briar Patch which was themed after Br'er Rabbit from Splash Mountain.

Briar Patch is located outside the attraction and will be renamed into Ray's Berets featuring similar merchandise like headwear, apparel, accessories, and more. It is likely we will see merchandise themed to Tiana's Bayou Adventure in this shop.

Pooh's Corner is also undergoing some changes as the merchandise side of this location will be rethemed to The Princess and the Frog and renamed Louis' Critter Club. The merchandise side of this location will likely feature the same assortment of apparel, accessories, home decor along with Princess and the Frog merchandise. The side of Pooh's Corner that exists as a bakery and candy shop will remain open under the same name- the only part of the store that is changing is the half that sells merchandise!

The work that is being done to transform the themes of both these merchandise locations effectively creates a closure for this entire corner of the park which impacts The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh along with the usual Winnie the Pooh character interactions in this area of the park.

During our weekly construction updates we have also seen that the construction includes a replacement of the hardscape in the area. You can see photos in this Disneyland update capturing all of the construction and torn up walkways in the area.

As for the additional round of Critter Country closures, it is likely Disney needs the extra space as the work on Tiana's Bayou Adventure kicks into overdrive. We expected a closure of Hungry Bear Restaurant once Disneyland changed their Fantasmic! dining packages so that bit of news is not surprising.

The surprising piece of news is the closure of Davey Crockett's Explorer Canoes and the bridge from New Orleans Square to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. This means that Disney is likely planning a refurbishment in the area in anticipation of the demand when Tiana's Bayou Adventure opens. Perhaps part of this refurbishment will enhance the walkways in this space. This has been a consistent move we've seen happen at Disneyland the past four years as they make efforts to widen walkways to increase walkability and accessibility. New Orleans Square has received many recent updates the past two years to increase walkways which is also part of the reasoning for the recent Haunted Mansion queue expansion.

Once Tiana's Bayou Adventure opens, we will see larger crowds in this area of the park so it would be logical to assume part of this construction is preparing for that influx of guests to an area of the park that didn't necessarily see such high demand before.

I just also hope Hungry Bear Restaurant gets a bit of an update as this restaurant, voted one of the worst by many Disneyland locals, could use a bit of a refresh!

When Will Critter Country Reopen?

It is likely we will not see Critter Country reopen until Tiana's Bayou Adventure opens at Disneyland later this year. I would not expect the two new merchandise locations, Louis' Critter Club and Ray's Berets, to open before the attraction at the very least. These stores will likely open on the same day as Tiana's Bayou Adventure since they are themed to Princess and the Frog and will likely carry attraction specific merchandise.

👉🏻Read our extensive commentary on a Tiana's Bayou Adventure opening date based on our personal experience watching the construction at Walt Disney World!

It is possible we may see The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Hungry Bear Restaurant, Davey Crockett's Explorer Canoes and the bridge from New Orleans Square to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge open sooner. But personally, I would not count on it. It will be far easier for Disneyland to reopen this area at once rather than in stages as they can focus on the work happening behind the construction walls rather than rearranging walls to open up small pieces of the area at a time.

We remain optimistic that the Haunted Mansion will reopen for or around the beginning of Halloween season at Disneyland.

But perhaps we might see the walkway return before the other experiences as without this walkway we effectively will have a dead end on this side of the theme park and this will create congestion between the other two entrances to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge near Frontierland and Fantasyland.

Disney is working fast to meet their deadline for the Tiana's Bayou Adventure opening! So far we have no official opening date aside from just “later this year” so as of now, there is no confirmed date. Tiana's Bayou Adventure in Walt Disney World opens on June 28th and the announcement of this date also continued to reference the same “later this year” time frame for a Disneyland opening date.

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