The 2014 Theme Park Insider Tournament: Mystic Manor vs. Pooh's Hunny Hunt

March 6, 2014, 11:30 AM · The Walt Disney Company has introduced, or at least popularized, many of the great ride systems that define dark rides today: omnimovers, motion simulators, motion-base vehicles. And in 2000, Disney welcomed a new "trackless" ride system to its Tokyo Disneyland park, with the introduction of Pooh's Hunny Hunt.

Pooh's Hunny Hunt

With a trackless ride system, visitors' ride vehicles can move around a themed space in seemingly unpredictable patterns. Designers can create multiple paths through which riders can experience an attraction, increasing the appeal of coming back to ride again and again. On Pooh's Hunny Hunt, different ride vehicles get to linger with different ride elements in several of the rooms of the ride, allowing for a more intimate experience than one can get on a never-stopping chain of slow-moving ride vehicles.

Last year, Disney went back to the trackless system in debuting Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland. The winner of the 2013 Theme Park Insider Award as the world's best new attraction, Mystic Manor was an instant hit, with on-ride videos winning raves from fans all over the world.

Mystic Manor

Today, in the Theme Park Insider Tournament, we're asking you to select one of these two wildly popular rides to advance to the next round of the tournament. Here are the on-ride videos:

Tokyo Disneyland's Pooh's Hunny Hunt:

Hong Kong Disneyland's Mystic Manor:

European theme park fans will get to experience a Disney trackless ride of their own this summer when Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquee de Remi debuts at Walt Disney Studios Paris. As for American theme park fans? Well... flights leave daily to Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Paris?


You'll find links to Facebook and Twitter below so that you can get out the vote for your favorite.

Replies (13)

March 6, 2014 at 4:59 PM · As most of us I haven't been to either rides and never will be so I remain from voting. The only conclusion from the videos I have seen is that Disney doesn't care about it's US parks. Not even Plastic Hill can compete with the beauty of these 2 rides.
March 6, 2014 at 1:19 PM · I voted for Mystic Manor because of the theme but Pooh's Hunny Hunt makes me 100 times more disappointed in Seaworlds's Antarctica.
March 6, 2014 at 2:39 PM · My vote goes to Mystic Manor since it has a better chance of moving past the second round.
March 6, 2014 at 3:58 PM · It is sad one of these two attractions has to go down in the first round as both appear to be top notch, and would be welcome at ANY park in the United Sates. However, even without experiencing Mystic Manor personally, it looks like it could be the best narrative attraction on the planet - and it should win the day.
March 6, 2014 at 4:46 PM · I voted for the Jungle Cruise.
March 6, 2014 at 5:45 PM · New version of the Jungle Cruise, with special night cruise versions, debuting at Tokyo Disneyland on Sept. 8!
March 6, 2014 at 6:01 PM · I'm lucky enough to have been on both and Mystic Manor gets my vote. That monkey is too darn cute. But the bouncing room and Pooh's accent into the stars are both amazing in Pooh's Hunny Hunt.
March 6, 2014 at 7:44 PM · Tokyo's Pooh ride is definitely an E ticket, Disneyland's is a C ticket, but compared to Tokyo's I would call it a B ticket.
March 6, 2014 at 9:54 PM · I feel a bit cliche voting for Mystic Manor. However it ruled out for two simple reasons.

1. I'm not a huge fan of Winnie the Pooh. The story has always just been meh to me. Also, rides that follow the story of a movie prior always seem rushed. They are usually missing something that makes it feel complete.

2. Mystic Manor is a new narrative created just for the ride. I like the idea of magic in an attraction as unexplainable things can happen without reason. The visual effects in Mystic Manor are also extremely impressive. I love the final room with the monkey statue and vortex.

I do think that Pooh's Honey Hunt uses the trackless system better. In mystic manor there may be variations in the track, but each car sees the same thing. And most of the ride the cars move in the same sequence like an omnimover or classic tracked dark ride. So if I was voting for better use of the trackless system, it would be Pooh's Honey Hunt. But since it is simply better dark ride, Mystic Manor had to win. Plus being a newer ride gives it slightly more appeal. If both rides were introduced at the same time, maybe my opinion would differ.

March 7, 2014 at 10:32 AM · Pooh looks like it benefits more from the trackless ride system, but I have to go with Mystic Manor. I'm just not a huge fan of Winnie the Pooh in general. Mystic Manor has a unique theme and a very catchy soundtrack, and I would love to have something similar at my local Disney park (who am I kidding, I'd take either...both are top-tier dark rides).
March 7, 2014 at 10:39 AM · To me, Pooh's Honey Hunt is cuter and more fun-looking, but Mystic Manor has such cool looking effects, and seems more like a story rather than a big play land. Not to mention, I don't like it as much on a ride when you can see other ride vehicles during your experience. Mystic Manor feels more like you're the only one on the ride, while PHH looks like it'd feel a bit claustrophobic.

The monkey is definitely cute, but Pooh has a long history and is pretty darn adorable himself. What else would you expect from Disney?

I'd love to ride both rides, but voted for Mystic Manor.

March 7, 2014 at 1:09 PM · I've been fortunate to have ridden both - for me when I first rode Pooh my jaw just dropped and I came off the ride with a HUGE smile and a WTF expression and ran around to have another ride. MM is well themed 'newer' but I didn't get the original 'wow' factor.
March 8, 2014 at 10:38 AM · Sure would be nice if Disney could clone one of these for their stateside parks...

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