Extinct Attractions - Critter Corral and Woody's Roundup Village

Welcome to Extinct Attractions. This week, I took a look back at a couple of attractions from the first European Disney park.

Last weekend, Toy Story 5 had the second-largest opening weekend ever for an animated film at the domestic box office. The movie will look to keep its success rolling over the next couple of months, though the summer has no shortage of family content between Minions & Monsters and the live-action Moana. 

Toy Story 5 got back to its roots, while leaning a bit more into Jessie’s life as she really grows into the leader of our favorite group of toys. We got to see her in a bit more of a western and cowgirl setting as well, which helped set up today’s attraction perfectly.

When Disneyland Paris opened on April 12, 1992, it included the Critter Corral, a glorified petting zoo that evoked the Frontierland Ranch that populated Disneyland for many years. It was part of the Cottonwood Creek Ranch and served as a farming ranch outside of the Thunder Mesa area. 

There was a Woodcarver’s Workshop out front of the area to help welcome guests into the area. Guests could primarily pet sheep, but there were also turkeys roaming around and the entire experience felt very old school Disney.

Via Photos Magiques 

The Critter Corral had languished a bit by the time of Disneyland Paris’ 15th anniversary in 2007. Because of that, they were looking to spice up some experiences with the transformation of the Critter Corral into Woody’s Roundup Village serving as a perfect merging of old and new. 

With the change, there was less of a focus on animal petting and more of a switch to being a meet and greet. Of course, one could meet Woody, but the big win was getting a chance to see Goofy’s frontier house. Because he needed to wear stirrups in the area, he even had his traditional pants hung up to dry.

Via Disney Wiki

To be honest, there really wasn’t much more to these attractions than that. Woody’s Roundup Village closed down in 2011 to transition into a meet and greet with Mickey Mouse for a couple of years, but nothing has called the area home since 2013. It’s always a bummer to see attractions close, but these attractions really were a sign of the times. They were simple, but they felt like a perfect time capsule of the parks as they were at that time.

Via Ranker 

As always, don’t forget to check out my interactive maps of the Disney Parks throughout the years where you can watch or learn more about all the attractions from every Disney park around the world.

Thanks for reading and have a magical day!