Along the Rivers of America in what used to be Bear Country sits the wooded and shady porch of the Hungry Bear restaurant.
It is one of the last, quaint reminders of old Bear Country. Indeed, it is one of the few remaining "out of the way" spots in all of Disneyland.
Downstairs you can sit around a table and watch the ducks float by---or feed them if you'd like. Even on hot days, this area stays pretty cool.
From this vantage point you can get a clear view of the Mark Twain steaming along, while waving at the guests on her lower decks. Her massive sternwheel plows through the water, which sparkles and froths behind her. Her steam engine puffs and chugs loudly as she churns ahead toward the bend.
To your left, you can peer into the woods of an America of long ago. In the farthest corner of the porch, the illusion that you are somewhere along an American river, near the forest, is all too convincing. Above you, a steam engine of the Disneyland Railroad rolls into view, clicking along on its way through the wilderness.
Across the way, Tom Sawyer's Island beckons, with children and adults clambering over its rock formations. There's the remains of old Fort Wilderness.
To your right, Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes still load up guests for a true, people-powered attraction. You watch as a splashy, out-of-synch bunch of paddlers glide by---with their exasperated guide and oarsman in the stern.
The area music softly plays bluegrass in the background.
It's a good spot. Relax and enjoy it.
There'll be plenty of time for Fast Passes and Fantasmic later.
