Did Simba really remember his way back home?

[TheLionPrince]

Just a thought occurred to me, for all the talk that Simba must return back home to challenge Scar, he conveniently found a route back home despite he hasn't used one since the stampede in the gorge. Even on the path he was using to run away from home, he was exhausted and possibly on the verge of death, and "Hakuna Matata" helped him forget everything he had to do with his homeland.

I'm not sure if it is any fault of the writers for this minor "error" since they did have a deleted scene where Simba stays behind to tell Nala he is going back home (and that way Nala would guide him back home), but they removed it. However, something feels somewhat awry that after Mufasa's ghostly visitation, Simba instantly starts running back home as if he still remembered the way.

Spoiler: show

Lastly, my theory on how Simba found his way home is that probably Mufasa's spirit help guided Simba back to the Pride Lands.

[FireAndSun]

It has never occurred to me to wonder how exactly Simba found his way home. I always just assumed he remembered his way home. A lot of people are able to remember the locations of old homes and how to get there years after they leave. Of course, as you mentioned Simba was in poor health and in an area he had probably never been in before by the time Timon and Pumbaa found him, and he likely didn't pay attention to where he was going when he fled, so it's not implausible that he wouldn't remember how to get home from where he was, which makes your theory sound plausible as well.

[Elton John]

For this kind of thing I suspend my disbelief and just accept that he knew the way back.

I mean if Nala made it to the jungle mostly unscathed I think Simba can go the opposite way without harm to himself.

[FireAndSun]

^ That's a good point. I pretty much just suspend my disbelief too.

[sweetface]

I don't think this is necessarily a mistake on the writer's part, it's just something you have to look past. Would we really need a scene explaining in detail exactly how Simba got back home? No. At this time in the movie there were obviously more important things to deal with plot wise. Most people wouldn't notice that anyway, especially casual viewers. I'd never thought about it until reading this topic.

[Captain Cupcake]

One can assume Simba learned of what direction his homeland was in from Timon and Pumbaa over those 4-5 or so years he spent with them. Going by Timon's wording about how Simba was "THE king," it implies he and probably Pumbaa have some familiarity with the Pride Lands and its monarchy(and if we're to count 1 1/2, then obviously they'd most definitely know). During some random talks, they may have discussed about the place and where it lied at some point.

What's interesting is that Simba was supposedly going to have a few small adventures throughout the film, both during his time growing up alongside those two, and when he heads back home. For the latter, he would have gone through treacherous areas and bypassing the spot where the Be Prepared sequence took place before finally making it back home, apparently. It gets a mention here in a developer's Let's Play video for the game a few months back: https://youtu.be/kILeyo1iv0A?t=42m34s

[SimbasGuard]

Like others have said already, I never gave any thought as to how Simba was able to go home. However I really like TheLionPrince's theory in that regard.

[DGFone]

Here is my idea: we were shown how even in the middle of living the "Hakuna Matata lifestyle", Simba never truly forgot about his previous home. I wouldn't be surprised that in the back of his mind, hidden deep down, he still remembered how to get back to the Pride Lands, just in case.

And having Mufasa finally show up in clouds and convince him to return gave him the inspiration to dig that memory up and find his way back home. The fact that Nala, Timon and Pumbaa were able to catch up to him after starting several hours later, it is very likely that he didn't know the way back exactly, unlike Nala who had much fresher knowledge of the way.

[SimbasGuard]

That is a very good theory as well.

[Carl]

Couldn't he have followed Nala's scent and taken the same path she used?