Day 110: Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
March 12, 2023
Dear Disney,
It has been a while since we last spoke. Darling and my personal life continues to be busy, but we think about how you touch are lives.
Before our trip to Disneyland, I started to talk about the 100 Years of Wonder and started to highlight the different rides in Disneyland specifically. In many ways, these attractions portray more than the moments of the day waiting in line and then actually ride them. These attractions are physical representation of engineers and imagineers, artists, painters, animators, and storyboarders. These attractions, unlike many other rides of the era that they were originally build, are story driven. The designers not only want to invoke the feeling of being on a car, train, boat, or other apparatus, but also the feeling of the characters that inspire us.
The fantasyland rides do exactly that! From the ambience created by the sights, sounds, and smells around the attraction to the attraction’s story itself. I will admit that, especially early on, this was not always a success. However, no one can deny that today’s highlighted attraction, Mr. Disney, met every hope and dream.
I have stated earlier, back in October, that one of my favorite movies growing up was the package film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Admittedly, the Ichabod story was more awe-inspiring to childhood Jim then Mr. Toad, I have grown fonder of Mr. Toad’s story as I have aged. The child-like abandon that Mr. Toad throws himself towards with every new mania is relatable. I too want to shirk off the responsibilities of adulthood and traverse the contryside in a cart, car, or plane. Alas, that cannot be except in the 2-minute experience that is Disneyland’s “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.”
For those of you who have never participated “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride,” this attraction, unlike other dark rides, is not a retelling of the movie, but rather a “what-if” experience. What if you, the rider, were Mr. Toad experiencing Motor Mania? You traverse the countryside in a Motor-car, running through Toad Hall, the early 19th century English Countryside, and Hamlets. Your car causing damage and catastrophe that leads to being sent to trial and finally hell itself! It’s quite the “wild ride!”
Mr. Disney, your imagineer’s original design was ambitious, with the rides outward appearance being one that resembled Toad Hall itself, but alas, that was not meant to be. When Disneyland opened, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and all of the original Fantasyland rides had a “Medieval Fair” theme. I was not around to see the original designs, but the 1983 Fantasyland remodel took the old drawings and brought new life to them.
The modern “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” shares the pavilion with “Peter Pan’s Flight” and “Alice in Wonderland”, whose attraction actually sits on top of “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.” The line queue meanders through Toad Hall itself and is a wonder of design.
Mr. Disney, I think you would really like what your imagineers have done with this attraction. Now if only there was a Ichabod inspired ride.
Till next time.
Sincerely,
Jim Dear and Darling
