Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Encyclopedia
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is a dark ride
at Disneyland Park. It is one of the few remaining attractions that was operational on the park's opening day in 1955. The ride's story is based on Disney's adaptation of The Wind in the Willows
, one of the two segments of the film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
. It was once an attraction at the Magic Kingdom
park in Walt Disney World, but despite a long protest against its closure, Mr. Toad's journeys to nowhere in particular were put to an end in 1998 and the ride was replaced the following year with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
. However, a statue of Mr. Toad
can be seen with many others at a pet cemetery outside the Haunted Mansion
. Corey Burton
does every voice at the attraction, except for the usage of audio from the film. Both parks now sell two shirts representing Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, with the shirts at Walt Disney World made for the 1971 Collections set.
Guests enter a recreation of Toad Hall, passing by artistic works commemorating characters from "The Wind in the Willows". A large mural shows the adventures of Toad and his motorcar, foreshadowing various scenes in the ride. Guests hop aboard miniature, early 1900s-era, multicolored motorcars. The name of one of the characters from the film (Mr. Toad
, Toady, Ratty, Moley, MacBadger, Cyril, Winky or Weasel) is inscribed on each motorcar.
Passengers begin their journey by crashing into a library, where MacBadger is seen teetering atop a ladder with a stack of books. They then crash through the fireplace
, where fiberoptic effects simulate the scattering of embers on the floor. Narrowly avoiding a falling suit of armor, the passengers break through a set of doors to find the interior hallway of Toad Hall in disarray, as weasels swing from chandeliers. Guests then enter the dining room, where Mr. Mole is eating at a dinner table and gets knocked aside.
Upon leaving Toad Hall, guests travel through the countryside, passing Mr. Rat's house, aggravating policemen and terrifying a farmer and his sheep. Making a right turn, guests head for the docks and get the impression that their car will plunge into the river, but quickly make a sharp turn in a different direction and enter a warehouse full of barrels and crates containing explosives. Guests crash through a brick wall as the warehouse's contents explode. They then head out into the streets of London, avoid a close collision with a delivery truck, and enter Winky's Pub, where Winky the bartender
holds two spinning beer mugs.
Passengers then enter the town square, where the cars wreak further havoc on the citizens. A working fountain featuring Toad and Cyril Proudbottom stands in the center of the town. Behind this statue is a statue of Lady Justice
peeking out from under her blindfold. Next, guests enter a jury-less courtroom, where the riders are proclaimed guilty by a judge (based on the film's prosecutor for the Crown). The cars then enter what is presumed to be a dark prison cell before abruptly turning right and landing on railroad tracks. The vehicles bounce along the tracks in the dark before colliding head-on with an oncoming train.
Guests then arrive at the ride's final scene: a tongue-in-cheek depiction of Hell
not inspired by any scene in the movie or book. The entire room is heated, and the scenery features small devil
s who bounce up and down. A large devil, who resembles the Judge from the courtroom scene, emerges and points guests to the left (the devil's/Judge's right), indicating "redemption" of the riders in an allusion to Matthew 25:31-46. Granted a reprieve, the passengers eventually "escape" to the ride's loading and unloading area, where they disembark.
was one of the Magic Kingdom's opening day attractions on October 1, 1971. Although it was modeled after the Disneyland attraction, it had some unique characteristics that set it apart from its California
counterpart. The most obvious was that the Florida
incarnation had two separate boarding areas. The vehicles (in the form of Jalopies) in each boarding area were on separate tracks that followed different paths, so riders would get a slightly different ride, depending on where they boarded.
Like its counterpart at Disneyland, it was not a thrill ride, but it was not slow and quiet like most dark rides. It made sudden turns and often the vehicle would move at full speed towards an obstacle, which would move out of the way at the last second. At one point the vehicles on different tracks would head directly towards each other, giving the sense of an oncoming collision. It was a very stylized attraction and resembled a cartoon more than any other Disney ride. It contained highly ornate plywood characters and sets that were very reminiscent of the multiplane camerawork featured in many Disney films.
Despite the ride's popularity and many protests, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride closed on September 7, 1998 and was subsequently replaced with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
. While minor tributes to the ride can be found in Disney World, including paintings of Mr. Toad and Moley within The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
and a statue of Toad in a pet cemetery outside of Haunted Mansion
, traces of "The Wind in the Willows" characters within Walt Disney World are minimal.
Efforts have been made to reconstruct the ride, including a 3D virtual recreation at virtual-toad.com.
as the judge declared Mr. Toad guilty. Upon making a right hand turn, the vehicles entered several jail cells.
After winding through the cells, guests emerged out into a dark scene, passing by a shootout between police and gunmen (using red lights to simulate gunfire). Several of the police barriers then moved aside revealing a railroad crossing, complete with a ringing bell. The gate then moved aside, and vehicles made a right hand turn onto the "tracks". Vehicles traveled along the railroad tracks, until getting hit by a train (with riders seeing the headlight of the "locomotive"). A door then opened, revealing the "Hell" scene. Afterwards, guests went through a door back to the boarding area.
Dark ride
A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music, and special effects....
at Disneyland Park. It is one of the few remaining attractions that was operational on the park's opening day in 1955. The ride's story is based on Disney's adaptation of The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
, one of the two segments of the film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a 1949 animated feature produced by Walt Disney. The film was released to theaters on October 5, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures and is the eleventh animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
. It was once an attraction at the Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort located near Orlando, Florida. The first park built at the resort, Magic Kingdom opened Oct. 1, 1971. Designed and built by WED Enterprises, the park's layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland in Anaheim, California...
park in Walt Disney World, but despite a long protest against its closure, Mr. Toad's journeys to nowhere in particular were put to an end in 1998 and the ride was replaced the following year with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (attraction)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is a dark ride based upon the film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, itself based on the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. The attraction exists in slightly different forms at the Magic Kingdom in the Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland, and Hong...
. However, a statue of Mr. Toad
Mr. Toad
Mr. Toad, Esq., of Toad Hall, is one of the main characters in the novel The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and also the title character of the A. A. Milne play Toad of Toad Hall based on the book.-Character:...
can be seen with many others at a pet cemetery outside the Haunted Mansion
Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride located at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. A significantly re-imagined incarnation of the ride, known as Phantom Manor, is located in Disneyland Paris...
. Corey Burton
Corey Burton
Corey Burton is an American voice actor, perhaps best known as Count Dooku, Ziro the Hutt and Cad Bane in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Brainiac in the DC animated universe and Spike Witwicky and Shockwave in the Transformers universe...
does every voice at the attraction, except for the usage of audio from the film. Both parks now sell two shirts representing Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, with the shirts at Walt Disney World made for the 1971 Collections set.
Disneyland version
Mr. Toad
Mr. Toad, Esq., of Toad Hall, is one of the main characters in the novel The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and also the title character of the A. A. Milne play Toad of Toad Hall based on the book.-Character:...
, Toady, Ratty, Moley, MacBadger, Cyril, Winky or Weasel) is inscribed on each motorcar.
Passengers begin their journey by crashing into a library, where MacBadger is seen teetering atop a ladder with a stack of books. They then crash through the fireplace
Fireplace
A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...
, where fiberoptic effects simulate the scattering of embers on the floor. Narrowly avoiding a falling suit of armor, the passengers break through a set of doors to find the interior hallway of Toad Hall in disarray, as weasels swing from chandeliers. Guests then enter the dining room, where Mr. Mole is eating at a dinner table and gets knocked aside.
Upon leaving Toad Hall, guests travel through the countryside, passing Mr. Rat's house, aggravating policemen and terrifying a farmer and his sheep. Making a right turn, guests head for the docks and get the impression that their car will plunge into the river, but quickly make a sharp turn in a different direction and enter a warehouse full of barrels and crates containing explosives. Guests crash through a brick wall as the warehouse's contents explode. They then head out into the streets of London, avoid a close collision with a delivery truck, and enter Winky's Pub, where Winky the bartender
Bartender
A bartender is a person who serves beverages behind a counter in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner...
holds two spinning beer mugs.
Passengers then enter the town square, where the cars wreak further havoc on the citizens. A working fountain featuring Toad and Cyril Proudbottom stands in the center of the town. Behind this statue is a statue of Lady Justice
Lady Justice
Lady Justice |Dike]]) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems.-Depiction:The personification of justice balancing the scales of truth and fairness dates back to the Goddess Maat, and later Isis, of ancient Egypt. The Hellenic deities Themis and Dike were later...
peeking out from under her blindfold. Next, guests enter a jury-less courtroom, where the riders are proclaimed guilty by a judge (based on the film's prosecutor for the Crown). The cars then enter what is presumed to be a dark prison cell before abruptly turning right and landing on railroad tracks. The vehicles bounce along the tracks in the dark before colliding head-on with an oncoming train.
Guests then arrive at the ride's final scene: a tongue-in-cheek depiction of Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
not inspired by any scene in the movie or book. The entire room is heated, and the scenery features small devil
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s who bounce up and down. A large devil, who resembles the Judge from the courtroom scene, emerges and points guests to the left (the devil's/Judge's right), indicating "redemption" of the riders in an allusion to Matthew 25:31-46. Granted a reprieve, the passengers eventually "escape" to the ride's loading and unloading area, where they disembark.
Magic Kingdom version
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
was one of the Magic Kingdom's opening day attractions on October 1, 1971. Although it was modeled after the Disneyland attraction, it had some unique characteristics that set it apart from its California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
counterpart. The most obvious was that the Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
incarnation had two separate boarding areas. The vehicles (in the form of Jalopies) in each boarding area were on separate tracks that followed different paths, so riders would get a slightly different ride, depending on where they boarded.
Like its counterpart at Disneyland, it was not a thrill ride, but it was not slow and quiet like most dark rides. It made sudden turns and often the vehicle would move at full speed towards an obstacle, which would move out of the way at the last second. At one point the vehicles on different tracks would head directly towards each other, giving the sense of an oncoming collision. It was a very stylized attraction and resembled a cartoon more than any other Disney ride. It contained highly ornate plywood characters and sets that were very reminiscent of the multiplane camerawork featured in many Disney films.
Despite the ride's popularity and many protests, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride closed on September 7, 1998 and was subsequently replaced with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (attraction)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is a dark ride based upon the film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, itself based on the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. The attraction exists in slightly different forms at the Magic Kingdom in the Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland, and Hong...
. While minor tributes to the ride can be found in Disney World, including paintings of Mr. Toad and Moley within The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (attraction)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is a dark ride based upon the film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, itself based on the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. The attraction exists in slightly different forms at the Magic Kingdom in the Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland, and Hong...
and a statue of Toad in a pet cemetery outside of Haunted Mansion
Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride located at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. A significantly re-imagined incarnation of the ride, known as Phantom Manor, is located in Disneyland Paris...
, traces of "The Wind in the Willows" characters within Walt Disney World are minimal.
Efforts have been made to reconstruct the ride, including a 3D virtual recreation at virtual-toad.com.
Ride experience
The two tracks of the Walt Disney World version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride didn't pass through all of the same show scenes. Thus, each track gave riders a completely different set of scenes to pass through.Track 1
On Track #1, riders passed through rural English countryside upon leaving Toad Hall, coming face to face with a few cows along the way. After passing through a small room with several warning signs, guests made a turn into a central plaza. Traveling around the turn, the vehicles passed a policeman signaling riders with his whistle. Guests then made a right hand turn into the courtroomCourtroom
A courtroom is the actual enclosed space in which a judge regularly holds court.The schedule of official court proceedings is called a docket; the term is also synonymous with a court's caseload as a whole.-Courtroom design:-United States:...
as the judge declared Mr. Toad guilty. Upon making a right hand turn, the vehicles entered several jail cells.
After winding through the cells, guests emerged out into a dark scene, passing by a shootout between police and gunmen (using red lights to simulate gunfire). Several of the police barriers then moved aside revealing a railroad crossing, complete with a ringing bell. The gate then moved aside, and vehicles made a right hand turn onto the "tracks". Vehicles traveled along the railroad tracks, until getting hit by a train (with riders seeing the headlight of the "locomotive"). A door then opened, revealing the "Hell" scene. Afterwards, guests went through a door back to the boarding area.
Track 2
From the boarding area to the plaza, Track #2 passed through two scenes not seen in Track #1: Toad's trophy room, and a Gypsy camp. After rounding the plaza, instead of entering the courtroom, guests continued on and entered Winky's Tavern. The vehicles made a right hand turn and guests could see the Weasels hiding out in the Tavern among the ale barrels. Following this, guests emerged into the night countryside. Passing by a small house, the vehicles reached a railroad crossing with ringing bell. This gate moved aside, and vehicles made left hand turn onto the railroad tracks. Like on Track #1, the headlight of the locomotive was visible before the train hit the riders. The "Hell" scene on this track was a mirror image of the Track #1 "Hell" sequence.See also
- List of current Disneyland attractions
- Magic Kingdom attraction and entertainment historyMagic Kingdom attraction and entertainment historyThe Magic Kingdom is a theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Below is a list of the current attractions found therein, arranged by "land" and with brief descriptions...
- The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. ToadThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. ToadThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a 1949 animated feature produced by Walt Disney. The film was released to theaters on October 5, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures and is the eleventh animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
- Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (film)
Further reading
- MR. TOAD ATTRACTION WILL FINALLY CROAK September 2, 1998
- MR. TOAD LEARNS: IT AIN'T EASY BEING GREEN September 8, 1998
External links
- Passport to Dreams Old & New in-depth article commemorating WDW's Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
- Jim Hill Media An up-close look at some figures from WDW's Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
- AllEarsNet
- Mr. Toad's Wild Ride from GoSleepGo
- Save Mr. Toad's Wild Ride!
- Virtual Toad a virtual reconstruction of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
- Walt Dated World
- Widen Your World
- Mr. Toad's Wild Ride from YouTube