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10 years without Toad

B

Bullitt

New Member
Original Poster
Ten years ago today, Disney closed one of their most audacious, irrational, and imaginative attractions, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. In memory of Toad, I've provided links to two very insightful articles (from Widen Your World and Passport to Dreams Old and New) and to Spencer Cook's Virtual Toad project. Everybody is invited to share their memories of this wonderful oddity.

http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/mtwr.htm

http://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/search/label/Mr.%20Toad%27s%20Wild%20Ride

http://virtual-toad.com/
 
E

EmOhYouEssE

New Member
You can still see it at DL :)

Where else but the Happiest Place on Earth can young children die and go to h.e.double hockey sticks, all while keeping their arms and legs safely inside the vehicle? I love Mr. Toad. I wish they would bring it back to WDW in some form.

Em
 
disneychic71

disneychic71

Member
I was fortunate enough to visit WDW in January of 1972, and this was aboslutely my favorite ride and my strongest memory of the trip. When the car turned onto the train tracks I was terrified/exhilarated, and I told all my friends about it when we got home. My sister and I rode it again sometime in the early 80s, and we loved it just as much. I was very disappointed that my kids couldn't experience the ride, as it had closed before they were old enough to enjoy it. However, we all rode the DL version on a recent trip, and they loved it, too.
 
Fun2BFree

Fun2BFree

Active Member
EmOhYouEssE said:
You can still see it at DL :)

Where else but the Happiest Place on Earth can young children die and go to h.e.double hockey sticks, all while keeping their arms and legs safely inside the vehicle? I love Mr. Toad. I wish they would bring it back to WDW in some form.

Em
Click to expand...

Ah, but the MK version was essentially Toad 2.0, with two tracks and different show scenes. Unfortunately, I doubt today's youth even know who Mr. Toad is now, so there isn't a chance it would return.
 
B

Bullitt

New Member
Original Poster
Fun2BFree said:
Ah, but the MK version was essentially Toad 2.0, with two tracks and different show scenes. Unfortunately, I doubt today's youth even know who Mr. Toad is now, so there isn't a chance it would return.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, the MK version was significantly better than both the original Disneyland version and the 1983 rehab. Obviously, as Fun2BFree pointed out, the ride had two tracks with different shows scenes. It was also more spacious, more stylistically consistent than Disneyland's Toad, and had a plethora of memorable scenes (the trophy room, the jail cell, the gypsy camp, flying chickens, etc). Though Disneyland has a great looking facade and some cool effects, specifically the fireworks room and the train crash, MK Toad proved to be the more memorable and artistic one for me. I really wish Disney just updated the ride with new effects/technology, something which never happened during its 26-year run (aside from paint jobs, the replacement of cars, and the new entrance sign), and waited little bit longer to build Winnie the Pooh on the 20k lagoon.
 
One Lil Spark

One Lil Spark

EPCOT Center Defender
EmOhYouEssE said:
You can still see it at DL :)

Where else but the Happiest Place on Earth can young children die and go to h.e.double hockey sticks, all while keeping their arms and legs safely inside the vehicle? I love Mr. Toad. I wish they would bring it back to WDW in some form.

Em
Click to expand...
I really love that they put Mr. Toad in the pet cemetery at HM. He's still at WDW in some form.
 
burninup4nick

burninup4nick

New Member
I really wish I would have gotten the opportunity to ride this.....but when it was open I was to young to enjoy it and for as long as I can remember its been Winnie the Pooh. but hopefully one day Ill get to go to Disneyland and experience it for myself.
 
DABIGCHEEZ

DABIGCHEEZ

Well-Known Member
I only rode Mr Toads Wild Ride when my parents took us in '76,'77, or '78. When I went in the late 80's and early 90's I did not go on it for some reason. As cheap, tacky and whatever else you want to call it, I have memories of it being my favorite ride when I was younger. I also remember being terrified with the train coming at me and remembering that until today. I told everyone about that ride more than any other back then. Maybe one day we'll get to the west coast so my kids can experience the classic there.
 
CThaddeus

CThaddeus

New Member
Bullitt said:
In my opinion, the MK version was significantly better than both the original Disneyland version and the 1983 rehab. Obviously, as Fun2BFree pointed out, the ride had two tracks with different shows scenes. It was also more spacious, more stylistically consistent than Disneyland's Toad, and had a plethora of memorable scenes (the trophy room, the jail cell, the gypsy camp, flying chickens, etc). Though Disneyland has a great looking facade and some cool effects, specifically the fireworks room and the train crash, MK Toad proved to be the more memorable and artistic one for me. I really wish Disney just updated the ride with new effects/technology, something which never happened during its 26-year run (aside from paint jobs, the replacement of cars, and the new entrance sign), and waited little bit longer to build Winnie the Pooh on the 20k lagoon.
Click to expand...

While I'll give you that it was better than the original at Disneyland, I definitely can't agree with it being better than the current Mr. Toad. As someone who grew up with the Disneyland Mr. Toad, I was really put off by the Magic Kingdom's version when I first visited in 1996 (it rated bottom in my ranking of attractions in all the Parks). For me it was like a day-glo cardboard-cutout nightmare, and barely rated higher than a cheesy carnival dark house ride. Yes, it had two sides, which somehow makes it more impressive in some people's eyes, but when the attraction is bad on one side, how could it have been any better on the other? Sorry, guys, while it might have been better if they'd given it a good Disneyland-style overhaul, I much prefer The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh.
Now, if we're going to discuss its neighbor Snow White, I think the Magic Kingdom's is infinitely superior to Disneyland's in every way except the exterior and queue. I would love to see Disneyland's get the MK overhaul...though I'm guessing there's not enough space to do that in its current building, which is why we're stuck with a lame painting of "And they lived happily ever after..." immediately following the death of the Witch.
 
B

Bullitt

New Member
Original Poster
CThaddeus said:
While I'll give you that it was better than the original at Disneyland, I definitely can't agree with it being better than the current Mr. Toad. As someone who grew up with the Disneyland Mr. Toad, I was really put off by the Magic Kingdom's version when I first visited in 1996 (it rated bottom in my ranking of attractions in all the Parks). For me it was like a day-glo cardboard-cutout nightmare, and barely rated higher than a cheesy carnival dark house ride. Yes, it had two sides, which somehow makes it more impressive in some people's eyes, but when the attraction is bad on one side, how could it have been any better on the other? Sorry, guys, while it might have been better if they'd given it a good Disneyland-style overhaul, I much prefer The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, there's a lot of obvious stylistic discrepancies in the Disneyland version. Some figures, like Moley and MacBadger, are really simplistic in their design (almost as if they are leftovers from the original). Then there are others like the cops, the shepherd, and the baker that are overworked (too much "trompe l'oeil", too much "realism") and look terribly out of place. The only figures that are dead-on in rendering is Winky the barman and the Judge. Furthermore, the Disneyland version is too cluttered and claustrophobic, whereas the one in Disney World was more spacious and able to create a more convincing sense of depth by staggering set pieces.

About the only aspect where Disneyland's Toad upstages WDW's Toad is with the facade, the fireworks room, and maybe the final hell sequence. Aside from that, I much prefer the simple, abstract quality of the WDW version to Disneyland's clumsy trompe l'oeil. As for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, its a charming ride but little more than a recapitulation of the film, whereas Mr. Toad's Wild Ride plays out like a dream (or for some a nightmare) loosely inspired by The Wind in the Willows film. All in all, I respect your point of view and I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.
 

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