Does Mr. Toad's Wild Ride fall into the category of "absence makes the heart grow fonder?"

[Walt Disney1955]

Okay, I know Mr. Toad is talked about a lot on here but I thought we could discuss things a little deeper about it.

For starters, I loved it at WDW, but I'd like some opinions on whether or not people think we look at that ride with rose-coloured glasses on here. Do we miss it as much we let on? If it ever came back would we appreciate it again? When it closed in 1998 did it make sense to do so?

I am trying hard to remember the line ups for that ride at WDW. In 1991 I didn't ride it. We walked past it and it looked like a long line and my mother said that we'd better skip that one. In 1995 I rode it for the first time and loved it. I don't remember it being a long line. In 1997 I rode it for the last time and loved the train effect again. In 2012 I talked it up to my wife prior to riding it at Disneyland. We rode it 4 times in 2 days. So I still love it. From my memory, I don't remember it being unpopular at WDW. Or does my memory deceive me?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

If it ever came back would we appreciate it again?

It would be considered weird and confusing to today's WDW audience because it's not based on a blockbuster franchise and it's gleefully morbid in its climax. Even if were given more modern effects, it would still be odd to those who think Fantasyland is only about Princesses.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

It would be considered weird and confusing to today's WDW audience because it's not based on a blockbuster franchise and it's gleefully morbid in its climax. Even if were given more modern effects, it would still be odd to those who think Fantasyland is only about Princesses.

Still wildly popular at Disneyland though. It works well there.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Still wildly popular at Disneyland though. It works well there.

It does. I rode it again last month.

But it's been there since day one. Everyone knows and accepts it. Toad has been gone from WDW for 20 years, long before even some members here started going. I'm not sure current WDW audiences would understand it.

 

[larryz]

More than a roller coaster zooming through plywood cut-outs, that's for sure...

 

[Rumrunner]

All I know is my kids enjoyed the ride and were disappointed when it went away. It was a "wild ride".

 

[AndyS2992]

Never been much of a fan, much prefer it as Pooh.

 

[The Mom]

It would be considered retro now - which is probably why it is still popular in DL. It was very 1960s - fluorescent paint with black lights, big breakaway cutouts, etc. Very similar to other "dark" rides of the time.

 

[Oddysey]

From my perspective I think it is a case of nostalgia. Do not get me wrong. I absolutely loved Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, but I think that Pooh is technically superior and is an overall better ride.

Mr. Toad has a very cheap design by comparison and is not nearly as immersive. For me, I think it is a case of missing a specific time period more than wishing Disney still had Mr. Toad over Pooh. It makes me miss the time period more when I recognize that in present day, Disney would never design a ride where I get hit by a train, and sent straight to the depths of hell. While that sounds awful, it was achieved tastefully, and it was a truly unique experience from a unique time that I know I will never get back. As a result, Toads absence makes the heart grow fonder.

While Pooh is technically superior, in a perfect world we could just have both, but I digress.

 

[WondersOfLife]

I am 20, but I also grew up watching the Ichabod and Mr. Toad shorts in the car when we traveled on tour. So I was aware of the film. Obviously, I didn't ride it at WDW. But I've ridden it both times when I went to Disneyland and... I gotta admit it was more fun and intense than I thought it would be! Very fast paced. I liked it. But at the same time... It was also a "What the heck did I just ride?" kind of experience after I got off of it... It's not something I'd queue up for, thankfully it was a walk on both times for me.

But judging the ride by first time experience just a couple of years ago over here, it's definitely a nostalgia thing. Not something I'd talk up to my friends. But, I see where you're coming from. The whole "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" thing... That was honestly me The Great Movie Ride. I always talked it up to this big grand amazing ride, only to be met back by my first-timer friends with a "that was interesting."

 

[JIMINYCR]

Absence does make you appreciate something more once its gone and makes you fonder for it. Toad wasnt a thrilling, action filled, scream producing ride that left you breathless. It paled in comparison to many other Dis attractions but it was a classic ride through that was very enjoyable, great for the younger kids ( even though there were the slightly scary hell scenes) and one that gave a lot of guests pleasure to go on. It should have/ could have remained and continue to fit in. Dis just moved on and didnt appreciate the value we all saw in it. Their goal was to go new, improved, flashy, modern, which we would have been happy to do without if Toad remained.

 

[Oddysey]

That's not Pooh's ride.

Tokyo Disnelyand's Pooh's Honey Hunt is the real ride. Whatever that is that replaced Mister Toad is a sad imitation of Pooh's Honey Hunt.

It certainly is at MK, and served as the replacement for Mr. Toad. Just because MK's Pooh does not have the same trackless system as TDL, it does not mean MK's Pooh is not technically superior to Mr. Toads Wild Road. I am not sure if your point was to argue with me or just point out that Tokyo's version is superior to MK's. If you were pointing to the latter, we agree.

 

[Goofyernmost]

It would be considered retro now - which is probably why it is still popular in DL. It was very 1960s - fluorescent paint with black lights, big breakaway cutouts, etc. Very similar to other "dark" rides of the time.

Just a half a step up from roadside carnival fun house rides. That was my first impression of it back in 1983, and it is one attraction that I never shed a tear over after it was gone. There was a lot of remorse about it on the boards though so when I went to DL in 2005 I made a point of riding it just to see if I had missed something about it that put it in the great classification. Sorry to report, I could find nothing redeeming about it. So the answer to the question is it a "absence makes the heart grow fonder" situation, absolatutely. I'd be willing to bet that almost 100% of the people that have that remorse saw it the first as a child. For them it is full blown nostalgia.

 

[ChrisFL]

I think it's some nostalgia and some audacity about what was in the ride...it had an edginess missing from more modern attractions in Fantasyland. A lot of people like myself miss that edginess in attractions and Disney plays it too safe these days...same for Snow White's Scary Adventures when it first opened.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I think it's some nostalgia and some audacity about what was in the ride...it had an edginess missing from more modern attractions in Fantasyland. A lot of people like myself miss that edginess in attractions and Disney plays it too safe these days...same for Snow White's Scary Adventures when it first opened.

Well, we can't have those little snowflakes thinking that life includes some bad things now can we.

 

[Oddysey]

Actually both.

Toad >= Orlando Pooh (not vastly superior Pooh)

Tokyo Pooh > Orlando Pooh

I hope you realize when I am say "technically superior" I mean from a technological standpoint. I am not saying that MK's Pooh offers a superior experience when compared to Toad because that is entirely subjective.

I will add that I loved Toad as a child, but if I were to ride Toad and Pooh back to back with never having knowledge of either ride, Pooh would be the superior experience for me. This is why I agree with the premise that the heart grows fonder as time passes. At least when it comes to my view of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

Although, as I said before, I wish we could have both at the same time. I hate losing a classic experience in favor of a new one in just about every case.

 

[TwilightZone]

I'd say yes and no.
Yes, because the ride was a bunch of plywood animatronics, not much to it. It's not immersive like newer rides, or even some that came out during the same time, however, the multiple routes made it really exciting, and it has a sort of kitschy charm to it that no other ride has.

 

[Incomudro]

Mr. Toad was little more than a standard carnival ride - often used in haunted houses.
Cars on rails that swerved to avoid dangers.
For the life of me, I don't understand how it live on in nostalgia.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

Pooh is just a book report ride. Pooh does not do anything clever with the source material. The settings are purposely uninteresting with the characters being the main focus, after all it is just a ride made to sell toys of the characters, not of the 100 acre woods.

Toad was made to sell itself. Toad was not meant to be used as a merchandising magnet, not in 1955, and especially not in 1971. Toad actually shows off interesting scenery and actually made you feel like you are an active participant, instead of a distant observer. Toad is primitive compared to its successor, but that doesn't mean Pooh is better. Nemo on both coasts are both more advance technology wise compared to their predecessors on both coasts, but neither Nemo is a worthy successor.

 

[celluloid]

WDWs was so unique in rerideability. One that most agreed was ahead of the original and certainly a dual track concept help efficient and made for some fun ride Dynamics. Kids still love to pretend drive, it would still be a winner in the Fantasyland market it was in.