People here appear to be greatly divided over the Mickey meet-n-greet in the Magic Kingdom. Which do you think is better, Mickey's Country House at the former Toontown Fair or the Town Square Theater on Main Street?
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Mickey meet-n-greet preference?
- Thread starter mharrington
- Start date
MissM
Well-Known Member
I really liked the new Town Square meet. I thought the building had been nicely decorated, the queue moved quick and Mickey's dressing room was very well themed. The old Judge's Tent was a sparse room for the actual picture and the line didn't seem to move at all. It felt like hardly a wait at all in the new Town Square queue. Overall, I like the new meet better.
I always thought that Mickey's House was full of humorous touches here and there. And what does the Town Square Theater have? References to other Disney parks worldwide, but not much else.
DisneyNut2007
Active Member
Town Square Theater all the way. 
What does the Town Square Theater have that Mickey's Country House doesn't?
CountryBearFan
Active Member
My vote goes to the Town Square Theater, which I think is a major improvement over the Judge's Tent in many ways.
In addition to all the countless details and Disney history references, it looks a lot nicer and more elaborate than the Tents. And the interactive elements are a nice touch as well.
IMO, the people voting for it are only doing so out of nostalgia and not consdering the entire picture. "Old" is not always "better". The Theater deserves more votes.
In addition to all the countless details and Disney history references, it looks a lot nicer and more elaborate than the Tents. And the interactive elements are a nice touch as well.
IMO, the people voting for it are only doing so out of nostalgia and not consdering the entire picture. "Old" is not always "better". The Theater deserves more votes.
I'm not sure that's really a fair comparison. The old location for Mickey was actually Judge's tent, which was horrendous, not his house. If we consider Mickey's house as the queue for the old meet and greet then clearly that was superior to the current queue. However, the new meet location is heads and tails above the old Judges tent. So I guess it was a trade off really, a less detailed queue for a more detailed and attractive meet location.
This is not a fair comparison. Mickey did meet-and-greets in the Judge's Tent, not the Country House. As far as the actual meet-and-greet location goes, the Town Square Theater is a nice improvement over the Judge's Tent.
The meet-and-greet space at the Town Square Theater is incredibly detailed with clever sight gags and numerous references and in-jokes to Disney parks and films for the fans. The first room is also a very authentic, ornate Victorian space featuring those cool interactive posters that deftly blend the cartoons with the Victorian atmosphere.
David S.
Member
Great point. The thing for me is, though, Mickey's House was not just the queue for the meet and greet, but also, the main attraction for me in and of itself! In the same way that other self-guided walk-throughs like Swiss Family Treehouse and Tom Sawyer Island are attractions.
Exploring Mickey's (and Minnie's) House was actually more important for me than actually waiting to meet Mickey, as I loved exploring the Houses and enjoying all the little details. It really brought you into the colorful, whimsical cartoon world of the toons. And I loved all the references to the classic character shorts, the audio, the gags, the props, etc!
Exploring the Houses were attractions I did regularly. So the Houses had more repeat value for me than actually meeting Mickey, which you can really do at any of the parks. I've spent much more time exploring the Houses and didn't always even do the meet and greet!
Still, the queue area in the Judge's Tent did have it's charms, like the video clips and the gag in the back of Goofy trying to edit the film on the editing table. In the films themselves, I always got a kick out of Donald getting stuck inside the projector!
The new location has some detail inside the Meet and Greet area itself, but it isn't designed in a way for you to really linger and explore as long as you want, like the Houses were. And the queue doesn't bring you into the fun and whimsical cartoon world like Toontown and the Houses did. Although if it did, I'm sure Main Steet fans would have complained about the "Toonification" of Main Street.
So while it is true that Mickey is versatile and can meet and greet his fans in a variety of settings and atmospheres (as many have pointed out), it doesn't translate to Main Street with the same whimsical Toonish atmosphere like it did in Toontown. And as a BIG fan of that colorful Toonish spirit, whimsy, atmosphere, music, etc., this is why I mourn the loss of Toontown.
The irony is that they are keeping the tents, which was the most universally disliked feature of Toontown, and razed the Houses, which seemed to be the most loved. If they ever rebuilt the Houses elsewhere, such as at the Studios, it would go a long way to sooth my disappointment about the situation.
I agree, I think the whole entryway and hallway should be very detailed.
The trouble is, I don't think the houses really fit the Studios theme.
Now I know the houses don't fit the Animal Kingdom or Downtown Disney or the Art of Animation resort. That one is all about post-"The Little Mermaid" animated features.
What's wrong with nostalgia? Also, unlike Mickey's House (and Judge's Tent), whose little details and gags are associated largely with the Disney cartoons of old, all the details in the theater are associated with Disney as a whole.
lbrad
Well-Known Member
I agree :wave:
NASAMan
Member
It is intentionally plain, as that is just a pass through area. One problem bringing guests to Mickey at the Judges Tent, was passing by Clarabell's desk and having people stop to take pictures. In the Town Square Theater, you are either passing through or stopping for a moment, in which case a Character Attendant should be there to interact with you. They should keep you occupied for the short time you wait there, maybe even doing a magic trick Mickey taught them.