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Mr. Toad
- Thread starter kev24135
- Start date
Lee
Adventurer
Easy answer...
Toad was simple, basic, low-tech and extremely fun. Plus you got to go to hell at the end.:fork:
What's not to like?
Mr Toad was fun. It was my favorite ride when I was a child. In many ways, it was WDW's embodiment of the "Fun House" you'd see in other smaller amusement parks - each room had a little bit of absurdity to it. Unlike the other Fantasyland dark rides, as a kid, I always felt Mr Toad came the closest to a "thrill ride" - it felt faster and more unpredictable.
You can still ride the non-dueling version in Disneyland.
You can still ride the non-dueling version in Disneyland.
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
On video, Toad looks cheap, low budget. I say it appears that way because Toad was exactly that.
What a video can't convey, are Toad's strong points. Toad just was lots of good fun. Like Snow White's Scary Adventures with too much caffeine.
All that nervous turning and swivelling! The neon lights and colours! A look and style of its own too! All those cars twisting and turning, from two independent tracks...
Toad, back then, was to the other dark rides what a fast-edited modern music video is to one of those slow moving sixties' ones.
No need for false nostalgia over Toad. It was never a state-of-the-art E-Ticket. What it did have was style, and lots of frantic fun.
It was also one of those experiences that was better at WDW than at DL, as was the standard in WDW's early years.
What a video can't convey, are Toad's strong points. Toad just was lots of good fun. Like Snow White's Scary Adventures with too much caffeine.
All that nervous turning and swivelling! The neon lights and colours! A look and style of its own too! All those cars twisting and turning, from two independent tracks...
Toad, back then, was to the other dark rides what a fast-edited modern music video is to one of those slow moving sixties' ones.
No need for false nostalgia over Toad. It was never a state-of-the-art E-Ticket. What it did have was style, and lots of frantic fun.
It was also one of those experiences that was better at WDW than at DL, as was the standard in WDW's early years.
Walt Disney1955
Well-Known Member
I liked it. I think it had a little more charm than Pooh. It's a shame both couldn't be kept around together. If they can do a Fantasyland expansion I think they could have found a way to keep Toad in there too. I guess it was just one of those rides that had something different in it. The effect at the end of the train coming at you was pretty good and could easily seem realistic to a young child or even an adult not expecting it.
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
Yeah, i don't think anyone is going to deny that the ride was incredibly low tech. The entire thing was built from painted wooden cutouts of all the characters and most of the scenery. The most impressive part came from the train that sends you to hell.
But hey, it was awesome! It had great style, was total madness, and the art was actually quite good despite being cutouts. It was pure fun and one of my favorites as a kid. Also neat because we at WDW had the best version with TWO sides you could choose, containing different scenes.
Had the ride been redone in style, replacing all the cutouts with high quality high tech animated robotic figures, and redone all the scenery with real models, it would have been amazing and held up to this day. They could even find some way to perhaps redo the ride system a bit, maybe use a downscaled and more calm version of the EMV vehicles to give a more crazy bumpy ride yet be high tech at the same time.
I like Pooh, and the ride is a very competent dark ride in its own right, but it was totally unnecessary to tear Toad down when Pooh had plenty of space. Toad is still a superior form of entertainment IMO. It's even more ridiculous and embarrassing that our Pooh still uses the wood cutouts for many of the characters and scenery. And compared to Tokyo's version, it's even more pathetic. CA's version is even worse though, so can't complain too much (except that they managed to keep Toad in the addition of Pooh, what the hell...).
If they could someday rebuild Toad with modern technology like i said, it would be awesome. It would have been really cool if they had built it in a manner that it backs up to Liberty Square, then have a Sleepy Hollow ride exactly opposite of it in Liberty Square, back to back. Maybe even have one point where the two rides intersect each other and you can see the other ride inside. Toad would of course be early car vehicles, and Sleepy Hollow would be horse carriages.
But hey, it was awesome! It had great style, was total madness, and the art was actually quite good despite being cutouts. It was pure fun and one of my favorites as a kid. Also neat because we at WDW had the best version with TWO sides you could choose, containing different scenes.
Had the ride been redone in style, replacing all the cutouts with high quality high tech animated robotic figures, and redone all the scenery with real models, it would have been amazing and held up to this day. They could even find some way to perhaps redo the ride system a bit, maybe use a downscaled and more calm version of the EMV vehicles to give a more crazy bumpy ride yet be high tech at the same time.
I like Pooh, and the ride is a very competent dark ride in its own right, but it was totally unnecessary to tear Toad down when Pooh had plenty of space. Toad is still a superior form of entertainment IMO. It's even more ridiculous and embarrassing that our Pooh still uses the wood cutouts for many of the characters and scenery. And compared to Tokyo's version, it's even more pathetic. CA's version is even worse though, so can't complain too much (except that they managed to keep Toad in the addition of Pooh, what the hell...).
If they could someday rebuild Toad with modern technology like i said, it would be awesome. It would have been really cool if they had built it in a manner that it backs up to Liberty Square, then have a Sleepy Hollow ride exactly opposite of it in Liberty Square, back to back. Maybe even have one point where the two rides intersect each other and you can see the other ride inside. Toad would of course be early car vehicles, and Sleepy Hollow would be horse carriages.
Walt Disney1955
Well-Known Member
So does Florida's version of Pooh. There are a couple references to Toad in the ride. The first one is when Toad is handing over the deed to the house. The other one is when Mole is seen moving out. This pays homage to Mr. Toad. We all know about the tombstone at Haunted Mansion as well. It's just another example of the magical touch of Disney
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
No, i know about the references and all. I didn't mean we didn't get those. What i meant was that California got Pooh as an addition to the park, they didn't tear down Toad to build it (though they did tear down Country Bears, i hate to say this but i'd rather have lost Country Bears than Toad).
MansionGoer13z
Active Member
Going head on with a train and sent to hell....What a riot! One of the best extinct rides Disney ever came with. Better than 20K Leagues in my opinion, because I'm not into crammed and stinky places which was the case with submarine rides.
stratman50th
Well-Known Member
Didn't they do that already?
"DINOSAUR" ?
Pumbas Nakasak
Heading for the great escape.
in the hole, which is an option for some posters
Silver Figment
Active Member
I'm almost positive i've been on it, but i don't remember it at all. I wish i had another chance to ride it.
echovictor
Member
^This!
The two things that I remember most was being scared to death by the oncoming train on Toad but wanting to ride it again and again, and the smell at 20K.
if that was an insult im confused.......in the hole?