Mickey's Magical Madcap Adventure
Ride Length: 02:30 Minutes
Construction Time: 2 Years
'Mickey's Magical Madcap Adventure' is a fast paced dark ride in the spirit of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, combining elements of a traditional Fantasyland dark ride with the general Main Street U.S.A. theme to create a fun-filled, unique experience for guests of the Magic Kingdom. Because this is the first dark ride attempted for any Main Street in any Disney park, great care will go into making the attraction 'fit' seamlessly into the area without a clash of themes. For that very reason, the attraction will take place during the early 20th Century, coinciding with the lives of such famous stage performers as Harry Houdini and Howard Thurston.
The Story:
Mickey's Magic Show is in town! While some guests are meeting Mickey Mouse backstage at his meeting greet, we have the option to follow him on one of his magic tour aboard one of his signature caravans to the next stop on his tour. His assistant, The Great Goofini (Goofy), has agreed to join Mickey on the tour, which can only mean one thing: a 'hatful' of trouble. Guests are to proceed to Mickey's dressing room and out the backstage door, where one Mickey's caravan waits to take us away.
The Attraction:
The attraction itself will be built in the space formerly-occupied by the Tinkerbell meet and greet. The meet and greet space will be gutted and replaced with the attraction's queue, and a supplementary structure will be built on the northeastern corner of the building to house the attraction itself. The 'Magic Mickey' meeting greet will remain untouched, complimenting the attraction, which will become the focal point of the Town Square Theater. The majority of the original building will remain the same, including the original waiting area, which up until this point was completely underutilized. Because the attraction will draw more guests to the theater, the queue will finally be utilized to its full capacity, keeping guests inside the building as they wait, alleviating crowds from the outside of the building on hot summer days. As far as the ride experience is concerned, the attraction will utilize classic dark ride elements including but not limited to set pieces, animatronics, painted cutouts, water effects, heat effects, rigged practical effects, and moderate use of modern projection mapping.
Mickey's Dressing Room
After winding through the familiar lobby queue, guests will proceed into the new "Dressing Room" portion of the queue. Guests wind through a large brick room, adorned with posters of some of the most famous stage performers in history. Brightly-lit mirrors line one end of the room, with the other side littered with stage props and magic equipment. Several bubbling beakers and strange contraptions buzz noisily as guests can hear Mickey performing from behind one of the stage doors, the sound of roaring applause audible in the distance. Goofy makes an announcement over the PA system. "Attention, ladies and gentlegerms, this is the Great Goofini, Mickey's stage partner. Mickey's Magic Show will be concludin' in a few moments. All guests are to report to their caravans, and gawrsh, I'm supposed to meet Mickey outside in a few minutes! I'd better get goin'. Ehh, just head on through the dressing room, folks. Your caravan's parked right outside. See ya soon."
Loading/Unloading Area
Upon leaving the dressing room, guests find themselves in an 'outdoor' alleyway just outside the theater. A fire escape is attached to the theater's expansive brick wall, along with a large mural of Mickey the Magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat. A fiber optic star field on the ceiling creates the illusion of an expansive night sky as the caravans pull up from the corner of the building, approaching the loading area. Guests quickly board one of three rows on their caravan. As the lap bars are lowered, the attraction's spiel is heard via onboard speakers. "Hiya! Mickey here. For your safety, keep your arms, hands, feet, and legs inside the caravan, and watch your kids. Be on the lookout for any loose bunny rabbits!" The vehicle proceeds through the alleyway and back into the theater.
The Caravan Vehicle:
The Adventure Begins:
The caravan quickly weaves past a set of stage doors and into a staircase, where Goofy stands a few steps above, clutching a rustling bag. Mickey waits at the foot of the stairs, his hand on a door that reads "EXIT." Goofy struggles to control the bag. "Time to get this show on the road, but first, here's that magic bag o' yours, Mickey." Mickey shakes his head. "Goofy, be careful with—!" With that, the bag zips open, and via projection mapping, a collection of sparkly bits of dust fly out of the bag, spanning across the entire staircase. A flash of light streaks brightly as the bag seems to expand in size via the projection mapping and then swallow the caravan whole. Guests zoom into darkness.
Down the Top Hat Tunnel
The caravan glides along the track as Mickey and Goofy provide context via the onboard speakers. "Mickey, where in the world are we?" The caravan approaches a large tunnel in the shape of a top hat. "I-I think we're inside my magic bag, Goof." Goofy's teeth can be heard chattering. "Err, what did you say you kept in this thing again?" Guests spot an oversized playing card on one end and a magic wand on the other end. "I think we're about to find out!" The caravan proceeds into the top hat, emerging in a large vegetable garden occupied by several rabbit cutouts. After winding past oversized cabbages, turnips and tomatoes, the caravan speeds past an animatronic rabbit, ridden by none other than Mickey and Goofy. "Hey, Mickey!" Goofy screams. "How do ya steer this feller?" The caravan travels through a hollow basket; guests are then squirted with water by a large, spinning watering can as several carrots 'pop' out from the ground below. A few rabbits are feeding from some lettuce leaves as a sea of even more rabbits fall from out of the sky via projection mapping. The caravan travels under a massive picket fence and into another room.
The Endless Mirror Realm:
In classic funhouse fashion, the caravan speeds through a room lined by countless mirrors. Guests scream as the mirrors cloud their vision, creating various instances of on-head collisions with another caravan. Fiber optic stars twinkle overhead as the caravan spins, dips and bumps pass an endless sea of mirrors. The entire scene is perhaps the simplest in the attraction, but that doesn't make it any less effective for guests, or fun for that matter.
The Funhouse of Cards
The caravan enters an extensive 'house of cards,' a room covered in large, spinning Mickey Mouse playing cards. For a few seconds, it becomes difficult to tell which way is up and down, as the cards spin along multiples axes. Guests look overhead to see Mickey and Goofy clutching on to a single card for dear life. "Mickey, I don't mind a good card trick, but only when you're the one doin' the tricking!" Goofy yells as Mickey clutches to the edge of the card with one glove. The caravan dodges a rogue playing card and then proceeds into the next show scene.
The Hall of Fiery Hula Hoops
After leaving the Funhouse of Cards, the caravan speeds through a straight and narrow hallway of spinning hula hoops. A classic "spinning tunnel" effect will be utilized here to give guests the sensation of the entire tunnel rotating. Guests feel a blast of hot air as the caravan proceeds through a series of brightly-colored, spinning hula hoops. As soon as the caravan approaches one of the hoops, they feel a blast of hot air as the hula hoop appears to burst into flames via projection mapping.
The Room of a Thousand Swords
In one of the more exciting scenes in the attraction, the caravan pushes through a room scattered with large, black boxes with question marks on them. Guests look to the edge of the room to see one of the boxes open, revealing a terrified Mickey and Goofy, who are inches away from a large silver sword, which appears to levitate in the air. "Do somethin', Mickey! Say the magic words!" Goofy yells. "uh, uh…bibbidi bobbity…no, that's not it…" The caravan dodges several swords falling from the ceiling, rigged to fall at the moment in which the vehicle approaches them.
The Flooded Tank:
The caravan proceeds into "The Flooded Chamber," an expansive room made to look like the inside of a massive water tank. Guests feel blasts of cold air as a "ripple" effect simulates water waves. A large rubber ducky "floats" gracefully above the caravan, simulating the sensation of being underwater. The caravan passes a few rock formations and plant life, along with a few fish figures, including Nemo, an easter egg that only the sharpest of guests will be able to locate. Mickey and Goofy can be seen floating beside an empty treasure chest. The two are in scuba gear. Mickey is holding a magic wand. The muffled, bubble-filled voice of Mickey calls out to Goofy. "Hey, Goof?" "Yeah, Mickey?" "I wished you would've told me you had the spare wand a little earlier." "Gawrsh, sorry, Mickey! Looks like I forgot." With that, the caravan travels through a door painted to look like a drain.
The End:
The caravan seems to exit the bag, made evident by the large zipper along the edge of the exit archway. Guests find themselves back in the familiar Town Square Theater, albeit backstage. Mickey and Goofy appear at the edge of Mickey's closet, which includes his coat, wand, and magic hat. The two of them are clutching the magic bag, which wiggles helplessly. "Gawrsh, Mickey, how'd ya fit all of that in this one here magic bag?" Mickey chuckles. "Sorry, Goof. A good magician never reveals his secrets. Huh hah!" Mickey waves goodbye to guests with his loose hand as the caravan approaches the exit dock.