Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
it Toontown without bumping into a few characters. From time to time, horns sound
and whistles blow atop the Toontown City Hall, followed by a fanfare rendition of the
Mickey Mouse Club theme song. This indicates, as a mom from Texas explained to
us, that “some characters are fixin' to come out.” And there you have it.
Mickey's Toontown is rendered with masterful attention to artistic humor and
detail. The colorful buildings each have a story to tell or a gag to visit upon an un-
suspecting guest. There is an explosion at the Fireworks Factory every minute or so,
always unannounced. Across the street, the sidewalk is littered with crates containing
strange contents addressed to exotic destinations. If you pry open the top of one of the
crates (easy to do), the crate will emit a noise consistent with its contents. A box of
“train parts,” for example, broadcasts the sound of a racing locomotive when you lift
the top.
Everywhere in Mickey's Toontown are subtleties and absurdities to delight the
imagination. Next to Goofy's Playhouse is a Goofy-shaped impact crater marking the
spot where he missed his swimming pool while high diving. A sign in front of the
local garage declares, “If we can't fix it, we won't.”
While adults will enjoy the imaginative charm of Mickey's Toontown, it will
quickly become apparent that there is not much for them to do there. Most of the at-
tractions in Mickey's Toontown are for kids, specifically smaller children. Attractions
open to adults include a dark ride drawn from
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
(sort of a
high-tech rendition of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride) and a diminutive roller coaster.
In many ways, Mickey's Toontown is a designer playground, a fanciful cousin to
Tom Sawyer Island in Frontierland, where it's OK for the kids to run, climb, and let
off steam. What distinguishes Mickey's Toontown is that the play areas are specially
designed for smaller children; it's also much cleaner than Tom Sawyer Island (that is,
no dirt—though this does not guarantee a dirt-free child upon leaving the area). Fin-
ally, in the noblest Disney tradition, you must wait in line for virtually everything.
Also,beforewarnedthatMickey'sToontownisnotverylarge,especiallyincom-
parison with neighboring Fantasyland. A tolerable crowd in most of the other lands
will seem like Times Square on New Year's Eve in Mickey's Toontown. Couple this
congestion with the unfortunate fact that none of the attractions in Mickey's Toon-
town are engineered to handle huge crowds, and you come face-to-face with possibly
the most attractive traffic jam the Disney folks have ever created.
Mickey's Toontown opens one hour after the rest of the park. If you're touring
with younger children, hit the Fantasyland attractions during the first hour the park is
open, and then head for Mickey's Toontown.
Finally,beawarethatallofToontown,includingtheRogerRabbitride,willclose
early before every nighttime fireworks show. It seems that rockets are launched from
