Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride: Step Inside this Wild Ride!
As one of the OG rides of Disneyland Park in California, we need to talk about Mr. Toad's Wild Ride! This dark ride first opened in 1955 in Disneyland and 1971 in Walt Disney World. Although the modern version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride opened in 1983, that's still 63 years of history in total.
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| There he is, just chillin' like a villain. |
All of the voices in the ride are currently voiced by Corey Burton. If you don't know who that is, that is Count Dooku himself from the Star Wars franchise. He also voices Dale in Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Captain Hook in the Kingdom Hearts series, and Buzz Lightyear in the Disney on Ice adaptation of Toy Story 3, among many others. That's some talent there!
As also seen in the Splash Mountain ride, Disney has a penchant for utilizing classic stories to tell a narrative through their whimsical rides. This particular ride is based off of the 1949 movie, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. This is Disney's adaptation of the 1908 classic, The Wind in the Willows.
In the original story from 1908, Mr. Toad, or Toady to his friends, is a good-natured, yet conceited and impulsive individual living in Toad Hall. After a bit of an ill-advised adventure with his horse-drawn caravan, Mr. Toad becomes obsessed with motorcars. After crashing seven cars and putting himself in the hospital, among having to pay ridiculous fines, his friends place him on house arrest before his 'affluenza' can cause him to really make a mess of his life. He escapes from prison and does a few more stupid stunts before ultimately realizing what a TOAD he has been to his friends. He and his friends recapture Toad Hall which has been over-run with weasels, and he makes right of the wrongs he has caused. The group of them then live happily ever after.
After its mass success in Disneyland, Rolly Crump (yes, the Imagineer who was also involved with the development of The Haunted Mansion) was tasked with how to set up the ever-popular Anaheim ride in the Florida park for its 1971 opening. And that's just what he did. A dual track with two separate boarding areas was developed, with guests taking two notably different rides depending on which track they embarked upon. But it was not to last forever. In 1997, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was closed down in Walt Disney World. The more popular and technologically advanced The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh took its place.
As a homage to the ride, Mr. Toad can be seen in the graveyard of The Haunted Mansion.
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| Well, better here than Stephen King's Pet Semetary, I suppose. |
Let's Talk the Ride!
Due to its closure over 20 years ago at Walt Disney World, we're going to discuss the Disneyland version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride below.
*Spoiler Alert*
As guests enter Toad Hall, they pass by a large painting of Mr. Toad's adventures in his motorcar. Probably not a good sign. Guests get into their own 1900's-era motorcars, and the madness begins.
What better way to start your journey than by crashing your car? Obviously the best way to start a road trip, right? That's just what you do as you crash into the library, where MacBadger is on a ladder with a stack of Mr. Toad's books. You then crash again, this time into the fireplace. After almost being crushed by a suit of armour, guests find their way into the interior hallway of Toad Hall. Weasels can be seen swinging from the chandeliers, totally defying what it means to be a proper house guest. After entering the dining room and watching Moley get knocked aside while eating his dinner, it's time to get real.
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| Don't let Toady see THIS if you want to live. |
As you travel along the countryside, you pass Mr. Toad's friend Ratty's home, anger the police, and scare the bejeezus out of a farmer and his sheep. You then drive towards the dock and the river like a swim in your car is just what the doctor ordered - at the last minute, you turn towards and enter a warehouse. You crash your car AGAIN through a brick wall as explosives in the warehouse go off (a little dramatic, aren't we?). I can only imagine how many demerit points Toady must have at this point. You almost collide with a delivery truck and then enter Winkie's Pub. Mr. Winkie is holding two glasses and ducks, with the glasses comically spinning in the air. After leaving the pub, you then enter the town square to cause further chaos.
Your joyride comes to end when you enter a courtroom and are found guilty of what can only be described as complete carnage by a judge. As you enter a prison cell, you then abruptly turn to the right onto train tracks. You then collide head-on with an oncoming train. Yes, that's right. You flat up die on the ride. No getting around that one.
Guests then enter Hell; I guess all of that terrorizing the town is not without consequences. As a further addition to the atmosphere of this scene, heat emits from the room and small devils bounce around in the room. If that wasn't bad enough, you see the Devil himself! No fooling around on this ride! A dragon then attempts to burn you alive (or dead, I guess)! As you and your friends speed away in your motorcar, you are able to escape Hell to the loading and unloading area.
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| He is not messing around! Time to pay the price for drifting! Take that, Vin Diesel wannabe! |
You've made it away! Hopefully you've learnt your lesson about dangerous driving as a past-time.
Let's Talk Merch!
Although there is some merchandise available through Disney such as this mini bowl, like Splash Mountain, you may be better off to find an unofficial seller for a little more variety.
Again, TeePublic is going to be a good option for those of you looking for t-shirts (don't forget to wash the shirt inside out for the first few washes to retain the design). There is also a good amount of variety on Ebay, with both new and vintage wares available.
Is Mr. Toad's Wild Ride your ride or die? Or not one of your favourites? Comment and subscribe :)
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