Toontown reopens with a more inclusive population in mind
Mickey’s Toontown opened at Disneyland in 1993 as a place for park guests to immerse themselves in a cartoon land that was home to Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy, inspired by the 1988 movie “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” But after 30 years, the area was due for an update.
“We wanted to make sure the DNA of Toontown stayed intact,” said Jeffrey Shaver-Moskowitz, imagineer and executive producer of Toontown’s latest attraction, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, “but we wanted to make this land ready for the next generation of guests that are going to come here and make memories.”
As a 7-year-old, this reporter got to experience Toontown’s grand opening firsthand. My father was a concrete foreman with Whiting-Turner in 1993, the general contractor that built Toontown and also handled the recent remodel.
Our family got a first look at the cartoon city back then, and I brought my dad along for the reopening preview on March 18, ahead of the public opening on March 19.
We anticipated the changes we might see in the remodeled cartoon city, and there was one major detail that was apparent to both of us: less concrete.
“We’ve tried to take a whole new approach to what we call the area development, the landscape experience that is around the neighborhood,” said creative producer with Walt Disney Imagineering, Elliott Rosenbaum.
The reimagined Mickey’s Toontown has been thoughtfully designed to eliminate as many barriers to play as possible, which means more open green spaces and poured rubber playground surfaces.
When guests first enter Toontown they’ll come upon CenTOONial Park, which features an interactive water fountain with “water tables” that are meant for children to play with.
“It is a really fun opportunity for kids to touch water and splash around a little bit,” said Rosenbaum.
CenTOONial Park is also home to the dreaming tree, with sculpted tree roots designed for climbing and playing.
“We really wanted to reinfuse the neighborhood with a sense of fun and play that is relevant for our youngest guests,” Rosenbaum said.
Cartoons don’t equal chaos in the reimagined Toontown, which has a noticeably different feel thanks to the elimination of harsh, bright colors and the addition of calmer tones, like green and teal.
The sound design throughout the land is more calm too.
“Our music track is a really interesting part of our design,” said Rosenbaum. “It was really important for us to make this a relaxing and decompressing experience.”
The music evolves as guests move through the different parts of Toontown.
“It is the same music track every where, but the instrumentation is different, the tempo is different. So when you are over in the quietest part of the park, it is languid and soft,” Rosenbaum said.
Shaver-Moskowitz concurs that all ends of the spectrum were considered in the redesign.
“We designed sensory elements for any of our guests on the spectrum, who need a sensory experience,” said Shaver-Moskowitz. “Or for those who need a less-sensory experience, we have a quiet zone in the back of the land.”
The quiet zone features more grassy spaces with plenty of seating and more muted sounds for children that need to take a break from the stimuli.
Some of the character houses have undergone changes as well.
Goofy’s house is now Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard, which invites children to decide how they play and interact with Goofy’s candy-sorting contraption. Donald’s Duck Pond is more of a playground with spinning water lilies, balance beams and rocking toys on soft poured-in-place rubber. Even the slides have “dignity landings,” which provide space for children who need extra time or a mobility device to stand up again.
Toontown is also home to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, which opened in January.
“We brought Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway to the land, which is a no height restricted, all-family attraction,” said Shaver-Moskowitz.
The trackless train takes guests into the Emmy Award-winning “Mickey Mouse” cartoon shorts using audio-animatronic figures, animated media and projection-mapping techniques.
Mickey’s house and Minnie’s house remain mostly unchanged, though a green lawn sprawls in front of the properties now creating more space for kids to run off steam.
Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Gadget Coaster returns as does Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, but with a lush lawn out front.
Besides serving as a place to play, the lawns are also a place to picnic. Good Boy! Grocers inside Toontown Farmers Market sells snacks, like applesauce, Goldfish crackers, granola bars and juice boxes as well as the Perfect Picnic Basket.
“You can pick up the novelty basket and pick out the items that you want,” said Disney chef Adolfo Salazar. “You bring your blanket over to the lawn area and you can sit down and have a picnic in Toontown.”
Café Daisy is the other new eatery in Toontown, serving footlong hot dogs, like Daisy’s Dressed-Up Dog with chili-cheese sauce, macaroni and cheese and parmesan potato crispies for adults and Minnie’s mini corn dogs for kids.
Salazar said the menus are sensitive to food allergies.
“We do have our gluten-free options,” Salazar said. “Our pizza flop-over can be made gluten-free and we have our spring garden wrap, which is vegan-friendly.”
While Toontown has leaned into the sense of play for young kids, some callbacks to Disney nostalgia have been added for adults.
“We put a lot of references to nostalgic Disney shows,” said Rosenbaum. “We know that the adults of today were once young children and their connection to Disney is through shows like ‘DuckTales,’ ‘Chip n’ Dale’s Rescue Rangers’ and ‘A Goofy Movie.’”
When my dad took me to Toontown as a kid, I was most excited to see Gadget Hackwrench, the problem-solving inventor from “Rescue Rangers.” As an adult, I noticed a framed picture of Goofy and his son Max, displayed in Goofy’s house and an instrumental version of Powerline’s music from 1995’s “A Goofy Movie” on the speakers.
Toontown may have evolved since my dad first took me to experience its enchantment 30 years ago, but it is still a place for families to make memories together, no matter their ability. Or their age.
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