Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is a dark ride and theme park attraction at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. It is partially based on Walt Disney’s adaption of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows (1908), which was one of two pieces of the animated package film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1980). (1949). The rollercoaster is one of the few attractions that has been operational since the park’s inception in July 1955, albeit the present incarnation debuted in 1983. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is located in Fantasyland, and a version of the attraction was also available in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, from 1971 to September 1998.
Guests have taken on the role of the titular Mr. Toad in all incarnations of the attraction, wildly careening through the English countryside and streets of London in a vintage motorcar until meeting demise in a railway tunnel and ending up in a tongue-in-cheek representation of hell. The iconic ending of the ride has no bearing on the events of either the animated feature or the original novel. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was originally intended to be a roller coaster, but Walt Disney decided that a roller coaster would be inappropriate for young children and the elderly. Except for the use of audio from the film, Corey Burton does every voice in the present version of the attraction.
1983 Version (Disneyland)
Guests enter a recreation of Toad Hall, passed past artwork depicting characters from The Wind in the Willows. A big mural depicts Toad and his exploits, previewing various situations in the ride. In the form of a train entitled “W.E.D. Rail,” this painting has a secret allusion to Walt Disney and his love of railways. [5] Guests board miniature, multicolored motorcars from the early 1900s (decade). Each motorcar bears the name of one of the film’s protagonists (Mr. Toad, Toady, Ratty, Moley, MacBadger, Cyril, Winky, or Weasel).
Passengers begin their voyage by colliding with a library, where MacBadger can be seen perched atop a ladder with a stack of books. They then smash through the fireplace, where fiberoptic effects simulate ashes dispersing on the floor. The passengers break through a pair of doors, narrowly escaping a falling suit of armor, to find the inside hallway of Toad Hall in disarray, with weasels swinging from chandeliers. Guests then enter the dining room, where Moley is eating at a dinner table when he is knocked to the ground.
Guests leave Toad Hall and go through the countryside, irritating police officers and frightening a farmer and his animals. Making a right turn, visitors go for the docks, expecting their automobile to plummet into the river, but instead make a fast turn in the opposite direction and enter a warehouse filled with barrels and crates storing explosives. Guests smash through a brick wall as the contents of the warehouse explode in a blaze of dazzling, flashing lights. They then walk through London’s streets, narrowly avoiding a collision with a delivery vehicle, and enter Winkie’s Pub, where Mr. Winkie, the bartender, is holding two beer cups. He lowers himself, leaving the mugs spinning in the air (this gag is recycled from the 1971 Florida version of the ride).
Passengers then enter the town plaza, where the autos cause even more commotion. In the town center, there is a functional fountain with Toad and Cyril Proudbottom. A statue of Lady Justice peeks out from beneath her blindfold behind this one. The visitors are then led into a jury-free courtroom, where the riders are found guilty by a judge (played by the film’s Crown prosecutor). The carriages then enter what appears to be a gloomy prison cell before making a sharp right bend and landing on train tracks. In the dark, the vehicles bounce around the tracks before hitting head-on with an approaching train.
Passengers are then transported to the ride’s last scene: hell. The chamber is heated throughout, and the scenery includes miniature devils that bounce up and down. Passengers also notice a monster that looks like the judge from the courtroom scene. A gigantic green fire-breathing dragon appears near the end of the scenario and attempts to burn the riders to a crisp. While the motorcar rushes away, a blazing light is seen in the back of its throat and coughing noises are heard from it. The riders “escape” to the ride’s loading and unloading area and disembark.
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