Mickey's Toontown updates

[Disneylandfan85]

I was originally thinking of having Goofy's old house be scrapped along with Gadget's Go Coaster and use both for a new roller coaster, which was to have a Goofy theme and whose queue would wind through Goofy's new house. But between Goofy's Sky School at DCA and the new Goofy's Paint 'n' Playhouse in Tokyo Disneyland, I'm not sure now. Granted, I would scrap Goofy's Sky School sometime and replace it with something else, so that would help relieve the pressure of two Goofy-themed coasters, but until then, what are your thoughts on that? Do you like it?

[clippers6]

I think Disneyland needs a water play area now that Cosmic Waves is just a planter. Toontown gets really hot on a sunny day so it'd be a good place to have one.

[WannaCub]

Toontown makes more sense to be put in the expansion pad behind Tower of Terror. There, you could actually go through a tunnel into Toontown! You can use a lot of the backstage space behind ToT and it would fit within the theme of the new Hollywoodland in DCA.

[Disneylandfan85]

When I said update Mickey's Toontown, I really meant to update where it's at right now, not relocate the whole thing to DCA. And I don't think there's a lot of space for Toontown over there, especially now that Carsland has opened.

[fifthrider]

Yeah, I got what you meant and am sorry that others ran off on those tangents but I think plenty of us saw where you were coming from. It was a good topic.

I think Disneyland needs a water play area now that Cosmic Waves is just a planter. Toontown gets really hot on a sunny day so it'd be a good place to have one.

Okay, now there's a change I get. Swap one play area concept for another one. I've seen better overall play areas at places like Sea World San Diego so I'm a little surprised that this area hasn't been plussed like that. Maybe this change to the Goofy area makes more sense.

[brianpinsky]

The Jolly Trolley
In the interest of the Horse-Drawn Streetcars on Main Street and the upcoming Red Car Trolleys at the California Adventure, the Jolly Trolley will be brought back from the dead. There will also be tastefully-done streetlights to control the flow of traffic through the area and allow the trolleys to travel freely. Or we could do things how they do things for the Horse-Drawn Streetcars. Whatever they do for similar rides, can be done for the Jolly Trolley.


The problem with the Jolly Trolley is not only foot traffic but the maintenance issue. I've been told by several castmembers that the main problem is all the gears and other parts were made by a specific of the Trolley. The company went bankrupt and the exact gears and motor replacement is impossible anymore for both of the two trains. What is needed is a complete overhaul of the entire trolleys.

[thedustycoyote]

how about something similar to the foam ball area at universal studios? its a multi-level play area with tons of foam balls that you collect and shoot out of air cannons at various targets/people. its pretty cool, but i always thought it could be better if disney did something with it. initially i didn't think it would fit in anywhere at disneyland, but maybe it could work in toontown. it might be a good replacement for the defunct bounce house & ball pit...

[Disneylandfan85]

Sometime soon, I will put up two alternate proposals of what I'm thinking of doing for the area at the back of Toontown beyond Mickey's House, which include Goofy's Bounce House/Playhouse, Donald's Boat, Gadget's Go Coaster and Chip 'n' Dale's Treehouse. But right now, I'm too tired.

[Disneylandfan85]

Here's one of the first parts of one of the two alternate plans of my overhaul of Toontown beyond Mickey's House. In both cases, they involve new homes for Donald Duck and Goofy. Also, in both cases, Chip 'n' Dale's Treehouse will be scrapped. Beyond that, we have the first new attraction to grace this area (first part of one of two plans):

Donald's Dock
This is the new boat-home for Donald Duck, after his old boat, the Miss Daisy, gets torn down. Donald's Dock is actually a new water ride, intended not just for kids, but for anyone, with or without kids. This ride should help give Mickey's Toontown something more worthwhile to do than just Roger Rabbit and, to a lesser degree, Mickey and Minnie's Houses.

Anyway, this new ride's entrance and queue will be a new version of Donald's old house and boat all mashed into one and featuring a few new interactive elements. The entrance looks something like this (albeit more done in the style of this Toontown rather than Mickeyville, as seen here):
Next door to Chip 'n' Dale's Treehouse lies another brand-new attraction: Donald's Dock. This is the new boat-home for Donald Dock, after his old boat, the Miss Daisy, gets torn down. That boat has been neutered by lawyers who wouldn't know fun if it came up and bit them in the you-know-what. Anyway, Donald's Dock is actually a new water ride, intended not just for kids, but for anyone, with or without kids. This ride should help give Mickey's Toontown something more worthwhile to do than just Roger Rabbit and, to a lesser degree, Mickey and Minnie's Houses.

Anyway, this new ride's entrance and queue will be a new version of Donald's old house and boat all mashed into one and featuring a few new interactive elements. The entrance looks something like this (albeit more done in the style of this Toontown rather than Mickeyville, as seen here):


In fact, the ride's name gets from the aborted Mickeyville concept. But the ride itself is sort of based on this abandoned ride concept called Duck Bumps:


Unlike Duck Bumps, however, this ride will not be a bumper boat ride. Instead, it will duplicate the ride system, effects and layout of Tokyo DisneySea's Aquatopia, which itself has the same ride system as Tokyo's Pooh ride. And based on what Aquatopia's Wikipedia article says, this ride may also be a new version of the old Motor Boat Cruise in Fantasyland.

Anyway, as you enter the queue, you wind your way through Donald's boat. It will feature several interactive elements. One is a rope based on the one you can pull in the queue of the Indiana Jones ride (a sign nearby tells you not to do it). You pull on that and a British-sounding man yells at you for doing so. You can pull on this rope in this queue and hear Donald yelling at you for doing so. There is also a radio in the corner, too, again set to K.R.A.Z.Y. Radio. Also in the queue is this big map on the wall, looking like this one in WDW's now-extinct Toontown Fair (in fact, maybe Disneyland can claim ownership of the real deal here):


Another interactive element in the queue is another rope, supposedly attached to the boat's steam whistle. But when you pull on it, not only does the whistle on the boat emit a boat whistle-like sound, but instead of steam, the whistle sprays out a blast of water onto passersby outside the boat and just walking around. It could provide a nice refreshing treat on a hot day.

And so it goes in this vein, until you exit the boat. You go past what looks like a cashier booth on the dock beyond. But there is no one in there; a sign on it reads "Out to launch -D. Duck". So you just walk right on past and down the dock steps to your Toon hovercraft-like vessel in the waters of Toon Lake below. These vessels all are colored in Donald's signature color scheme: blue, white and yellow. There are two dozen vessels in all and each seat two guests at a time. As you head out to the dock, you hear the usual safety spiel (Donald may or may not provide it, I haven't decided). The lake is only about two feet deep.

So you climb aboard your hovercraft for your voyage around Toon Lake. These watercraft move independently of each other. The ride itself pretty much the same ride as Aquatopia, so there's not much there to say. Departing the dock, you're in for a wild ride. Your watercraft twists, turns, backs up and spins around in place, all while taking you on a seemingly random trip dodging jagged rocks, spinning whirlpools, and other watercraft. But the biggest obstacle to watch out for is the likelihood of getting doused by any source of water here: from fountains or geysers. Other characters here try to take aim at you, such as spitting frogs perched on the rocks (they're actually the same ones previously used in Gadget's Go Coaster) or Donald's nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, all scattered about the lake and firing water cannons at you. Passersby can also try to let you have it with rail-mounted squirt cannons. It's a very wet and ride.

If you watch this attraction from the rail, you'll see pretty much everything it has to offer; there are no surprises when you're actually on it. As stated above, you can actually fire cannons at the rides from the rail overlooking the ride. All in all, this ride should help take the edge off of Mickey's Toontown being a kids-only area. In fact, this actually entails some kids-only areas to be closed. But I haven't forgotten about a play area for the little tykes...

Oh, and in hindsight, there is a section of Toontown Online called Donald's Dock (featuring Donald's Boat), but any similarity between this version of Donald's Dock and the one online is purely coincidental.

I will get to the Goofy ride section soon, but for now, what are your thoughts on this new idea of mine?

[TinkerBellaNJGsMom]

Having done a lot of web searches etc. I find toontown is the only land where my 36 inch son can enjoy himself immensly. I thought Carsland would be the equivalent but I am disappointed that RSR has the 40 inch height requirement. Anyways I hope toontown just gets a makeover I really think the little ones need to see the originality that has led to this Magic of Disney. Mickey is the best and I'm gald my son and daughter will get to experience him for the first time in five days. Visiting toontown is like paying hommage to Walt Disney.

[fifthrider]

I love all of it, except for Donald giving the safety spiel. Even those of us who speak English as a first language can't understand a word he's saying half the time.

[Disneylandfan85]

I love all of it, except for Donald giving the safety spiel. Even those of us who speak English as a first language can't understand a word he's saying half the time.

Who would you have provide the safety spiel, then?

[Disneylandfan85]

Here's the Goofy ride I'm proposing for the first set of plans for my improving Toontown at Disneyland. It will be a brand-new roller coaster and call for the demolition of both Gadget's Go Coaster and Goofy's Playhouse, the latter of which, like Donald's Boat, also has been neutered by safety issues. And Gadget's Go Coaster refers to a character from a show that people may not remember nowadays, save for us serious Disney fans. Let's be honest, who besides us Disney fans really knows about The Disney Afternoon?

But now, all of that has been taken care of. Best of all, this is a roller coaster that anyone can ride, children or no children. This ride should have the same thrill factor as the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train being added to WDW's new Fantasyland in the coming years. Now, I realize that they're redoing Mulholland Madness and renaming it to Goofy's Sky School, but before you criticize my idea of having Goofy having a second coaster, hear me out: without a ride like this, Goofy would not be able to have a worthwhile spot in this area of the park. And remember, for a time, anyway, from 1996 to around 2007, there were Goofy attractions at both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot (The Barnstormer At Goofy's Wiseacres Farm; Goofy About Health).

However, I haven't thought of a name for it yet. It's going to be based somewhat on one of the stunts of the Great Goofini coaster at WDW's MK's Storybook Circus, like that rocket concept seen on the poster here:



Perhaps the story could be that Goofy is practicing his rocket stunt here (hence the ride) before going out to Florida's Storybook Circus to do the stunt out there. But I'm not sure on the ride name. I don't think that Goofy the Reckless Rocketeer sounds like a good name. Most ride names usually have a place in a term for "adventure" (like "journey" or "voyage"). What do you think?

[torturedbys0litude]

I like the idea of Toontown and I think its existence is absolutely perfect, HOWEVER, the land needs serious refurbishment not only because its faded and theres a noticeable lack of shade but for some reason to me its execution looks stuck in the 90s. It needs to be modernized.

And as much as I love Gadget's Go Coaster....his character is almost completely unknown these days. I think if it were rebranded it could make the land a lot more exciting.

[film975]

I like the idea of Toontown and I think its existence is absolutely perfect, HOWEVER, the land needs serious refurbishment not only because its faded and theres a noticeable lack of shade but for some reason to me its execution looks stuck in the 90s. It needs to be modernized.

And as much as I love Gadget's Go Coaster....his character is almost completely unknown these days. I think if it were rebranded it could make the land a lot more exciting.

Don't you mean her character?