After a year of waiting, Disneyland’s ToonTown has finally reopened to guests with lots of changes. We visited the completely reimagined land at a media preview on March 18th, 2023 and share all the details with you.
ToonTown was rededicated early in the morning on March 18th with a small crowd of invited guests. The Mayor of ToonTown invited Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock and the characters of ToonTown to the stage for a few words.
We were there to capture it all for you. Join Dusty Sage for the opening dedication and then a COMPLETE WALKTHROUGH OF THE NEW TOONTOWN:
Here’s everything you need to know about the new ToonTown in Disneyland that is now open.
What’s Happening to Mickey’s ToonTown?
Disneyland’s ToonTown closed in early 2022 for an extensive reimagining and reemerged on March 19th of 2023. The big new ride, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, opened earlier this year but everything officially reopened on the morning of March 19 (guests who happened to be in Disneyland on the afternoon of March 18th were surprised with a soft opening of the land). In this guide, we’ll take a look at what’s new in Mickey’s hometown, including Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard, a reimagined Donald’s Boat, ToonTown food and picnic options, as well as the fabulous new ride and the new shop!
The new ToonTown is a sprawling enhancement project which has added more green space, trees, interactive play elements, and a new interactive fountain.
While favorites like Mickey and Minnie’s Houses and Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin have remained largely unchanged, other areas have been removed or reworked, such as Goofy’s House, Donald’s Boat, Chip and Dale Treehouse, and Gadget’s GoCoaster.
While the land will feel familiar to guests, there has been a massive amount of change and renovation. Visitors will find wide-open lawns in areas that previously had walkways, much more shade, lots of new trees and gardens, and a much more relaxing park-like vibe. Guests will also be able to rest or picnic on various lawns throughout the land. When this land fully grows in, it’s going to be much more comfortable in the heat of the day.
The hills now have more depth and a slightly updated style. Look for little details and tributes in the hills as well.
Before we take an area-by-area look at the entire new land, take a moment to view this short interview with the creative director of ToonTown, Imagineer Ryan Wineinger, who helps explains the design goals behind this revamped version of the land.
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Without further ado, let’s head into the land and do some exploration!
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
The main attraction in ToonTown, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, officially opened on January 27, the start of Disneyland’s Disney 100 Years of Wonder Celebration. It is a slightly updated version of Walt Disney World’s Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. The large marquee for the attraction acts as the visual weenie for the land.
While the attraction made its debut at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World, it feels like it truly belongs in Disneyland’s ToonTown.
The queue of the attraction is loaded with hidden Mickeys and Disney history tributes. The main problem with the queue is that you may not have time to see it all.
MiceChat was first to ride the new attraction, Here’s our full ride-through of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway:
TOON TIP: Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway offers an extra cost Lightning Lane option or standby. Check the Disneyland app for current wait times as waits vary wildly during the day. And be aware that the entire land shuts down for two hours each night for fireworks.
You can find out more about the new attraction in our Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway article:
Complete Guide to Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disneyland
ToonTown Merchandise / EngineEAR Souvenirs
There is just one store in Toontown, and it serves double duty. Not only is EngineEAR Souvenirs the land’s only shop, it is also the exit for Runaway Railway!
EngineEAR Souvenirs is stocked full with new and new-to-California merchandise themed to Toontown and Runaway Railway. Take a look at some of our favorite items so far:
Take a walkthrough of the store with our MiceMerch Editor, Natalie Kipper:
We got to talk to Kim about some of the land’s popular items:
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For all of the merchandise and store details be sure to look at the article below:
Some of the items you’ll be able to find starting March 19th include:
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- Mickey’s Toontown Nested Plush Set
- Mickey’s Toontown Donald Duck Water Game (may be coming a little later)
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Remote Control Trackless Train
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Remote Control Roadster
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Figurine Set
- Mickey’s Toontown Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse Playmat
- Mickey’s Toontown Golly Pops
- Mickey’s Toontown Power Limes Sour Candy Chews
- Mickey’s Toontown Scrooge McDuck’s Chocolate Coins
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Train Mug
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Cooler Tote
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Picnic Blanket
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Ear Hat Ornament
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Limited Edition Pin
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Limited Edition Goofy Pin
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Limited Release Pin
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Date Night Pin
- Mickey’s Toontown Chuuby Plush Crossbody Bag
- Mickey’s Toontown Chuuby Ear Headband
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Youth Hat
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Youth Adaptive Ear Headband
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Boys Short Sleeve Fashion Tee
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Girls Short Sleeve Fashion Tee
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Infant Bodysuit
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Womens Short Sleeve Fashion Tee
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Womens Fleece Pull Over Hoodie
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Adult Long Sleeve Tee
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Adult Pull Over Hoodie
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Adult Short Sleeve Tee
ToonTown City Hall Square’s New Dining
Next to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is the plaza area that contains the quick service restaurant and seating. The previous 3 separate windows have been replaced with a single eatery, Café Daisy. The quick service location offers mobile order and standby options. Nearby is a grab-and-go fruit and beverage stand called “Good Boy! Grocers,” a good spot for a quick snack.
The former gazebo has been removed, and the Gas Station has been replaced with Good Boy! Grocers. Above this area is a network of string lights. The creative crew working on the project referred to this area nestled between the El CapiTOON Theater and the restaurant as the ToonTown Arts District. We like the sound of that.
The food for the area fits the wacky theme of the land. At Cafe Daisy, you can find an assortment of hot dogs, pizza “Flop-Overs,” and a plant-based Spring Garden Wrap. So far, we’ve been able to try the Flop-over Pizza, House-made Chips, loaded Daisy Dog, Spring Garden Wrap, Watermelon Lemonade, Granny Goof’s Garden Sweet Tea, and the doughnuts. While not fine cuisine, they are all a step up from previous ToonTown fare. We particularly liked the chips and sweet tea, which had popping mango boba.
As far as kid-friendly dishes go, there’s a few options that will entice the little ones. There are child-sized Cheese Please! Pizzas and Pepperoni Please! Pizzas, bite-sized Mini Corn Dogs, and Mini Mac and Cheesy.
Looking to round out your meal? You can get a side of Toontown ‘Tater Chips with a chili-cheese sauce. Daisy’s Goody-Goody Donuts with cinnamon sugar are made fresh throughout the day at the establishment.
There’s also some specialty drinks that are exclusive to the land. Enjoy a Picnic Time Watermelon Lemonade (made with Minute Maid Zero Sugar Lemonade, watermelon premium syrup, and watermelon gummies) and the Specialty Cold Brrr-ew (made with Caramel Mudslide Cold Brew from Joffrey’s Coffee with sea salt and whipped topping). We tried Granny Goofy’s Garden Sweet Tea, which we loved.
Take a look at the menu for Café Daisy below:
As you can imagine, Good Boy! Grocers will offer grab-and-go drinks and snacks. Most exciting are the new novelties available there.
The new orb sippers are adorable. One features the topper of the new ToonTown fountain and the other has Donald diving into your drink!
The Perfect Picnic Basket novelty item ($25.99) includes a special basket and your choice of three snack-sized items and a drink (a small water or juice box). To further enhance the picnicking experience, you can opt for the basket that includes the Perfect Picnic Blanket ($36.99) and enjoy a meal out on the new grassy areas of the land.
How to pack a perfect picnic:
We did it! We had an actual picnic in ToonTown. Though, ours was a little less than perfect as our little one ran off to play with characters, so we had to very quickly pack it all up and run after her. But it sure looked perfect…
Guests have wasted no time colonizing the lawn.
The land also features “Yummy” Popcorn from a cart near the exit of Mickey’s house and its yummy souvenir popcorn bucket.
The Yummy Popcorn Bucket is vintage looking with a strap and is made of plastic.
ToonTown’s New CenTOONial Park
The first thing you’ll encounter when you enter Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland will be CenTOONial Park (located at the front of the land encompassing the former ToonTown Park and surrounding area), guests will see the park as they enter the land. This natural space is anchored by two interactive play experiences. Walt’s Dreaming Tree with giant roots…
… and a fountain designed for play, which is also a central icon for Mickey’s Toontown. At its base, water tables allow kids to play with the water and have a sensory experience. The water tables have been built at different heights so kids of all ages and abilities will be able to play. The fountain is programmed with about 30 minutes of different water effects and has a beautiful lighting package at night.
TOON TIP: A new song called “My happy place,” plays throughout the land… but, at the fountain, you’ll also be able to hear the lyrics!
The park filled up quickly.
The dreaming tree is a real living tree inspired by Walt’s Dreaming Tree in his boyhood home of Marceline, MO. Colorful lanterns have been placed in the branches. This tree will grow in quickly. It had to be trimmed back significantly to get it into the park, but is expected to take root and provide lots of shade.
Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard & Donald’s Duck Pond
Both Goofy’s House and Donald’s Boat had suffered many cuts, downgrades, and maintenance issues over the years. Goofy’s was once a bounce house and eventually just became a minimal walk-through. Donald’s Boat was a space to explore, but there wasn’t much to see and the top deck was eventually roped off. The great news is that both experiences have been reinvented as active play spaces.
Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard is dedicated to all things play. The entire area is covered in a soft, spongey ground surface so kids can run, play and even fall without getting hurt. Parents will be relieved to see that the entire area is enclosed with a single entry and exit so your little one can play and explore without you losing track of them.
The back of the yard sports three roller slides. Kids can climb up the hill to get to the top of the slide or take an accessible pathway. The slides are equipped to accommodate kids with special needs. The “stepping-tones” are an adorable musical element. And don’t forget to look into the birdhouses! There’s also a bit of a mystery to solve… it appears that Max is looking for Bigfoot!
High above Goofy’s house is a beehive. A giant funnel pipes the sweet honey into Goofy’s house.
Inside Goofy’s house is a candy-making contraption that is whimsically wild in design. It’s sure to inspire kids to pull the levers and help make the treats themselves.
TOON TIP: There is one entrance and one exit to Goofy’s playground. So you can let your kids go in and play and know that you’ll be able to find them again!
On the other side of Goofy’s house is Donald’s Duck Pond
The idea is that Donald’s Boat is flooding from the inside out… so the inside is filled with water and kids play games to pump the water out of the boat. The area boasts play elements, like spinning lily pads and rocking toys, for little ones to enjoy and burn off some extra energy. And while guests can no longer enter the boat, they can look in the portholes to interact with Huey, Dewie, Louie, and Webby.
But if kids want to get wet, there is a separately gated splash zone in Donald’s Duck Pond.
TOON TIP: We have a reassuring note for parents… the splash play area is gated so you can decide whether you want your child to go in and get wet!
Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Gadget Coaster
The kiddie roller coaster no longer bears Gadget Hackwrench’s name, but Disney has retained the story that the inventive mouse still built the contraption. The attraction’s name has been changed to “Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Gadget Coaster,” and you’ll see figures of all three characters while in queue or on the ride. Gadget herself is now seen at the base of the lift hill.
Popcorn Park (Former Chip and Dale Treehouse)
Chip and Dale’s Treehouse and ball pit (which hadn’t been used in decades) has been removed and replaced with a quiet area. In their place is an alcove with a small sheltered lawn and a cave-like area that is intended to help calm overstimulated guests of the land. The quiet atmosphere of the cave will help provide a place for those with sensory overload to decompress.
You can see Clarabelle posing in front of the area below:
This area has its own version of the ToonTown music loop that has been rescored to be more mellow and calming.
They call the area Popcorn Park because it’s also where Yummy’s Popcorn Cart (and its sure-to-be-popular popcorn bucket) is located.
Mickey and Minnie’s Neighborhood
Mickey and Minnie’s houses will remain largely the same. However, the little fountain in front of Mickey’s House has been removed and replaced with green space.
Families can now picnic in this area and characters wander around and meet guests in this spot. We met Steamboat Pete here.
You’re likely to encounter many characters in this spot. Below Clarabelle Cow and Pluto delight onlooking guests…
Before the closure of the land, there was a large fountain here. While we’ll miss it, the new green space and trees are very welcome. Here’s what the area looked like before:
Visiting Mickey’s House in ToonTown
We headed into Mickey’s house to find everything freshly repainted. The new-style Mickey Mouse shorts now play on the screen in the final room before you meet the big cheese. We have a FULL VIDEO WALKTHROUGH OF MICKEY’S HOUSE for you below:
Mickey can often be found outside his house in his new casual outfit.
And inside at the end of the walk-through experience.
Minnie’s House
Like Mickey’s House, Minnie also has a walkthrough and meet-and-greet. Though the walkthrough is much smaller at Minnie’s and her meet-and-greet is outside.
Toontown Characters
Toontown has always been an ideal place for character photos. Not only will you find the Fab 6 (Mickey and Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto & Goofy), you may also see Clarabelle, Pete, and perhaps Chip and Dale as well.
According to Disney, Pete is making his Disney Parks debut at ToonTown… though we’re pretty sure we’ve seen him before. He is already a top draw as everyone wants to get a photo with this fellow.
Additionally, Mickey will be wearing a new casual outfit specifically for when he’s greeting guests outside of his home.
And if you can’t find Mickey wandering around, check to see if he’s meeting inside his house!
Same with Minnie, she’s not available for meet-and-greets as often as Mickey, but you are likely to find her either in front of her house or behind it for meet-and-greets.
Donald and Goofy can be seen around the land too. Although their respective houses are not intended as character meet and greets, you may see them in the areas near their houses (or wandering around the land).
Are there other characters you hope to see in the land? No mention was made of Roger Rabbit, but we’d love to see him, Jessica, and even the weasels near the Car Toon Spin attraction.
ToonTown’s Roger Rabbit Ride
Roger Rabbit had already received alterations to cover up Jessica Rabbit just before ToonTown closed for renovations. Jessica, previously a bombshell starlet, is now a private eye wearing a trenchcoat instead of a revealing red gown.
Roger’s facade remains unchanged, with only the fountain in front removed and a new flat lawn taking its place.
Take a look at the reopened Roger Rabbit in our walk-through of the queue and full ride-through:
Gag Factory Play Area
Between the El CapiTOON Theater and Roger Rabbit is the Gag Factory play area. Just about everything here is returning exactly as it was before. There are interactive elements that make noises when you push buttons, depress plungers, twist knobs, open doors, etc. There are also lots of great photo opportunities.
ToonTown Thoughts and Observations
The new version of ToonTown is very well thought out. It’s also a transition from the old bright, loud, and not fully functional land into one that looks similar but contains restful spots, more secure areas for kids to play, plus improved food, and the opportunity to have a picnic.
Rather than having strollers parked everywhere, there’s a singular stroller parking lot at the far end of the land in the old Jolly Trolley Barn (and spilling out onto the lawn just outside).
Most elements of the land were designed for kids of all ages and abilities. The slides are roller slides so kids with motor issues don’t have to pull themselves along at the bottom. And there are platforms for kids to transfer to wheelchairs if needed. That sort of design sensibility is evident everywhere in this land.
Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of multiple lawns throughout ToonTown. Guests are already taking advantage of the space to relax. It would have been impossible to think about relaxing in ToonTown before this redo.
We ran into a proud Ken Potrock, President of Disneyland Resort. He was thrilled to see so many people flooding into ToonTown during an unannounced soft opening on March 18th. The land was filled with Imagineers and park executives, all wearing plain clothes and chatting with guests to see what they thought about various elements.
With three rides, multiple play areas, various meet and greets, shopping and dining opportunities, and areas to simply relax, the new ToonTown is a revived Disneyland destination that makes use of nearly every square inch of land. It’s a joyful reinvention of a classic Disney space. Now that the team responsible for this thoughtful redo is available for a new project, we suggest that they work some magic on the under-utilized and underwhelming Galaxy’s Edge. Ah… to dream.
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Other articles about ToonTown:
Let’s Hear from You
What do you think of the changes made to ToonTown? Will you make a trip to the new land once it reopens on March 19? What part are you most excited to experience? Have you been able to experience Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway yet? Let us know in the comments below!
Our thanks to Photomatt, Mike Kindrich, Natalie Kipper, Nathan Villamor, Andy Castro, and Dusty Sage for their help with this article.