Mickey’s Toontown is back! The kid-favorite land has officially reopened from a major overhaul that saw its landscape completely re-imagined alongside the addition of tons of new interactive elements. The end result is a land rich with opportunities for both play and rest, imagination and exploration. But for many adults, the good news was the return of the popular Indiana Jones Adventure, which received some exciting new magic and an impressive refresh. Meanwhile, various refurbishments and construction projects continue throughout the resort as spring break crowds descend on Disneyland.
We’ve got a big update for you today, so let’s get started!
Welcome to Disneyland!
It was a busy weekend at the Resort, with spring break crowds arriving and Toontown reopening!
Crowds hit the parks over the weekend, despite ups and downs in the weather — hot on Saturday, cold and rainy by Sunday. Still, the rush to see the newly-reimagined Mickey’s Toontown and spring break holiday kept the parks busy.
The popular California Food and Wine Festival at DCA is helping keep that park even busier this spring.
We were saddened last week to learn of the passing of Disney Legend Roland Crump. Roland, better known as Rolly, was known for his unique style and was known to be a favorite of Walt Disney’s. Walt would tap Rolly for important projects that required extra flair, and Rolly delivered. He played a key role in developing the look and style of a lot of classic Disneyland that we know and cherish today. From hand-sculpting the tikis at the Enchanted Tiki Room, to designing “it’s a small world’s” iconic clock tower… from his delightfully macabre contributions to the Haunted Mansion, to his take on Googie-style space age architecture at the Tomorrowland Terrace stage… Rolly left an undeniable and lasting mark on the visual identity of Disneyland, much of which survives today.
Rolly’s unique style and incredible sense of humor also left lasting marks on Knott’s Berry Farm and Walt Disney World. His legacy is remarkable and while we’re sad he’s no longer with us, we are happy so much of his remarkable work is still available to enjoy at Disneyland. Thank you, Rolly.
For more on Rolly’s life and legacy, please see our article here on MiceChat.
The Land that Toons Re-Built: Mickey’s Toontown Returns!
Mickey’s Toontown reopened on Saturday, after a major reimagining that brought new inclusive and interactive activities to the land, added more green spaces for relaxation, and additional trees for shade. The result is a land that has much more to do for families — with areas for parents to rest and lots of new play opportunities for kids. Add in the recently-opened Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and Toontown’s glow-up is truly impressive. Let’s take a look…
Welcome back to Toontown!
Disneyland officially rededicated Mickey’s Toontown on Saturday morning to invited guests and media. Below, MiceChat’s Dustysage has video of the rededication and a full walkthrough the land.
Following the morning’s media preview, the land quietly soft-opened to guests at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The first guests in on Saturday got to enjoy the land with minimal crowds for a short time before word got out and the land was quickly packed. Toontown officially opened with Disneyland on Sunday, March 19.
Cast Members, Imagineers, and Disney executives welcomed the first guests into the reimagined Toontown on Saturday afternoon.
Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro was seen touring the new Toontown during the public softening on Saturday afternoon.
A cute new Welcome to Toontown sign.
Our own Dusty Sage interviewed ToonTown’s Senior Creative Director, Imagineer Ryan Wineinger, about all the changes to the new land. It’s well worth your time to understand the concept goals for the reenvisioned land:
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CenTOONial Park
The first new feature guests will notice when entering Toontown (aside from the El CapiTOON Theater, which opened in late-January), is the new CenTOONial Park on the left hand side of the land’s entry path.
CenTOONial Park is anchored by a large “Wishing Tree,” inspired by the one Walt Disney would sit under as a child.
The new Wishing Tree is cute but a far cry from the concept art that Disney released of it. It’s much smaller than expected in a park area that also seems much smaller than in the concept art. The sculpted roots that were intended for climbing or sitting on are smaller and shorter than in the art. Overall, the Wishing Tree is easy to miss — I walked right by it the first time without realizing it was *the* Wishing Tree that’s been hyped up in the concept art for the last year. This bit of Disney magic will need some time to grow.
What is a great new addition is the new Mickey and Minnie fountain at the edge of CenTOONial Park.
The new fountain is very charming and offers multiple levels for guests of all heights and accessibilities to be able to touch and play in the fountain.
Plenty of fun and colorful sensory elements in the fountain.
Unfortunately, the fountain had to be closed off for much of its opening weekend, reportedly due to an issue with the pH level in the water. We’re hoping this is resolved quickly!
New for the reimagined Toontown — Pete is now part of the regular gang of characters you may meet in the land. He was an instant hit, developing a line of guests every time he’d appear. He’s the Mandalorian of ToonTown.
Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard and Donald’s Duck Pond
Completely reimagined for the new Toontown is Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard and Donald’s Duck Pond. Goofy and Donald’s homes have been completely reimagined to provide plenty of new opportunities for play for kids of all ages and abilities.
The yard is designed for kids of all abilities. You may notice platforms at the bottom of the roller slides, for example. That provides a spot for those who need a bit of extra time or to transfer to a wheelchair. Brilliant!
Goofy’s House is no longer a bounce house or simple walk-through. High above Goofy’s house, a contraption captures honey leaking from a beehive. Inside, Goofy’s candy kitchen is open for kids to play in, with interactive elements popping and whizzing throughout the whole place.
Hidden Mickey stovetop!
The Churn-A-Bog blender is a clever reference to Fantasia.
Candy balls zip and roll throughout the house — it’s super kinetic and quite fun.
The new pictures on the walls will give parents a lot of nostalgia.
The side yard between Goofy’s House and Donald’s Boat now connects directly to Donald’s Duck Pond — complete with a camping tent for kids to crawl through.
While you can no longer go up and inside Donald’s Boat, plenty of new play space has been added. The moat that surrounded Donald’s Boat is now filled in with squishy playground flooring, water fountains, and interactive features that invite kids to splash and play.
They’re hard to see in photos but practical effects and character figures appear in the portholes and are triggered by the interactive levers. From the concept art, we expected screens here so it was a great surprise when the effects were dimensional and practical!
Chip ‘n Dale’s Gadget Coaster
Next door, Chip and Dale have joined their friend Gadget at her rollercoaster.
For the first time, Gadget is now present at her ride with a new static figure of her that appears along the coaster track! Chip and Dale also appear and can be seen from the queue. All in all, not much has changed here but the addition of character figures is a great touch and gives this attraction some extra appeal.
Gadget now appears at two points during the attraction — a nice new addition!
Take a ride on the coaster in our video below:
Next to the coaster, the former home of Chip and Dale’s Treehouse has been converted into a greenspace to rest and play in, with the long-gone ballpit cave from the Treehouse turned into shady seating area. Nice!
Unfortunately, the rumored connecting path to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge didn’t happen. It’s a bummer because such a walkway would help with crowd flow in Toontown quite a bit.
This area will be in high demand for parents with kids who need to decompress or anyone escaping the heat of the summer months! Disneyland needs MORE spaces like this!
Meanwhile, Mickey and Minnie’s Houses nearby received some TLC but no major changes.
Take a tour of Mickey’s House in the video below, you’ll even see the big cheese himself:
Formerly home to Mickey’s fountain, this new astro-turfed area with new trees was popular for guests to sit in over the weekend.
Toontown Dining
In the middle of Toontown, the former Goofy’s Gas is now Good Boy! Grocers Market — a grab-and-go snack stand. This is also home to the Perfect Picnic Baskets, which were hot items over the weekend.
The basket comes with 3 snacks and a drink that you choose from baskets.
One of our young MiceChatters joins Dusty Sage as they fill up their picnic basket. Here’s how it works:
Next to Good Boy! Market, the new Cafe Daisy serves up pizza flop-overs (a folded over pizza with seasoning on the crust), foot-long hot dogs topped with mac and cheese, and more kid-friendly fare like corn dog nuggets.
The gazebo has been removed, freeing up more space for additional tables to dine at.
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
Back in action is Roger Rabbit. While no major changes were made during the closure, the attraction has been refurbished with all of its effects and animatronics in working order again.
Take a ride on the reopened Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin:
Overall, the new Toontown is a charming improvement over the original iteration. The project saw the removal of curbs, fountains, the long-unused Jolly Trolley tracks, and the shrinking of the roads winding through the land… these changes freed up space for Imagineers to create larger areas for kids to play and more space for parents to rest — a necessary combination with Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway increasing crowd sizes in this small corner of the park. The end result is that some areas of the land feel smaller than before but only because walkways blend more seamlessly into grassy areas or play zones. It’ll be interesting to watch this version of Toontown as it ages and to see which elements survive and which eventually get reworked in 10-20 years. But for now, the reimagined Toontown is a much greener and more relaxing place that may not be perfect but sure does get a lot of things right. Congratulations to Walt Disney Imagineering on a thoughtful refresh of this land.
For a complete area-by-area guide to Disneyland’s ToonTown, including new merchandise and food, see our article here on MiceChat:
Disneyland ToonTown REOPENED – Essential Guide to Rides, Food, Shopping & More!
Indiana Jones Adventure returns with new magic
Over in Adventureland, the Indiana Jones Adventure has returned after a lengthy refurbishment. While the addition of new elements from the upcoming Indiana Jones movie didn’t materialize, the attraction still got a ton of TLC. The top-to-bottom refurbishment restored numerous broken effects and added some new magic as well.
MiceChat has full coverage of the attraction’s return from late last week, including a full video ride-through:
Disneyland’s Indiana Jones Adventure Returns With Refreshed Thrills!
The refurbishment also addressed the broken interactive queue elements — which we’re happy to report are once again in working order! So go ahead, pull that rope!
On the ride itself, lighting, projections, animatronics and special effects are all once again in working order. The ride looks gorgeous and new again — and we are so happy to see it!
The snake received a new animatronic head and color scheme in the refurbishment and visually strikes out at you as it attacks.
New to the attraction is a sequence in which Mara sends electrical shocks to hit your vehicle, resulting in the collapse of a corridor, forcing your vehicle to go down a booby-trapped hallway. The new effects and scene use an area that was previously almost entirely pitch-black, save for a projection of rats falling off a vine, onto your vehicle. The rat effect had never been particularly successful and often didn’t work correctly. The new effect is exciting and visually great — a welcome addition. Our only gripe is that it’s so well done and new that it looks a tad bit out of place in the aging ride, which is nearly 30 years old. Still, it’s a fantastic new addition to a part of the attraction that has long needed a re-working.
We have full ride-through video of the attraction below, including the new scene and effects.
The Indiana Jones animatronics are all working again, including full facial movement.
Construction Kingdom
Let’s take a look at various ongoing construction projects around the Resort…
Adventureland Treehouse construction
Not much visible progress to see on the upcoming Adventureland Treehouse attraction, but green scrims have once again gone up to block our view.
Tiana’s Palace takes over the French Market
Over in New Orleans Square, the French Market is in the process of becoming Tiana’s Palace. The new dining location will continue to serve up New Orleans-style food but in a setting inspired by the restaurant in the Princess and the Frog.
Plenty of work underway — the entire outdoor patio has been torn out and will be replaced.
New Orleans Square Railroad Station
Steps away, work continues on repairing the structure at the New Orleans Square Railroad Station that recently caught fire.
San Fransokyo Square takes shape
Over in Disney California Adventure, Pacific Wharf is disappearing as San Fransokyo Square (inspired by Disney’s Big Hero 6) moves in. The remodel of this area will largely be cosmetic. The goal is to integrate popular IP into the area, while leaving it as a major food court area for the park.
Water is back in the bay area that surrounds the wharf. The wharf’s waterway actually serves as a water retention pond for Grizzly River Run, so with that attraction back open, water has returned.
Cement footings for the new towers of the San Fransokyo Bridge are in place, awaiting the new structure to be installed. Which we hear will be happening VERY soon.
Scaffolding is up along the Cannery Row buildings. Expect the various faux businesses here to be replaced with Big Hero 6 references.
Pacific Wharf no more!
Inside the Wharf area, the new Cerveceria is taking shape at Cocina Cucamonga.
Downtown Disney expansion
Outside the parks, various projects continue in Downtown Disney. Construction on the Disney Home and Wonderground Gallery remodel project continues…
It seems like the ceiling has been lowered in the tower above the Disney Home entrance.
A doorway seems to be going in on the upstairs patio level. This could mean the upcoming Mexican restaurant taking over Catal will have an expanded floorplan, that will bring seating into the tower above Disney Home.
Nearby, the Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen project continues. It looks more and more like a charmless hospital cafeteria every day… but hey, why would you want a themed dining experience at Disneyland?
Down on the west side of Downtown Disney, not much to see still in the dirt lot where new dining and shopping is planned to be built.
The expected rain this week is really going to do a number on all these trenches and pits.
Nearby, repaving work continues near the Monorail station. Disney is in the process of tearing out the old themed Downtown Disney pavement (with oversized leaves and garden motifs) and putting in blocks of plain concrete — this is likely to match the new mid-century modern aesthetic of Downtown Disney’s west side expansion.
Disneyland Hotel construction
Repaving around the Disneyland Hotel continues as construction on the new Disney Vacation Club Tower races to its September grand opening.
The new Disney Vacation Club tower at the Disneyland Hotel is set to open September 28, 2023.
For more about the new Villas at the Disneyland Hotel, Visit:
NEW VIEWS: Villas at the Disneyland Hotel Opening September 28, 2023
Pixar Place Hotel
Not far from the Disneyland Hotel, the Paradise Pier Hotel continues its transformation into the Pixar Place Hotel. Paradise Pier Hotel remains open during construction, with practically no amenities and at full price.
So far, the new color scheme for the hotel sticks out badly. Friends and I joke that this looks like Pixar Memorial Children’s Hospital, but honestly, I’ve seen better-looking hospital towers.
The new color scheme is slowly making its way to the backside of the hotel…
From inside Disney California Adventure, the Paradise Pier Hotel never looked exceptionally great but the hotel’s color scheme complemented the areas of the park it stood behind. The new Pixar Place color scheme stands out like a sore thumb. So far, it doesnt mesh well at all wit the Paradise Garden area of the park it sits behind, nor does it make much sense with Pixar Pier’s colors. What a mess. We can only hope that someone at Disney realizes that it’s still not too late to paint the building “barely there blue” with whimsical Pixar clouds on top.
For more information on ongoing projects, rumors, and more, visit MiceChat’s Disneyland Resort Project Tracker
Refurbishment Roundup
Let’s catch up on some refurbishment rumors and recently completed projects…
Splash Mountain closure expected soon
While Disneyland has not yet officially announced a closing date for Splash Mountain, work is already well underway at its Walt Disney World counterpart to transform the E-Ticket ride into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
With that in mind and Indiana Jones Adventure back from its lengthy refurbishment to help soak up thrill ride capacity on the park’s west side, we’re expecting Disneyland to announce a closing date very soon.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad set for refurbishment
Meanwhile, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will soon close on April 3rd and is currently scheduled to reopen on the 14th. This is the 2nd refurbishment for the attraction in the last few months. The attraction has been unreliable lately, with lots of lengthy downtime.
Grizzly River Run reopens
In Disney California Adventure, Grizzly River Run has reopened in time for warmer spring temperatures and big spring break crowds. We didn’t get a good shot of it, but the load area has received some new shade sails, which makes load/unload area more comfortable for guests, but even more so for the cast working on that constantly moving platform.
The attraction saw long wait times on Saturday, with afternoon temps hitting the mid-70s.
Fairfax Market returns to Hollywood Land
In Hollywood Land, the Fairfax Market and Hollywood Blvd. facades are finished their long refurbishment and are looking sharp.
Some signage was still missing from the facade over the weekend
Missing lights as well…
Silly Symphony Swings refurbishment
Work continues on the Silly Symphony Swings refurbishment…
Around the Park
We’ll wrap up today’s update with some sights from around the parks…
The Disney100 cabochon on Sleeping Beauty Castle recently got a blue accent to help set it apart from the silver fabric draped behind it. It helps but more could be done.
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That’s All Folks…
Alright, that wraps up this week’s Dateline Disneyland Update. What are your thoughts on the new Mickey’s Toontown? Are you a fan of the changes or do you think the original version of the land did it better? What to you think of the new effects in Indiana Jones? Are there too many projects all going on at the same time, or are the walls worth the wait for the new things yet to come? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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