We received some very nice comments regarding Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride yesterday. My favorite came from Debbie, on Facebook, who started with, “Save the toad! Save the toad!”
When I asked her to elaborate and tell us what drove her passion for the attraction, she answered, “We were there when it closed. It was the first ride my kids ever went on. I don’t remember the ride other than Mr. Toad and the mole. It’s the memory of our girls laughing and having fun on their first ride!”
I don’t know about you, but that’s what I love … a great WDW memory! Debbie named the attraction’s closure “sad” before she finished, but, in a way, it isn’t. For her and her family, at least, Mr. Toad will live on in that one fabulous experience.
I’m sure that it’s memories like Debbie’s that fueled much of the angst and emotion over Toad’s closure on Labor Day, September 7, 1998. There were postcards, T- shirts, and even low-key protests, called “Toad-Ins,” outside the ride. There was even a crude web site!
Great job on knowing that date, by the way! The vast majority of you “nailed” that question.
Well, on the evening of the, aforementioned, fateful Labor Day, supporters gathered outside the ride to bid farewell to Mr. Toad’s “journey to nowhere in particular”.
And, just nine short months later, guests returned to that very spot to enjoy the Magic Kingdom’s newest draw – The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh! But, you knew that already, too, didn’t you? Great job on that question, as well!
Before I leave, I want to touch on what, to me, was the most interesting aspect of Mr. Toad’s dash through the dark. One of our readers (Stacia on Facebook) reported, “[T]here were two different tracks, so you never knew which ride you were going to get.”
The ride had two separate boarding areas! According to The Disney Wiki, “The vehicles in each boarding area were on separate tracks that followed different paths, so riders would get a slightly different ride, depending on where they boarded.” In reality, each track passed through a completely different set of scenes!
Now, that sounds like a very intriguing approach to making the experience completely unique! Now, I’m really sad I missed out on visiting Mr. Toad!
Cheers, all! Have a great rest of the weekend!
