Mr. Toad's Wild Ride Articles
California vs. Paris: Fantasyland
My articles so far, in which I have compared the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), have focused on individual attractions found in Fantasyland. This month, after previewing what I shall be writing for the site in the future, I shall be looking at any aspect of Fantasyland which does not fit into any of my other articles (past or future). As well as the attractions covered in ...
Give Em Hill Huffing The Fairy Dust At Disneyland
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The morning after President Barack Obama interrupted "The Simpsons" to inform the country about the death of Osama bin Laden, my husband and I drove down to Disneyland. Now this was not a spur-of-the-moment, Munchkin-style "the wicked old witch at last is dead" kind of celebration. That would just be wrong. Instead, we'd had this excursion planned for a couple of months, and not just for the sake of ...
A Brief History Of Disneyland, An American Classic
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"The thing will get more beautiful year after year. And it will get better as I find out what the public likes; I can't do that with a picture it's finished and unchangeable before I find out whether the public likes it or not." Walt Disney on Disneyland. Walt Disney found different reasons to build his seventeen million dollar Magic Kingdom in Anaheim in 1955. The idea had originally stemmed ...
Disneyland's VIPs: Five Things You Didn't Know About Disney's Star Treatment
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Celebrities get the star treatment everywhere they go and Disneyland is no exception. For years now, Disney has offered VIP guides (usually seen walking throughout the parks donning their red and blue plaid vests) to the families of film, television and sports stars. But one might be surprised by how unglamorous the star treatment can be at the Happiest Place on Earth. Sure, certain celebs might be ...
Storm In A Teacup
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With a boy of his own, Stephen Lacey makes his first visit to the Disneyland of his childhood. When I was a boy, my idea of Disneyland was pretty sketchy; it was where Mickey and Donald lived. And there was a ride where you sat in a giant spinning teacup. I knew only one kid who had been, a boy in third class named Brian. He was terribly thin, with bruises all over his body. One day our ...
California vs. Blackpool: General
Earlier in the year, I wrote an article for DLDHistory.com comparing the Alice in Wonderland ride in Disneyland to Alice's Wonderland at Pleasure Beach Blackpool (the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom). As I have recently come back from a week's vacation in Blackpool (and seeing as my main article this month was shorter than usual) I thought I would compare Anaheim's Disneyland Resort as a ...
Environmental Group Files Suit Against The Happiest Place On Earth
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Minnie's House, the Haunted Mansion and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride are all attractions families may want to avoid during their next Disneyland adventure, according to an environmental group alleging the California theme park is riddled with attractions that can expose children to potentially dangerous levels of lead. The Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation filed an injunction Tuesday to require the park ...
Five Unique Artifacts From Disneyland's Opening That Remain At The Park
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A lot has changed at Disneyland since the park first opened in 1955. Over the nearly six decades that have passed since its debut, many things at the Happiest Place on Earth have either been lost over time or met with a wrecking ball during one of the park's many expansions and refurbishments. We list five original Disneyland artifacts that existed in the park back when Walt walked Main Street, ...
7 Tips For Tackling Disneyland In A Day
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I've been to Disneyland hundreds of times over the last two decades and have been writing the Funland theme park blog for about four years now. As a result, people are always asking me how to do everything at Disneyland in a single day. The short answer is you probably can't. It can be a struggle for even hard-core fans with military assault-like strategies. The longer answer is there's lots of ways ...
New Star Tours Is More Transporting Than Expected
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Disney did more than just update the ride to make the ride brand-new again I am not what you would call a Disney nerd. At least, not compared to the truly hardcore. However, I think it's safe to say that Disney's various parks have always been part of my life. I grew up in Florida, and many of my formative memories come from time spent at Walt Disney World. I remember spending the ...
Grown-Up Gals Have Fun Like Kids But Without Kids At Disneyland
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Disneyland is not just for sugar-soaked kids. Consider, all you grown-up women out there, going for a gals' day out. That's exactly what my childhood friend Joanna and I, both of us in our 30s, recently did instead of heading to the beach or shopping. Did we channel our inner princesses? Nope. Did we regress to a state of childlike delight and strategically map out rides to conquer? Oh yes. That ...
Couple Tries For Year Of Daily Disneyland Visits
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It seems like a dream as flighty as Tinkerbell and as quirky as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Yet a Southern California couple have passed the halfway mark in their quest to visit Disneyland every day this year. "We joke around that we're here more than the cast members are," Jeff Reitz said Tuesday. Reitz, 39, of Huntington Beach, and Tonya Mickesh, 45, of Lake Forest were both unemployed when she ...
A Guy A Girl And 366 Straight Days At Disneyland
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If, like Jeff Reitz and Tonya Mickesh, you go to Disneyland oftenvery oftenyou know that asking for a roast beef melt made without horseradish, as opposed to a roast beef melt with horseradish removed after the fact, will require a ten-minute wait at the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe. You know that, if conditions are right, you may ride in the wheelhouse of the Mark Twain Riverboat and help steer. You know ...
Is Tomorrowland Movie Tied To Disneyland Area
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An upcoming George Clooney movie is called "Tomorrowland" but is it tied to that famous, futuristic area of Disneyland? Walt Disney Studios announced Monday that it was producing the live-action movie in which Clooney will star; the film was written by Damon Lindelof of "Lost" and Brad Bird of "The Incredibles." While the studio is secretive about the details, Walt Disney himself is at the ...
Much Has Changed Much Thankfully Remains The Same
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It had been more than seven years since we last visited the Disneyland Resort. So much has changed since 2006 ... and, thankfully, so much remains the same at Walt Disney's ground-breaking theme park, known universally as The Happiest Place on Earth. Disney fans who live on the East Coast and spend the majority of their vacation time in Walt Disney World in Florida have a somewhat skewed view of ...
5 Rides To Go To First When The Park Opens
When Disneyland in Anaheim first opens its gates every day at eight in the morning, there are a few rides visitors should make a beeline for if they don't want to be standing in line for hours. Since it debuted in 1955, Disneyland has boasted many popular rides and other experiences that capture the magic of the company's extensive list of films and shows, primarily of the fantasy and adventure ...
Do Not Skip This Improved Ride In Fantasyland
When it comes to visiting Fantasyland at the Disneyland Resort, most of us feel a connection to the nostalgia of the area. Containing four classic Disney Dark Rides, the land actively reminds me of my childhood with some of the first rides I ever experienced. The area is split up into two sections: Peter Pan 's Flight, with a typical 30 - 60 minute wait time, and everything else. One attraction that falls ...
Disney
The word Disney means different things to different people. To young 'uns, it 's a streaming platform for phones or tablets. To many, it is part of a compound word that includes either land or world. To yet others, it is a worldwide conglomerate raking in $90 billion in 2023 from not-so-small ears of a squeaky little mouse and his girlfriend. To politicians in Florida, it 's the devil 's den of woke ...
Disneyland Turns 60 Ranking Its Attractions by Land
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Oh, boy! The Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration begins today! Disneyland Park opened in Anaheim, Calif., on July 17, 1955, and ever since, it has entertained millions of guests from all over the world. That's no small feat! "It's amazing to contemplate all that Disneyland has come to mean to so many people around the world," Tom Staggs, COO of the Walt Disney Company, recently told the ...
Disneyland 60 Things You Might Not Know About The Magic Kingdom
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TV show named "Gunsmoke" made its debut, and another named "Make Room for Daddy" won two Emmys. Elvis Presley and Pat Boone had young hearts all shook up, and for the first time, they could listen to those crooners and others on a new gadget called a pocket transistor radio. A new car cost $1,900, gasoline was 23 cents a gallon and rents averaged $87 a month.. It was 1955. On July 17 of that year - a ...
Disney Voice Over Actors Bring Theme Park Rides To Life
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Voice-over actors are the hidden artists who provide the audio atmosphere and essential back stories that bring theme parks to life.. From the parking lot tram spiel to park-wide announcements to ride narrations, the best work of voice-over actors often goes unnoticed simply because it blends so seamlessly into the overall theme park experience. During the upcoming ScareLA convention on Aug. 8 ...
Disneyland A New Wonder Of The Amusement World Nears Completion
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A wonderland of delights such as the World may never have seen before is rising out of the orange groves in this sunny suburb of Los Angeles. It is Disneyland, a 17 million dollar paradise for children. When the gates are opened on July 19, customers will see an amusement built on the scale of a World's Fair. The fantastic world of Disney films will be transformed into three dimensional reality. ...
Disneyland Digs In At Anaheim
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With opening date set for July 15, construction is going full speed ahead on Disneyland, multi-million dollar wonder of the entertainment world at Anaheim in Orange County. The total investment is expected to approximate $17 million.Grading and bulldozing are completed. Excavation of the various waterways in Disneyland is finished. Construction has started on several buildings, with the exterior of one ...
Disneyland Gates Open Celebrity Throng At Premier
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Disneyland, a $17,000,000 fairyland dedicated to the pleasure of children, opened Sunday in a special preview of 35,000 invited guests whose enthusiasm indicated that Walt Disney's dream had lived up to expectations. The spectacular park will be opened officially to the public at 10 a. m. today and upward of 50,000 persons are expected for the event. Sunday the adults - members of the press from ...
Disneyland Ride Review Pinocchios Daring Journey Is A Little Wooden
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It's time to take a ride on Pinocchio's Daring Journey at Disneyland, which is based on Walt Disney's second animated feature film, "Pinocchio," which was based on the children's novel "The Adventures of Pinocchio" by Carlo Collodi. This attraction appeared in 1983, occupying the space that once held the Fantasyland Theater. Above the entrance there is a small figure of Pinocchio on a stage. Passing ...
Disneyland Opened To Public
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Walt Disney's $17,000,000 Disneyland was formally opened to the public yesterday at 10 a.m. The 60-acre wonderland at 1313 Harbor Blvd., Anaheim was previewed for the press civic officials and entertainment industry Sunday. Disneyland was formally dedicated by Disney "to the people of the world young and old with a dream in their hearts." Gov. Goodwin J Knight added: "All America can take ...
Disneyland Ride Review Take A Wild Ride With Mr Toad
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Turn the steering wheel all you want, but you will still careen out of control from the moment you set out on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland. Your frenzied ride starts off with a crash as you bang through the door of Toad Hall's parlor into the library, where your car seemingly knocks down stacks of books before crashing through the fireplace, knocking "sparks" and embers onto the floor. ...
Dangerous Disneyland Mental Fatigue Part 1
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Disneyland gets sued for injuries and deaths all of the time. Believe me, I get that accidents happen, but most of these tourists are simply victims of their own stupidity. Mild disclaimer: a few of these I've read about on only one site, so I'm not entirely sure they happened. Now, let's get down to business. Matterhorn, Space, and Thunder Mountains are not most dangerous in that respect, ...
Here Are 5 Films Based On Disneyland Rides That Should Be Made
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A few months ago, I saw the news that Disney is developing a movie based on the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland. It will star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The news reports also mentioned that it will likely take place not in the present day, but in the past. I imagine it's a past where obscene amounts of protein powder was available so that they can explain how the Rock even exists in that time frame. ...
This Is How Disneyland Looked In 1955
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When Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955, there were sections of it that were not done. A reporter noticed all the construction still ongoing and asked Walt Disney if Disneyland would ever be finished. Disney replied in what has become an oft quoted quote: "Disneyland will never be completed, as long as there is imagination left in the world." Disney was true to his word - Disneyland has never been ...
This Is How Disneyland Changed In The 1980s
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Changes at Disneyland in the 1980s started slow, then ended in a splash down a mountain. During the first couple years of the decade, Disney Imagineers were busy with the design and building of Epcot Center (as it was called then) at Walt Disney World. But they were also planning a project for Disneyland - rebuilding Fantasyland. 1980-83 In early 1982, most of Fantasyland was behind a ...
