What I Miss Most about Mickey's Toontown Fair

With the Fantasyland expansion in Walt Disney World pushing Mickey’s Toontown Fair into extinction, I got to thinking. What will I miss most about Mickey’s Toontown Fair? This post should be short; a paragraph or two since Toontown didn't offer much for adults. 

Of course, Mickey and Minnie’s country houses come to mind first. Over the past several years, Mickey and Minnie’s houses have been a favorite of the family’s. I have video of my two sons as toddlers wandering through and exploring both houses. They would ask to go to Mickey or Minnie’s house the moment we set foot in Central Florida.

So, what I miss most about Mickey’s Toontown Fair is Mickey and Minnie’s country houses. Wait a minute! Wait a pumpkin planting minute! I just remembered my sons’ first roller coaster rides ever: Goofy’s Barnstormer. How could Barnstormer not be what I miss most? All right, we have a tie folks. I miss both Mickey and Minnie’s country houses and Goofy’s Barnstormer the most. There! Finito! End of sto...

Ooh, Donald’s boat is a great way to rest and cool off after hiking around the Magic Kingdom in the midday sun. My boys would spend 45 minutes (longer if I let them) in Donald’s boat. I have to include Donald’s boat. So, without further delay, my final What I miss most about Mickey’s Toontown Fair is Mickey and Minnie’s country houses, Goofy’s Barnstormer, and Donald’s boat.

Guess what? I forgot about the Judge’s Tent. The big cheese himself, IN PERSON! Without a doubt, I’ll miss the Judge's Tent. What a character that Mickey is. Speaking of characters, the Toontown Hall of Fame had photo ops with characters; Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Tinkerbell, and many others. The Toontown Hall of Fame is hard to beat. Oh man! Mickey’s mailbox! I have to include Mickey's mailbox.

Okay, updated list. What I miss most about Mickey’s Toontown Fair is Mickey and Minnie’s country houses, Goofy’s Barnstormer, Donald’s boat, the Judge’s Tent, Tootown Hall of Fame, and Mickey’s mailbox. Oops! Am I stupid or what? I forgot about the best restroom in all of Walt Disney World, Pete’s Garage. Okay, maybe the bathroom isn’t the best, but the theme was great. Pete’s slogan “Trust me with your car” and the floating key in the Gulp gas pump are classic.  I also forgot about the Toontown Playground and the Welcome to Mickey’s Toontown Fair sign, the best spot for a group photo.

So, to update one last time; what I miss most about Mickey’s Toontown Fair is Mickey and Minnie’s country houses, Goofy’s Barnstormer, Donald’s boat, the Judge’s Tent, the Toontown Hall of Fame, Mickey’s mailbox, Pete’s Garage, the Toontown Playground, and the Welcome to Toontown sign. Gee whiz! I failed to mention the Toontown Train Station, the Toontown Farmer’s Market where I’d enjoy fresh fruits, snacks, and beverages, and the air-conditioned County Bounty where I could pick up a souvenir or two. Toontown also had Pete’s Paint Shop where families could get their faces painted. I haven’t even mentioned the many props throughout all of Toontown, the street signs, or the statue of Cornelius Coot. WOW! There is A LOT I’m going to miss about Toontown. I guess this blog went way past two paragraphs. How wrong could I be? Toontown offered plenty for adults.

To sum up; what I miss most about Mickey’s Toontown Fair is EVERYTHING!

Peter Pan's Flight

The storybook flight to Never Land begins by stepping aboard private, two to three passenger pirate ships complete with mast and sail. Peter Pan rounds up Wendy, Michael, and John from the nursery. Tinker Bell spreads some pixie dust and the ship lifts off, sailing over a shimmering, nighttime London. Still climbing, the vessel sets course for the second star to the right. 

Never Land comes alive with pirates, a volcano, a mermaid lagoon, and an Indian village. The airship glides around the Lost Boys camp, Skull Rock, and of course, the Jolly Roger where Peter Pan duels Captain Hook.

Victorious, Peter Pan commandeers the pirate’s ship back to London, leaving Hook to his inevitable demise, much to the delight of a certain ticking crocodile. After a smooth landing, the restraint bar raises and the fanciful, 2 minute and 45 second journey to Never Land has ended.

Based on Walt Disney’s 1953 animated adaptation of James Matthew Barrie’s 1904 play, “Peter Pan”, also titled, “The Boy Who Couldn’t Grow Up”, the Walt Disney World version of Peter Pan’s Flight was an updated version of the Disneyland attraction. The attraction, which opened on October 3, 1971, two days after WDW opened its gates, had a longer running time with larger sets and backdrops including a 48-foot replica of Captain Hook’s pirate ship, the Jolly Roger. Flawlessly constructed and maintained, Peter Pan’s Flight inspired changes in the Disneyland version, which was completed on May 25, 1985 as a part of the New Fantasyland unveiled in California. Other than regular maintenance, no major refurbishments have been made to the Florida attraction. Both Tokyo Disneyland and Dinseyland Paris have a Peter Pan attraction in their theme parks.

A Tribute to Snow White's Scary Adventures

The lap bar of the wooden mine cart lowers.  Snow White’s melodic voice can be heard singing a song as the cart glides around a corner.  There she is sitting in front of a wishing well, holding a dove.  The courtyard is bright and cheery.  But the mine cart takes another turn through the doors of a castle and the scene immediately becomes dark and dreary.  A magic mirror with a green, glowing face delivers a disturbing message to the Queen, prompting her to transform into a haggard witch. 

The cart weaves through a gloomy, haunted forest as several creepy eyes peer out from within the shadowy depths.  The forest thins and a pleasant looking cottage appears.  The doors open to a spectacle of tiny, bearded men playing musical instruments, all singing a jolly tune. 

Snow White accepts a deceptive gift from the disguised witch.  The cart rambles through the Dwarf’s mining cave.  The witch appears atop a cliff about to send a huge boulder caving down upon the cart, but her evil plan is foiled.  Snow White’s prince arrives just in time, leans over—his kiss of true love bringing her back to consciousness.  A joyous reunion takes place in front of a magnificent castle and everyone lives happily ever after.

Snow White’s Adventures, inspired by Walt Disney’s 1937 animated feature “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,"  first operated at Walt Disney World on Opening day of the Magic Kingdom, October 1, 1971.  Originally, Snow White was not seen in the attraction.  The idea was that guests would feel as if they were the central character wandering through the Enchanted Forest, seeing and hearing everything, and encountering the same characters Snow White did.  This approach proved confusing.  Along with the fact that several dark scenes scared young children, Disney Imagineers went to work redesigning the attraction.  In December 1994, the name changed to Snow White’s Scary Adventures.  Snow White finally appeared.  The scary witch scenes were toned down.  The wait and load times were reduced as each ride vehicle expanded its capacity from 4 passengers to 6. 
 

With the new Fantasyland expansion underway at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Snow White’s Scary Adventures will soon be extinct.  A newly themed Snow White ride called The Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train is set to debut when the expansion is complete.  Farewell to a classic Disney dark ride.  Snow White’s Scary Adventures is a soon to be extinct attraction worth remembering.