10 years ago today...

[Toad]

...Mr. Toad took his last wild ride.


R.I.P.
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
(October 1, 1971 to September 7, 1998)

[kakn7294]

:crying: RIP Mr. Toad. I miss you!

[tink'72]

:sad: I still miss that ride.

[brianlw71]

good riddance.

[LudwigVonDrake]

I wouldn't mind taking another spin on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride :mickey:

[ibrowse17]

Sad, but I miss some other rides much more.

[Carol]

I wouldn't mind taking another spin on Mr. Toad's Wild RideJust another reason to take a trip to Disneyland. Mr. Toad is alive and kicking there. :number1:

[JasonH]

That was a sad day in my personal history with WDW. :sadwave::sob: The toad that was merrily on his way to nowhere in particular found his way into the Pet Cemetary of HM and is only remembered in pictures in Winnie The Pooh. *sigh* We miss you J. Thaddeus Toad and you are not forgotten by your fans. :number1:

[Maleficent's Dad]

Just another reason to take a trip to Disneyland. Mr. Toad is alive and kicking there. :number1:
Yeah Guys, head to the left coast, and you will be able to experience Mr. Toad and his ride through purgatory... :thedolls:

Sad that it's gone in WDW, but Pooh is not a terrible ride. I always try to keep it in perspective - Walt welcomed changes. He wanted his parks to expand and reinvent themselves. Numerous rides have been taken away from Florida (some for the better, some not).

Sure I miss Mr. Toad, but I'm spoiled, I get to ride it each summer...

[MickeysEars]

at least we can ride it in CA...he lives on there:mickey:

[JPL]

I would much rather ride Toad than Pooh :ack:

Guess I need to schedule another trip to Disneyland :mickey:

[CaptSmee]

good riddance.

LOL! Not a response I was expecting!

[Jeff G]

good riddance.

:funny:

I've never understood the love affair with this ride. We rode this on our honeymoon when we were there in 1994 and didn't care for it and skipped it in 1997. My kids love Pooh and can relate to it a lot better than Mr. Toad so I treat this as a day to celebrate a new beginning.

[Toad]

:funny:

I've never understood the love affair with this ride. We rode this on our honeymoon when we were there in 1994 and didn't care for it and skipped it in 1997. My kids love Pooh and can relate to it a lot better than Mr. Toad so I treat this as a day to celebrate a new beginning.

If you have the time, I highly recommend reading Mike Lee's article on the ride located at widenyourworld.net. It's one of the few articles I've read that does the ride justice and provides some insight as to why it was so beloved.

Winnie the Pooh is indeed a good attraction, but when one takes away the special effects and glossy sets, it is basically a recapitulation of the film. Despite it's technological limitations, I thought Toad was a more genuine and involving experience. It didn't follow the narrative of it's source film at all, but instead was like some absurd dream that defied all constructs reason and rationality. The plywood visuals were very simple, abstract, yet as kinetic as the fiberglass figures in Peter Pan's Flight or Snow White's Adventures (the 1993 incarnation). While those rides tried to replicate the three-dimensionality of live-action film, Toad embraced the flat, two-dimensionality of hand drawn animation to support it's outlandish premise. In this respect, riding Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was very much like riding through a cartoon. In addition to it's style, the ambigous "narrative" left a lot of room for guests to transpose their own interpretation and imagination upon the ride. With this in consideration, few attractions have been as attuned to the spirit of children's imagination as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and ultimately I think that's what made the ride really special.

[mrsgaribaldi]

RIP Mr Toad. Sorry we never knew you:(

[Wishmaker]

If you have the time, I highly recommend reading Mike Lee's article on the ride located at widenyourworld.net. It's one of the few articles I've read that does the ride justice and provides some insight as to why it was so beloved.

Thanks for the website info. It is now in my favorites. ;)

[CanadianWDWFan]

One of the reasons we made a trip out to DLR this summer was to try any ride that WDW doesn't have anymore or never had.

RIP (http://www.flickr.com/photos/10566431@N04/960754346/) Mr. Toad.

[Belle_0717]

I seems like yesterday DSis and I were riding it! RIP Mr Toad - someday we will visit you in DLR!

[Imagineer1981]

Someone should go see him at HM, put flowers down or something

[Jeff G]

If you have the time, I highly recommend reading Mike Lee's article on the ride located at widenyourworld.net. It's one of the few articles I've read that does the ride justice and provides some insight as to why it was so beloved.

Winnie the Pooh is indeed a good attraction, but when one takes away the special effects and glossy sets, it is basically a recapitulation of the film. Despite it's technological limitations, I thought Toad was a more genuine and involving experience. It didn't follow the narrative of it's source film at all, but instead was like some absurd dream that defied all constructs reason and rationality. The plywood visuals were very simple, abstract, yet as kinetic as the fiberglass figures in Peter Pan's Flight or Snow White's Adventures (the 1993 incarnation). While those rides tried to replicate the three-dimensionality of live-action film, Toad embraced the flat, two-dimensionality of hand drawn animation to support it's outlandish premise. In this respect, riding Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was very much like riding through a cartoon. In addition to it's style, the ambigous "narrative" left a lot of room for guests to transpose their own interpretation and imagination upon the ride. With this in consideration, few attractions have been as attuned to the spirit of children's imagination as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and ultimately I think that's what made the ride really special.


I wasn't intending to offend anyone with my reply. We have no nostalgic connection to this ride and the time we did it we found it outdated and boring. I can understand though that this ride could be missed by many in a similar way that many of us miss Horizons.

[Disney Doll]

I can't believe it's already been 10 years. Mr. Toad was a childhood favorite of mine.

[Toad]

I wasn't intending to offend anyone with my reply. We have no nostalgic connection to this ride and the time we did it we found it outdated and boring. I can understand though that this ride could be missed by many in a similar way that many of us miss Horizons.

No offense taken. I appreciate your opinion even though I don't entirely agree with it. I was merely trying to provide some insight as to why the ride continues to be a source of fascination for some fans. Technologically Toad was a dated ride. It's very hard nowadays to attain people's attention soley with plywood flats, no matter who ornate or stylized they may be. From a conceptual standpoint, however, I think it was one Disney's crowning acheivements and had an enormous amount of potential to be a more fully realized project (maybe something along the lines of Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin in DL). I really wish Disney had salvaged it and built Winnie the Pooh across the way instead.

[Mousemates]

I still miss it...it was fun to ride the DL version last year.

[Urbss]

I wouldn't mind riding Mr. Toad again. That brings back a lot of memories of being a kid and sitting with my Dad.

We just saw the movie at a thrift shop over the weekend for a buck - of course I grabbed that up!!:thumbsup:

[jpH/keD]

I dont know if this speaks well or ill of Mr Toad. But I went to WDW in 1976 as a child(no wise cracks about age here!) and I don't remember Mr. Toad's Wild Ride????

Maybe I can find it on youtube?... I guess maybe it wasn't all that after all!!?? IMHO- dont blast me folks!

I always am sad when they get rid of something at WDW anyway. Traditions and all....

[Polynesian Dweller]

Technologically Toad was a dated ride. It's very hard nowadays to attain people's attention soley with plywood flats, no matter who ornate or stylized they may be. From a conceptual standpoint, however, I think it was one Disney's crowning acheivements and had an enormous amount of potential to be a more fully realized project (maybe something along the lines of Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin in DL).
These commments probably the main points very well. I think you're right about the idea that it would have had potential as a Cartoon Spin type ride.

I never saw it as a child so didn't develop that particular attachment and so for me it was just OK and the flats really weren't enough to fully engage me and so I don't really miss it. But perhaps Disney could still look at the concept with upgraded ride technology and it might be a great attraction.