Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride opened with Walt Disney World in 1971 and has long been considered one of Disney’s best dark rides. Fashioned to take riders on a wild ride through the countryside, old fashioned cars careen around turns, nearly collide with walls and meet a spectacular end not dissimilar to the attractions controversial closing in 1998.
Mr. Toad’s Inspiration
The inspiration behind Mr. Toads Wild Ride came from Disney’s take on the classic Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. According to Louis Mongello in the December 18, 2005 article “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride in Walt Disney World” on gather.com, the movie by the same title found J. Thaddeus Toad, Esq., or Mr. Toad, living a comfortable affluent lifestyle with a penchant for misadventure.
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was designed to take riders through a series of such adventures by putting them in the place of Mr. Toad. Guests of the Magic Kingdom would board antique cars on one of two tracks. While each track featured a slightly different adventure, each met the same tragic end. After escaping judges, gypsies and the police, Mr. Toad sped his way into a darkened tunnel and into a collision with a train. The cataclysmic collision hurled riders from the land of Mr. Toad into a Disney version of stylized hell complete with a horned devil and his grinning minions.
Mr. Toad Leaves Amid Protest
The October 22, 1997 announcement by Disney that it was considering the end of Mr. Toad’s adventure, sparked an outrage in its dedicated fan base as reported in the Orlando Sentinel article by Jill Jorden Spitz entitled “Is Mr. Toad About to Drive Out of Disney?”. While some Disney guests who were unfamiliar with the Mr. Toad ride favored the proposed Winnie the Pooh experience that would take Toad’s place, those who had grown up with the ride were unwilling to see it end.
According to a September 2, 1998 Orlando Sentinel article, “Mr. Toad Attraction Will Finally Croak” by Cory Lancaster, fans of the ride issued a Save Mr. Toad campaign in protest to the report from Disney. Protestors printed postcards and staged protests outside the ride called toad-ins. A website urging fans to write and make their feelings known featured the addresses of Disney head of Imagineering and also Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, who bore the brunt of the criticism.
Disney didn’t take kindly to being told what to do. Mr. Toads Wild Ride closed on September 7, 1998 amid a final gathering of supporters. According to Lancaster, Jef Moscot who led the campaign said, “The web site will stay up as a monument to Disney’s stupidity and their willingness to blow off their customers.” Disney and Eisner found a way around the criticism by saying they were responding to guest demands for Winnie the Pooh in the Magic Kingdom.
Mr. Toad Forever Remembered
While Winnie the Pooh and Friends may be the more popular of the two, fans have not forgotten Mr. Toad. Eleven years after his demise, tributes to his 27 year run are scattered across the web. Videos are posted on youtube, the protest sites remain and for those who never got to experience Toad in person, they can now experience the ride in virtual reality.
Despite its decision to end Mr. Toad’s ride, Disney hasn’t forgotten Toad either. He inhabits a small space of the Winnie the Pooh ride where he can be seen handing over the deed to Owl. It’s a tribute; if you’re quick enough to catch it.
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