Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

Voice Cast

Corey Burton - Everyone Else

Candy Candido - Devils / Dragon

1955 version (Disneyland)

The very first iteration of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was the least complex out of all three. Designed by Imagineers Bill Martin, Ken Anderson, Claude Coats, and Robert A. Mattey, the version of the attraction that opened to the public along with the rest of Disneyland in July 1955 contained the simplest gags, the fewest setpieces and characters, and, with a duration of 98 seconds, was the shortest in length.

One notable quality of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride that was especially prevalent during its earliest years is the liberal use of painted plywood "flats" in its interior sets. Whereas its contemporary opening-day Fantasyland dark rides Snow White's Enchanted Wish and Peter Pan's Flight employed three-dimensional figures and sculpts for either the majority or at least a significant quantity of their interior scenery and characters, the various scenes of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride were rendered predominantly by means of two-dimensional flats, with only a scarce presence of three-dimensional sculpts. More three-dimensional gags and scene details were added in later updates, although the attraction has always remained overwhelmingly "flat" in its presentation, despite the other Fantasyland dark rides having become considerably less so over the decades.

As with the 1955 incarnations of the Snow White and Peter Pan dark rides, the exterior façade of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was fashioned to resemble a colorful medieval tournament tent, and its loading queue was located within a large opening in the front wall of the show building. Embellishing the boarding area was a huge, elaborately painted mural spanning the entire front wall of the space housing the interior scenes; this mural depicted both the cast of the film on which the ride was based as well as the scenarios encountered within the attraction.

Guests waiting in line were treated to the confusing lyrics of The Merrily Song, and the enthusiastic voice of Mr. Toad himself (provided by Eric Blore, his voice actor from the film) beckoned all to come along with him on his travels: "Come along! Hop on up here! We'll go for a jolly ride! Buford Road! The dusty highway! Come! I'll show you the world! Travel! Change! Excitement!" Upon boarding a fiberglass replica of a 1900s-era one-seat roadster (manufactured by Arrow Development), guests "crashed" through the front doors of Toad Hall (the extravagant Tudor-style estate of Mr. Toad) at the far-left end of the mural. Once in the confines of the lavishly detailed mansion, guests approached a large stained-glass bay window before their car performed a sudden U-turn and headed instead toward a forced-perspective mural of an open living parlor. Here, two miniature "toad-shaped" suits of armor supported by pedestals (one on either side of the mural) swung down their halberds as guests drew near, causing the vehicle to swerve into the opposite direction. Guests then rolled under a pointed arch and into a smaller room where a third miniature suit of armor brought down its mace. The motorcar then veered to the left and crashed through the paneled wall, and guests found themselves in total darkness.

1983 version (Disneyland)

Guests enter a re-creation of Toad Hall, passing by artistic works commemorating characters from the film. A large mural shows the adventures of Toad and his motorcar, foreshadowing various scenes in the ride. This mural has a hidden reference to Walt Disney and his love for trains in the form of a train named "W.E.D. Rail". Guests hop aboard miniature, early 1900s (decade)-era, multicolored motorcars. The name of one of the characters from the film (Mr. Toad, Toady, Ratty, Moley, MacBadger, Cyril, Winky, or Weasel) is inscribed on each motorcar. Disembodied voices sing The Merrily Song, but it is more like the version in the film.

Passengers begin their journey by crashing into a library, where MacBadger is seen teetering atop a ladder with a stack of books. They then crash through the fireplace, where fiberoptic effects simulate the scattering of embers on the floor. Narrowly avoiding a falling suit of armor, the passengers break through a set of doors to find the interior hallway of Toad Hall in disarray, as weasels swing from chandeliers. Guests then enter the dining room, where Mole is having a meal at a dinner table and gets knocked aside.

Upon leaving Toad Hall, guests travel through the countryside, passing Ratty's house, being chased by policemen, barely avoiding colliding with traffic (which is actually their reflection in a mirror), and cracking a bridge with a farmer's animals on it. Making a right turn, guests head for the docks and get the impression that their car will plunge into the river, but quickly make a sharp turn in a different direction and enter a warehouse full of barrels and crates containing explosives. Guests crash through a brick wall as the warehouse's contents explode in a burst of bright, flashing lights. They then head out into the streets of London, narrowly avoid a collision with a delivery truck, and enter Winky's Pub, where Mr. Winky the bartender holds two beer mugs. He ducks down, leaving the mugs spinning in midair (this gag is recycled from the Florida version of the ride).

Passengers then enter the town square, where the cars wreak further havoc on the citizens. A statue of Toad and Cyril Proudbottom stands in the center of the town. Behind this statue is one of Lady Justice peeking out from under her blindfold. Next, guests enter a jury-less courtroom, where the riders are proclaimed guilty by a judge (based on the film's prosecutor for the Crown). The cars then enter what is presumed to be a dark prison cell before abruptly turning right and landing on railroad tracks. The vehicles bounce along the tracks in the dark before colliding head-on with an oncoming train.

Magic Kingdom version

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was one of the Magic Kingdom's opening day attractions on October 1, 1971. The biggest difference from the Disneyland version was that it had two separate boarding areas. The vehicles (in the form of jalopies) 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. It contained highly ornate plywood characters and sets that were very reminiscent of the multiplane camerawork featured in many Disney films.

In October 1997, rumors began to spread that an attraction based on Winnie-the-Pooh would replace Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. On August 27, 1998, Walt Disney World officially announced the closure of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. The attraction closed on September 7, 1998, to make room for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which opened on June 4, 1999. Tributes to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride can be found in the attraction, including paintings of Mr. Toad and Moley. In addition, there is a statue of Mr. Toad in the pet cemetery outside of The Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square.

Right Track

On the Right Track, guests first passed through the library (similar to the Disneyland version) then broke out of Toad Hall and passed through a barnyard, coming face to face with a sheep, a pig and a couple of cows along the way. After encountering a bull, and crashing into a barn to be attacked by chickens, guests pass through a small tunnel with several warning signs, known as the One Way Street, guests made a turn into a central plaza. Traveling around the turn, the vehicles passed a policeman signaling riders to stop with his whistle. Guests then made a right hand turn into the courtroom and saw the judge (who in this version was actually a policeman holding a gavel). Upon making another right hand turn, the vehicles passed by several policemen and weasel convicts and then entered a prison cell, where some weasels were trying to break out.

After winding through the cells, guests emerged out into Shireland, passing by a shootout between the police and some weasels (using red lights to simulate gunfire). Several of the police barriers then moved aside revealing a railroad crossing, complete with a ringing bell. The gate then moved aside (presumably breaking apart), and the vehicles made a right hand turn onto the tracks. The vehicles traveled along the railroad tracks until getting hit by a train (with guests seeing the headlight of the locomotive). A door then opened, revealing the hell scene, in which there were volcanos, flashing lights, multiple laughing demons, and a giant flat of Satan that popped up (similarly to the dandelion in Alice in Wonderland at Disneyland). Afterwards, guests went through a door back to the boarding area.

Left Track

From the boarding area to the plaza, the Left Track passed through three scenes not seen in the Right Track: Toad's trophy room, a kitchen, and a Gypsy camp. After going through the One Way Street and rounding the plaza, instead of entering the courtroom, guests continued on and entered Winky's Tavern. Mr Winky the bartender, who was holding two beer mugs, could then be seen ducking down, leaving the mugs spinning in the air (this gag was recycled for the revamped 1983 California version of the ride). The vehicles then made a right hand turn and guests could see the weasels hiding out in the tavern among the ale barrels. Following this, guests emerged into the night countryside. Passing by Ratty's house (where Ratty appeared only once and Moley was seen on a boat), the vehicles reached a railroad crossing. This gate moved aside, and vehicles made a left hand turn onto the railroad tracks. As on the Right Track, the headlight of the locomotive was visible before the train hit the guests. The hell scene on this track was merely a mirror image of the Right Track's hell sequence.