This past weekend the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida closed the doors on Mickey’s Toon Town Fair for good. The area is being closed to make way for the new Storybook Circus land that will be part of the New Fantasyland project. There was no pomp and circumstance for guests, the area simply closed.
The area featured one major attraction (Goofy’s Barnstormer), Two play areas, two meet and greet/walkthrough attractions, a large gift shop, a train station and themed bathrooms. It was a very popular area for families, as it was one of the few dedicated places that you could see Mickey and Minnie Mouse for a meet and greet with photo opportunities. The detail in Mickey’s House alone was fun to walk through and look at. It wasn’t too terribly interactive, and it was most always crowded but it was fun.
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The same could be said about Minnie’s House. The one that always puzzled me, however, was the fact that Mickey never made Minnie an honest mouse. They obviously have a thing for each other, but still Mickey has failed to commit. And like any typical bachelor who’s afraid of commitment, the best place for your girl to be is, naturally, right next door.
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Still one of the highlights of the whole area for me had to be hands down Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wise Acre Farms. This ride was a ton of fun just to wait in line for. Based loosely on several Goofy Cartoons, the queue takes us through the Wise Acre Farms and tons of a lot of visual puns, like Pop Corn. It’s the little details like the animatronic chickens that poop out eggs every time the coaster goes flying through the barn that made this so much fun.
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It will be interesting to see if the ride and the queues are worth the hype that Disney is putting behind it. And honestly, out of the entire area the only thing that for me will really be missed is the Barnstormer. Everything else just seems like a mish mash of themes ideas and a way to distract crowds away from Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. It was clearly not a favorite land of mine.
The whole area has undergone a bit of changes since 1988 when it opened as Mickey’s Birthday Land to celebrate the 60th Birthday of Mickey Mouse. Then it was changed to Mickey’s Starland in 1990, and finally ToonTown Fair in 96. It took it’s name from the similar (but different) ToonTown in Disneyland. That was originally supposed to be based off of the film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” but due to financial cutbacks was left as Mickey’s Toontown. In fact Roger Rabbit was not only supposed to have his whole entire land in Disneyland, but rides based off of him, Baby Herman, and Judge Doom were supposed to open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. That obviously never happened. Still, the whole “Toontown” area sprang forth from Mickey’s Birthday Land and merely changed when the theme became irrelevant. It was only meant to last 18 months, and here we are over 20 years later.
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While I say good riddance, you have to be weary of Story Book Circus. Dueling Dumbo’s, an interactive queue,no Mickey meet and greet, and a rethemed Barnstormer coaster, and that’s about it. It really doesn’t seem to be something that will last another 20 years, but you never know, it could surprise. Until we find out in a few year’s here’s hoping it turns out like this:
