Disneyland Announces Major Renovation of Mickey's Toontown, Opening in 2023

One Disneyland area will receive a major upgrade in 2023. Earlier today, Josh D'Amaro, the Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, announced a planned major renovation for Mickey's Toontown. The newly imagined area will be anchored by the Disneyland version of Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway and will focus on "new play experiences" and grassy play spaces for young families to enjoy. One of those areas is CenTOONial Park, a new area with a play fountain designed as a center icon, as well as a "dreaming tree" with sculpted tree roots for kids to explore. Notably, the focus of Mickey's Toontown will be on young children, with a variety of tactile and active play experiences.

"We are so excited to leverage Disney's powerful brand, develop new stories and share even more magical experiences with our guests," said D'Amaro in a press release. "The newly reimagined Mickey's Toontown will be a welcoming place where families and younger guests can connect and play together in fun new ways."  

Mickey's Toonland was originally opened in 1993 and was strongly inspired by Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The area features Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin and Gadget's Go Coaster, but has not received any significant new rides since 1994. A similar area at Magic Kingdom was shut down in 2011 to make room for a Fantasyland expansion. Part of Magic Kingdom's Toontown Fair area was reincorporated into Storybook Circus, which notably features the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride. 

Due to a lack of updates, many wondered if Disneyland's Mickey's Toonland was destined for a similar fate as its Disney World counterpart, but Disney previously announced a re-tooling of Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin to update the storyline for modern audiences. Based on early concept art released by Disneyland, it appears that Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin will still be present at Mickey's Toonland but Gadget's Go Coaster does not appear on the concept art. You can check out the reimagined area below: 

toontown-renovation.jpg
(Photo: Disney Parks)

Mickey's Toonland will shut down in March 2022 and will re-open in 2023. Expect more news about the renovation soon.

1comments