The Experience: Bringing the city of London to life

The Trick: Detailed art work and breathtakingly colorful illustrations

Part of the reason for the ride’s triumph is its attention to detail. From the start, the theming at Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride sets it apart from other early attractions. Imagineers transferred all of their illustration skills from years spent making animated movies to the design of the ride. They crafted meticulously detailed sets that brought the vision of Grahame’s novel into the real world.

From the moment that guests boarded their vehicles, they got swept into this artificial reality due to its believable design. The little touches sprinkled throughout the attraction pulled guests into this colorful mansion and forced them to believe that they were on an ill-fated journey through the London countryside.

The journey begins in Toad Hall, the mansion owned by Mr. Toad. Perfect details like a brick fireplace and elegant chandeliers bring the world of The Wind in the Willows to life. Murals hang from the walls, the décor is immaculate, and you’ll totally believe that you’re in the stately manor of an established professional. Then, the jalopy starts…

Image: DisneyThe trick of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is also its conceit. On most dark rides, the vehicle controls the pace in a way that you have plenty of time to take in the sights. The ride cart is a timed mechanism that takes you from set piece to set piece, ensuring that you see what you’re supposed to see at the perfect moment. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is like that, only it works with a significant degree of difficulty.

Your ride is wild, which means it whizzes through several sets at breakneck speed. If you don’t pay attention, you might miss a key element. This explains why Imagineers pulled out some unusual tricks for the sets. The colors are brighter and more vibrant because they have to be. To follow the story as intended, these visuals must grab your attention quickly. They only have a brief instant to do so before you’re careening down the path to the next thing.

Whether you’re rumbling through the library of Mr. Toad or bouncing through the countryside (and terrifying innocent sheep), everything on the ride happens FAST. There’s a distinct “blink and you’ll miss it” vibe to this attraction that is rare today and was absolutely unprecedented in 1955. The ride takes less than two minutes, and it feels even faster due to the adrenaline rush of breaking through brick walls, triggering explosives, and crashing into trains.

The imagery of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is everything on this ride. Without those colorful displays, the imperiled MacBadger’s tenuous ladder would mean nothing. You wouldn’t care that Moley’s chicken dinner is ruined. Those pesky weasels wouldn’t seem like unwelcome home invaders. Why, you wouldn’t even notice that you’ve finished a lightning-fast descent into Hell. The vivid, dazzling artwork is what brings the wild ride to life. Of course, it has a little help…

The Experience: Making the ride wild

The Trick: Engaging in a bit of Motormania

Image: DisneyThe kinetic nature of the wild ride dictates that your vehicle keeps you on a fast pace. You’re not supposed to have time to catch your breath. Mr. Toad is driving poorly, and you’re stuck in the jalopy with him!

The car is integral to the ride experience. Imagineers went out of their way to craft a memorable buggy that looks the part. It’s a stubborn throwback to classic cars of yore, ones that didn’t have roofs. When you’re on this ride, there’s nothing between you and the ground, amplifying the stakes as you rumble out of control through the London sights.

Motor Mania is the cheeky term used for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and the car seems right out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It’s a classic buggy with a steering wheel that does absolutely nothing. The bright color of the vehicle blends well with the overall scheme of the attraction, where every visual stimulates the eyes.

The cute factor of the Motor Mania lineup is that each vehicle has its own name. While many of the characters from The Wind in the Willows appear during the ride, even ones that don’t have a token presence as vehicles. You’ll know which car you’re in by the name printed on the front. Options include Toady, Badger, Ratty, Mole, MacBadger, Cyril, Winky, and Weasel.

Originally, there were 12 Toad cars in the fleet. Nine would operate at once while the other three would stand by, waiting to take new riders off on a thrilling journey into eternal damnation. The first vehicles were remarkable achievements in theme park design, too.

Arrow Enterprises used roughly 200 pounds of fiberglass and sheet metal to build the fleet. These parts were among the first ones to arrive during Disneyland construction, which means that Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is in the conversation for the first true theme park attraction. And the Toad cars were very well constructed at that. These vehicles lasted almost 40 years (!) before Disneyland finally had to replace them. To the very end, they still reinforced the mayhem that is Mr. Toad’s journey into Purgatory.