Listen to our Show
Disneyland Mickey’s Toontown History and More!
Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland is undergoing a 30th Anniversary enhancement and expansion. We discuss the past, present, and future of Toontown, and what it was like for us to work there. We also catch up on current events at the Disneyland Resort, with our Patreon supporters joining us.
Check our Disney COVID-19 Tab for updated information of COVID-19 resort requirement updates.
Disneyland Resort Current Event
We are please to announce our webmaster Russell is doing well and has completed formal Physical Therapy. His doctor is very pleased with his recovery and although still limited, is able to do things he is comfortable doing. He has also been released to begin running again which he is very happy about. He still has a few months before he is completely healed and it will take about a year from injury before it really begins to feel normal to him Thank you to all the well wisher. And now for the show
Disney puts Quinjet E-Ticket ride on hold at Avengers Campus
The first-of-its-kind Avengers attraction will 'hopefully' get built once the company’s post-pandemic cash-flow situation improves, according to Disney CEO Bob Chapek.
By BRADY MACDONALD
PUBLISHED: March 9, 2022
“A first-of-its-kind Quinjet E-ticket attraction announced with much fanfare for the second phase of Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure has been put on hold due to pandemic-related financial constraints, according to Disney officials.
“Disney CEO Bob Chapek said during an annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, March 9 that the Quinjet E-ticket attraction planned for DCA is in a ‘holding pattern’ and will ‘hopefully’ get built once the company’s post-pandemic cash-flow situation improves.”
…
“The custom-designed, full-sized Quinjet that serves as the centerpiece of the Marvel-themed land sits atop an Avengers Headquarters building that is intended to eventually double as the entrance for the planned E-ticket attraction. Disney uses the balconies on the building facade as a stage for Marvel super hero stunt shows.
“Riders on the planned Quinjet E-ticket attraction will embark on a mission to the Black Panther world of Wakanda to battle menacing winged aliens alongside the team of superheroes, according to Walt Disney Imagineering.
“Concept art for the Avengers attraction featuring an all-new ride system shows riders hovering in jetpack seats.”
Orange County Register
Merlin’s Marvelous Miscellany pays tribute to 1955 Disneyland shop
Merlin's Marvelous Miscellany will open in Fantasyland on Friday, March 11 in the shadow of Sleeping Beauty Castle at the Anaheim theme park.
By BRADY MACDONALD
PUBLISHED: March 11, 2022
“Merlin’s Marvelous Miscellany will open in Fantasyland on Friday, March 11 in the shadow of Sleeping Beauty Castle at the Anaheim theme park.
“‘It’s a mouthful of a name,’ Walt Disney Imagineering Art Director Michael Dobrzycki said. ‘It’s almost like the reason it’s a tongue twister is because not everyone can do magic. It’s got to be a little trickier or anybody would be doing it.’
“Merlin’s Marvelous Miscellany offers a thematic nod to Merlin’s Magic Shop that occupied the same Fantasyland location when Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955.”
…
“Imagineering took visual cues from the original Merlin’s Magic Shop for the new Merlin’s Marvelous Miscellany. The interior of the stuffed-to-the-gills small shop reflects the wizard’s stitched-together patchwork aesthetic.”
…
“A jousting dummy with a bucket helmet and broken lance sits in the corner of the shop. Merchandise rests atop stacks of books. Zodiac and astrology charts line the wall behind the checkout stand. And, of course, there will be plenty of bird perches for Archimedes — Merlin’s owl companion.”
…
“As you might expect, the new shop is also sprinkled with Easter eggs for devotees of Merlin and ‘Sword in the Stone.’
“Eagle-eyed fans will spot a triskelion burned into the shop marquee that’s the symbol for Merlin in Arthurian scholarly works. And keep an eye out for spectacles left by the absent-minded sorcerer scattered throughout the shop and in the store windows.”
…
“Before the opening of Disneyland, Walt Disney recruited magician Merv Taylor, who repaired, created and sold magic props at his Hollywood magic store, to run the Fantasyland magic shop.
“Merlin’s Magic Shop was where aspiring comedian and actor Steve Martin worked as a magician and salesperson demonstrating magic tricks and practical jokes from 1955 to 1958. While Martin spent most of his time at Merlin’s, he also worked at the Main Street U.S.A. magic shop that opened in 1957. Martin purchased the original wooden sign for Merlin’s Magic Shop on eBay for his personal collection, according to the Disneyland fan site Daveland.”
…
“The Merlin theme brings the new store full circle with the magic shop that occupied the location until 1983 when Fantasyland underwent a major renovation. Since then, the Fantasyland retail spot has been home to Mickey’s Christmas Chalet, Castle Heraldry Shoppe, Briar Rose’s Cottage and Villain’s Lair — with the Castle Holiday Shoppe the most recent tenant.
“The opening of the Plaza Point holiday shop on Main Street U.S.A. in October made the Castle Holiday Shoppe in Fantasyland redundant. The “miscellany” in the name makes the new Merlin’s shop a flexible location ideal for a wide range of merchandise.”
Orange County Register
Disneyland crime reports: Assault and battery, grand theft and forgery in February
Anaheim Police responded to more than 20 calls at Disneyland in February that resulted in some type of action taken by officers.
By BRADY MACDONALD
PUBLISHED: March 11, 2022
“Anaheim Police responded to more than 20 calls at Disneyland in February that resulted in some type of action taken by officers.”
…
“The Happiest Place on Earth is also one of the safest — with police responding once or twice a day on average to the Anaheim theme parks that attract millions of visitors annually.”
Orange County Register
Disneyland begins enforcing Magic Key passholder no-show policy
Disneyland began enforcing the Magic Key no-show policy this week after a six-month grace period when the penalties for skipping an advance reservation were not imposed, according to Disney officials.
ByBRADY MACDONALD
PUBLISHED: March 10, 2022
“Disneyland began enforcing the Magic Key no-show policy this week after a six-month grace period when the penalties for skipping an advance reservation were not imposed, according to Disney officials.
“Magic Keyholders will start at zero no-shows this week with no penalties for past infractions.”
…
“Keyholders who don’t show up for three reservations in a 90-day window will be unable to make new park reservations for 30 days beginning the day after the third no-show. Existing park reservations at that time will not be canceled.”
Orange County Register
Disneyland’s ToonTown Now Closed For Reimagining
March 9, 2022
“Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is coming to Disneyland’s ToonTown in 2023, and to revitalize the aging land before the big opening, ToonTown has closed for a major reimagining.
“The land officially closed on March 9th, 2022 to begin a sprawling enhancement project which will add more green space, trees, interactive play elements, and a new fountain.”
MiceChat
Photo Report: Mickey’s Toontown’s Final Operating Hours of 2022 at Disneyland
Mar 9, 2022
Laughing Place
Video: One Last Stroll Through Mickey’s Toontown Before The “New And Exciting” Reimagining
Mar 8, 2022
Laughing Place
Construction Walls Have Appeared at the Entrance of Mickey’s Toontown
Mar 9, 2022
Laughing Place
Mickey’s Toontown: Almost 30 Years of Animated Immersion
by Tony Betti | Mar 6, 2022
“Back in 1993, Disneyland’s newest land was revealed. Revealed because it had been there for years before. It was Mickey Mouse who suggested to Walt Disney himself where to put his new amusement park venture that would be known as Disneyland. At least, that’s how the mythology behind Mickey’s Toontown goes. A town where all the cartoon characters we know and love live (a la 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit) would be revealed to park guests just outside the berm of Disneyland in January of 1993. Now, at almost thirty years of age, the smallest land in Disneyland is about to get a radical renovation (closed beginning March 9th, 2022) and today we’re going to take a closer look at that land that toons built.”
Laughing Place
Disneyland Update – Actions Speak Louder Than Words
By Dusty Sage -March 7, 2022
“It’s a big Update today folks. A major festival has launched, an entire land goes under the knife, New Orleans Square traffic is being streamlined, the wrecking ball is leveling part of Downtown Disney, and projects and refurbishments continue all over the resort. We’ll take a look at all that and more, including some inexcusable actions (and inaction) the Disney Company has taken which leave me feeling disappointed and deeply concerned.
“Crowds & The Rerouting of Disneyland
“It’s fake busy at Disneyland these days. That is to say that the park has a comfortable crowd capacity, but Genie has made lines so long that the park feels and looks more crowded than it should at various times and locations.”
You can listen to show 330 on iTunes or go to Libsyn service here.
Show Notes for Episode 330