Summary
Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland has always held a special place in my heart. It’s a place to step into the cartoon world of our favorite Disney characters, unwind, let the tadpoles have some free time to explore and, of course, meet characters. The original Toontown opened in January 1993, so after 30 years, it was time for some revitalization. The opening of a new ride, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, inspired a refreshment of this area of the park, and we can’t wait to experience it and tell you all about it. Here’s what to expect at the reimagined Toontown Disneyland, opening March 8, 2023!
Overview of Mickey’s Toontown Disneyland
Mickey’s Toontown is a cartoon-themed land at Disneyland, where Mickey, Minnie and their pals reside. You can find it to the left of “it’s a small world” after passing under the Disneyland Railroad tracks. The new Toontown will be greener and more spacious with more park areas and places to unplug. If you are worried about losing all those tactile and exploration experiences, you’ll be hoppy to know that there will be more play activities and tactile experiences than ever before! The tadpoles can activate their senses with opportunities to play, slide, spin, touch and listen. There’s even a new splash pad — we'll be splashing around like Donald Duck on hot days!
All the rides return, plus there is an all-new ride to enjoy! You can look forward to a new eatery and some refurbished spaces. The land was reimagined to be more inclusive and allow families and young children more opportunities to play together. While new Toontown attractions will be introduced, some returning ones have been fully reimagined into new spaces to explore!
There were so many hidden gems, photo spots and areas to explore (or explode!) in the original Toontown that we cannot wait to see what's in store for the new version.
Toontown Reopening Dates and Tickets
Toontown is reopening in phases. The new ride — Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway — opened Jan. 27, 2023. That was the same day that Disneyland Resort kicked off the Disney 100 Years of Wonder anniversary celebration. It was a frogciting day and we frogs were there to join the virtual queue, explore the immersive queue and use the Lightning Lane. And of course we rode the ride.
The rest of Toontown opens March 8, 2023. The other big entertainment that returns this spring is the Magic Happens parade, which returns Feb. 24, 2023. Plus, the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival runs March 3 through April 25, 2023. There is a lot hoppening at Disneyland Resort in 2023!
Tickets and Reservations
All that excitement in the parks will undoubtedly draw crowds this year. This means you’ll want to plan ahead. Purchase Disneyland tickets early and make those theme park and travel reservations as soon as you can. The Disneyland theme park reservation system is still in effect, so you’ll need to make park reservations to visit. Reservations will fill up for some days or even most days during school breaks. You can reserve up to 120 days in advance. Magic Key Holders may reserve up to 90 days in advance.
If you need tickets, you can find the least expensive multi-day tickets at Undercover Tourist. Plus all our Disneyland tickets (even our 1-day tickets) have a 365-day refund policy if your plans change. We can also help you save on hotel rooms (both on-site and near Disneyland) and rental cars. If you need a car, be sure to put it in your cart when booking your hotel or buying tickets to unlock an even deeper discount of up to 50 percent off a car rental! You can buy some new ears and churros (and maybe even a spirit jersey) for your visit with those savings!
Toontown Disneyland Rides
There are three Toontown Disneyland rides — two returning rides and one new one.
Returning Rides
Returning rides include:
- Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin — It has no height requirement and is on Genie+. The ride is inspired by the film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” Hop in a taxi that spins 360 degrees. Jessica Rabbit is working as a private eye to fight a Toontown crime wave. Watch out for the villainous weasels.
- Chip 'n' Dale's GADGETcoaster (new name) — It has a height requirement of 35 in. (89 cm) or taller. It’s a perfect first coaster for the smaller tadpoles. The ride has been reimagined so we can't wait to see the changes. The original ride was inspired by the animated series Chip ‘n' Dale Rescue Rangers. Gadget Hackwrench, the cleverest mouse on the team, is an inventor who uses objects she finds (bottle caps, cans, toy blocks and more) to create. Riders see these oversized objects from her small mouse point of view.
New Toontown Ride
The new Toontown ride is:
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway — It has no height requirement, so it’s perfect for the whole family. This ride also exists at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Disney World. The entrance and queue at Disneyland match the theming of Toontown.
Step into the El CapiTOON Theater (which replaced the Gag Factory shop). The queue celebrates the Big Cheese himself with a special exhibit created by the Toontown Hysterical Society. It celebrates all things Mickey with costumes and props from the toon world. It's a tribute to Mickey through the years featuring Steamboat Willie, Sorcerer Mickey, Mickey Mouse Disco and many more iterations of the beloved mouse! There are so many hidden details that we created a post on the Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway queue!
"Nothing can stop us now ..." You'll board a trackless train with Goofy as the engineer. So, you know this journey is going to go off the rails! We've experienced the Hollywood Studios version, which has a different queue, and we don’t want to give away any spoilers since this zany ride is full of surprises. What we can say is that it’s the first ride to star Mickey Mouse and the Fab Five. You’ll encounter Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck along the way.
This ride does not yet have a standby line. You can access this ride by a free virtual queue through the Disneyland app at 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. each day. You may join the virtual queue for this ride once a day.
You can pay for quicker access through an individual Lightning Lane, also through the Disneyland app. The Lightning Lane does bypass much of the detailed queue though. The Lightning Lane was $20 per person for the first days of the ride being open, but the price may vary by day.
To access the virtual queue at 7 a.m., you must have a valid ticket and theme park reservation for Disneyland Park. You can confirm and edit your party starting at 6:00 a.m. and then check for an available boarding group starting at 7:00 a.m. Actually, get on the app a few minutes, early, pull up a world clock, confirm your party and hit "Refresh" at 6:59:58 and just tap, tap tap where the refresh button was because a "Join" button will appear there and you must tap it asap to join the queue, which can fill in a second.
To access the virtual queue at 1 p.m., you must have entered Disneyland Park with a one-park ticket or park hopper ticket, or Disney California Adventure Park with a park popper ticket. You confirm your party starting at noon and then check for an available boarding group starting at 1:00 p.m. following the above advice. Good luck!
People who join the virtual queue or purchase an individual Lightning Lane also gain access to some limited areas of Toontown before it opens! You can join a virtual queue once per day and also purchase an individual Lightning Lane once per day. You can hold one of each at the same time.
CenTOONial Park
One of the first new places you'll see when entering Mickey's Toontown is CenTOONial Park. The new green space showcases a fountain in the middle of Toontown, designed for play. It has water tables at its base, which invite guests to have a sensory experience. The fountain magically springs to life at night.
The area to the right — in front of Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin — when you first enter Toontown is now a green space. We already saw many families taking advantage of a shady place to sit and and open space to play.
Calling all dreamers ... A dreaming tree with sculpted tree roots provides opportunities to play, crawl and explore. It's to the left when you walk in and will open March 8, 2023. The tree is inspired by a tree that young Walt Disney would daydream under in his hometown. Undulating topography creates rolling hills and places to sit and dream.
One thing parents loved about the original Toontown was that it was a great place to sit and rest while toddlers and even older froglets got the wiggles out. This new park area sounds like a fabulous place to rest our legs and minds.
We have hoppy news! One of our favorite spots in Toontown has always been the area to explore straight ahead when you enter the land. It's still here! You can still set off explosives, lift lids to hear noises, pose in the Dog Pound and push all the buttons. It has a fresh coat of paint, but it's back! It opens to everyone March 8, but people with access to Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railways can enjoy it in the meantime.
Character Houses
It's toadally fun to walk through or play around the characters' houses: Mickey's House and Minnie's House are still walk-through attractions. Donald's Boat and Goofy's House also remain but have been refurbished with some new additions. During the pandemic, before character meet-and-greets returned, we could see the characters on their front porches or in their gardens, but could not go in. So it's been a while since anyone has been in these spaces.
Mickey's House
Walk through Mickey's house and discover all kinds of spaces to explore and pose for pics. You'll discover some magical touches and Easter eggs as you make your way through the house, backyard, shed and finally to his meeting spot for a picture in his Movie Barn. Will you meet Sorcerer Mickey? Steamboat Willie? Classic Mickey? You never know what kind of mood he'll be in!
Minnie's House
Enter Minnie's house, but take your time to explore, especially in the kitchen. There are so many fun surprises. Meet Minnie out back for a hug and a photo. We do not yet know if anything is new or updated at Minnie's House.
Goofy's How-To-Play Yard
This sensory playground is perfect for tadpoles of all ages with soft, spongey ground, an elevated clubhouse and a sound garden.
Goofy's House
Step into Goofy's house to see what he's been up to. Is that a candy-making contraption? It is! The machine begins outside of Goofy’s home, where it collects drips of honey from a beehive onto a chute that slides the colorful drops around and down into the house. Junior candymakers can help Goofy make his candy, while the silly sounds of household appliances surround them.
Donald's Duck Pond
This accessible play area features giant spinning water lilies, balance beams and rocking toys. You can cool off in the splash pad, but one change is that we can no longer go up in Donald's Boat. You can, however, look through the portholes to witness bubbles of fun inside the flooded boat and interact with ducklings such as Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby.
Chip and Dale had a walk-through treehouse in Toontown before the closure. It has not been announced as returning.
Characters in Mickey's Toontown
It's always so fun to meet characters in Toontown. Sometimes they are at their houses (that's where you will usually find Mickey and Minnie!), but the other characters can be on the move. Besides Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy, other Disney animated characters may show up. We've run into Clarise, Marie, Clarabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar and others over the years. There used to be a musical announcement when a character was coming out.
Until Toontown fully reopens, you can meet Mickey and his pals on the raised platform in front of "it's a small world" in their traditional clothes. They also appear in Town Square in their platinum and purple D100 outfits.
Dining at Mickey’s Toontown Disneyland
The previous dining locations are being combined into one quick-service stop for tasty food in Toontown. There is also a food stand. Here is what's planned so far:
- Cafe Daisy — This sidewalk table eatery serves up diner classics.
- Toontown Farmers Market at Good Boy! Grocers — This farmer's market roadside stand has grab-and-go items.
In the past, you could purchase treats such as popcorn and ice cream in Mickey's Toontown at Disneyland, so we expect those to return as well.
I don't know about you, Pluto, but we frogs are hungry for more details about dining in Toontown! We have bare-bones information for now, but we expect the meaty (or plant-based) details to come in soon.
Are you planning to visit Mickey's Toontown when it reopens? What new area or old favorite are you most excited to see? Let us know in the comments section below.
Related: What's Coming to Disneyland Resort in 2023 and Beyond
Hoppy planning!
