The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (83 page)

What can you eat in
Toontown
? 
Clarabelle
’s serves frozen yogurt, salads, and sandwiches;
Daisy’s Diner
dishes up pizza and salad; there are tasty hot dog meals at
Pluto’s Dog House
; and
Toon Up Treats
, near
Goofy’s Gas
, has beverages and healthy snacks like fruits and veggies.  Expect long lines during crowded days, as the food counters are narrow and leanly staffed, but once you have your food, there’s plenty of seating.  Bored kids can be dispatched to
Goofy’s Gas
, where the interactive drinking fountains put on a show.

The w
est side of town, like the western edge of Hollywood, is residential and recreational.  Here’s where
Mickey
,
Minnie
,
Goofy
, and
Chip ‘n Dale
have their houses, each highly reflective of its owner’s personality, and where
Donald
docks his boat the
Miss Daisy
in
Toon Lake
.  This is where you can meet
Mickey
and
Minnie
and the other stars of the
Disney
‘toon
pantheon.

The backdrop
s for these residences are rolling green hills and a
Toontown
sign clearly reminiscent of the landscape of early Hollywood, Beverly Hills and
Holmby Hills
.

There’s a
splendid little
Mickey
fountain, and benches, and for the adventurous, a small rollercoaster designed by
Chip ‘n Dale
’s inventive gal-pal
Gadget
.  Grown-ups of the generation that enjoyed
Chip ‘n Dale’s Rescue Rangers
know who
Gadget
is.  Younger Guests probably won’t, but that won’t impair their enjoyment of the whimsical little coaster.

Mickey’s Toontown
usually closes earlier than the rest of the park, as Cast Members prepare for the nightly fireworks. 
Fantasyland
is just down the road, so if your toddlers are still raring to go when
Toontown
closes, there are plenty of activities for them to enjoy nearby.

If they’re
ready for a rest, however, queue up at the
Toontown Train Station
just to the left (west) of the
Toontown
entrance tunnel and take a train to
Main Street
and the park exit.  While awaiting the train, your sleepy toddlers can try to guess which
Disney
‘toon
character owns which piece of luggage on the platform. (For example, whose is the red suitcase with white polka dots?)  Once you’re on the train, the journey to
Tomorrowland
and then to
Main Street
, past the
Grand Canyon
and
Primeval World Dioramas
, should keep your little ones happily occupied if they haven’t already nodded off.

Whenever you visit
Mickey’s Toontown
, and however long you stay there, if you’re prepared and in the playful frame of mind to enjoy a virtual 4D cartoon tribute to
Walt
and his famous alter ego
Mickey Mouse
, you’ll have one of the most rewarding experiences of your trip. 
Prankster Vision:
 
Toontown
brings out the kid in all of us, but at first it seemed like a prankster took childish behavior too far on May 28, 2013.  Someone placed a plastic bottle containing dry ice in a trash can near
Toontown
’s
City Hall
.  Sometime around 5:30 pm, when a custodian was changing the trash bag, the bottle burst with a “BOOM!”  Guests standing nearby were startled, and the small explosion drew down a wave of
Disneyland
security staff,
Anaheim police
, and an
Orange County
Sheriff’s Department bomb squad. 
Disneyland
evacuated
Toontown
in an orderly procession of parents, children, and strollers; Guest safety is always paramount, whatever the hazard.  Luckily, there were no injuries.  Given the bag check through which all Guests must pass, and the highly noticeable qualities of dry ice (it’s heavy, and oozes smoke), it was a reasonable suspicion that a Cast Member with
backstage
access to the park’s dry-ice supply was responsible for the incident.  Sure enough, a Cast Member
was
responsible for the
Toontown
“BOOM”.  He was identified quickly, arrested, and initially held on $500,000 bail pending trial.  The 22 year old was a
Toontown
frozen treats vendor, who allegedly set off a dry-ice explosion within a plastic bottle
in
the treats cart around 4 pm, and later tossed a second plastic bottle containing dry ice into a nearby trash can.  When a custodial Cast Member changed the trash receptacle’s bag around 5:30 pm, “
BOOM!
”  That was the blast that prompted the evacuation.  Whether the explosions were pranks, accidents, or misadventures, will be decided in the courts.  Was the Cast Member not trained properly regarding the handling and disposal of hazardous materials like dry ice?  The young man pleaded “Not guilty”.  A judge reduced his bail from $500,000 to $50,000; according to the
Orange County Register
, the former Cast Member was ordered released ‘on his own recognizance” on June 13, 2013 because the judge decided the young man wasn’t “a risk to the community”.  The Cast Member’s next court appearance was scheduled for July 17, 2013–ironically the 58
th
anniversary of
Disneyland Park
’s grand opening.  What
really
happened that afternoon in
Mickey’s Toontown
(or as it was satirically rechristened in a
MiceChat
MiceAge
post, “
Mickey’s Boomtown
”)?  Insider scuttlebutt says dry-ice soda-bottle “bombs” are typical Cast Member pranks–
but
the joke is supposed to be on other Cast Members, especially rookies, and
not
noticeable to (let alone frightening for or dangerous to) Guests.  Was the initial blast inside the treats cart (the blast Guests didn’t notice) a prank played on the young Cast Members by other CMs when he started his shift?  And when he later pitched a bottle of dry ice into the trash can, the bottle that would ultimately explode loudly and publicly during a garbage liner change, was the CM
inadvertently
disposing of hazardous materials in an unwise way?  Or was he
intentionally
paying forward a prank that had been played upon him?  Time and the legal system will decide.

Mickey’s Toontown Attractions

Chip ‘ n Dale Treehouse

[
FastView:
 
A cute part of
Toontown
’s landscape, but not much for kids to do here.
]

This is the home of the world-famous
Disney
chipmunks (sorry, Alvin), and it anchors the western edge of
Mickey’s Toontown
.  Its shady branches have graced this neighborhood since
Toontown
’s opening day in 1993.  Periodically
Chip ‘n Dale
can be seen dancing and cavorting in this area, as well as at
Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park
at the
Plaza Inn
, and in
Main Street’s Town Square
.  Odds are that unless you inquire in advance and plan it carefully, you won’t actually see
Chip ‘n Dale
here.

The exterior of this treehouse is charming.  Designed like a mighty oak, complete with leaves and acorns, you know that the chipmunks reside here because of the tree’s homey roof gables, lanterns, windows, shutters, doors
, and stairs.  It’s exactly the little woodland fairy-tale style home that you’d expect for the two lively cartoon chipmunks, and it’s so charming outside it entices Guest of all ages to visit inside.

Alas, the interior of
Chip ‘n Dale
’s treehouse is disappointingly plain and unadorned.  One doesn’t expect elaborate baroque or Victorian furnishings, certainly, but there’s really nothing inside except plain interiors, ladders, and a couple of seats. Scampish
Chip ‘n Dale
would be more creative than this.  There used to be a ball pit and slide that were later closed off for safety reasons, but even those sound more “fast food” than
Disney
in terms of imaginative fun. 
Disney
is the world-class leader in imaginative entertainment.  This attraction seems like an opportunity for
Imagineers
who can find the budget to work their
magic
!

Reasonably spry adults can squeeze in and experience this
treehouse (which is how the author knows what it looks like inside).  It’s scaled for the tiny and fit set, though; if you’re frail, tired, or of Rubenesque dimensions, don’t put yourself through the trial of climbing through the attraction.  You won’t be missing anything vital.

Expect your children, even toddlers, to climb
into the treehouse and then return immediately, since there’s nothing to do inside.  Older children might feel let down by the lack of activities. 
Did You Know?
 
Disney
’s
Chip ‘n Dale
characters debuted in 1943’s cartoon
Private Pluto
.  As time went on they were given names and more defined personalities.  They had their own short-lived series,
Chip ‘n Dale
’s
Rescue Rangers
, which aired on the
Disney Channel
from 1989 to 1990.  Re-runs aired for a few years thereafter.  How do you tell the characters apart? 
Dale
has two teeth, a large nose, and a tuft of hair on his head. 
Chip
has one tooth, no tuft of hair, and a tiny black nose not unlike a chocolate chip. 
FastPass:
  No.  This is a self-guided, walk-through experience not linked to the park
FastPass
system.  Except on very crowded days, your child shouldn’t have to wait long to climb through this attraction. 
Kid’s Eye View:
  This is pretty boring unless
Chip ‘n Dale
are there.  It doesn’t have much.  All you do is go upstairs.  OK if you’re five.

Donald’s Boat

[
FastView:
 
Kids’ playhouse with plenty of fun elements for small children, and benches near cooling water features for the older set.
]

Named for
Donald
’s longtime sweetheart
Miss Daisy
,
Donald’s Boat
is a two-level play area that resembles our favorite peppery-tempered duck in its shape and its color palette of red, white, blue, and yellow.  Located just east of
Gadget’s Go Coaster
, the
Miss Daisy
has been docked in tiny
Toon Lake
since
Toontown
’s opening day in January of 1993.  The boat has two decks and provides shade and water elements that will cool Guests of all ages on a broiling day.

Guests
usually enter the boat via a bridge on its southern (port) side and kids can probably occupy themselves for fifteen to twenty minutes peeking through the portholes, climbing up and down the rope ladder and spiral staircase (if they’re not closed off) and playing with the ship’s wheel and periscope.  Children not into
Donald Duck
or play areas will probably take a pass.

Adults can
explore the boat if they like, or remain seated in a shaded, water-sprayed nook of
Toon Lake
’s shore.  Grown-up Guests not interested in climbing around the boat can still enjoy the humorous design touches.

If your
park visit is short and time is at a premium, you can safely skip this attraction, unless you have little ones that have been dreaming of it and will be crushed not to board.  However, if you find yourself in
Toontown
at a point in the day when the adults need a rest and the kids are all revved up, this is the attraction that will fit the bill for everyone. 
Did You Know?
 
Donald Duck
’s first animated appearance was in the 1934
Silly Symphony
cartoon
The Wise Little Hen
.  In the 1940’s
Walt
and his animators made many government and military films for the United States during World War II, and they tapped
Donald
to take the lead in
The New Spirit
, a film released in 1943 to convince taxpayers of the importance of paying taxes. 
Walt
compared casting
Donald
in this film to a live-action studio casting Clark Gable; that’s how highly
Walt
thought of his cartoon creations and their box office star power.  And he was proved right. 
Did You Also Know?
  Look for the ship’s figurehead at the front of the boat, facing
Gadget’s Go Coaster
; it’s a statue of
Daisy
, looking very dignified in exotic, old-fashioned garb and holding a rolled map or blueprint. 
FastPass:
  No.  This is a self-guided play area and as such isn’t connected to the
FastPass
system.  Except on the most crowded days, kids shouldn’t have any problem finding room to experience this play environment, though they’ll have to take turns using some of the interactive elements. 
Kid’s Eye View:
  It’s kind of boring, but when it’s hot you want to get splashed by the water.