“Tooning Out”, our recent article on the sad decline of Mickey’s Toontown in Disneyland by Mouse Tales author and MousePlanet staff writer David Koenig, generated the following praise, criticism and suggestions.
Diane writes:
Boy do I agree with you on the end of Toontown. It used to be such a fun place to go. As adults we like to ride the coaster. But that’s all that’s left! My daughter loved the acorn pit, tree house, Donald’s slide and net, and the trolley. All things that could and should still be there.
All it would take is, dare I say it, parental supervision! Throughout the park I’m tired of people letting their kids do anything they want, just because “I paid a lot of money to get in, I’ll let them do whatever.” It also wouldn’t hurt to put a few of those cast members that I hear swearing, talking of the next or last party, or not even knowing where Toontown is, in those attractions to help keep order. Not just let them do it. Don’t you remember as a kid hearing over the intercom, “get off the rocks, poles, handrails, etc.?”
I know they are shorthanded, I know there are a lot of great cast members, some of which are friends I’ve had for years. But as you said, the lawyers now run the park and the attractions. Times sure change. Poor Walt.
Thanks, Diane. Once the most colorful area of the park, Toontown sure has faded in more ways than one.
David M. writes:
Thanks for writing about Toontown! I always wondered what happened to all the old stuff like the tree house and trolley. How sad it is to see such a great land go to waste! Hopefully in the future it will changed. Thanks again for the great articles!
Thanks for the note! Sadly Toontown, once a literal bright spot, has become the most disappointing part of Disneyland.
Roman writes:
I enjoyed your article on Toontown. I actually went to Disneyland for the first time three weeks ago, and as a huge Roger Rabbit fan (and animation fan in general) I was psyched about seeing the “real” Toontown (instead of the “fair” at Disney World) I was also kind of disappointed.
When I read about what they were doing to Goofy’s Bounce House, I couldn’t help but think about that story Walt told, when he came up with the idea of Disneyland.
Ironically, he told a story about taking his daughters to a park, and while watching them play, while sitting on a bench eating peanuts, he dreamed of creating an amusement enterprise where adults and children could have fun together. Now it seems that Disney is doing the exact opposite of what made Disneyland (and its successors) so great.
Honestly, I am just a big kid. I spent my 27th birthday at the Plaza Inn decorating a mini cake, and followed it with dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen. I don’t go for huge roller coasters, I go because I love the Disney magic. I love being entertained. I ride Space Mountain not for its whopping speed, but because it takes a fairly tame coaster, and sprinkles it in pixie dust. The ride takes your breath away, it doesn’t merely throw you around. If Disney never builds another launch coaster I will still go. I do not go to Six Flags in New Jersey anymore, even though I could go for an entire summer for under $100.
When I have children, I want to enjoy the Disney parks with them, not through them. I want to sit next to them when they first get scared by Hitchhiking Ghosts, and hum “it’s a small world” along with them on the boat. I don’t just want to sit there, and watch them bounce up and down on some little junk ride that looks like a smaller version of a “grown-up’s ride.”
What Disney management still can’t seem to grasp, is that even though everyone else has the “biggest”, the “fastest,” the “tallest,” the “scariest,” most people go to Disney because they are “the best.” Even with nothing that I would consider “scary” on a Six Flags Great Adventure level, the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland still outdraw them.
Hopefully John Lasseter remembers these lessons. I am sure betting that he will.
Thanks, Roman! Great note!
Pam Baca writes:
I enjoyed your thoughts on Toontown in your article and I agree with many of your observations. As a once-a-year visitor from Colorado, I would simply point out that I have never seen Toontown, once I had the opportunity to visit it, as anything but a well-themed, meet-and-greet spot for Mickey and Minnie.
In all the years I’ve been to Disneyland, I have only had the opportunity to take a photo with Mickey and/or Minnie three times without being in Toontown. It is crazy to try to get a photo with either one of them outside of Toontown, both before it existed and after. It is nice to have a spot where you are guaranteed to get a picture with the “big cheeses” without worrying about pushy people, feeling rushed or characters returning backstage. For the most part, you can spend as much time as you like with Mickey. I mean, how much time can one really spend with him? And you can get just about any shot you want.
Roger Rabbit is a good diversion while you are there and well worth the time. The Gag Factory is a good, uncrowded place to shop. It’s a nice respite from the rest of the park. I guess that being the case, I am not disappointed in what is going on with Toontown because it is still fulfilling my expectations. When you only have so many days to get everything done at Disneyland and having to prioritize between waiting in line for a ride and waiting in line for Mickey, knowing where you can find Mickey and that it will be a reasonable wait is important. To that end, Toontown is still doing its job.
Great thoughts, Pam, thank you!
Alan Cranford writes:
“Tooning Out” seemed watered down. I’m glad you didn’t go full-negative on it. You mentioned Tom Sawyer Island’s decline, and could have mentioned Critter Country (which did get a Pooh ride to replace the Country Bears). I think the money went to sprucing up Disney’s California Adventure.
I’ve a strong military background. The Soviet and WWII German armies made a habit of reinforcing successes. The American army reinforces failures. It seems to be the same in American business. Oh, the movie industry tries to repeat (not reinforce) success with endless sequels and remakes. This applies to Disney theme parks, too. The problem with being a pioneer, “to boldly go where no man has gone before,” is that fear of the unknown and high failure probability scare away the timid. Disney theme parks since 1971 show innovation—but build on “remakes.” This leads to the sour grapes “if you’ve been to one Disneyland, you’ve been to them all.” Ain’t true! But close enough! Your comments that 3-year-olds don’t pay park admission is on the money—and there is another problem—Toontown is more for the 6-year-old set anyway. Or was. Goofy’s Bounce House would have turned away infants and toddlers due to high injury risks.
What happened to “a place where parents and children could have fun together”?
About DCA—why does that “more adult” theme park close earlier than Disneyland? Admission that Disneyland is more fun for the mature set? I thought that adults stay up later than “children.” I could see opening DCA later than Disneyland, and I take the shorter operating hours as proof that DCA is not as successful as Disneyland (reinforce success!), but plunking in kiddie-only attractions and closing DCA two or more hours before Disneyland closes doesn’t seem very “adult” to me.
At least the Disneyland Resort management moved away from turning Disneyland into a shopping mall (no open attractions) with a hefty cover charge!
Thanks, Alan. No, I don’t despise Toontown. It just that it is and has increasingly become more, to use your word, timid. Everything about it seems padded and rubberized.
As for DCA’s operating hours, this is obviously the result of demand. If the park were packed late at night, with thousands of people continuing to spend money, I’m sure Disney would keep the gates open.
Morgan Joyner writes:
“[I]t’s inexcusably themed to a character whose television series was canceled in 1993-the same year the ride opened. But it’s not like Gadget has been forgotten; the vast majority of Disneyland visitors never heard of her in the first place.”
I disagree with this statement and think that it was somewhat rude. As a little girl I spent many afternoons watching “Disney Afternoon” after school, and a big part of that was the Rescue Rangers. I wager that many Disneyland guests not only know who Gadget is, but have fond memories of the show and could probably sing you the theme song.
I just want to say that just because maybe you were too old for the show when it was on and you have no particular interest in the character, that does not mean that no one does. And what would you suggest—changing the name and theme of the coaster? In my opinion, Disneyland has changed too many of their original concepts over the years to pacify small groups of people—like changing things in Pirates due to the feminist groups complaining about the way history was—and that it is often best to leave things the way they were designed and planned. Just so you don’t think that I am some crazy angry reader, I am a fan of your writing—I just disagreed with this one point you made.
Thanks for your note. I certainly did not mean to be rude.
Obviously there are untold hundreds of people like yourself who know who Gadget is. The problem is that, as I stated, the vast majority do not. Worst of all, the character is completely unknown to the target audience of the coaster: small children (such as the age you were when the coaster opened in 1993).
Yes, I get frustrated when they alter elements of attractions, such as on Pirates, for “non-creative” reasons (political correctness, to save money, to plug a new movie). But the fact is that the reason the coaster was originally themed to Gadget was wholly non-creative; it was to pacify the Disney Afternoon folks. So changing the theme to anything (Goofy, Pluto, Kim Possible) more current that more than 1% of visitors recognize would be an improvement.
Michael Clemens writes:
Open the peanut stands. Walt would not be able to enjoy many of the rides with his daughters. Most of Toontown has become sit and watch and eat bags of peanuts. This trend has crept into DCA also. I will ride with my twin 11-year-olds on Teacups, however Ladybug Boogie has zero dad appeal. Please remember, an amusement where the adults and kids could play together was Walt’s dream.
Thanks for writing, Michael. I couldn’t agree more.
Merlin Jones writes:
Hi, David. They need to add Mickey’s PhilharMagic back there [in Toontown] to liven things up.
Mr. Jones,
You’re right. There’s certainly room for it. (Although I suspect if/when Mickey’s PhilharMagic comes to Disneyland, it’ll probably end up in an already-built theater, theming be darned.
David also received a flurry of letters in response to his article on the upcoming changes to the Disneyland cast member time-clock procedures (“Time Bandits”).
A DCA custodian writes:
I thought I would throw my two cents in over this whole time clock thing. It is going to be a real hassle. For one, I’m used to leaving my house in Fountain Valley 1 1/2 hour prior to work. That way, I have time to drive there, take the tram, go downstairs to custodial central and then wait for the tram to go to the area. Now I can’t do that anymore. I have to clock in 5 minutes before I start. I realize they are trying to get the time clock more accurate, but this sucks. Now, I have to replan when I get ready to go to work, when to leave, etc.
Now that I have lowered my hours, I don’t have to worry about clocking in/out for lunch, which makes things easier, but I do like the old system better. I didn’t have to feel like I was rushing to get to the area. And I could have a cigarette or two before I started, now that eliminates that too. Management needs to think this over because they are going to make a lot of cast members angry and I see a lot of people quitting starting out very soon. I know at DCA they are getting cast members that haven’t even been there a year to become lead. They are so desperate for them it’s funny.
Hopscot writes:
While your article on Workbrain describes the system well, it is somewhat unfair to cast members whose time is already unfairly managed by Disney. To clarify, current policy does already indicate that CMs must be at their work location, in costume, by their start time; this is nothing new. While some undoubtedly do exploit the system by claiming they were stopped by a Guest en route, the new system will mean that CMs who actually do help Guests will be forced to brush them off as they rush to the clock.
Also, the 20-minute “walk time” is not just for getting the next day’s costume. It is an accommodation for the fact that most CMs must park in Katella Lot, ride a shuttle that can often take as long as 15 minutes to pick up and drop off CMs, and then walk all the way to, say, Critter Country. This means that such cast members must be on Disney property a minimum of 20-30 minutes before AND after their start time. On peak days or when Cast shuttles are sparse, this time can be even longer. The 20-minute compensation is hardly adequate for this unpaid transportation time, and is yet another reason Disney’s low-paying jobs are increasingly unattractive for most young employees.
A cast member writes:
I read with great interest your article on MousePlanet. However, I would like to point out a few things: the 16 page booklet actually calls the new system “Workbrain Time Recording.” In fact, it is mentioned at least four times by name on the second page. The manager you interviewed for your article has said nothing new. While I agree that CM abuse has gone on, the company has not done anything to curb the abuse. CMs like myself who honor the rules feel betrayed by this because instead of punishing the abusers, all CMs will suffer. The managers’ overconfidence that the system will work flawlessly does not shake the feeling that it will need tweaking for at least one year. This system might work in a store, but having thousands of people mobile throughout the resort, the managers have not thought things out completely. Union shop stewards are warning CMs to watch carefully their paychecks. On a possible strike, this new system has stirred up a lot of feelings.
Another cast member writes:
Well. I haven’t been to the meeting yet explaining this crap but this new system is going to be pretty annoying. I already have to clock in early at Harbour Pointe 2 minutes or else I am automatically late, even if I sprint to CDS at my attraction. This new system is a hassle especially if you are on a 15 minute break and need to run to the office or something else. We already have to deal with this crap with CDS doubling the crap seems pretty annoying.
Another thing coupled with this idea is that when Leads are on breaks they are supposed to completely ignore their attraction unless of an emergency. We shall see how this will unfold and I think the timing of this is ridiculous. they couldn’t have waited till after the contract? This is only going to result for more turnover for a resort that is training dozens of people a week on attractions that was usually unheard of.
While I agree the timing is odd, clocking in when you’re on the clock and clocking out when you’re off the clock doesn’t sound overly demanding, at least to me. Basically, it comes down to Disney needing legal proof that employees are receiving their lunch breaks. What other type of system could they have installed?
The cast member replies to David’s question:
Well, as much of a hassle some of the old-timers say CDS is, it is all that I really know at Disneyland… I think it works fine because there is still a human there (the leads) who can make adjustments if necessary. When you are scanning in to a random clock backstage there is no room for error. What happens if a clock is broken? The legal proof they have now is in writing when the leads write down who has had a break or not. Getting and not getting breaks has not been a problem in my department, But I can’t speak for the others.
Word spreading around where they have already started using it, Guest Relations, is that people are getting more points and more headaches. Right now leads keep track of the time on their operation sheets and then “pay them out” at the end of their shift. This has worked but I can see clocking in and out for shifts but for breaks? That just seems like another wasted minute on our already stressful days. But I will know more after this weekend and will tell you how I feel.
Mark Mitchell writes:
Just a quick note in response to your latest article. As a former Walt Disney World employee, I worked under essentially the same time clock policies as are apparently going to be implemented at the Disneyland Resort in the near future. And, admittedly, it’s not perfect. It is, however, a very efficient system, and a very fair one.
At Walt Disney World, the system worked thusly:
You can clock in for your shift fifteen minutes before your shift starts, assuring that you don’t accidentally clock in a minute late. Your first assignment from CDS is available five minutes before the start of your shift.
You do not clock out for lunch, since CDS notes the time when it assigns a bump to someone else, but you do clock back in when your break is over.
The computer gives you your bump five minutes before you can clock out. The clock out time allows for any walk time assigned to your location.
It also stands to be noted that managers have access to your punch information and are able to change it if the situation warrants.
Thanks, Mark! Disneyland Attractions are already under a similar CDS system. The big change will be clocking in and out for lunch, and for everyone (not just those on CDS) clocking in and out for the entire shift at their workstation instead of where they enter/exit the park.
Finally, Tim Tobin thanks David for his remembrance of Kim Cummins (link):
Recently our family in Critter Country lost our dear friend Kimmi Cummins. I wanted to write and let you know how much it means to myself and all of us that you took the time to mention Kimmi in the article a few days ago. She really was a lead like no other I ever had the pleasure to work with. After I left Critter Country to pursue a new line of business in Hotel Food and Beverage I didn’t get to see Kimmi very much. I wanted you to know that the article made me smile and is greatly appreciated. Thanks again for continuing to tell the story of the Disneyland Cast, past and present.
Thanks very much for writing, Tim. While I never introduced myself to Kimmi, I would see her at the park, usually on Pirates, and from all the “Kimmi stories” I heard over the years, kinda felt like I knew her.
