Mickey
Mouse Cleans House In the Magic Kingdom, there's virtually no such thing as an
untouchable. And so, come the close of business Labor Day, two popular and
longstanding attractions will be retired at Disney theme parks in Southern
California and Florida.
t Disneyland, the 39-year-old Submarine Voyage is being
dry-docked. At East Coast cousin Walt Disney World, it's Mr. Toad's Wild Ride,
servicing patrons since 1971, that's getting the hook.
"It's gonna be pretty sad, I guess," says Miami
resident Jef Moskot, who spearheaded an unsuccessful grassroots and Web (http://www.cs.miami.edu/~jam/toad/proj.html)
effort to save Mr. Toad. (A similar version of the attraction will continue its
wacky vehicular ways at Disneyland.) Adds Moskot: "It's sad because I know there's some jerk in
a suit somewhere who just decided, 'Ah, we don't need this anymore.'"
Camp Disney, not surprisingly, insists there's no such
high-handedness involved. Rather, park officials say their decisions are based
on exhaustive evaluations, including visitor polls.
"We walk a fine line between maintaining the
nostalgia...[and] also keeping the park fresh and new," Walt Disney World
spokeswoman Diane Ledder says.
The bottom line, according to Ledder: "We have to
change."
And so on Tuesday at Disney World, a fence will be struck around
the Mr. Toad attraction--and the nitty-gritty business of tearing down a ride
and building a new one (dubbed The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh) will
begin.
Moskot and fellow die-hards will say goodbyes on Monday at one
last "Toad In," a peaceful, polite demonstration where supporters hand
out "Save Mr. Toad" postcards.
It'll be the end of an 11-month campaign for Moskot. It was
something he felt compelled to undertake--for Mr. Toad, for himself.
"It's just always been my favorite ride ever since I was a
little kid," says Moskot, 26.
Submarine Voyage fans can relate. That ride, which debuted in
1959, was one of Disneyland's original E-ticket rides.
Now, it's being mothballed to make way for a new, higher-tech
and as-yet unnamed Tomorrowland
attraction to open in 2003.
Chalk up two more victims to progress.
by Joal Ryan
Sep
5, 1998, 3:00 PM PT
Minnie
Mouse better watch out. You never know when Mickey
might trade her in.
