“Toad-In’s” Predicted Modern Disney Adults 25 Years Ago

“Disney is preparing to close a classic attraction in order to replace it with “more relevant” Intellectual property, and longtime fans are mad. They’re taking to the internet to express their displeasure, attempting (likely in vain) to get Disney to alter their plans.”

We’re clearly talking about Muppet*Vision 3D being replaced by Monsters, Inc. at Hollywood Studios or Cars steamrolling over the Rivers of America right? Wrong. We’re actually talking about an event nearly three decades ago that laid the groundwork for how Disney fans — and Disney themselves — react to ride closure to this day!

To understand what happened three decades ago, we first have to travel back to the beginning. Literally, as we’re talking about an attraction that opened along with the rest of Walt Disney World on October 1st, 1971.

Located in Fantasyland, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride may have seemed on the surface to be a clone of the Disneyland original, the attraction was actually quite different. Though it was also based on Disney’s 1949 film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, which itself was an adaptation of the novel The Wind in the Willows, the Florida version featured two loading areas that led riders off on two distinct tracks that provided slightly different experiences. The ride, which featured a madcap style and a tongue-in-cheek version of hell was a fan favorite at the park through Walt Disney World’s first 25 years. However, the winds of change began to blow in 1997.

Despite being a quarter century old and seemingly “untouchable”, rumors began to spread in 1997 that Disney was set to replace Mr Toad’s Wild Ride with a new attraction based on the Wine the Pooh franchise, which had seen a massive resurgence of interest – – and merchandise sales – – during the 1990s. While ride replacements, and fans being mad about ride replacements, was certainly not unheard of, something different happened in 1997: Fans took to the internet.

Decades before he trending topics on X and Instagram, irate fans of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride took to the chatrooms and rudimentary websites of the time to voice their displeasure. One fan, Jef Moskot (then in his mid-20s) launched a website to organize those angry at the replacement entitled www.savetoad.com. In a 1998 interview, Moskot explained his love of the character and the attraction, saying “It’s a nice break from the happy, singing flowers, not that those things don’t have a place in Disney,” said the computer systems administrator and part-time film student. “He’s not the bland Disney hero with two funny sidekicks. He’s nuts. He steals cars, but he’s still the good guy.”

Moskot and his fellow “toadies” didn’t stop at just the website however. They sent 8,000 pre-addressed protest postcards and offered T-shirts bearing a picture of a dead Mr. Toad and others that read “Ask me why Mickey is killing Mr. Toad.” They even hired a plane to fly over the Magic Kingdom (possible in a pre-9/11 world) with a banner that read “Save Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” along with contact numbers for Imagineering.

Then there were the “Toad-Ins.” These were weekly gatherings of fans in matching shirts at Magic Kingdom. According to a contemporary account, as many as 50 T-shirt-wearing protesters — from grandmothers to “little kids who probably didn’t know what they were doing,” according to Moskot – – who would gather at the park and peacefully ride the attraction in protest of its closure.

While the “movement” failed to change Disney’s mind – – the ride closed in 1998 to be replaced by the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – – the fervor of the “toadies:” was a first of it’s kind, but not the last. One can only look to social media to see the reactions to the announced closures of attractions like Muppet*Vision 3D, Dinosaur, or the Rivers of America to see that the online road Mr. Toad fans paved is still used by Disney Adults upset about losing their favorite parts of Disney Parks.

In addition, it can also be speculated that Disney’s own actions were influenced by the passion of the “toadies.” The company remained mostly quiet during the “protests”, not even officially confirming that the closure was happening until shortly before the final day. However, they surely saw the passion of the fans, and in decades since, they’ve mostly changed how they approach closures. They’re usually announced well enough in advance to give fans a chance to “say goodbye”… and buy some commemorative merchandise along the way.

When the closure of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was confirmed, Moskot had no regrets, saying “I guess it’s just the thing that affected me the most directly. There are few things that give me pleasure in my life, and Disney is one of them.” That philosophy remains amongst many Disney Adults, and has only grown in the three decades since “Toad-Ins.” Stay tuned to AllEars for more deep dives on Disney history.

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Do you miss Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at the Magic Kingdom? Let us know in the comments below.

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