Disneyland Reveals Inclusive New Changes to Mickey's Toontown

Parkgoers at Disneyland in Anaheim, California will now be able to enjoy a more inclusive experience. After Disney Imagineers took on the task of re-imagining a large portion of the young child-centric Mickey's Toontown, and a year after construction on the area began, Mickey's Toontown reopened earlier this year with a more inclusive concept.

A fan-favorite area for families, Mickey's Toontown is a cartoon-inspired land targeted at some of Disney's youngest guests. The park features playful attractions, such as Chip 'N' Dale's GADGETcoaster and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, as well as character meet-and-greets with Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, and more. However, the area was not very inclusive, and in November, 2021, Disney announced that Mcikey's Toontown would undergo a year-long refurbishment project to make the area friendly for all guests.

The redesigned land, which opened to the public back on March 19, is now entirely wheelchair accessible and is visually and auditorily approachable, with Disneyland Resort Accessibility Manager Erin Quintanilla, a leader in ENABLED, having helped Disney Imagineers "create a space for everyone to play," according to the Disney Parks Blog. Elliot Rosenbaum, producer at Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI), added, "we wanted to make sure we were designing for differing abilities, and creating as many opportunities as possible to play."

What resulted is a land that is now virtually curb-less "to help young guests still learning to walk and those using wheelchairs or mobility devices to play, experience and get around the land with ease," and also features a wheelchair-accessible food and beverage podium. There are open green areas with shade throughout the land to "allow children to play in the grass or decompress and unwind on the lawn."

The inclusive redesign also expanded to the attractions in Mickey's Toontown. Both the reimagined Goofy's House and the all-new Goofy's How-To-Play Yard feature "interactive elements that allow kids to explore in an approachable sensory experience." The reimagined Donald's Boat in Donald's Duck Pond boasts interactive portholes on the boat. The new CenTOONial Park incorporates Braille. Cast members, meanwhile, now have newly designed reversible costumes that mix and match and feature textured fabric to help cast with differing levels of visual ability select their costumes.

"One of the things that we wanted to be able to do is recognize that this was going to be a land that was available, not just to all of our guests and our families, but all children of all capabilities and all ages," Disneyland President Ken Potrock said, per KTLA 5. "I think the Imagineering team built this and developed this with such sensitivity that it really is coming through. We hope you'll look at it through those lenses today as you get to experience it."