Mr. Toad's Enchanted Evening- A Report
Page 4 of 4
The Auction and The Ride!
The judge calls the auction of
J. Thaddeus Toad's belongings
to order.
Each guest was given a laminated, 2-D Mickey hand (shown above) with a large number on it. The auction moved quickly and in fact took less than 30 minutes to complete. The last item to be auctioned off was the Toad vehicle. The judge announced the opening at $20,000. A large gasp was heard over the audience. He then dropped the bidding to $5,000. Quickly it rose to the winning bid of $10,000 going to Mickey hand #270, one-half of the total that a Toad ride vehicle dated from the 1970's had gathered in Walt Disney World.
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One of a kind artist proof Mickey Mouse marionette created for Mickey's 60th birthday |
After the auction the judge sentenced us all to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Icabod began, "Isn't that like sending them to.." but was interrupted by Brom Bones who began singing a little ditty. In front of the attraction were tables piled high with various desserts including chocolate truffles, cookies in the shape of toads and toadstools and a tasty cake. It has been so long since I have actually ridden this attraction that I had forgotten about the images of the film's character carved in the wall lining the queue. The attraction seemed oddly illuminated to me. As I rounded the curve a figure of the policeman bobby approached my vehicle and scolded me for not having both hands on the wheel. I realized that this was not going to be the usual adventure. Cast members were placed in four locations and startled the unsuspecting. I discovered later that they had the work lights on to accomodate the safety of the cast members.
Icabod on the Carrousel
Exiting Mr. Toad's Wild Ride the voice of Brom Bones could be heard weaving a spooky story as the crowd gathered around. King Arthur's Carrousel was covered in an eerie orange hue. Icabod Crane sat upon one of the carrousel's horses. As Brom Bones began to recount the tale of Sleepy Hollow, Icabod grew more and more nervous. A horses' gallop could be heard in the distance and the carrousel began to slowly rotate. An eerie melody began to play as Icabod's horse rotated out of view the Headless Horseman came galloping along the path between Casey Jr. and the Carrousel and on past the tea cups as lightning flashed over Fantasyland. The carrousel continued rotating and when Icabod's horse came into view again all that was left was his cape.
These unsettling events marked the end of evening's activities. Brom Bones asked that we all stay together as we exited through the castle towards Main Street. He warned us that the Horseman may return yet again. On Main Street they had several lines organized alphabetically to pick up our merchandise. After about five minutes the lights on Main Street went dark and the Headless Horseman came riding down Main Street. Lightning filled the air and he hurled his pumpkin head at the startled guests and castmembers. When the lights returned on Main Street, the normal soundtrack was replaced with Mr. Toad melodies. At the exit gate each guest was presented with a small bag of "goodies" including a small poster of Toad as Pinky and Blue Boy, a small poster of 101 Dalmatians and some smaller items, all to commemorate the evening's retirement of the 101 Dalmatians Classics Collection, including a small etched glass dog bone.
Other Reports
Two other wonderful reports of the Mr. Toad Enchanted Evening have been published on the
web:
They're both worth reading.
-- Posted 10/29/99
-- Story and Pictures by Rebekah Moseley