I feel like we've talked a lot about Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
There’s so much to talk about. - There is so much to talk about!
Oh, my goodness.
Now speaking of so much to talk about, I actually had a chance to sit down
with Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz with Walt Disney Imagineering,
and he got to tell us just some behind the scenes
things that we may want to take a look at when we are in the,
in this beautiful Toontown.
And what it's like
to bring a cartoon to life and put it in a place like this.
So we're going to check that out right now.
Jeff, we are so excited that you're here today.
Thank you for having me. This is this is amazing.
I know. I mean, it's amazing that you're here.
It's amazing where we are
and it's amazing that we get to talk about - Yeah.
Mickey's Toontown today.
I'm so excited to talk about Mickey's Toontown and Runaway Railway.
We've got a lot to get into.
Yes, we do. We do.
Okay, so I'll get started. - Yeah.
So tell us a bit about yourself and your role with Walt Disney Imagineering.
Awesome.
Yeah, I have the extreme luck and fortune
to be the Executive Portfolio Producer
for the Disneyland Resort for Walt Disney Imagineering
and the Executive Producer - Awesome.
of Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway here at Disneyland park.
And Mickey's Toontown.
So I got to help oversee the creative teams
and the project teams who created these amazing spaces.
Oh, my gosh.
So you have one of the coolest jobs ever, basically.
I do, I like, this is my dream job when I was a kid.
So I come in to work every day, super excited to get to do what I do.
Oh, that's so wonderful.
Okay, another question for you.
What was the inspiration behind the reimagining of Mickey's Toontown?
Mickey's Toontown was an amazing space for 30 plus years here at Disneyland park,
and we had a great opportunity
to reimagine that space in a whole new way for a whole new generation.
So our team set out early on to do a lot of research, go out
to a lot of spaces that kids and families spend time in and watch how kids play.
We used our own kids as almost guinea pigs to watch
what they were attracted to water play, you know, sensory play,
being able to move things, climb things
and taking all that play and all those play elements
and infusing them into Mickey's Toontown to make it ready for that
next generation of guests who are going to grow up with this land
was amazingly exciting for the team.
Oh, my goodness. I think it's mission accomplished.
Definitely. So many things to do and see here. - Thank you.
Oh, gosh. Okay. I have another question. - Thank you. Yes.
What new offerings are you most excited for guests to experience?
Oh, my gosh.
There are, I know it sounds cliche, but there really are so many.
We have chock Mickey's Toontown full of new experiences for our guests.
I think my favorite - Yes.
because I've got two little ones myself is Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard.
- Yes.
This amazing, huge new immersive
play space that has all your favorite, you know, activities
for little ones, but some new places and new spaces
to explore like, Goofy’s House where he's making candy for his friends.
He's got this honey hive on the outside of his house
and he's collecting that honey and making candy for his friends.
Really fun activity for kids.
It's a passive activity if you don't want to engage.
It's this kinetic ball machine that's moving all around you inside Goofy’s House.
And if you want to get in there and play,
there's a lot of play elements that you can engage with.
Also in Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard,
we've got slides, we've got spinners, we've got rockers, we've got climbing nets,
we've got outlooks. Goofy built Max this fort, Fort Max.
To be able to look out over the whole land
and gives little ones that chance - Yes.
to get up high, which they love getting up high anywhere they want, right?
Being in the top bunk is one of
kids favorite things to do, right? - Yes, that’s true.
So just getting up to a place that's taller than they are.
And it really is.
It's just we've designed it with elements for every age range,
every play style. - Yes.
As kids grow, they play differently, they play with each other differently,
they play individually differently.
And we’ve designed those elements into Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard.
Oh, my goodness.
Oh, I didn't even think about that.
That is so smart that it's tailored
to different age ranges. - Yeah.
What was it like to help bring Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway to life
at Disneyland park?
Oh, it was a dream, you know,
I got to early on, see this concept that two of our Imagineers,
Kevin Rafferty and Serena Carter and their teams were working on
for Disney Hollywood Studios.
And we said, this is a Disneyland attraction.
We've got to bring this home here as well. - Yes.
And so we got to work early on as they were figuring out the attraction
and start thinking about it here at Disneyland and what our story was here.
So, you know, we've got the amazing attraction that you have in Florida,
a lot of the same elements there.
We've got a couple of new elements here for Disneyland park,
but establishing a space that was entirely new
and unique for Toontown was really exciting.
You know, there you're entering
the Chinese theater, you're walking from a human world into a cartoon world.
Here, we’re already in a cartoon world, - Yes.
in Mickey's Toontown.
So we had to be really thoughtful about
what are you doing in a cartoon world before you step into a cartoon?
And so creating the El CapiTOON Theater, - Right.
which we’re in right now, here's our concession stand behind us.
Like every good hometown theater, this is where Mickey and Minnie always
premiered their films for their friends.
And so we got to create a whole new experience
and add that new energy to Toontown.
Oh, gosh, it's just and it's just wonderful.
It definitely, it's a different feel on each coast, which is really nice.
Okay. Another question for you. - Yeah.
Can you share your favorite Easter egg, or hidden detail from the attraction?
Oh, you know, we pride ourselves
on the fact that we've got more hidden Mickeys in this attraction than any other.
Yes.
But the way you experience hidden Mickeys can be different in different places.
And my favorite hidden Mickey is not an actual Mickey head shape,
but it is actually Mickey written out in the scenery in our finale scene.
You got to keep an eye out for that
because it's a pretty amazing hidden detail.
Oh, my, okay, I need to find that.
I have one more question for you
and then I think we're going to have to take a go around
and you're going to have to show me that
hidden Mickey. - Let’s go.
Alright.
What is your number one tip for visiting Mickey's Toontown?
My number one tip for visiting Mickey's Toontown is
if you've got that moment where the kids are just full of energy
and excited for their day at Disneyland and just need to burn that steam off.
That's with Toontown’s all about.
This place is for play.
This place is for running out those wiggles. - Yes.
And you know, Toontown is uniquely made for families
so that adults can sit back and take a moment on a park bench
and watch their kids enjoy this amazing space.
And the kids get to go have fun and explore and run around
and get that energy out.
Oh, I love that. Okay.
That was a good wrap up because I feel like we need to go
get our wiggles out. - Let's do it.
So let’s go explore Mickey’s Toontown. - You gonna take a ride?
Yes! Let's go for a ride first and then explore.
Sounds good. - I’m down. Let’s go.