LOS ANGELES — Mickey's Toontown opened at Disneyland in 1993, inspired by the wild world of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." But now, after a yearlong closure and refresh, Toontown is doubling down on Mickey Mouse and friends while adding patches of picnic-ready green space that get children out of the strollers and running free.
The hope is that Toontown 2.0 becomes a place that prioritizes imaginative and interactive play, specifically for younger children. While the area's rides are designed to accommodate as wide an audience as possible, play spaces are typically defined as targeting those in the 2- to 12-years-old range.
The new Toontown is part of a broader movement to refocus theme park experiences around games and play, which help foster communication among friends, families and even fellow park attendees. One could draw a line from Toontown's lighthearted playground fare to the digitally focused games at the nearby Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and the large-scale interactivity of lands such as Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
