My family and I had the unique and privileged opportunity to visit Disneyland this past weekend for an exclusive media event to dedicate and celebrate the re-opening of Mickey’s Toontown! We were hosted as invited guests, but please remember, all of my opinions are my own. If you know me well, you know Disneyland has had my heart for many years. I regularly refer to myself as a Disney mom and it’s a place I often go as a therapeutic release, my own form of self-care. Why? Because Disneyland has that special magic that makes me feel like a kid again, where all of my worries about health, bills, dishes, homework, and everything else in my life disappear for a few hours and I get to escape my own reality. Instead, I am transformed into a world of dreams, wonder, happiness, fun, and play. And what better place to play than in Mickey’s Toontown?
As a licensed therapist and registered play therapist who specializes working with families and children, my job is by definition very therapeutically play-based. I also work with a lot of children who have emotional dysregulation, sensory challenges, and on the Autism spectrum, so I depend heavily on using sensory based play to help the children I work with. There are so many physical, mental, and emotional benefits to sensory play, and I have many other blogs on the topic that go more into it, but today I want to focus on why, as a play therapist (and mom), I love that the imagineers at Disneyland reimagined Mickey’s Toontown with a sensory play based perspective in mind. Let me explain…
When you first walk into Mickey’s Toontown you are immersed in a land of color. Obviously the entire Disneyland Resort is colorful, but Mickey’s Toontown pops with bright, primary hues that are extra colorful. There are many benefits of using color for child development that include improving social skills, language skills, creativity, and communication skills. Color also helps preschoolers in relation to cognitive development. Learning the difference between light colors, dark colors, and shadows helps the application of other abstract thinking in their brain to other life skills.
In fact, since we are on the topic, there has been research that shows what color you paint your child’s room or your office will affect your mental and emotional state, mood, balance, and productivity! Blue and green tend to be more calming and healing colors, yellow stimulates happiness and hope, and red and orange often stimulate more stress, aggression and intensity.
So have you ever thought it was a coincidence that there are so many new green grassy areas and green rolling hills now in Mickey’s Toontown? Or have you ever wondered why there are so many blue and yellow buildings in the newly designed Mickey’s Toontown like City Hall and the new Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway ride? Trust me, next time you go, take notice of all the blue, green, and yellow colors all over this part of the park! Even the new focal point of Mickey’s Toontown is the big, beautiful fountain with bright, colorful blue and yellow hues!
In the therapy room, I have often used colors to identify a child’s feelings in order to process their emotional and mental wellbeing. Children will associate different colors with different moods, and colors are easy for young children to relate to, even as young as early toddlerhood. So let’s get into why I love the newly reimagined features of Mickey’s Toontown from a therapeutic perspective!
Mickey’s Toontown is designed for families to play or rest, maybe both! There are multiple shaded grassy areas to sit and take a break, colorful spaces and objects to have immersive sensory experiences, and play spaces to release energy and have some magical fun!
Here are my favorite MUST DO’s:
CenTOONial Park
The fountain is the focal point of Mickey’s Toontown, and in my opinion, is the best photo opportunity in Toontown! Plus, this fountain features interactive water tables for a playful sensory experience! This open area of the park also offers green, grassy areas to rest or play and an area with sensory roots for kids to explore, crawl, and climb!
You will also find a “dreaming tree” in this area, that according to the Disneyland website, is “inspired by the tree a young Walt Disney would daydream under in his hometown of Marceline, Missouri.” Ahh, all the dreamy details were really thought out, well crafted, and executed! You can definitely get rooted and grounded in this area of the park!
Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard
The home of a sound garden, a clubhouse, and three sensory rainbow slides! This was my kid’s favorite part of Mickey’s Toontown! And fun fact, the slides can hold up to 600 pounds, so even adults can play too!
There is also a fun, open area to play hopscotch and a lot of sitting areas for the parents to rest and watch their kids play!
Inside Goofy’s house, there are various interactive hands on play activities and levers for kids to pull and spin! These candy-making inspired contraptions utilize household appliances to make colorful creations and sweet sounds that promote sensory and pretend play!
Donald’s Duck Pond
This is another open play area where kids can spin on water lilies, climb on designated areas, and practice their skills on balancing beams! My son, as evidenced by the photos below, was literally living his best life on the water lilies! And although the water wasn’t turned on yet during our media visit, based on the photos from the Disneyland website, it looks like this area will also host a splash pad area! This will especially be perfect on a hot, sunny summer day!
Three Playful Child Friendly Immersive Rides
Scattered throughout Mickey’s Toontown are three child friendly, fun, immersive rides. Two out of the three rides do not have an age or height requirement. Chip ‘n’ Dale’s GADGET coaster has a minimum of 35 inches to ride. There is also Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin for all the OG families and parents my age that know and love that movie, and the brand new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway!
If you haven’t experienced this ride yet, I highly encourage you to do so!!! The ride queue itself is half of the fun and there are so many exciting and interactive parts that you get to experience before you even go on the actual ride! The imagineers really outdid themselves on this ride and you’ll have to experience it for yourself!
Take a Break and Have a Picnic!!
There are multiple grassy areas in the new reimagined Mickey’s Toontown to grab a bite to eat and or sit down and rest (or let the kids play to let some energy your in a safe open space while you rest).
Two of these areas are tucked away in opposite corners, if your child is overstimulated or has any sensory dysregulation. The back area, referred to as Popcorn Park, has a shaded, covered area, which is perfect for nursing moms or kids that need a dark area away from the sun and crowds for a few minutes! There are even multiple benches to sit on if you don’t want to sit on the ground.
There is also a popcorn stand by this area where you can grab one of my favorite park treats and a new popcorn bucket!
I suggest grabbing food from Café Daisy and taking it to the grass to have a picnic! I highly recommend Daisy’s Goody-Goody Donuts, Daisy’s Dressed-Up Dog, and Granny Goof’s Garden Sweet Tea that are filled with flavorful and fun Mango Flavor-filled Spheres!
For a quick and nutritious snack, you can also go to Good Boy! Grocers where you can grab a blanket and create your own picnic snack ensemble! Choose from fruit, bars, applesauce, and other kid friendly options! Both food establishments have gluten free options, too!
You can also drink a primary colored Slushee in an adorable sipper!
Meet Pete and Your Favorite Mickey and Friends Characters
Pete debuted at the parks this weekend at the dedication ceremony! He is a ball of fun and a picture with him is a must!
And of course Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, Pluto, and Clarabelle are all there too!
I love that you can go inside Mickey Mouse’s and Minnie’s Mouse houses that both have fun, interactive queues and a designated area to snap a picture with your favorite character!
The other characters are usually found in various areas in the park.
Goofy is typically found near his house and Donald Duck is often found near his house. The others will walk around and visit you in other areas around Toontown! Don’t forget your cameras and autograph books!!!
All in all, this child therapist gives the new reimagined Mickey’s Toontown a 10/10, especially for the thoughtfulness to provide a playful, sensory experience for children (and adults, too)! Mickey’s Toontown is officially open to the public now, so make your reservations now and check it out for yourself! And be ready to play!!!
A highlight of my day was meeting Ken Potrock, the President of the Disneyland Resort!
Dr. Kim with Ken Potrock, President of the Disneyland Resort
Dr. Kim shaking hands with Ken Potrock, President of the Disneyland Resort
Play Toys at EngineEar Souvenirs
As a play therapist, I utilize toys and other play tools all of the time to communicate with children and help them with their social, emotional and mental wellness. So who would I be if I didn’t mention the toys and other merchandise in Mickey’s Toontown? Disneyland has so many fun toys for kids (and adults) of all ages at EngineEar Souvenirs. My ultimate favorite is this sensory based water game! I also added some other merch favorites including a new teal/aqua zip sweatshirt and ears that I absolutely love!!!
Hosted by Disney Parks – A HUGE thank you to Disneyland for inviting us to this special event. We will see you real soon!
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