Behind the Building: Toad Hall

The more you visit Disneyland, the more you notice the amazing details from land to land. In the last few years, I’ve found myself looking closer and closer at specific buildings hidden in the parks, noticing architectural elements and styling that help shape the world within each area.

Welcome to Behind the Building, a new series where we’ll be taking a closer look at some of Disneyland’s iconic buildings. For our first exploration, I thought we’d head to Fantasyland…home of the magnificent Toad Hall. Toad Hall is Mr. Toad‘s stately English manor, from the 1949 short film The Wind in the Willows (later re-released with the Sleepy Hollow short as “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad” by Disney).

There are actually two Toad Halls in Fantasyland – a miniature replica of the film version in the Storybook Land Canal Boats, and the life-size version (that we’re focusing on) in the central courtyard. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride actually began with a Renaissance fair tent facade, in the original Fantasyland style. But when Fantasyland went through its major overhaul in the 80s, Imagineers used the opportunity to build the home Mr. Toad deserved.

Right away, you’ll notice some major differences between the animated version and its Disneyland counterpart. The most obvious is the color – the bricks and roof are much warmer toned, so that they better coordinate with the courtyard’s Bavarian village theming and the castle. You’ll also notice fewer turrets and shorter towers, due to both space constraints, and for unobstructed views of Matterhorn mountain in the background.

In this picture, you can get an idea of the scale in comparison to nearby buildings. Despite Toad Hall’s grandeur, it doesn’t tower over neighboring structures. The bricks on the left are part of Toad Hall, and the Tudor style building next door is Peter Pan’s Flight. Across the pathway, you see the stone wall of Snow White’s building. Toad Hall’s magnificence doesn’t come from its overwhelming size, like in the film. Instead, it comes from its flair.

At the front of Toad Hall is a very important detail: Mr. Toad’s coat of arms. The only other place you’ll find a coat of arms in Disneyland is on Sleeping Beauty Castle, so this detail makes it abundantly clear that this manor is among the finest of Disneyland’s buildings. The latin motto reads “Toadi Acceleratio Semper Absurda”, which means “a speeding toad is always absurd”.

If you watch The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad on Disney+, you’ll see that the interior of Disneyland’s Toad Hall is not an exact match. Of course, the massive scale and countless rooms would be incredibly difficult to replicate. Instead, Imagineers consolidated elements of different rooms to create the great hall in this version of the manor. The dark wood walls, ornate chandeliers, and stained glass all appear in the film. There are also new elements not featured in the animation that help riders get into the mind of Mr. Toad before hopping into a motorcar. The over-the-top toad busts and statues in the hall all share goofy and crazy facial expressions, hinting at Mr. Toad’s “motor-mania” that drives the plot.

The fireplace is seen only briefly in the film, and its Disneyland version crackles and flashes, adding a sense of “realness” to the great hall. This detail also makes the moment when cars drive straight into the flames a little more exciting!

After passing through the fireplace, riders exit Toad Hall and head into the larger world, heading through various sites in London. The ride does a magnificent job of capturing scenes from the film, and after a strange detour into hell (which is not in the film), returns riders back to Mr. Toad’s manor.

Toad Hall is one of my favorite buildings in the park. The hand-painted details throughout the building are really stunning, and the ride moves so quickly through scenes that you’ll likely spot something new every time you ride. I have such sympathy for Disney World veterans that lost their version in 1998. If Mr. Toad ever leaves Disneyland, I’d be so crushed!