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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2006 |
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For the most part, this park is all about putting you into detailed environments that immerse you in another place and time. Sorry, folks. Mickey’s Toontown Fair Train Station is an exception to that rule. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Blue ribbons with Mickey heads decorate the station. |
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A blue metal framework supports barrel-vaulted roof elements to protect you from the sun and rain while waiting for a train. The sign suggests comic strip lettering. The arches are more fun than ordinary rectangles. But, overall, this train station is just a functional structure; it doesn’t look like something you would find in a Mickey Mouse cartoon or a Donald Duck comic book. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2007 Everybody is welcome! |
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At least there aren’t a bunch of health and safety warnings for the trains that stop at this station. If you have a bad back, suffer from motion sickness, or are pregnant... that’s fine! Enjoy the train ride. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2005 Decorated for the Holidays |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2006 A flurry of activity when a train is at the station |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2007 Exit from station |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Locomotive 3, named after Disney Legend and mechanical genius Roger E. Broggie |
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Although the station lacks Disney magic, the authentic steam locomotives of the Walt Disney World Railroad more than make up for that. This is also where the locomotives take on water. The water tank is disguised as a striped beach cabana on an elevated platform. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2006 Technicolor stones |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009 Toon Park with the Train Station nearby |
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There are some mighty colorful parts of Mickey’s Toontown, and some of them are right by the train station—including the painted stone curbs and streetlight bases. Toon Park and the original Goofy’s Barnstormer are also nearby. So catch the train at Mickey’s Toontown Fair Station. All aboard! |
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Until June 18, 1988, the Walt Disney World Railroad at Magic Kingdom Park only had two stations—the magnificent, late-19th-century Main Street, U.S.A. Station and the Old West style Frontierland Station (subsequently replaced by a new Frontierland Station due to the construction of Splash Mountain). Then came the Mickey’s Birthdayland Station. It was part of the hastily-built “land” celebrating Mickey Mouse’s 60th birthday—actually the 60th anniversary of the opening of “Steamboat Willie” at the Colony Theatre in New York City on November 18, 1928. Guests entering Magic Kingdom Park heard announcements from Minnie Mouse inviting them to a surprise party for Mickey. The guests would board trains decorated as the Mickey Mouse Birthday Express, encounter displays en route, and disembark at the new station to find a land of tents and temporary facades. The attractions at Mickey’s Birthdayland included a 60-foot-tall inflated Mickey, Mickey’s house, Granny Duck’s Farm, the “Minnie’s Surprise Party” show, and Mickey’s Hollywood Theatre, with an opportunity to visit the famous mouse in his dressing room. |
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The northeast corner of Magic Kingdom Park over the years |
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Mickey’s Birthdayland lasted until April 22, 1990, which meant that Mickey’s 60th birthday celebration lasted more than 22 months. On May 26, 1990, the area reopened as Mickey’s Starland. The biggest change was that the “Mickey’s Starland Show,” featuring Disney Afternoon characters, replaced the birthday party show. The train station received a new sign; it was now Mickey’s Starland Station. For another six years, Mickey’s Starland limped along with its odd name (although for the 1995 Holiday Season, it was temporarily Mickey’s Toyland) and without a ride—unless you want to count the Walt Disney World Railroad. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2007 Welcome! |
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Finally, on June 29, 1996, the area became Mickey’s Toontown Fair. Enhancements included The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm, Minnie’s Country House, Donald’s Boat, and other permanent structures. With “Fair” as part of the name of the land, there was a better explanation for the tents: These weren’t remnants of a hastily-built land from eight years earlier; these were fair tents, perfect for the theme of the land. And the temporary train station received another new sign—the one shown at the top of this article. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 The Fantasyland Station of 2012 |
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Mickey’s Toontown Fair and its train station closed forever on February 12, 2011. The area would return in 2012 as the Storybook Circus section of the New Fantasyland—but this time it would not include the same train station with just a new sign. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 Waiting for a train |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 When’s the next train? |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 More solid than the Toontown Fair Train Station |
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The new Fantasyland Station, which soft-opened in March 2012, is everything the old station was not. Because the adjacent rest rooms are themed as part of the train station, it’s a building of the correct size. The station offers a real sense of place. It’s a small-town depot from the age of steam trains. The circus is in town. There are layers of details to enjoy. \\ |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 Fantasyland Station sign and clock |
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The “Carolwood Park” references are homage to the Carolwood Pacific Railroad, the 1/8 scale miniature railroad with 2,615 feet of track that was in the yard of Walt Disney’s home on Carolwood Drive. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 Locomotive 4, named after Walt Disney’s brother and business partner Roy O. Disney |
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What a difference the new station makes. What a wonderful difference! Even the trains look happier now. |
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© 2023 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated April 21, 2023 |
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