Credit: u/EmEmmu06A section of the Disney parks overflowed with water during a near-flash flood.
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Disneyland is home to two amazing theme parks, as well as Downtown Disney, a massive shopping and dining district. Both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure offer up some incredible experiences, ranging from iconic dark rides such as Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean to thrilling, high-speed attractions like Space Mountain, Incredicoaster, and Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! But recently, “The Happiest Place on Earth” turned into a flood zone.
Unfortunately, due to some intense weather over the week, certain areas of this resort absolutely overflowed with water, forcing lots of guests to promptly exit the parks. One guest shared their startling photo online, revealing just how much water made its way into the resort.
As you can see in the photo above, Mickey’s Toontown and the area surrounding it became flooded late Wednesday night. It’s actually quite common to see the Disney parks flood with water from time to time, but this is more common at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Mickey’s Toontown is the newest addition to the Disneyland Resort, opening to guests earlier in 2023. The land itself is a staple of the resort, but Disney announced it would be receiving a massive overhaul last year. The land closed in 2022, and work quickly started. We have to admit that the new Mickey’s Toontown is one of our favorite spots, with the refurbishment breathing some much-needed new life into the section of the park. Now, guests will find some new areas to explore and enjoy, with the biggest addition to the land is Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, a trackless dark ride that takes guests on a journey with the mouse himself.
Disney is more than equipped to deal with these acts of mother nature, with Disneyland cast members opening up a secondary path as a result of the water.
“An alternative path to the Small World gate was opened, and when the downpour lessened about 30 minutes later the regular path was reopened,” stated one guest.
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Plenty of other guests ran to social media to discuss the intense water levels.
This rain messed up my Disneyland plans smh
— MiriYum Pink ♛ 🇪🇷🇮🇹 (@queenb310) December 21, 2023
Disneyland in the rain is a mad struggle 😭
— Jayy (@HoopsWithJayy) December 21, 2023
One guest discussed just how empty the resort becomes when it rains hard enough.
Disneyland is EMPTY on rain days. Not sure if that holds true this close to the holiday when most of the guests are out of towners, but should be better than usual if weathers not picturesque. Be careful about too much rain, been there in a day when 80% of the park shit down
— TheLateJC (@JChristDesign) December 20, 2023
Wait times significantly dropped during this time, according to the official My Disney Experience app.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is not entirely new, as it first opened in Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The ride is certainly no thrill ride, but it doesn’t have to be; instead, it offers some impressive technical features and effects that transport guests into a cartoon world.
In other Disneyland news, earlier this year, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger revealed that Disney intends to bring a new experience based on Disney’s Avatar franchise to the Disneyland Resort. Pandora – The World of Avatar opened in 2017 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and has remained one of the coolest and most innovative projects to come out of Walt Disney Imagineering.
We’re highly skeptical that Disneyland’s Avatar experience will be as expansive or immersive as Walt Disney World’s, and while information regarding the West Coast version of this land is incredibly sparse, we have no doubt that whatever Disney does will be impressive in its own way.
Have you been to Mickey’s Toontown yet? What’s your favorite place to explore in Disneyland?