Rumor: Mickey & Minnie moving to Town Square About This Page:

[Shell_of_the_South]

This topic was a big source of discussion in the Fantasyland refurb thread - where will Mickey and Minnie go? This is an interesting article from Jim Hill who says they will move to the Town Square Exposition Hall - no houses. He also mentioned that work may begin on Toon Town as early as the beginning of 2010.

Jim Hill : Mickey & Minnie say "Farewell" to Toontown Fair, "Hello" to the Town Square Exhibition Hall

[Caldercup]

I thought someone had reported the houses were moving to the front of the park -- like outside the gates.

I'm not sure I'm a fan of that idea, but.... I guess we'll see.

Anyone remember the same info about their new location? Anyone have a link?
Eileen

[Shell_of_the_South]

Well, what the earlier releases had stated was that Mickey and Minnie were getting a new "home" at the front of the park, but not that there would be "houses" at the front of the park so to speak. The Exposition Hall really makes a lot of sense. It would be minimal work to create their spaces there, and there is a lot of room in that building that stays practically empty. We walked back there in July and it was a ghost town. I hope that the photo purchasing counter would be moved to another building on Main Street so that the crowds wouldn't intermingle in that one building.

[Colexis Mom]

Interesting!

[Caldercup]

Exposition Hall does sound ideal -- but it would be more of a "permanent" meet-n-greet opportunity then, right?
Eileen

[MickeyWatch]

That would probably be a good location for Mickey and Minnie. We've got to get our last Toon Town photos next month for the scrapbook

[DawnK]

Oh No!!! I was hoping to go to Minnie and Mickey's house before they closed. We are not going until 8-2010.

[chezp]

Thanks for the information.

[wvugrrrl]

I think it's a good idea. It does seem kind of strange (to me at least), that, for most people who are visiting WDW for the first time, having to get that "iconic" picture with Mickey and Minnie means having to trek all the way back to ToonTown. Plus, with the overhaul they're doing on FL/TT, I think it makes sense to have Main St. be your "one-stop shop" for all characters not associated with rides.

[Dave Marx]

Gee, I seem to have out-Jim Hilled Jim Hill.

From A possible makeover for Fantasyland! , posted back on September 13:

Simply because Main St is considered the front of the park, and because Main St is already pretty urbanized, I consider the reference to a "new home" for Mickey and Minnie to refer to a new character meet and greet somewhere in the Main St. area - perhaps something new in the back of Main St. Exposition Hall? (emphasis added)

[ilovedisney247]

Go Dave!!!

[lazanya]

Very interesting! Thanks for the info!

[SarahJ]

Originally Posted by Shell_of_the_South

Well, what the earlier releases had stated was that Mickey and Minnie were getting a new "home" at the front of the park, but not that there would be "houses" at the front of the park so to speak.

This is the same information that I recall my source who has some inside knowledge reporting. No one on any of the Disney sites that I frequent has said the physical houses are being moved or rebuilt outside of the park entrance. Front of the park to me means the Main Street area.

Sorry, I don't have a link since the information was passed along in private correspondance.

[Danielle Harmon]

I will kind of miss the houses, but WOW!!!! I hope Mickey and Minnie are there on Main St. It just fits...KWIM?

[Dave Marx]

Well, I was too set on "tweaking" Jim to say anything more (and you know I always have more to say)...

Fact is, Town Square Exposition Hall is already setup for meet-and-greet/photo op. They just haven't used it much for that purpose in recent years. It's also not setup for the kind of crowds that the First Couple will attract. The queue in the Judge's Tent in Toontown is pretty long to begin with. What happens when the meet and greet is right at the park entrance? Ouch! Queue control through the shop and past the entrance to Tony's Town Square? Something's going to have to change there. It seems unlikely they'd eliminate the shop, but since the advent of PhotoPass it's not quite as busy with end-of-day photo purchasers, so they might be able to shrink it a bit. Once you get to the back end of the hall... My guess is that they'll gut it and start from scratch. The movie theater just takes up too much space - space they'll need for queuing. Now, they may end up with a new video screen to keep the folks on queue happy, but I think they have to do more than just remove the theater seats/level the floor to make the most of the space they have back there. Also, they'll probably want to create a bunch of private meet-and-greet rooms like they have at the Judge's Tent.

Hmmm. Any chance they'll start issuing FASTPASSes?