Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin is back open at Disneyland after a month-long refurbishment. The wheel in your taxi is still there. It still spins if you turn it. And it now controls absolutely nothing.
The guest-controlled spinning that has defined the Who Framed Roger Rabbit dark ride in Mickey's Toontown since it opened in the early 1990s has been removed. When the attraction reopened, the wheel in each vehicle was reconfigured so that turning it no longer affects the car's movement.
The cab still spins during the ride, but only three times, and only when the attraction's own programming dictates it. The rest of the time the car turns to face various directions at the ride's discretion, not the guest's.
Mickey Visit confirmed the change after returning riders reported the difference and reached out to Disney directly. A Disneyland official told Mickey Visit that the company continually makes updates to attractions based on guest feedback and behavior.
Specifically, the modification to the wheel component allows Disneyland to now offer lap sitting for younger guests on the attraction. Disney also said the update is part of general efforts to mitigate downtime and allow more guests to experience the ride, framing it as part of their ongoing goal to improve ride uptime and maintenance.
The wheel itself remains visible in the vehicle. The spinning instructions that used to appear on it have been replaced with general safety information. Guests can still physically turn the wheel and it will spin in their hands. It just does not do anything anymore.
Early riders through the attraction after reopening reported that the car spent significant time facing backward during the ride, meaning they were pointed away from several scenes rather than toward them. Whether that is a function of the new programming needing adjustment or the intended experience under the new system is not yet known.
Everything Else That Changed
The spinning element was the headline but several other updates happened during the closure.
The Dipmobile, the villain weapon vehicle that appears inside the attraction, was repaired and is now fully functional again. The portable hole version of Roger Rabbit was refreshed with updated detailing. New colored LED lights were installed in the fireworks crates throughout the ride, which updates the look of that section without changing its narrative function.
Outside the ride, the exit queue was modified for better accessibility. Tire props and two railings were removed from the exit path to make more room for guests using ECV scooters. Stroller parking was relocated from the nearby park space and the area outside Mickey's Toontown to a new position directly in front of the attraction.
The change makes the stroller retrieval process more straightforward for families who were previously having to travel some distance to collect their strollers after the ride.
The lap sitting accommodation is the access change that comes with the wheel modification. The previous guest-controlled spinning created an unpredictability that made accommodating very small children in the vehicles more complicated. With the wheel no longer influencing the car's movement, younger guests who were previously excluded or restricted from the attraction can now sit safely in a lap during the ride.
Why This Is a Significant Change
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin has been one of a small number of dark rides in the world that gave guests direct physical control over a meaningful element of their experience. The spinning wheel was not a cosmetic detail. It was the mechanic that defined what kind of ride you had. Two guests in the same vehicle at the same moment could have completely different experiences depending on how aggressively they worked the wheel.
Families competed over which direction to spin. Repeat riders developed strategies for which scenes to face. The car could be made to whirl nearly continuously if guests were committed enough.
None of that is available anymore. The ride will now deliver a consistent, programmed sequence for every vehicle. That consistency has real value from an operational standpoint, which is exactly what Disney cited as part of the justification. An unpredictable spinning mechanism creates maintenance demands and ride downtime that a fixed system does not. Removing the variability removes that category of mechanical stress.
What it also removes is something that a certain generation of Disneyland guests associates deeply with Mickey's Toontown itself. Whether that trade-off was the right call depends on perspective. Disney's explanation suggests they weighed it carefully and landed on the side of accessibility and reliability.
What Guests Should Expect on Their Next Visit
The ride is open and the rest of Mickey's Toontown is fully operational alongside it. For guests who have strong feelings about the spinning, going in with adjusted expectations is the honest advice. The car will move on its own schedule. The wheel is there as a prop and a tactile element but it is not connected to anything functional.
The backwards-facing issue noted by early riders is worth watching. If the car's programming has it pointed away from key scenes for extended portions of the ride, that is a meaningful quality problem that Disney may address in the weeks following reopening. Checking recent guest reports closer to your travel date will give the most accurate current picture.
The accessibility improvements, including the stroller parking relocation and the ECV space in the exit queue, are genuine quality of life improvements for a section of guests who previously faced friction in this area of the park. The lap sitting option for young children is also a real expansion of who can experience the ride.
For guests planning a Disneyland visit who had Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin on their must-do list, the attraction is available and running. It is just a different ride than it was a month ago.
Before your Disneyland visit, check current guest reports on Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin to get the most accurate picture of what the experience is like with the new configuration. Note the stroller parking location change if you are traveling with young children, and look for the lap sitting option if that is relevant to your group. Our Disneyland guide has updated attraction and hours information for Mickey's Toontown and the rest of the park.
