Toontown Online facts for kids
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| Developer | Disney's Virtual Reality Studio Schell Games Frogchildren Studios |
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| Type | Massively multiplayer online role-playing game |
| Launch date | August 2001 – January 16, 2002 (Beta 1) September 10, 2002 – October 21, 2002 (Beta 2) October 21, 2002 – June 2, 2003 (sneak preview) June 2, 2003 (official launch) November 28, 2006 (Mac OS X) |
| Discontinued | September 19, 2013 |
| Platform(s) | Macintosh operating systems and Microsoft Windows |
| Status | Defunct |
| Website | toontown.go.com (archived on August 24, 2013) |
Toontown Online, often called Toontown, was a super fun online game from 2003. It was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) where you entered a colorful world filled with cartoon animals. The Walt Disney Company published this game, which was created by Disney's Virtual Reality Studio and Schell Games.
In Toontown, players created their own cartoon animal characters, called Toons. Toons explored a lively world, completed special missions known as "ToonTasks," and battled against grumpy robot businessmen called Cogs. To defeat the Cogs, Toons used funny "Gags," which were like silly slapstick comedy items, such as a cream pie thrown right in a Cog's face!
Toontown Online closed its main servers in September 2013 after many years. But don't worry, fans loved the game so much that they created their own versions! These are called fan servers, and the most popular one, Toontown Rewritten, started just a few days after the original game ended.
Contents
Exploring Toontown: How to Play
Creating Your Toon Character
In Toontown Online, your character was a "Toon." Toons were friendly animal characters that looked just like classic Disney cartoons. You could make your Toon unique! Players customized their Toons with different shapes, colors, clothes, and sizes. You could choose from many animal species, including cats, dogs, ducks, mice, pigs, rabbits, bears, horses, and monkeys.
Battling the Cogs
The bad guys in Toontown were called Cogs. These were serious-looking robots who wanted to turn the fun, colorful Toontown into a boring business world. There were four main types of Cogs:
- Bossbots: Dressed in brown.
- Lawbots: Dressed in blue.
- Cashbots: Dressed in green.
- Sellbots: Dressed in maroon.
As you played, Cogs became stronger, with more health and damage.
Toons fought Cogs using funny "Gags." These Gags were inspired by old cartoon slapstick humor. You started with simple Gags and could unlock more powerful ones by finishing "ToonTasks." The more you used a type of Gag, the stronger it became!
Your Toon had a "Laff" meter, which was like your health bar. If Cogs hit you too much, your Laff meter would drop. If it reached zero, your Toon would go "sad," meaning you were defeated in battle. Battles against Cogs used a timed turn-based combat system. Up to four Toons could team up to fight Cogs. You could find Cogs on the streets, inside "Cog Buildings," or in their special "Cog HQs." Each Cog HQ had a powerful boss, like the Senior V.P. or the C.E.O., that Toons could only fight after earning a special Cog disguise.
Fun Beyond Fighting: Playgrounds and Estates
Not everything in Toontown was about fighting Cogs! "Playgrounds" were safe zones where Cogs couldn't bother you. In these areas, Toons could:
- Get back lost Laff Points.
- Pick up or finish "ToonTasks."
- Buy new Gags.
- Play fun trolley games.
- Go fishing.
- Enjoy kart racing.
- Play a round of golf.
Completing ToonTasks helped your Toon get stronger, giving you more Laff Points or new Gags. You could also earn more Laff Points by doing well in fishing, racing, and golfing challenges. Each neighborhood in Toontown had its own playground, often featuring a classic Disney character as a non-player character (NPC). Some popular playgrounds included Toontown Central, Daisy Gardens, Donald's Dock, and Minnie's Melodyland.
Every player also had their own "estate." This was a personal area with a fishing pond and up to six houses for your Toons. You could decorate your Toon's home and change their look using items from "Clarabelle's Cattlelog," which was like an in-game shopping catalog. The game's currency was called "jellybeans." Estates also let you have cute pets called Doodles, do some gardening, and, of course, fish!
Staying Safe Online: Chat Features
Because Toontown Online was made for players of all ages, it had special features to keep everyone safe while chatting.
- SpeedChat: At first, players could only use "SpeedChat." This was a list of pre-written phrases chosen by Disney. You could pick from general greetings, game strategies, and even seasonal messages. You could buy more phrases with jellybeans.
- SpeedChat Plus: Later, "SpeedChat Plus" was added. This let players type their own messages. Disney had a special filter that would block any words that weren't allowed. If you typed a forbidden word, it would change into a funny sound your Toon's animal made! If you were under 13, a parent had to approve this feature.
- True Friends: This feature, originally called "Secret Friends," allowed you to chat more freely with friends you knew in real life. You and your friend would share a special "True Friend code" to connect. This chat also had a filter, but it was less strict for trusted friends.
Hosting Toontown Parties
Toons could plan and host their own parties in Toontown Online! You would use your stored jellybeans to customize your party. You could add fun things like fireworks, mini-games (like Tug-O-War), trampolines, and party cannons. To plan a party, Toons visited a Toon Party Planner. You could even design your own invitations to send to other Toons!
The CD-ROM Version
In August 2005, a company called Platform Publishing helped release a CD version of Toontown Online for PC. This was great because it meant players could buy the game in stores and install it without needing to download it online. The CD version came in a box with a two-month subscription, a poster, a game manual, and a special in-game bonus. This option was popular because some customers felt safer buying a physical product rather than just downloading something online.
The End of Toontown Online
After ten years of fun, Toontown Online officially closed down on September 19, 2013. When Disney announced the closure, all players were given free membership for the remaining time. The game celebrated its final days with special seasonal and holiday events. Paid memberships were automatically canceled, and new memberships or accounts could no longer be created. The game's website also provided a helpful FAQ about the closure.
After the game closed, the Toontown website, toontown.go.com, eventually started redirecting to Disney's main website, disney.com.
Fan-Made Revivals
Even though the official game closed, many former players loved Toontown so much that they created their own private servers. These fan-made versions are free-to-play and are not run for profit. The most famous of these is Toontown Rewritten. Its creators describe it as a fan-made return of Disney's Toontown Online. They used publicly available game files and information to bring it back. Toontown Rewritten has been running for over 10 years now, thanks to many volunteer staff members.
One of the original game's creators, Jesse Schell, who was the Creative Director at Walt Disney Imagineering Virtual Reality Studio, has mentioned that Toontown Online likely closed because its business model (a subscription-based game you downloaded) was no longer working well. He also shared that Disney had thought about making a mobile version of the game but was waiting for a good way to make mobile games that could keep updating and supporting themselves. Discussions about the future of the Toontown idea continued into 2016, considering how popular mobile games had become.
In June 2021, seven years after the game closed, Toontown Rewritten released a special "Toontown Preservation Project." This unofficial archive shared original design documents and artwork from the game's developers. It also included old promotional items like digital downloads, merchandise, newsletters, trading cards, and old websites.
ToonFest: Real-Life Gatherings
Disney organized two real-life events for Toontown fans called ToonFest. These events were packed with themed activities, games, trivia, and costume contests. Fans could also get sneak peeks of upcoming game features and ask questions to the developers.
- The first ToonFest was held in 2006 at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.
- The second ToonFest took place in 2007 at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
The fan project Toontown Rewritten later continued this tradition by holding their own fan convention events, also named ToonFest, for their community.
See also
In Spanish: Toontown Online para niños
