Change is inevitable at Disneyland. Someday your favorite ride will change. Perhaps it will be a big change, or perhaps it will be a small change, but it will happen. Such changes are currently being undertaken at Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, the dark ride found at Mickey’s Toontown, and Jessica Rabbit has officially been revealed in her new detective garb, complete with a bright yellow trench coat.
Back in September we learned that major changes were in store for the Roger Rabbit dark ride. While the attraction previously told a story that more or less was the plot of the Who Framed Roger Rabbit, movie, the story would change to put more of a spotlight on Jessica as a detective chasing after the weasels. What made this ride update unique was that, rather than shutting it down and making the updates, it was all being done in pieces while the ride continued operating as normal.
The first major change was the removal of Jessica Rabbit from a scene where she was being thrown into the back of a car by the weasels. Now, as seen in a new video from Laughing Place, Jessica has returned to the ride, but every place you see her, rather than being seen in her iconic red dress, she’s now wearing a trench coat and a fedora looking like a female Dick Tracy.
The exact reason for the update is unclear beyond the fact that the ride has been largely untouched since it first opened. Giving Jessica Rabbit a bit more agency in the story is likely part of an ongoing effort to improve representation in attractions throughout Disney Parks. We’ve seen the Jungle Cruise undergo updates to remove some racially insensitive elements and Pirates of the Caribbean has also been updated to remove some inappropriate gender dynamics. Splash Mountain is set to undergo a major redesign to remove its current Song of the South story.
If there’s a reason to be a bit surprised to see this most recent update take shape it’s because the fate of Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin is a bit murky right now. Last month it was announced that all of Mickey’s Toontown, the land where the attraction is found, would be closing in early 2022 for a major overhaul that would take about a year. It hasn’t been confirmed that the ride will even survive this update, though the fact that these changes are being made now is probably a good sign. Why bother adding the change today if you’re just going to demolish it all tomorrow?
Whatever the future is for Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, the new Jessica Rabbit is now available for guests to enjoy. And she does look pretty good in that trench coat. Maybe somebody can give her a Disney+ detective series?