fall inside a hole
Walt Disney Fold-A-Way Play World (1972)
First written April 20, 2024
The Walt Disney Character Play World, an Intoport Development Co. Fold-A-Way toy, was an all-in-one Disney (and in particular the recently opened Disney World) folding playset with a train carrying Disney characters that travels around the park stopping at (and powering) different amusement park destinations all being ridden by other Disney characters.
The box shows off some of the destinations the set features, as well as a look at some of the characters included. Oddly, the three cars have been left in a yellow plastic carrier intended for holding the cars when moving the set.
This toy seems to be based on the Child Guidance Kiddieland concept and uses a similar engine and drive system, track stopper system, and similar rides with similar mechanisms. More specifics are explored below.
Set contents
| Quantity |
Item |
Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Disney World
Fold-A-Way playboard |
 |
| 1 | Locomotive |
 |
| 3 | Train cars with characters |
 |
| 1 | Locomotive carrier | Yellow plastic bracket that holds engine and clips into track |
| 1 | Car carrier | Yellow plastic holder that holds cars into base for transport |
The engine in this set is a yellow and red steam engine with a yellow face on the front and Pinocchio driving in the cab.
The design of the locomotive and its drive system and battery holder are all very similar to the Child Guidance Joy Ride Train. My train has had the rubber tires on the wheels as well as in the friction-drive system replaced. The wheels are a smaller diameter than Plarail so I ended up cutting a short section out of the tire and gluing it back together, to mixed results. The gearbox involves a contrate gear reduction off of the motor and a second friction-drive reduction with the rear wheels, the same setup as the Kiddie Land gearbox. The engine is marked as made in Hong Kong and has a Walt Disney copyright notice on the bottom.
The three train cars are a completely original design with integrated Disney character. Despite what the box sort of implies, none of the figures in this set can be moved around, taken off, or changed - they are all molded, glued, or otherwise stuck in place. To put in plainly, this kinda sucks. I guess the point is (along with the holders for train and carriages) you could put the whole set away and carry it around as a "take along" set without losing any pieces, but it would be a way cooler toy if you could move the figures around between the train and rides like the Child Guidance figures, plus then you could have some Disney figures to play with with other toys or try to see what other small dolls fit in the set. The only thing that makes it hurt a little bit less is that most of the figures look pretty weird and/or ugly. Like the engine, the cars are marked with Disney licensing and made in Hong Kong text.
The fold-out playboard is made up of two larger side panels and a skinny middle panel, all with integrated track forming the layout made out of a very Plarail-like blue. Graphics depicting different rides and attractions at a fairly young Disney World are affixed to the play board, which has warped with age on mine and many other examples I have seen. Eyelet holes in the track bed provide places for holding brackets for the locomotive and the three cars, which are absent from my example. The yellow train holder can be seen on the box - evidently when the promotional photos were taken for it nobody realized that the cars should be taken out of the holder. The train doesn't actually work when it is still in the holders, so it is somewhat odd that this was missed. As the front of the box promises, no bolts or screws are required to set it up, just lift up the roof of the merry-go-round and tip the Ferris wheel and castle upright.
The set features three rides which the train travels between, stopping at each one and powering it through embedded rollers until the button nearby is pressed. Stickers on the track indicate the train is meant to run in the clockwise direction only, probably because it works slightly better that way for whatever reason. A protruding catch stops the locomotive with its wheels positioned over rollers linked to a drive system that runs the attached ride (the gear for the Ferris wheel can be seen above). One prototype for this set shown in the 1972 Spiegel Christmas catalog has white track stoppers instead of purple like the Plarail Amusement Park and Child Guidance Kiddieland track stoppers, which also otherwise use a very similar design.
The choices for some of the "figures" seem a little bit odd. Pluto and some of the other Ducks on the Merry-Go-Round which I suppose is supposed to be Cinderella's Golden Carousel (located not particularly near where it actually is) makes sense, and the dwarves on what I guess is supposed to be the Jungle Cruise boat ride (the box just calls it the "boat carousel") are okay I suppose, but what appear to be the Three Little Pigs from a 30s Disney cartoon on the Ferris wheel is an interesting choice over more contemporary Disney characters. I also don't really recall there being a Ferris wheel at Disney World, although it definitely makes sense to do one. It is interesting that they went for a spinning boat ride instead of copying the Kiddieland Teacups ride, but to be honest I think the train probably runs a little too roughly (and the manufacturing tolerances of the toy are a little to wide) for it to work well.
Indeed, even with repairs made to the gearbox the train has some difficulties navigating the layout. For one thing, the plastic has warped and in particular on the tight curve crossing over both boundaries at the front of the park the train has trouble on its own. With cars, it barely has the power to navigate turns - it seems like it could do with a little weight in the cab above the drive system, but the roof is glued on. Perhaps I will explore this further later.
The little train can run the carousel and Ferris wheel but the gear for the boat ride is split and getting to it requires getting the cardboard backing off, which is held in behind glued plastic brackets. When new I assume it worked better but I am not convinced it ever was that great of a toy, with a static track layout and character selection and placement and even a specified direction of travel... I have one only as an odd side piece to the Child Guidance Kiddieland and Plarail Amusement Park stories.
The Walt Disney Character Play World remained on sale at least as late as 1977! Relatively little about Intoport Development Co. seems to have survived, but they also made a doll's house "Fold-A-Way" set as well as Disney licensed transistor radios and some other toys. The "Fold-A-Way" name was first used in 1969 and filed for in 1970. Funnily enough, after this set came out there was a Disney version of the Plarail amusement park train and accessories in 1973 that had multiple moveable characters as well as a playmat, papercraft castle, and a set of stickers. An unused example can be seen in the Plarail Museum.