It is loosely based on Disney's adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (1908), one of two segments comprising the animated package film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949).

In all versions of the attraction, guests have assumed the role of the titular Mr. Toad, recklessly careening through the English countryside and streets of London in a period motorcar before ultimately meeting demise in a railway tunnel and ending up in a tongue-in-cheek depiction of hell.

Designed by Imagineers Bill Martin, Ken Anderson, Claude Coats, and Robert A. Mattey,[3] the version of the attraction that opened to the public along with the rest of Disneyland in July 1955 contained the simplest gags, the fewest setpieces and characters, and, with a duration of 98 seconds, was the shortest in length.

One notable quality of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride that was especially prevalent during its earliest years is the liberal use of painted plywood "flats" in its interior sets.

More three-dimensional gags and scene details were added in later updates, although the attraction has always remained overwhelmingly "flat" in its presentation, despite the other Fantasyland dark rides having become considerably less so over the decades.

Once in the confines of the lavishly detailed mansion, guests approached a large stained-glass bay window before their car performed a sudden U-turn and headed instead toward a forced-perspective mural of an open living parlor.

Here, two miniature "toad-shaped" suits of armor supported by pedestals (one on either side of the mural) swung down their halberds as guests drew near, causing the vehicle to swerve into the opposite direction.

Swerving through the night, guests encountered a large mirror reflecting their vehicle's headlights, providing the illusion of an oncoming automobile as the screech of a motorcar's brakes was heard.

Guests then swung out of the way before passing under a natural archway and advancing toward a mural depicting the rustic cottage of Ratty the water rat along the moonlit riverbank, as well as a fully sculpted boat docked in front.

Swinging around another bend, guests approached a three-dimensional roadway leading off into a mural of a twisted intersection at the center of a rural hamlet, while signs labeled with nonsensical place names such as "Woostershire" and "Not So Shire" made for a sense of confusion.

Guests then swerved into a narrow village street, where a plethora of road signs fixed to the buildings and lampposts read, "TURN BACK," "DO NOT ENTER," "ONE WAY," and other such warnings.

As a police officer blew his whistle and a loud siren blared, the car performed a U-turn and began down a dilapidated wooden pier flanked to the right with old bollards and a large ocean freighter.

As guests advanced over a series of bumps emulating the rough surface of unsafe boards, a mural depicting London across from the harbor under a foggy night sky was seen beyond the edge of the wharf.

Just before guests approached the end of the pier, their vehicle swung around and rammed through the doors of a dockside warehouse, now racing between long, towering rows of crates and kegs stocked with dynamite, blasting powder, and other dangerous contents.

As guests approached the false exit, the tower of barrels toppled down, blocking the way out and forcing the motorcar to instead turn toward a solid brick wall before smashing straight through it.

Guests now found themselves back in the English countryside, swerving swiftly around stunted trees (some of them anthropomorphic, with startled faces and branch arms lunged away in shock) and darting briefly toward police officers blowing their whistles and a mural of a dirt roadway leading off into the distance.

After swinging past a signal box and a ringing crossbuck, guests briefly drew near a mural of a precarious, winding road scaling the side of a cliff before racing by a sleepy railroad engineer and breaking through a crossing gate.

Inside the pitch-black tunnel, riders proceeded over a series of simulated railroad ties, heard the roar of an oncoming engine, saw the front headlight of the approaching locomotive appear straight ahead in the darkness, and finally "collided" directly into the train amid a loud crash.

As guests passed under the demon's sharp teeth, the word "WELCOME" written in flames greeted them into the depths of the underworld, where they swerved around red-hot stalagmites topped with miniature horned devils who laughed maniacally and wielded pitchforks.

Narrowly avoiding a falling suit of armor, the passengers break through a set of doors to find the interior hallway of Toad Hall in disarray, as weasels swing from chandeliers.

Upon leaving Toad Hall, guests travel through the countryside, passing Ratty's house, being chased by policemen, barely avoiding colliding with traffic (which is actually their reflection in a mirror), and cracking a bridge with a farmer's animals on it.

A door then opened, revealing the hell scene, in which there were volcanos, flashing lights, multiple laughing demons, and a giant flat of Satan that popped up (similarly to the dandelion in Alice in Wonderland at Disneyland).