A review by Glen Garnett
On June 22nd, 2018 I had the unique experience to do a “dress rehearsal” of Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando Florida. This experience was limited to cast members and people who work in the vacation and tourism industry. This limited preview was designed so those who did attend can spread the news about the land and all its unique experiences.
This land is modeled off the Toy Story franchise about this young boy named Andy and his toys. This land is if Andy has left for the day and has left his toys out in his back yard. How Disney explains the world is “It’s time to play big” since you are shrunk to this size of a toy yourself. This land has two main attractions slinky dog dash and alien swirling saucers along with a reimaged entrance to Toy Story Mania. The entrance to this land is located next to Pixar place just after Walt Disney presents on the right side of the pathway.
The first thing you see is a large-scale Woody the cowboy greeting you with Tinker toys used as fencing to guide you down the path to the main attractions. The first attraction is Toy Story manias new entrance. Here is where Andy has taken the box that this toy came in and cut it out for you to enter though. The attraction inside did not change, just the entrance que to from the land side.
The main draw for this land is Slinky Dog Dash. This is a roller-coaster that Andy put together and made his slinky dog the carts. This coaster has a double launch electrical system with no lift chain allows for quicker acceleration. Although it does not have steep drops or sharp turns this coaster is suitable for all ages. The cars it self seem if they are articulated to where you each part of the car bends with the track. The ride is over two minutes long and the cue line is full of imagery from the construction of the coaster it self as if it was a model right out of the box and it’s left over parts where left to walk though.
The final attraction is great for all small kids the Alien Swirling Saucers. This is a playset that Andy won at planet pizza and put together. This is has two ride sides that had three loops on each side that has the three eye aliens are pulling a cart behind them. They loop between three disks on the floor giving you a whipping motion between spins. This is a very family friendly experience that has plenty of interactive objects in it’s cue line.
The main eatery is Woody’s lunchbox. This is a quick service eatery that has outdoor seating that has tables that look like baby bell cheese wheels. This will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and have special items such as Totchos, nachos with tater tots. The restroom is also something to see that has imagery in it’s tiles from crayons and dominos.
The final treat that you will see but will not experience is Star Wars Galaxies edge. It’s still under construction, but you will have a clear view of how big it is and how immersive this land it will be. The estimated date of opening is in October of 2019 Just outside Toy Story Lands back entrance this is a huge land that everyone will be excited to see.
The official opening of Toy story land is on June 30th and most likely will be packed for many months. With the opening of Pandora at Disney animal kingdom last year do expect long wait times for slinky dog dash of up to 4 hours or more and maybe as long to do alien swirling saucers for the first three months. Both will be most likely an ”E ticket” ride and will be on a tier system along with toy story mania. Keep in mind that if you are looking for fast passes that you can select your fast passes up to 30 days up to your first day of visit if you’re not staying on Disney property. For those who are staying on property you can select your fast passes up to 60 days and you will be entitled to extra magic hours. Disney Hollywood studios will most likely have early magic hours and late magic hours for their guest for the remainder of the summer if history repeats as Pandora did last year.
This new land is something to experience and you will see something new every time you go. Just bring your water with you as here in Florida is does get hot. Stay hydrated and play big!
