Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios: Here’s What You Need to Know
Disney is heavily promoting the opening of Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios in Orlando this summer. The official opening date for the new space is June 30, 2018. So what can you expect? Is this another Pandora? In short, no. But it could still be fun. Here’s a quick overview of what to expect from this new land.
Location
The new Toy Story Land is set to open in Hollywood Studios on an 11-acre area of space behind the existing Toy Story Midway Mania ride. If you’re familiar with the park, the new entrance is to the right of the existing Pixar archway. The new area is also adjacent to the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge that is currently under construction (and currently covered with green trees on the Disney issued map above!).
Photo by Disney Parks
Two new rides
Toy Story Land is set to include two new rides: Alien Swirling Saucers and Slinky Dog Dash. The first ride is a variation of the popular “spinner” rides at Disney. In other words, it’s not too adventurous. Its fun theming and low height restriction (32″) means it should easily appeal to the masses. Alien Swirling Saucers features the three-eyed Pizza Planet martians and the revered “claw” (metal clasp that grabs your prize in those impossible arcade games) from the first Toy Story film.
Photo by Disney Parks
The second ride looks like the more interesting of the two. According to Disney, the Slinky Dog Dash is a family-friendly coaster that gently swings on a track through Andy’s backyard. The track winds past larger than life toys and includes a quick stop to watch Wheezy, the penguin squeaker toy from the films, sing You’ve Got A Friend in Me. The height restriction for this one is 38″, which still makes it reachable for young guests. Expect the ride to be on the same thrill level as the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom.
One existing ride
The one existing ride that is being incorporated into the new space is the extremely popular Toy Story Midway Mania. On this attraction, guests board moving cars, don 3-D glasses and test their skills at carnival games like darts or the ring toss. It’s a fun ride and features an entertaining waiting space packed with classic toys like Tinker Toys, Scrabble and Etch-a-Sketch.
Disney increased ride capacity for Toy Story Midway Mania two years ago by adding a third track. This year the ride stays mostly unchanged, but the entrance has been moved to the back of the existing building. The move was necessary so that guests could enter the attraction from within the new Toy Story Land.
Fast Pass+ Selections
Disney started offering FastPass+ selections for Toy Story Land earlier this spring. Guests staying on Disney property can book the attractions 60 days before the first day of their trip. Guests staying off property can start making their selections at the 30 day mark. If you don’t book anything until the day of your visit, you can still choose FastPass+ options at kiosks in the park. Please note that the odds of nabbing a Toy Story-related attraction at that point will be low.
All three of the rides in the new space have been grouped into Tier One for selection purposes. That means guests will only get to chose ONE of these three attractions (Alien Swirling Saucers, Slinky Dog Dash OR Toy Story Midway Mania) for their first Fast Pass. This is similar to how Disney handled the new rides at Pandora last year.
Your best choice here for saving time is likely to be Slinky Dog Dash. It’s new and it’s a coaster so that should put it in greater demand than the other two. If you’re unable to get Slinky Dog, I would recommend Midway Mania as your second choice. Even though Midway Mania isn’t new, it’s still extremely popular and will likely become more so due to its proximity and theming relationship with the new space. Of course Swirling Saucers will still be popular too, just perhaps a tad less so. If that’s your first choice of the three rides, you will still save time in line by selecting it!
Since Disney reworked the FastPass+ tiers, that means guests can now choose their remaining TWO FastPass+ selections from the following attractions:
Beauty and the Beast Live, Disney Junior Live, Fantasmic!, Frozen Sing-a-long, Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, Muppet Vision 3D, Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, Star Tours, Tower of Terror and Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
The vast majority of these attractions are shows that don’t really require a FastPass+ to enjoy. Well, unless you have your heart set on sitting in the first few rows. If you like thrill rides, your best options for minimizing wait times are Rock ‘n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. Star Tours is a close third and still a solid choice.
Photo by Disney Parks
One new restaurant
Toy Story Land will also feature one new quick service restaurant called Woody’s Lunchbox. The restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Menu items include grilled cheese, barbecued brisket and ice cream floats. You can review the full menu at Disney’s site here.
Disney has been closing quick-service restaurants at Hollywood Studios with regularity over the last two years, so it’s good to see another option at the park. It’s a fun theming concept and should be popular when the new space opens this June.
Closing thoughts
Disney Hollywood Studios is getting a new land and that’s definitely something to celebrate. After several years of removing attractions, it’s good to see something in the plus column. I also love that the new rides are targeted toward kids, since the park has not traditionally featured many options for these guests.
So will Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios be as big as Pandora at Animal Kingdom? No. Don’t expect Hollywood Studios attendance to jump 15% this year like Animal Kingdom’s did last year. It will be busier of course, because anything new at Disney draws massive crowds. It just won’t be on the same level, because it’s not trying to be. Toy Story Land is designed to be a fun new space to pay tribute to the popular Pixar films past and present. (Toy Story 4 is in production). It expands on the already popular Toy Story Midway Mania ride and adds a new dimension to a park that is in transition thematically speaking.
Disney is saving their star power, over-the-top effects for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge that is also under construction right next to Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios. This new portion of the park won’t open until “late Fall 2019” so some guests are still likely to defer their trips until they can experience both new spaces. Of course there’s always something new coming to Disney World, especially lately, so there will still be plenty that make the leap and visit Toy Story Land this year.
Overall, it’s a promising start to future attractions at Hollywood Studios and a fun way to kick off summer 2018.
I hope your summer plans are equally exciting.
Add a little (Toy Story) magic to your world!