FOR THE KID IN EVERYONE
Toy Story Land invites kids, kids at heart for a playdate like no other
Toy Story Land beckons you: Be a kid again.
Better yet, jump into a kid’s toy box and be a kid’s “honorary toy.”
That’s right: Toy Story Land, an 11-acre themed attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, is designed to make you feel like you’re one of the toys inside Andy’s backyard, and Andy — the boy who owns Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie and all the toys who come to life in Pixar’s “Toy Story” movies — has left his fun stuff out.
If you’ve seen the movies, you know: When Andy’s away, the toys will play.
You’re surrounded by giant Tinker Toys, crayons, building blocks, jacks, board-game pieces, Scrabble tiles and more.
Sarge and the green army men stand guard around the perimeter — to be sure Andy’s bully neighbor, Sid, doesn’t come around and swipe toys.
A 20-foot-tall Sheriff Woody welcomes you to Toy Story Land by announcing every few minutes,
“Never in all my years with ‘Toy Story’ did I think I’d actually be able to play in Andy’s backyard.”
Tim Allen, voice of Buzz Lightyear
“Hey, howdy, hey!”
Lest you forget that you are now tiny like a toy, look down at the pavement: stamped into the walkways are the gigantic footprints of Andy’s sneakers.
Toy Story Land shows off the brilliance of the Disney-Pixar collaboration — and also the new mission of Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The theme park — originally called Disney-MGM Studios — used to focus on taking guests behind the scenes at the movies.
Now, Disney wants to take guests inside the movies — by putting you in Andy’s backyard, or on a Star Wars outpost, or into a Mickey Mouse cartoon.
(The new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction, scheduled to open in 2019 in the theater where the Great Movie Ride used to be, will start with guests watching a new Mickey Mouse cartoon, and then boarding a cartoon-looking train with a mayhem-making conductor, Goofy. Soon, the choo-choo chugs right into a world of animation.)
Toy Story Land features three rides — the new Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster and the new spinning ride, Alien Swirling Saucers, and Toy Story Mania!, which has been popular for several years.
Want to spring, bounce and roll like Andy’s Slinky Dog in the movie?
Then, hop aboard Slinky
Dog Dash, a roller coaster that loops around the whole land and gives riders incredible views of Hollywood Studios, including the upcoming Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge land that’s slated to open in fall 2019.
The idea behind the ride: Andy was playing with his Dash & Dodge Mega Koaster Kit, and, since Andy’s a creative and imaginative kid, he decides to build a coaster and attach his coiling Slinky Dog to the track.
You — as an honorary toy — get to step into Andy’s creation.
As you’re waiting in line, you see Andy’s crayon drawings showing how he plans to snap together his yellow, red, blue and orange coaster track. He positions colorful strings of lights, and Jessie the cowgirl and Rex the dinosaur wrangle on top of the track.
All around the coaster are giant game pieces and other stuff Andy has scattered about. When you’re in line — and you will be — Saturday’s openingday lines for this ride were 270 minutes long! — check out the details.
My favorite touch is the giant box that Rex the T-Rex came in, complete with the price tag from Al’s Toy Shop.
Because you’re supposed to be small, the box is really about two stories high, and Jessie and Rex are gigantic, too.
Slinky Dog Dash is so fun, my grandson, Jack, 5, proclaimed it “fast and exciting,” and he begged to go on again and again.
You board the 18-passenger Slinky train and take off. In a Disney first, this roller coaster has two launches: the first half of the ride has many turns and dips, and after a second launch through a series of rings, the ride has a deep drop and a
series of Slinky-esque camelback humps. Those humps were my favorite part of the ride.
Jack’s favorite part: “When Slinky made the fast curve around the pile of giant blocks!”
As the coaster cruises to a stop, Wheezy the penguin serenades you with “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.”
Also new: Alien Swirling
Saucers, a spinning ride starring the three-eyed green aliens that Andy won at Pizza Planet in the “Toy Story” movies.
A 14-foot Buzz Lightyear poses at the entry to this ride, which features 22 “rocket ships” pulled by the “flying saucers” of each green alien.
This ride is fun and not too wild, similar to Disney’s Teacups ride at the Magic Kingdom.
My favorite part: the robotic voices of the aliens.
Remember in the “Toy Story” movies, when the alien toys are plucked from the arcade game by the claw? The green aliens say: ‘We are eternally grateful.”
At the end of the ride, they say: “We are eternally dizzy.”
When your stomach stops spinning, head to Woody’s
Lunch Box, the quick-service restaurant dishing up food like Andy’s mom might make.
“There’s a great story behind it,” says Jerry Mora, one of Disney’s food experts who showed off the food last week, during a preview for media. “Mom preps Andy’s lunch box, and he opens it in his playground. He leaves his yard with his lunch box still in it.”
That means you, as an “honorary toy,” have a chance to eat old-school treats with a twist, such as the S’more Toasted Sandwich, which features a layer of melty marshmallow, a layer of vanilla cream, a layer of dark chocolate and crumbled graham crackers on top.
Toy Story Mania! — the carnival ride that takes you through a maze of toys, as you try to hit targets with a pop gun — has been open for a few years, and it’s now part of Toy Story Land.
“With this new land, we’re taking what we do best — creating magical experiences — and combining them with the heart, the humor, and the adventure of ‘Toy Story,’ said Bob Chapek, chairman of Disney Parks Experiences and Consumer Products, at Friday’s dedication. “We’ve created an unbelievable place where you will magically transform to the size of a toy, and experience new adventures for the whole family. With new attractions, including the one-of-a-kind Slinky Dog Dash and Alien Swirling Saucers, you’re in store for an experience that you will never forget.”
Tim Allen, the voice of Buzz Lightyear, showed up, too.
“This is just amazing,” Allen said. ”Never in all my years with ‘Toy Story’ did I think I’d actually be able to play in Andy’s backyard.”