Toy Story Land is now open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando and this playful section of the theme park is a welcome addition. While it may be new at Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland have had their versions of Toy Story Land before it arrived in Florida.
Themed after the Pixar movie franchise, Toy Story Land “shrinks” visitors down to the size of toys and places them into the backyard of the film’s human – Andy. It’s here where Andy has used Tinker Toys, Green Army Men, Slinky Dog, a Mega Coaster Kit and more toys to create a play area straight out of every child’s toy box.
Disney Imagineers were very creative in using these “toys” to create fences, light fixtures, merchandise kiosks, even a quick service restaurant – not to mention two of the land’s signature rides.
Inside Toy Story Land you won’t find any gift shops, but you will find multiple kiosks selling Toy Story themed merchandise. If you want to check out a larger selection of TS merch, you’ll have to go outside the land and into the park’s main gift shops to find what you’re looking for.
You’re not going to find many dining choices. Toy Story Land is home to one quick-service restaurant, Woody’s Lunchbox, which serves sandwiches (what one would expect to be in a lunchbox) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
You will find characters out and about greeting guests. Woody, Jessie, and Buzz Lightyear are available for photo opps, while the Green Army Men are out marching through the land providing some entertainment.
You’ll find a roller coaster! Slinky Dog Dash is a family-friendly coaster that delivers thrills through a series of launches, hills, and drops. There are no inversions, so I consider it a mild coaster, on the level of Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train but a bit more thrilling. Wait times for the ride can get lengthy since it’s new, and right now FastPasses are hard to come by.
There are aliens! Yes, the aliens have arrived in the form of Alien Swirling Saucers, a spinning ride that may look awfully familiar to those who have visited Disneyland in CA. Over in Cars Land, there’s a ride called Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, Alien Swirling Saucers is the same ride but themed to Toy Story Land. Riders step inside a spaceship piloted by one of the little green men and go for a spinning journey. It’s not as spinny as a teacup ride but is quite fun, although short.
Toy Story Mania is still there, but now has a new entrance and a new name. The “Midway” has been dropped from the ride’s monicker and a new entrance from Toy Story Land takes riders into the attraction where you board a vehicle and shoot a multitude of targets to see who racks up the highest score.
One thing you won’t find much of in Toy Story Land is shade. This has been a complaint of many visitors who are spending time waiting in ride queues. The Florida sun can be brutal during the summer and waiting out in the heat can be exhausting and dangerous if you don’t stay hydrated and get some rest in the shade.
Since there aren’t any gift shops in Toy Story Land, you can’t duck inside for some of that cold air and most of the seating at Woody’s Lunchbox is also unshaded. Disney has begun to place portable umbrellas up around walkways which people are using to escape the sun, but it’s not a solution to a hot problem.
Overall, the land is fun, colorful and beautiful when lit up at night. However, it’s small. A tad cramped when busy, as it has been since opening. Theming is on-point and really does “shrink you down to the size of a toy” as was promised.
Take a quick walk around Toy Story Land with me in this video to see more of the area as I walk around:
What are your thoughts on Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Let me know in the comments.