-Woody’s Wild West Rescue!-
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An all new top spin/simulator hybrid starring Woody and the Roundup Gang will be coming to Frontierland in Walt Disney World! This never-before used in a Disney park ride system will take themed thrill rides to the next level while still being gentle enough for younger guests. Not only will this attraction be pioneering technology new to Disney parks and resorts, but it will also be stage one in perhaps the largest expansion of the Magic Kingdom in the park’s history.
-Location-
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This ride will be placed past Walt Disney World's Thunder Mountain in a new expansion to the park. A new path will be built along the side of Thunder Mountain known as Thunder Trail. Additional themeing elements will be added as well as meet and greets with Woody and the Roundup Gang to help make Thunder Trail not feel empty (as there wouldn’t really be enough space for a full attraction here).
Guests then will cross a bridge into Jackelope Junction. A small ghost town subsection of Frontierland. Despite the heavy presence of Woody, the area is built like a more realistic ghost town addition to Frontierland. This is not a cowboy Toon Town. It’s a cowboy town with Woody and friends in it.
There will be a new quick service restaurant called the Jackelope Saloon. It will distinguish itself from the diamond Horseshoe Saloon by being a more rustic, Wild West aesthetic. This small restaurant will be little more than a food stand. Roughly the size of Gaston’s tavern. It will be the only place to get the new park exclusive drink: The Snake in my Boot. A sour grape based drink served in either a Woody themed cowboy boot cup or a Jackelope Junction themed beer mug. The drink itself is non-alcoholic of course. You can also order bowls of the fictional Cowboy Crunchies cereal to eat here. Woody’s favorite cereal!
A staged, outdoor gunfight between a sheriff and a bandit will happen as a streetmosphere show throughout the day. There will also be a store (which doubles as the exit to the ride) known as The Roundup Shop: Sponsored by Cowboy Crunchies. The outside of the store looks like a simple Wild West mercantile. More on the inside of the store later.
The highlight of Jackelope Junction is the new E-ticket attraction: Woody’s Wild West Rescue!
-Façade-
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The entrance to the attraction is themed as a barn (like the one seen in the theme to Woody’s Roundup). Of course, the barn is given a more realistic look to fit in with Jackelope Junction. Guests can see rockwork behind the barn. The rock work is very orange and colorful to fit in with the nearby Thunder mountain. This hides the actual show building (and the train tracks). Observant guests might notice that part of the queue winds its way up and over to cross a bridge disguised as rock work over the train tracks to enter the show building, but most guests will be fooled into thinking the whole attraction magically fits in this barn.
-Queue-
As mentioned, guests start their journey by entering into the barn. This first part of the queue is themed as, you guessed it, a barn. Hay bales, farming equipment, horseshoes hanging on the wall. This looks like a barn that might actually have been seen on the frontier. At the end of this section is a staircase. A sign near the staircase reads “Woody’s Roundup Museum on 2nd Floor.” Along the walls of the stairwell are paintings of Woody, Jessie, Bullseye, and Stinky Pete. These serve as a reminder to those less familiar with Toy Story 2 of who the members of the roundup gang are.
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Upstairs is a room full of “genuine” merchandise and memorabilia from Woody’s Roundup. Even some “sets” and “puppets” from the show. Staged to look almost like a roadside attraction museum someone set up in their barn, this section of the queue will be a delight to fans of Toy Story and make people start to question whether Woody’s old TV show was actually real or not. Part of this museum is a bridge over the train tracks connecting to the main show building. Guests then exit the museum into a “cave” which has a sloping path down into the waiting area to be let into the ride itself.
-Ride System-
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As mentioned earlier, the basis for the ride system is a modified version of the Top Spin carnival ride. The main arms can swing full 360 around and the cabin can be spun independently. Real life versions tend to go for more extreme rides with inversions. The Woody ride, while technically capable of being more extreme with inversions, will not use that. It will be toned down (removing inversions and not building to its top speed capabilities) to be more family friendly, but not too toned down to no longer be fun. Even with being toned down, this will stand out as one of the (of not the) biggest thrills in Magic kingdom.
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Woody’s West Rescue will also use a larger version. It will feature a higher capacity and longer arms allowing for bigger motions. This will be a very similar model to the one once used for Tomb Raider the ride in King’s dominion. Tomb Raider was the first real attempt to combine a Top Spin with dark ride elements and was well received (for a non-Disney park). It would be there still today if it wasn’t treated so poorly with retheming and updating when Paramount (and with it tomb Raider) left the park.
Interested parties who want a bit more background on the Top Spin ride system and tomb Raider the Ride should watch the attached video by Defunctland.
Woody’s Wild West Rescue will further change up how the ride system is used with the implementation of a simulator element.
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In the front of the room will be a large, domed projection screen. The Top Spin will be able to swing guests so that they are practically going inside the screen. Also, there will be two theaters to increase capacity. Space will be saved for a third if demand is high enough, but there are enough other attractions in Magic Kingdom that this should not be needed (unlike the third track/theater in Toy Story Mania and Soarin’ as those parks both have a much smaller number of attractions).
Think Soarin’, meets Star Tours, meets a carnival ride and you have a basic understanding of exactly how this will operate.
-Ride Experience-
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When it is their turn, guests are ushered into the ride room to board the vehicle (which holds 75 people at once) as the previous group is leaving. The high capacity of the vehicle should make up for potentially longer load/unload times. The theater itself is themed to feel as if you are in a cave. The screen is covered up. To guests, it will look like a large boarded up portion of the cave. In actuality, it is a thin, textured wall that acts as a curtain. The mechanical arms of the ride system are textured and decorated to look like they are made of stone themselves. The ride vehicle is made to look like an exceptionally very wide stage coach.
After they are loaded in a voice can be heard. It is a cheesy over the top narrator in the style of Jay Ward cartoons like Dudley Do Right.
On today’s episode of Woody’s Roundup, the dastardly Dusty Dan has captured the unsuspecting tourists in a cave as bait to try to trap the dashing hero of our tale, Woody, the rootinest tootinest cowboy in the wild wild west. Please keep your hands and arms inside the nefarious death trap at all times.
Luckily, the Roundup Gang has arrived to try to save the tourists, who are reminded to avoid using flash photography. But will they be able to escape the cruel clutches of Dusty Dan?
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The ride vehicle then begins to slowly lurch up/forward. It is an almost jerky movement as if being pulled by ropes. Woody and the Round up gang can be heard on the other side of the wooden “wall” but cannot be seen yet.
Woody: Jessie, you got the other lasso on them, right?
Jessie: Darn Tooting!
Woody: Bullseye, are you ready for a quick exit?
Bullseye: *Whinnies in agreement*
Woody: Stinky Pete, you have the stick of dynamite to blow open the cave, right?
Stinky Pete: A stick? I thought you said a barrel.
Woody: A Barrel!?!?!?
A big blast of sound and flash of light happens! The ride vehicle (which had worked its way to almost touching the wooden “wall”) is blasted back to the complete other side of the cave. The cabin is angled in a way that guests cannot see the “wall” as it is slid out of the way.
Woody: Jessie, grab the rope!
The vehicle stops fling backwards, guests are treated to a bit of hang time here before being pulled back towards the screen.
Woody: Ride like the wind Bullseye!!!
The vehicle swings rapidly towards the screen which shows Woody and co. riding Bullseye. Woody and Jessie are both holding ropes that go off opposite sides of the screen. This makes it look like the ropes are connected to the ride vehicle explaining how you are being pulled along by the heroes. The ride vehicle settles at roughly the middle of its rotation as far into the dome of the screen as possible. The cabin itself can shake as well as the arm bounce to simulate movement as the “wagon” we are in is dragged by Bullseye. Exciting sequences including Dusty Dan trying to throw dynamite or drop rocks on guests/Woody fill the scene with adventure.
At times, things that happen on screen cause the cabin to tilt or swing around the theater. 4-D effects like water/air spurts will help further immerse guests.
Anytime the cabin is swinging around the theater and therefore is not inside the domed screen, the characters in the film are either in another cave or underneath an archway of stone. Some lighting effect and willing suspicion of disbelief will transform the theater into whatever rocky areas guests are supposed to be swinging around according to the film.
Visually speaking, the film is the vibrant, colorful style seen in the opening to Toy Story 3. More stylistic touches are added to the animation to help make the canyon/desert come to life.
After roughly three minutes of thrilling swings/spins mixed with fun (but comparatively more relaxed so guests are given a chance to catch their breath) simulator segments, we reach the climax of our adventure!
Dusty Dan is chasing guests and catching up! There’s only one hope! We have to jump Cactus Gorge! Bullseye leaps into the air over the impossibly long gorge! The ride arm swings us up to about the peak height we can go and still be in the dome of the screen! Will we make it?
Suddenly the screen begins to transform into a black &white style. Woody and the Roundup gang transform into old school puppets. The scene is transformed into the Woody’s Roundup visual style. The voice from the start of the ride pops on again as text highlighting what he says appears on screen and the ride vehicle begins to return to its starting position.
Will our heroes survive their jump across Cactus Gorge?
Will Dusty Dan continue to cause chaos?
Will the tourists buy enough merchandise to justify this ride’s existence to Disney executives?
Find out next week on Woody’s Roundup!
The wooden “wall” then slides back into place as the restraints are opened. Guests can exit the theater as the next group comes in.
-Exit Gift Shop-
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The exit involves a similar sloped path to a bridge across the train tracks as the entrance did. Instead of a museum, the exit features murals of Woody and the Roundup gang enjoying delicious bowls of Cowboy Crunchies and using other cheesy fake sponsor products. This exits into the Roundup Shop: Sponsored by Cowboy Crunchies.
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Guests can purchase all kinds of merchandise themed to the attraction and Woody’s Roundup (Including a couple recreations of toys and memorabilia seen in toy Story 2/the queue line). Merchandise from the Toy Story franchise as a whole can be purchased here, but the focus is very heavily on Woody based merchandise. General Toy Story stuff can be bought in Toy Story Land. General Jackelope Junction/Frontierland merchandise can be bought here as well.
More fake ads featuring the Roundup gang with various sponsors decorate the shop. The Cowboy Crunchies ad is, of course, the biggest. Boxes of the cereal can actually be purchased to take home with you as well as special bowls and spoons!
-Changes to Walt Disney World Related to this Attraction-
First off, let’s address the elephant in the room. Toy Story already has a presence in Disney World between Toy Story Land and the Buzz Lightyear ride. Some changes will be coming either in the lead up to this ride opening or not long after this ride opens.
First off, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin will be closed. It will be getting a relatively cheap and simple retheme that will reuse the same ride system. Rumors persist of either Stitch (reusing the animatronics from Great Escape) or more Tron. In actuality, the replacement will be Hero’s Duty. Inspired by the sci-fi action game from Wreck-it-Ralph. Animatronic Sargent Calhoun will replace the animatronic Buzz. The aliens in the ride will get a more insect like makeover. This is seen by many Disney fans to be both a poor use of Wreck-it-Ralph and of the space, but it is a crowd pleaser that is tied to the release of Wreck-it-Ralph 2. Plus, the cheap retheme saves money for the large expansions coming to the Magic Kingdom.
Second off, Toy Story Mania will be altered. Woody and Jessie will still be featured, but their section will be reduced while Buzz Lightyear’s will be expanded to be the climax of that ride. This will be simple as all it will take is a redo of the animation. This will help avoid overuse of Woody and the Roundup Gang in the parks and soften the blow of losing the Buzz ride for Star Command fans.
“Why use Toy Story at all?”
Good Question! Two reasons.
One: Toy Story is seen as a safe bet as far as IPs go. It is very malleable and can be fit in a lot of themes. For this first of its kind attraction, a safe bet attraction was desired to help guarantee a return on investment if the attraction itself is difficult to sell to the general public considering its unique nature.
Two: Toy Story has a presence in the parks already. So, there won’t be huge disappointments if technical issues with the innovative ride system cause the ride to close frequently. Ride is closed and there is a crying child? Well they can still go ride toy Story Mania to see Woody and the gang! Or meet them along Thunder Trail! No worries! You couldn’t do that if this was an anchor attraction for a new land or the first ride for a new property like Dr. Strange or Coco.
“What about that Magic Kingdom expansion you off-handedly mentioned earlier?”
Another good question! You get 10/10 for question asking. That is my review of you!
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The Magic Kingdom is going to start to expand to encircle the Rivers of America.
Phase One will be an extension of Liberty Square with the Haunted Gardens walk through (similar to the Gardens of Wonder in Hong Kong Disneyland) and a currently unknown flat ride (Rumors point to a clone of Luigi’s Rollicking roadsters themed to a ghostly dance at a garden party). Also part of phase one will be the extension of Frontierland with Jackelope Junction and Woody’s Wild West Rescue! Work to reshape and shorten the unpopular Tom Sawyer Island as well as expanding out the loop of the train and alterations to backstage areas will all take place during phase one to accommodate the expansion.
Phase Two will involve a whole new land that will connect Tumbleweed Junction to Liberty Square around the back of Tom Sawyer Island. Details are scarce right now. Some rumors point to a new Toon town. Perhaps a Wakanda themed land utilizing a loophole in the Marvel theme park contract. Land of the Dead themed to Coco/Mexican culture is being looked at since the hispanic themes can blend well with Fronteirland and the death themes can blend well with Haunted Mansion allowing for smooth transitions.
Honestly, at this point even Disney doesn’t have a fully solid idea of what will go there. A lot of things have been proposed and are waiting for the execs to green light one. One thing that is known, part of this new land will have to be completely indoors due to the proximity to the fireworks launch site.
Phase Three will involve either expansions to the new land and Fantasyland to connect the two of them or another completely new land connecting the two. What this new land (or land extensions) will be as well as exactly what will have to be changed with the current Fantasyland to accommodate the expansion will be decided later.
Assuming the popularity and success of the ride system, clones of the Woody ride and/or new Top Spin Simulators will be added to parks all around the resort.
That's why were considering Uber. Yee Haw Bob starts at 8:30 so if we left 45 minutes after that via Uber it should be a stress-free drive that would allow us to for sure get in a big part of the show (Bob is a huge reason why we decided to stay at Riverside, with us being huge fans of Rod Miller from back in the Disneyland days)
