Toy Story Land expansion announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios

[Casper Gutman]

Those have pathetic rides. The rides we're getting are much improved. They won't be for everyone. I've left myself open to seeing the finished land and whether I'll be immersed or not but for me the coaster, in this case, doesn't bother me. If they built an outdoor coaster with no theming anywhere else ala six flags and universal no i wouldn't like it at a Disney park. But in the context of zooming around Andys backyard, I'm good with it. You may even like it and find it fun.

What is your opinion of the coaster in Dinoland?

And looking at the most recent concept art, I don't see anything that makes the coaster look like something Andy built. It looks like a bare steel coaster.

 

[Casper Gutman]

TSL is a much needed expansion to the Studios. This plot fulfills the need for a less overwhelming (for lack of better word) theme, like SWGE will be. Andy's backyard is a bit more welcoming to the younger family demo, and will also include three rides that the entire family can enjoy together. The alien spinners are akin to the Mater ride, which is really a fun ride that is a surprise to most who ride it the first time. The coaster is an entry level coaster, one step above the mine train. And Midway Mania is still a huge draw. The backyard feel seems to be more inclusive than the other parks versions, as they are carrying it through with a fence and more varied levels of lanscaping, it's not just flat. The coaster is not short, its takes up a great length of the land, and uses technology similar to California Screaming for two launches - they are not going off the rack with the ride. The coaster being exposed track, is part of the theme.

In short, they needed a family friendly land to even out the other attractions while the Mickey Ride is being built. You cannot just give the younger families shows to keep them happy.

Will either of the rides in SWL have height limits or otherwise prohibit children from riding? My impression is that they won't, but I could be wrong.

And again, there is absolutely no reason that "rides that the entire family can enjoy together" need to be flat rides or bare coasters. They could be at the creative level the Fantasyland dark rides, or the Country Bears, or any number of beloved attractions Disney has built before. A Monsters Land with a version of Tokyo's dark ride would be perfect, for instance.

 

[Kman101]

What is your opinion of the coaster in Dinoland?

And looking at the most recent concept art, I don't see anything that makes the coaster look like something Andy built. It looks like a bare steel coaster.

Eh sometimes you just have to let go and have fun and not take it all so seriously, IMO.

I think Primeval Whirl is fun. It fits the carny area it's in even if I don't care for Dinorama. It's a traveling carnival themed to dinos. I guess I'd prefer it not being there. I'm also personally not a fan of Screamin', so I guess liking Slinky makes me a bit of a hypocrite I suppose. Lol.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Eh sometimes you just have to let go and have fun and not take it all so seriously, IMO.

I think Primeval Whirl is fun. It fits the carny area it's in even if I don't care for Dinorama. It's a traveling carnival themed to dinos. I guess I'd prefer it not being there. I'm also personally not a fan of Screamin', so I guess liking Slinky makes me a bit of a hypocrite I suppose. Lol.

I really like that carny area and it's coaster, and I'm pretty much alone in that. I think it's witty, meta-referential, and in line with the rest of AKL. I also think Screamin's a neat coaster that more or less fits. I guess I'm also a hypocrite.

I just don't think anything we've seen, in art or elsewhere, makes the coaster look like something Andy built.

EDIT: Not take it seriously?!?!?! We're Disney fans on a Disney message board - taking theme parks far too seriously is what we do!

 

[Kman101]

I really like that carny area and it's coaster, and I'm pretty much alone in that. I think it's witty, meta-referential, and in line with the rest of AKL. I also think Screamin's a neat coaster that more or less fits. I guess I'm also a hypocrite.

I just don't think anything we've seen, in art or elsewhere, makes the coaster look like something Andy built.

I get what you're saying about it not looking like something Andy built.

 

[LithiumBill]

Will either of the rides in SWL have height limits or otherwise prohibit children from riding? My impression is that they won't, but I could be wrong.

And again, there is absolutely no reason that "rides that the entire family can enjoy together" need to be flat rides or bare coasters. They could be at the creative level the Fantasyland dark rides, or the Country Bears, or any number of beloved attractions Disney has built before. A Monsters Land with a version of Tokyo's dark ride would be perfect, for instance.

Again, you don't like the idea or concept, so nothing anyone says will change your thoughts... not that I am trying to. But there is an answer for everything. They could build build a dark ride or two in any "land". I would love that!

 

[LithiumBill]

I really like that carny area and it's coaster, and I'm pretty much alone in that. I think it's witty, meta-referential, and in line with the rest of AKL. I also think Screamin's a neat coaster that more or less fits. I guess I'm also a hypocrite.

My family and I love that area as well. See? I'm not too far far away.

 

[Brian Swan]

Targeting guest 2 is shortsighted after they visit and then compare this park to other parks (Legoland and Universal for example), and realize they have been fooled. Disney needs to target guest 1, and failing to do so hurts them in the long term. This land will most likely be a one-and-done for me and my girls.

"One and done" means so many different things to different people. To me, KRR was one and done, but it always has a long line (except in the winter). Ditto 7DMT. BOG was a definite o-a-d for me, but it remains one of the hardest to get ADRs in the MK. And though it heresy to day, YSMM was pretty much the same for me, but it routinely has some of the longest lines in DHS. It's all a matter of perspective...

 

[Jones14]

I like hats.

I've got a pirate friend I'd like to introduce you to.

 

[Kman101]

I really like that carny area and it's coaster, and I'm pretty much alone in that. I think it's witty, meta-referential, and in line with the rest of AKL. I also think Screamin's a neat coaster that more or less fits. I guess I'm also a hypocrite.

I just don't think anything we've seen, in art or elsewhere, makes the coaster look like something Andy built.

EDIT: Not take it seriously?!?!?! We're Disney fans on a Disney message board - taking theme parks far too seriously is what we do!

Yeah I know. Sometimes we take things far too literally and can't have fun with it. I still hold Disney to high standards but I'm not upset with getting Toy Story Land. It is what it is.

The carny area has grown on me a bit I suppose. But why is that OK and not Toy Story Land? Why can't you suspend belief and be in Andy's backyard? Just wondering.

 

[Disone]

Overall I am neutral on the coaster. It honestly looks like a fun family coaster, however I do wish there was a bit more theming to it. The original artist rendering lead you to believe the first lift was more traditional and the second was a linear launch. However looking at the now completed track it looks like they are both linear launches. That's fine for fun, but if there is a con to that it would be that it would cut down on the total ride time.

I was hoping that the track itself would not be so bare-bones and perhaps at least an attempt to theme it to look like Tinker Toys. They did this to gadgets go coaster at Disneyland and it helps reduce the bare-bones look of that coaster.

I know it's for the kids but honestly I've always disliked that argument. It's really not for the kids, it's for the family. In a Disney theme park it should be highly themed. "For the kids" is fine for Bugs Bunny World at Six Flags Magic Mountain but really should not be used as justification for a bare-bones coaster at a Disney theme park.

That all said this is not a deal-breaker for me. This is not the theme crime of the century. It looks like a fun coaster that families will enjoy in a Toy Story Land that so far I have hopes will exceed the previous attempts at Toy Story lands.

So I'm torn in clearly I have mixed thoughts on this coaster but in the end I land on it'll be okay. I'll probably end up enjoying it very much.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Yeah I know. Sometimes we take things far too literally and can't have fun with it. I still hold Disney to high standards but I'm not upset with getting Toy Story Land. It is what it is.

The carny area has grown on me a bit I suppose. But why is that OK and not Toy Story Land? Why can't you suspend belief and be in Andy's backyard? Just wondering.

I've rumbled on about my fondness for Dinoland elsewhere, but I find the land's satire of the degeneration of "edutainment" - from the purity of the dig itself to the commercialized science of the museum to the pure hokum of the carnival - an amusing jab at Disney (and particularly AK and EPCOT) itself. I also think the slightly tawdry depiction of southwest America, complete with roadside carny, fits in well with Africa and Asia, which offer slightly "grittier" and "more realistic" (though still not very realistic) depictions of their subjects then one might expect at a theme park.

Most of all, the carnival and its coaster look like a (slightly sanitized) version of what they're supposed to look like. The art and construction doesn't make the TSL coaster or flat ride look like something Andy built. If the coaster had, say, multi-colored track pieces, supports designed to look like items a child might use to prop up toys, and a more logical train (why is Slinky Dog a roller coaster now?), it might work better. But we haven't seen any indication of that. And the Alien Spinner doesn't look like an unpacked toy, it looks like... a flat ride. And the whole doesn't look like it adds up to more than its parts - the land seems to lack cohesive scale and logic. The "fence" seems comparatively tiny, the toys vary wildly in relative, the transition to Andy's room (on the houses second floor) doesn't make a lot of sense.

Maybe I'm wrong about all of this, but between earlier lands, artwork, and construction shots we have a pretty good idea of what we're getting.

 

[Fox&Hound]

A random thought occured to me: why does this land have to be in Andy's backyard? As many have mentioned there is very little about the rides that suggest they are his toys in his back yard. Why could they not have designed it that everything (including TSMM) is all in Andy's bedroom). Too repetitive? Just thinking it would have given them more ways to hide access roads and other buildings.

Edit- that is also a "land" from a movie we are more familair with.

 

[Next Big Thing]

In regard to discussion a couple pages back, the number I saw thrown around for track length is ~3300 ft. Similar to RnRC (3400 I think) but slower.

So what are we looking at 90 second coaster? Less?

 

[Movielover]

A random thought occured to me: why does this land have to be in Andy's backyard? As many have mentioned there is very little about the rides that suggest they are his toys in his back yard. Why could they not have designed it that everything (including TSMM) is all in Andy's bedroom). Too repetitive? Just thinking it would have given them more ways to hide access roads and other buildings.

Edit- that is also a "land" from a movie we are more familair with.

I see what you mean but that would then bring up the question "Why does Andy's room have no roof?"

The same level of disbelief if not more would be needed to apply to that... Or Disney could finally build that dome...

 

[Kman101]

I do think saying Andy built everything, etc. was probably a mistake but I get why they chose the backyard idea. I understand the complaints it's not something he logically would make in the backyard. Sometimes you just have to ... go with it.

 

[Fox&Hound]

I do think saying Andy built everything, etc. was probably a mistake but I get why they chose the backyard idea. I understand the complaints it's not something he logically would make in the backyard. Sometimes you just have to ... go with it.

Oh yeah- I don't really mind it. I am actually super excited for this land! It was just a thought that occured to me the other day. I have high hopes that it will all come together.

I am also hoping that when this, Star Wars land, and Mickey come on board they can replace one or two of the shows (Beauty or Mermaid) and this park will be headed in a real positive direction!

 

[Kman101]

Oh yeah- I don't really mind it. I am actually super excited for this land! It was just a thought that occured to me the other day. I have high hopes that it will all come together.

I am also hoping that when this, Star Wars land, and Mickey come on board they can replace one or two of the shows (Beauty or Mermaid) and this park will be headed in a real positive direction!

Agreed. Wasn't directing it really towards you lol but I think the land will be fine. People can take issue with it and that's fine too. It is what it is. I think the rides will be very welcome additions. I'd also love a few more dark rides but that's not what they gave us. I still wish they had given us the Monsters Inc. coaster on top of this. Maybe some day ... Once SW:GE opens and the shows get updates it will be a better park. And then that leaves Animation Courtyard. Curious to see what becomes of that ... and who's to say they don't retheme RnRC (uh oh better watch out mentioning that ...) in 5-10 years from now? Will be a very different park and I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I do think saying Andy built everything, etc. was probably a mistake but I get why they chose the backyard idea. I understand the complaints it's not something he logically would make in the backyard. Sometimes you just have to ... go with it.

I completely get the desire to "go with it" but when you do (ie. keep giving them money at the same rate) it incentivizes them to add more things like this.

Every decision is a balance between people concerned with the budget and people concerned with building new and interesting rides that fit in the park (this is a gross over-simplification, but I'm lazy.) I find it very hard to believe the latter group had much to do with TSL at all - and that's part of a pattern. And that pattern is why I get inordinately and absurdly annoyed by this area.

 

[Kman101]

I completely get the desire to "go with it" but when you do (ie. keep giving them money at the same rate) it incentivizes them to add more things like this.

Every decision is a balance between people concerned with the budget and people concerned with building new and interesting rides that fit in the park (this is a gross over-simplification, but I'm lazy.) I find it very hard to believe the latter group had much to do with TSL at all - and that's part of a pattern. And that pattern is why I get inordinately and absurdly annoyed by this area.

I can understand that. But they've shown me they're going to do what they're going to do. I'm not going to fight against something that's already in the process of coming and opening next year. What's done is done. The mass public will eat it up and that's who they care about. Unfortunately they don't agree with how we view things. It's not as bad as you're making it out to be in your mind, but I do understand your concerns about it.