Toy Story Land expansion announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios

[TikibirdLand]

As mentioned above, this side of TSL was supposed to be themed to Woody and Westerns. That's why BBQ fits. Also, the artist concept we have shows the restaurant themed to Westerns and not a Midway.

"Cardboard Cut-outs" is the theme given to the TSMM queue. And, that's the theme going on in the BBQ restaurant. I believe they're the same. Saying, "The cutouts are all western themed" doesn't really change it much.

 

[Brer Oswald]

"Cardboard Cut-outs" is the theme given to the TSMM queue. And, that's the theme going on in the BBQ restaurant. I believe they're the same. Saying, "The cutouts are all western themed" doesn't really change it much.

I think Penguin’s point is that it was going to fit better. Which, yeah that’s true based on the concept art. But the outcome is weak now. A “better than nothing” approach. Once again, they half- Toy Story integration in the parks. It’s not like it’s one of their most popular, and most profitable, IPs or anything...

Well, maybe the food is good.

 

[Surferboy567]

I find a charm in the oversized toys scattered around the land. Maybe it’s just me but I enjoy Toy Story Land. It could be so much better but I don’t think it’s even close to how bad some make it out to be.

 

[raymusiccity]

Or one stroller!

Give them some credit.....looks like you could squeeze a double stroller back there !

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

It still boggles my mind the way Disney handles Toy Story in the parks.

In almost any other thematic situation Disney does a solid-or-better job of distilling down the premise and then serving up something that acts as wish-fulfillment for the audience. Finding the core of the matter and translating it into something that, somewhere in their heart, the guest has always wanted to do.

Fly off to Neverland. Sail a pirate voyage. Ride a runaway train. Visit a haunted house. See wildlife on a Safari. Climb mountains. These are timeless, cross-generational aspirations that people carry, either publicly or privately, through their whole lives, and most people have some version of them.

The keystone concept to a themed Toy Story experience is right there . . . Play with your favorite toys come to life. Who didn't want that as a child? Who wouldn't love that as a grown-up?

Now, that's not a concept that is specifically tied to the Toy Story IP - and that's part of the benefit. Whether or not you grew up with Woody, Buzz, and the Toy Story toys specifically, everyone wants to relive the days where you believed your toys were alive and could play with you. The potential is there to make that dream real for people of all ages and bring Playtime to life like never before. It's a golden, home-run concept, and Toy Story Land totally bunts on it.

There are just so many millions of ideas that can come out of "Childhood Playtime" and be turned into gangbusters attractions for a theme park. They should be looking at essential experiences you have with a toy that you always wished were real - driving a toy car, playing in a doll's house, stuffed animal tea parties, playing with action figures . . . the kinds of things everyone did with their toys. Then take those ideas and elevate those to unprecedented levels. Do the stuff kids dream of. I think a big part of the problem is that Disney seems to have formulated backward from the Toy Story Characters saying "what can we put these on in a park" instead of forward from "what are the hallmarks of Playtime, and how do we make that come to life for the guest?", and THEN tie the Toy Story characters into that.

Not to mention, the only toys in Toy Story Land that really come to life are Mr. Potato Head, Wheezy, and the Army Men (when they're active in the land). Everyone else is basically a giant fiberglass mannequin - nice to look at, but not for playing with. Huh?? Did they SEE the Toy Story Movies?? Woody, Jessie, and Buzz do also make appearances and greet guests, but they directly contradict the oversized figures, which makes their presence even weirder. Even when it's ABOUT the Toy Story Characters, it isn't really about the Toy Story Characters, because none of this really feels like 'Playtime with Woody and Buzz', who are basically footnotes in a land full of rides that seem reverse engineered from their ride systems rather than any imaginative aspirational thought.

Who ever looked and said, unpromted, "I want to go on a Swirling Saucer with some Aliens" - nobody, because that doesn't even tie back to the Toy Story Aliens and what they do in the movies. Nor does it really tie with any classic toy, beyond having the Aliens be . . . there. Same with Slinky Dog Dash - yes, of course people like Roller Coasters, but the premise of this one is literally that Slinky was taped on. Show of hands, who wanted to ride Slinky Dog as a kid? I had a K'nex toy coaster growing up, but I didn't really dream of shrinking down to ride it as much as I dreamed of just being able to ride a real roller coaster. That's an Amusement Park staple, not a Playtime staple. Meanwhile, an RC Car is much more a childhood institution, is more outlandishly designed than any car I now drive an an adult, has kinetic potential, AND Toy Story HAS an RC Car character to link to. Seems like that direction could have made for a better thrill ride in the land that checks a box for both the inner and outer child - while also making for a killer playset at the gift shop.

(I'm aware there's an RC Ride in Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai - if that had been parlayed into a ride with an actual layout instead of a mere half-pipe experience I think we'd be talking).

It just seems obvious that Disney did the bare minimum with basically all their Toy Story attractions worldwide by trying to check some of their own boxes instead of looking holistically at the potential the property had to tap into deep-seated dream-making for the guest. Which is a shame, because it squanders the unreal potential of one of their most profitable properties. "We'll make some oversized toys they can't really play with and say they shrank". You'd think they would have done better.

To bring this back on topic, I hope the restaurant has some nice vegetarian options.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

Who ever looked and said, unpromted, "I want to go on a Swirling Saucer with some Aliens" - nobody, because that doesn't even tie back to the Toy Story Aliens and what they do in the movies. Nor does it really tie with any classic toy, beyond having the Aliens be . . . there.

Actually my family loves it, we ride it every trip and love hearing the aliens phrases and fun techno music. I think it fits fine, the aliens are in the claw machine like TS1 but with ride vehicles added to transport guests along with them. The theme lends itself to being more fitting than other versions since there are multiple aliens in the film, while Mater or Bymax are only one character.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Actually my family loves it, we ride it every trip and love hearing the aliens phrases and fun techno music. I think it fits fine, the aliens are in the claw machine like TS1 but with ride vehicles added to transport guests along with them. The theme lends itself to being more fitting than other versions since there are multiple aliens in the film, while Mater or Bymax are only one character.

Oh I certainly wasn't passing judgment on anyone who loves it - I've ridden more than once and enjoyed myself fine.

But when you heard Disney was adding a Toy Story Land, was Alien Swirling Saucers what your heart wished they would build? Or are we just enjoying it because that's what's there?

 

[Casper Gutman]

Actually my family loves it, we ride it every trip and love hearing the aliens phrases and fun techno music. I think it fits fine, the aliens are in the claw machine like TS1 but with ride vehicles added to transport guests along with them. The theme lends itself to being more fitting than other versions since there are multiple aliens in the film, while Mater or Bymax are only one character.

You’re not riding in Mater in the vastly superior California version, you’re riding behind the cow-like Tractors while Mater sings a wide variety of different charming songs. It’s a really, really good flat.

The Alien version makes no sense. What is the ride even meant to be? A play set? What kind? The Aliens in TS were cheap squeeky toys. Why are they featured in this inexplicable playset? Why is the claw there? That was only meaningful in the film to the Aliens themselves, it wasn’t part of some overarching diegetic fiction that included the Aliens. Like all the rest of TSL, the thinking behind it begins and ends at, “remember these from Toy Story?” Nothing in the land progresses beyond the level of vague idea to allow the suspension of disbelief and a sensation of immersion. It’s a collection of randomly placed stuff.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

Oh I certainly wasn't passing judgment on anyone who loves it - I've ridden more than once and enjoyed myself fine.

But when you heard Disney was adding a Toy Story Land, was Alien Swirling Saucers what your heart wished they would build? Or are we just enjoying it because that's what's there?

Well i knew it was a Mater type and I just wanted some basic phrases from them and I think they gave more than I expected

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Well i knew it was a Mater type and I just wanted some basic phrases from them and I think they gave more than I expected

I think you might be missing my point, but I'm glad you enjoy the ride.

 

[networkpro]

You’re not riding in Mater in the vastly superior California version, you’re riding behind the cow-like Tractors while Mater sings a wide variety of different charming songs.

I call poppycock on that notion as both are variants of The Whip which first went into service in 1914.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Why is the claw there? That was only meaningful in the film to the Aliens themselves, it wasn’t part of some overarching diegetic fiction that included the Aliens. Like all the rest of TSL, the thinking behind it begins and ends at, “remember these from Toy Story?”

It’s almost as if everyone working on Toy Story Land has somehow only seen stills from the movies but never actually watched any of the movies themselves. Just look at the ridiculous backstory for the new shop. Andy’s mom had a vintage Jessie’s Trading Post play set that she kept through the move, kept through the garage sale, and kept in the attic? She didn’t seem to know Woody was valuable but she kept this play set and then let Andy play with it? And what a coincidence that he found the vintage collectible doll that goes with this piece his mom has been holding on to all these years!

(Andy’s mom is too young to be Emily.)

 

[Brer Oswald]

Oh I certainly wasn't passing judgment on anyone who loves it - I've ridden more than once and enjoyed myself fine.

But when you heard Disney was adding a Toy Story Land, was Alien Swirling Saucers what your heart wished they would build? Or are we just enjoying it because that's what's there?

It’s supplementary. But that’s the problem. Too much of TSL feels like just that. Had it opened with a quality dark ride, a play area for kids & adults, and the coaster, many of us wouldn’t be complaining (at least not as much).

What we got was a decent family coaster, a flat ride, a quick service window, and a new entrance to a mini game ride that really doesn’t take advantage of the IP it’s using. No new family ride. No play area. No restaurant. No store. No shade.

 

[rreading]

It’s supplementary. But that’s the problem. Too much of TSL feels like just that. Had it opened with a quality dark ride, a play area for kids & adults, and the coaster, many of us wouldn’t be complaining (at least not as much).

What we got was a decent family coaster, a flat ride, a quick service window, and a new entrance to a mini game ride that really doesn’t take advantage of the IP it’s using. No new family ride. No play area. No restaurant. No store. No shade.

It could have been better…but at least the Alien ride fit a clear need for a low thrill ride at HS.

I wish they could have made it smoother.

 

[celluloid]

Toy Story Land is like Pop Century or All Star Movies, but at least the value resorts are more consistent in scale. Something, the most important feature you would think TSL would focus on.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Toy Story Land is like Pop Century or All Star Movies, but at least the value resorts are more consistent in scale. Something, the most important feature you would think TSL would focus on.

A yo-yo is not the same size as a bowling pin.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

A yo-yo is not the same size as a bowling pin.

More consistent does not mean perfectly consistent.

It's sort of a testament to how inconsistent scale is in Toy Story Land.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

I think you might be missing my point, but I'm glad you enjoy the ride.

Oh, i mean of course I'd like a better ride for them. An E ticket woulda been great.

 

[MisterPenguin]

More consistent does not mean perfectly consistent.

It's sort of a testament to how inconsistent scale is in Toy Story Land is.

It would be nice if the critiques people threw around were consistent.

 

[mikejs78]

I love TSL. There are certainly issues, but it's a very fun area of the park. One of my family's favorites at the moment.

I think people here substantially underestimate its appeal. It's charming.