Toy Story Land expansion announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios

[J. D.]

And Black Panther was the biggest hit Disney has had in years, and set all sorts of box office records. He appears daily at Disneyland Resort, driving in to his meet-n-greet on his cool truck with his lady bodyguards who have totally committed to the role by shaving their heads.

That is really cool.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Latest aerial photos of Toy Story Land
https://www.wdwmagic.com/attraction...toy-story-land-aerial-pictures---may-2018.htm

Number of things of note (to me anyway):

• Amazing what 2 months will do for vegetation in Florida. Yes, a lot more plants have been added, but what was already in place is so much more lush and green, especially around the coaster track.
• They've matched the paint on the side of the TSMM show building along the entrance path to the land so it's all one color.
• The walkway railings are quite different from the model. Undecided if they're an upgrade or downgrade overall.
• The entrance marquee for A S S is much more elaborate than what was shown in the model. A definite step up. Still waiting on more props for the queue area. Subtle tweaks to the color scheme of the roof as well it appears.

A few model vs. actual shots (all from @wdwmagic):

 

[DisneyDrew]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to put this, but alien saucers just had a bunch of fastpasses open up for opening day. Just changed my TSM to it, got a good morning time.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! Just switched my Toy Story Mania to Alien as well on opening day!

 

[Coaster Lover]

Latest aerial photos of Toy Story Land
https://www.wdwmagic.com/attraction...toy-story-land-aerial-pictures---may-2018.htm

They certainly have their work cut out for them to get this completed in a little over a six and a half weeks. I mean, certainly not impossible, but the entrance to Midway Mania still seems to need a lot of work and other smaller sections still seem to have at least a couple weeks before being complete. I can't imagine them opening this up for previews anytime in at least the next 2-3 weeks (probably longer).

 

[DisneyDrew]

Here is all the merchandise for the Toy Story Land Box Lunch Tour! Looks awesome.

 

[wdwmagic]

They certainly have their work cut out for them to get this completed in a little over a six and a half weeks. I mean, certainly not impossible, but the entrance to Midway Mania still seems to need a lot of work and other smaller sections still seem to have at least a couple weeks before being complete. I can't imagine them opening this up for previews anytime in at least the next 2-3 weeks (probably longer).

We've been hearing for the last year or so that completion is running very tight. Fortunately it isn't a complex land, so there shouldn't be a huge amount of operational issues. Other than handling the masses of gussets of course.

 

[smile]

let's not forget the tsl opening date has more to do with grand scheduling than construction...
just because we've seen snail mode (or worse) doesn't mean cheetah speed can't happen - or is even particularly needed.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Can anyone name three characters from Avatar?

Inception is an enormously popular and widely-referenced and influential movie that came out the year after Avatar.

Can anyone (without looking it up) name three characters from that movie?

 

[smile]

Can anyone (without looking it up) name three characters from that movie?

easy...

• leo
• guy that played bane
• kid who was on 3rd rock

i'll pm you my venmo deets

 

[MisterPenguin]

Internally the ride was known as it was being designed as a fun D-Ticket. For a Dark Ride that seems to ring true - more ambitious than a C-Ticket Snow White or Mr. Toad, but less so than an E-Ticket Haunted Mansion or Great Movie Ride.

The historical D-Tickets were mostly transportation:

• Skyway
• People Mover
• Storybook Land Canals
• Steamboat
• Sailing Ship Columbia
• Tom Sawyer Island Rafts

The 'fun rides' tended to skip over D and went from C to E (though some were briefly Ds).

The C/B Tickets were the slow moving simple dark rides (though a few started at D, they got bumped down to C).

So, is TSM at the level of:

• Mr. Toad, a solid C?
• Aa transportation ride like the People Mover or Steamboat at a D level?
• Or a plussed dark ride like Haunted Mansion or It's a Small World?

Given those choices, I'd say an E because of the interactivity and replayability.

But, internally, determining a grade level is more a gut feeling it seems on the part of imagineers. And if they now are applying the D-Ticket level to things other than transportation, they're entitled to -- unless they have written down criteria for determining these things. Certainly when the Tickets were in use, popularity of an attraction would sometimes affect its level as a form of crowd control (the Astro Jets went from B to C to D).

 

[J. D.]

easy...

• leo
• guy that played bane
• kid who was on 3rd Rock

i'll pm you my venmo deets

FTFY

 

[lazyboy97o]

The historical D-Tickets were mostly transportation:

• Skyway
• People Mover
• Storybook Land Canals
• Steamboat
• Sailing Ship Columbia
• Tom Sawyer Island Rafts

The 'fun rides' tended to skip over D and went from C to E (though some were briefly Ds).

The C/B Tickets were the slow moving simple dark rides (though a few started at D, they got bumped down to C).

So, is TSM at the level of:

• Mr. Toad, a solid C?
• Aa transportation ride like the People Mover or Steamboat at a D level?
• Or a plussed dark ride like Haunted Mansion or It's a Small World?

Given those choices, I'd say an E because of the interactivity and replayability.

But, internally, determining a grade level is more a gut feeling it seems on the part of imagineers. And if they now are applying the D-Ticket level to things other than transportation, they're entitled to -- unless they have written down criteria for determining these things. Certainly when the Tickets were in use, popularity of an attraction would sometimes affect its level as a form of crowd control (the Astro Jets went from B to C to D).

The ticket system has always been heavily based on scale and scope. Transportation attractions are physically massive experiences that are often significantly integrated into their environment. They sit between simple dark rides and the spectacles of the E-ticket.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

The historical D-Tickets were mostly transportation:

• Skyway
• People Mover
• Storybook Land Canals
• Steamboat
• Sailing Ship Columbia
• Tom Sawyer Island Rafts

The 'fun rides' tended to skip over D and went from C to E (though some were briefly Ds).

The C/B Tickets were the slow moving simple dark rides (though a few started at D, they got bumped down to C).

So, is TSM at the level of:

• Mr. Toad, a solid C?
• Aa transportation ride like the People Mover or Steamboat at a D level?
• Or a plussed dark ride like Haunted Mansion or It's a Small World?

Given those choices, I'd say an E because of the interactivity and replayability.

But, internally, determining a grade level is more a gut feeling it seems on the part of imagineers. And if they now are applying the D-Ticket level to things other than transportation, they're entitled to -- unless they have written down criteria for determining these things. Certainly when the Tickets were in use, popularity of an attraction would sometimes affect its level as a form of crowd control (the Astro Jets went from B to C to D).

That . . . seems anecdotal. I can’t picture that there was ever a mandate that transport attractions have to be D tickets or vice versa. Besides, Storybookland and the Peoplemover are, in truth, no more transportation systems than Pirates and The Haunted Mansion. Despite the Peoplemover being a working prototype of a transport system and themed to one in a working future, you still get off where you got on like most rides, which can also be said of the Steamboat despite being a beautiful illustration of a real-life transport system. So I don’t know that this idea lends any weight to the thought that Toy Story Mania must fall either above or below a D-Ticket level. That seems manufactured - interesting coincidence though, and one I never noticed.

It’s true that attractions have and did move up and down letter grades, but I don’t know that this should apply to Toy Story Mania - it seems to have mass appeal, but I think it’s worth wondering aloud if it’s insane popularity is in some way amplified by the fact that the park has for so long not had another attraction without height limit geared towards younger guests (if still enjoyable by the whole family). It seems to sit more naturally at DCA where there are multiple experiences of similar caliber - it draws a line, but not to the extremes of DHS. I’m curious to see if the opening of Toy Story Land will ease Mania’s line or exacerbate them; more attractions suited to the same audience, but situated in the same land which is being promoted as the big new thing. Will more people be drawn away from Mania towards the other, newer rides, or will people be drawn to the land and Mania by extension? I picture that the decision to expand on the Toy Story présence in the park was driven at least in part by the popularity of its first attraction, but whether that takes heat off or puts heat on it will be interesting to see.

Beyond that, I personally still have a problem calling it an E Ticket in a park where the Tower of Terror, Rock N’ Roller Coaster, Star Tours, and the former Great Movie Ride make/made their homes, to me Toy Story doesn’t sit comfortably on the same shelf as those expansive experiences and by design was not meant to. I do think the context of the park does or should dictate a little here - especially with Falcon, Alcatraz, and Mickey on the way, which will no doubt make Toy Story look like less of an E Ticket than ever - Either the park then has 7 E Tickets and nothing meant to sit at the D level, or Toy Story is a smash hit D in a park with several highly qualified E’s. I’m more readily inclined to accept the latter.

EDIT: My phone keeps wanting me to say Tony Story Mania, which sounds like a different experience entirely.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It’s true that attractions have and did move up and down letter grades, but I don’t know that this should apply to Toy Story Mania - it seems to have mass appeal, but I think it’s worth wondering aloud if it’s insane popularity is in some way amplified by the fact that the park has for so long not had another attraction without height limit geared towards younger guests (if still enjoyable by the whole family)

More fundamentally, I think the appeal of Toy Story Midway Mania! is because it is a simple game. We, people in general, like games and competition. Where Toy Story Midway Mania! really out does all other interactive rides is its clear communication. The shooter is simple to use, you see exactly what you are doing and the targets are not just clearly marked but also constantly moving, engaging the player throughout the play period.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

More fundamentally, I think the appeal of Toy Story Midway Mania! is because it is a simple game. We, people in general, like games and competition. Where Toy Story Midway Mania! really out does all other interactive rides is its clear communication. The shooter is simple to use, you see exactly what you are doing and the targets are not just clearly marked but also constantly moving, engaging the player throughout the play period.

Indeed, it’s intuitive and fun, and the vehicles spin and zip around. It’s definitely a good time, and is generally pretty distinct from other attractions in the kind of fun it offers. A real family attraction and well executed. I’d give Toy Story Mania the upper hand over Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, it’s nearest relative in interactive Disney attractions, but not a whole letter grade.

 

[rioriz]

That . . . seems anecdotal. I can’t picture that there was ever a mandate that transport attractions have to be D tickets or vice versa. Besides, Storybookland and the Peoplemover are, in truth, no more transportation systems than Pirates and The Haunted Mansion. Despite the Peoplemover being a working prototype of a transport system and themed to one in a working future, you still get off where you got on like most rides, which can also be said of the Steamboat despite being a beautiful illustration of a real-life transport system. So I don’t know that this idea lends any weight to the thought that Toy Story Mania must fall either above or below a D-Ticket level. That seems manufactured - interesting coincidence though, and one I never noticed.

It’s true that attractions have and did move up and down letter grades, but I don’t know that this should apply to Toy Story Mania - it seems to have mass appeal, but I think it’s worth wondering aloud if it’s insane popularity is in some way amplified by the fact that the park has for so long not had another attraction without height limit geared towards younger guests (if still enjoyable by the whole family). It seems to sit more naturally at DCA where there are multiple experiences of similar caliber - it draws a line, but not to the extremes of DHS. I’m curious to see if the opening of Toy Story Land will ease Mania’s line or exacerbate them; more attractions suited to the same audience, but situated in the same land which is being promoted as the big new thing. Will more people be drawn away from Mania towards the other, newer rides, or will people be drawn to the land and Mania by extension? I picture that the decision to expand on the Toy Story présence in the park was driven at least in part by the popularity of its first attraction, but whether that takes heat off or puts heat on it will be interesting to see.

Beyond that, I personally still have a problem calling it an E Ticket in a park where the Tower of Terror, Rock N’ Roller Coaster, Star Tours, and the former Great Movie Ride make/made their homes, to me Toy Story doesn’t sit comfortably on the same shelf as those expansive experiences and by design was not meant to. I do think the context of the park does or should dictate a little here - especially with Falcon, Alcatraz, and Mickey on the way, which will no doubt make Toy Story look like less of an E Ticket than ever - Either the park then has 7 E Tickets and nothing meant to sit at the D level, or Toy Story is a smash hit D in a park with several highly qualified E’s. I’m more readily inclined to accept the latter.

EDIT: My phone keeps wanting me to say Tony Story Mania, which sounds like a different experience entirely.

Rollercoasters such as SDD will automatically become E due to the popularity and the thrill! Imagine if you enclosed the ride with sets still present. RNRC much? The fact that its not enclosed is what downgrades it in some minds.

TSM is an E ticket due to its draw and popularity. Same as SDMT, eventhough i disagree. In todays world popularity wins over technology in some instances. E's are determined by their popularity mostly. Just look at the run to SDMT at park opening.

We may all disagree but begrudgingly, TSL will open with Two E's and a C

IMHO

 

[Professortango1]

Rollercoasters such as SDD will automatically become E due to the popularity and the thrill! Imagine if you enclosed the ride with sets still present. RNRC much? The fact that its not enclosed is what downgrades it in some minds.

TSM is an E ticket due to its draw and popularity. Same as SDMT, eventhough i disagree. In todays world popularity wins over technology in some instances. E's are determined by their popularity mostly. Just look at the run to SDMT at park opening.

We may all disagree but begrudgingly, TSL will open with Two E's and a C

IMHO

I'd say both Midway Mania and SDMT are successful D Tickets. They don't pack the prestige or spectacle of Disney E Tickets, but they are very enjoyable and grander than a C Ticket darkride. Both could have been E's, but cut budgets and Disney playing it far too safe make them sit comfortably at a D. As for wait times, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland pack long waits, but I wouldn't consider them higher than a C. Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin has a famously long queue, but that's in the C/D range.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Rollercoasters such as SDD will automatically become E due to the popularity and the thrill! Imagine if you enclosed the ride with sets still present. RNRC much? The fact that its not enclosed is what downgrades it in some minds.

TSM is an E ticket due to its draw and popularity. Same as SDMT, eventhough i disagree. In todays world popularity wins over technology in some instances. E's are determined by their popularity mostly. Just look at the run to SDMT at park opening.

We may all disagree but begrudgingly, TSL will open with Two E's and a C

IMHO

That's not necessarily true, sometimes attractions changed letter grades for reasons that included popularity, but that's not the be-all-end-all of it. Imagineers do designate such things as they work and propose attractions, though that can change even in development. But as far as design went on Toy Story, Seven Dwarfs, and now Slinky Dog, those rides are considered D Tickets internally. Popularity has had something to do with the system before, but it's an overstatement to say that it's "mostly" about that.

 

[marni1971]

E's are determined by their popularity mostly..

Popularity didn’t come into it.

An E became popular since... it was an E.

 

[CJR]

I think it depends on time period to an extent as well as the department. Back when Magic Kingdom had their E-Ride Nights, it was clearly based on popularity. I remember BLSRS, for example, being included.

There's what marketing would call an "E" and what imagineering would call an "E". For the average guest, they're going to go with whatever marketing says, as most people don't really know much if anything at all about imagineering.

Personally, I think imagineering is more in tune with the truth. I'm just highlighting that there's a conflict within the company itself in regards to what is an "E"or not. Marketing will always bulk things up, of course. Point is though, they're the ones communicating with guests, not imagineering.