Toy Story Land Announced for Disney World
At the 2015 D23 Expo, Toy Story Land was announced for Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. This expansion does not have a timeframe, but will add two new Toy Story attractions, and also expand Toy Story Mania to increase its capacity.
The premise of the land is to shrink guests to the size of a toy to enter the land, where there will be areas to explore in addition to the attractions. The attractions will include a family-friendly roller coaster where guests board Slinky Dog’s back for a ride on a “coaster kit” toy that Andy has built in his play area (think Gadget’s Go Coaster or Barnstormer). The other attraction will be an Alien saucers attraction, with the little green aliens from the movie taking guests for a spin in their very own flying saucers (think Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree).
These attractions are actually totally different than the ones located in the other Toy Story Playlands. On the plus side here, they are less vertical, so Toy Story Land should not be visually intrusive from other areas of the park. Additionally, the concept art shown at the D23 Expo made it appear that the land would be decently landscaped, and that would make a big difference in how nice it feels. Hong Kong Disneyland’s land is in a lush area that extends into the mountains, and it feels far nicer than the nearly identical Toy Story Playland in Paris that’s basically located on a slab of concrete.
The location of the expansion was not stated, but with free space adjacent to Toy Story Mania, it would make sense to connect it to that, with Toy Story Land essentially replacing Pixar Place. At present, this is only speculation, though.
One thing that does surprise me is that no opening date was announced for this land. If Disney so desired, this could easily open in 2016. I’m not saying the land will, but there’s no reason a Christmas 2016 grand opening is out of the question–especially given how badly Disney’s Hollywood Studios needs attractions.
Toy Story Playland, the incarnations of this area in Hong Kong Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios Park (in Paris) are incredibly divisive. They seem to be very popular with the general public and casual fans of Toy Story, but very unpopular with serious fans and those who value themed design.
I have previously stated I’m not a fan of Toy Story Land, but do not mind it coming to Walt Disney World under these circumstances. I think the lands are incredibly unimaginative and wholly fail to push the creative envelope. Frankly, I was shocked and disappointed to hear that this was the most exciting announcement for many people.
To those people, I would point out that the attractions in the existing (and future) Toy Story Lands are simply “off the shelf” carnival rides, meaning they aren’t “Imagineered” in the traditional sense, but rather purchased from a third party vendor that sells this type of basic carnival attraction to a multitude of amusement parks. From there, they are decorated in a style of Toy Story.
No matter how the land is marketed, this is not like “stepping into the world of the toys.” It’s stepping into a carnival environment that will be dressed up to fit a Toy Story visual motif. This is “theming” in the same sense that All Star Movies is “themed”, that is, not themed at all, but decorated instead.
Quite simply, Imagineering has and can do much, much better. They can create actual worlds that immerse guests, like Cars Land…and like appears will be done in Pandora and Star Wars Land, both of which appear to be ambitious projects that feature Imagineering at the top of its game.
However, Toy Story Land is what it is likely not due to a lack of imagination or ambition by the Imagineers on the project. Rather, due to the fiscal and practical realities of a huge expansion like the one about to occur at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This park needs new attractions, and it needs a lot of them. It also needs a lot fast.
Toy Story Land is both cheap and fast to build. In a world of finite budgets, it’s a cheap way to balance out a costly (both in terms of time and money) Star Wars Land to make sure Disney’s Hollywood Studios gets enough attractions to really flesh out the park. It also gives the park more kid-friendly attractions, which are sorely needed.
No doubt, kids will love Toy Story Land. As I say frequently, though, kids love playing in cardboard boxes and eating boogers, so saying “kids will love it” is somewhat meaningless. Still, I understand why some people are excited for their kids to see these lands–I totally get that, and I am not criticizing that reaction. After all, a big aspect of the Disney experience for many is seeing the reactions in the faces of their kids or making family memories. This will definitely be a popular land for making family memories with small children.
Ultimately, I view Toy Story Land as somewhat of a necessary evil. It is a totally lame and lackluster land, albeit a land that will fill a valuable role for families while allowing a larger chunk of budget to be allocated to Star Wars Land (which Disney announced earlier in the day for both Walt Disney World and Disneyland). All of that makes me fine with it, even if I know the Imagineers could do so much better if they were given a blank check to fix Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
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YOUR THOUGHTS…
Do you think this is a good addition? Are you excited for this, or do you think Disney could do better? Does it make you more “fine” with it if spending less on the ‘kiddie’ rides means more money to spend on that Millennium Falcon for Star Wars Land? If you have other ideas, questions, or thoughts, please share in the comments!
Like many others, I have really mixed feelings. I agree with you that I would rather see one “budget” land and one “wow” land than two lands neither of which quite gets to be the best that it could be. Personally, I would prefer to see the wow go to Star Wars Land — and so would my son who is the source of my mixed feelings. I’ve got a 14 yo and a 7 yo who are thrill ride and roller coaster junkies. And in between, I’ve got an 11 yo who is prone to motion sickness. He rides Star Tours because he loves it to death, but he’s green with speeder-sickness by the time he gets off the second time. One of the things that makes Disney World great for us as a family is that in between the rides he won’t / can’t ride, and the rides he goes on because he loves them but can’t tolerate much of, are plenty of rides and attractions that rely on imagineering for their value and not tricks or thrills — a much better balance than you find at the local amusement park. So the fact that Toy Story Land’s rides will be, as you say, off the shelf items you could find at a local amusement park with some excellent theming slapped onto them is disappointing to me because I feel confident that while many families love amusement parks and Disney alike, we can’t be the only family who keenly feels this distinction based on the physical abilities / inclinations of our children (or even adults).
I just want to give many of you a virtual “high five” for the high level of discourse here. There are several comments I want to reply to individually, but I have to do about a million things today. (Tomorrow, I promise!)
I will say this…you have me thinking a bit differently about this expansion, and while I haven’t really changed my mind, it is undeniably interesting food for thought.
Well done. Many other Disney communities just devolve into shouting matches and bold proclamations without reasoning. Glad to see that *not* happen here. Thank you all. 🙂
After listening to the most recent Disney Dish w/ Jim Hill on Bandcamp, i rescind my comments above. Assuming Jim’s sources are accurate, it sounds like Toy Story Land is only the first land in a series of 3 Pixar-themed lands – including a clone of Cars Land / RSR. I’m not sure why they didn’t announce this broader effort at D23, but IF that’s true that changes my perspective on DHS as a whole (and it’s theme) and Toy Story land in particular. I still agree with Tom that, given a blank check, the Imagineers could do loads better than off-the-shelf rides like this…. but it sounds like the commitment is there to up the ante in terms of the theming of this new area, which i think could make it work thematically. The Imagineer in charge of TSL is the same who built Cars Land in DCA and told the story about the little kid who walked into Cars Land and asked if that is where the movie was filmed, using that as an example of the level of detail they’re aiming for – which should be reassuring. Maybe the fan community (myself included) should give TSL a chance. I can’t help but think about the negative reaction for the last few years to Pandora / AVATAR Land and, based on what we saw this weekend, it seems like it’s going to blow everyone away (Harry Potter killer??) So to summarize my feelings for TSL: cautious optimism?
A few things:
1) Jim Hill is an entertaining guy and has sources who have gotten a lot right over the years. He has also gotten a lot wrong (that’s par for the course with rumors–hardly unique to him). I’ve found he tends to err on the side of rumors that over-promise and under-deliver, almost as if his sources are at the stage in the process where multiple concepts are being considered and decided upon.
2) The cost of 3 Pixar lands, one of which is Cars Land, plus Star Wars Land, plus the necessary infrastructure (roads, parking, etc.) to redo Disney’s Hollywood Studios would likely be in the $3 billion range. There is no way on earth Disney is spending that much on a single, existing park. Heck, there’s no way they’re spending that much on a NEW park. The ROI just isn’t there. While I’d love it to be true, it’s just not happening.
3) The high level Imagineers are not only master creatives, but master marketers. I’ve heard similar, emotional stories told to “sell” attractions that end up being unimpressive. They aren’t going to come out and say, “hey, this is the cheap area we are adding for kids so we can spend the big bucks on Star Wars.” The Imagineers are incredibly talented, but if a particular project isn’t given the money, that only makes so much difference. If Toy Story Land has a budget much smaller than Cars Land, it’s not going to be on par with Cars Land. This is also why they usually aren’t the “problem” when a project isn’t good–they have a ton of talent, but can only do so much with the resources they are given.
With all of that said, I am willing to withhold a *bit* of judgment on it since it is so radically different than the Toy Story Playlands, and maybe some really excellent placemaking will be done to make it work.
I will also say that if any immersive area can be done fairly effectively on the cheap, it’s ‘kids play area’ with guests being toy sized. Here is hoping the Imagineers have some tricks up their selves to really stretch this budget and make Toy Story Land something cool and fun. Like I’ve said, I would absolutely love to be wrong on this (I love the parks and never want to see them get anything but the best), but I don’t want to have unrealistic expectations that lead to disappointment, either.
Hope that all makes sense! 🙂
All fair points that I don’t disagree with. 🙂 I agree that all the Jim Hill stuff is prone to change or not come to fruition – but it’s still fun speculation. A guy has to dream, right? Also based on the competitive pressure Disney is getting from Universal (3rd gate / Nintendo at Wet ‘n Wild?) and the dismal state of DHS, it might not be as crazy as we think to throw new-park like budgets at DHS to get it up to snuff. Though you’re definitely right that with the roads/infrastructure/demolition plus the two lands just announced, i would imagine that eats up all or most of the $3.5B figure we’ve all heard – especially when layering in the smaller budgets going to Epcot and MK.
Even if none of that pans out and all we get in DHS is Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land, I’ll still consider it a (partial) win. Toy Story Land unfortunately can’t use a major “place” like Route 66, which is going to be a thematic challenge for the Imagineers, but i agree 100% that if there’s any type of land that can still feel immersive on the cheap, it’s a toy-based land. Maybe we’ll get a really cool Al’s Toy Barn or a (REAL this time) Pizza Planet? Those could go a long way towards winning me over.
No matter what, it’s a great time to be a parks fan! Heck, or a Pixar / Disney Animation fan! Or Star Wars, or Marvel……. 🙂
That concept art doesn’t look incredibly impressive. The coaster looks like the track is longer than Barnstormer or 7DMT (at least from the art) so that’s kind of nice.
Still, I think I feel at least somewhat optimistic about this area. I think it’s a cute idea and could be taken a different route than what you mentioned with the All Star Resorts. Though from the aerial concept art alone, it seems sparse.
Also, I just wanted to add, of course I’m more excited over Pandora and the Star Wars expansion.
But I do feel like this is a necessity. I don’t have kids, but even so I recognize HS is especially lacking in stuff to do for smaller children. And as long as it’s not Dinorama 2.0, I think I’ll be okay with it.
Perhaps a hidden benefit of Toy Story Land is that, in addition to the SW stuff, it’ll finally provide the justification to remove the tiering restriction on DHS attractions.
As a whole (and huge generalisation here…), I would imagine the TSM “selectees” would be likely to select further Toy Story attractions to make up their three, while the SW guests would be likely to match it up with RnRC.
I imagine that would balance up the numbers quite nicely.
I’m so glad its not just another toy story play land clone from DLP and HKDL!
At least there are some unique rides planned. The slinky dog roller coaster looks super cute!
First of all, I’m glad to see DHS getting alot of love. This park really needs an upgrade in such a bad way. We went last Christmas and both my wife and I said let’s stay at the hotel and only do a half day. A Resort beats a Disney theme park?
With the carnival stuff I guess my first thought was isn’t that what DCA is trying to get rid of?
Seems like they are doing to the “new fantasyland” like they are now doing to DHS. Cheap carnival, spitting camels and fountains, dueling dumbos in the shape of Toy Story.
At least they get Star Wars and AK gets Avatar.
On the most recent “Disney Dish with Jim Hill” podcast, Jim stated that Toys Land was just 1 of three areas for the Pixar portion of DHS. He said that an indoor version of Cars Land and a yet to be named area should be coming. I agree that this Toys Land seems like a necessary evil, and is disappointing, hopefully Jim’s predictions are accurate.
Given how much RSR alone was rumored to cost, I can’t see an indoor Cars Land (yet alone something in addition to it) as fitting anywhere close to the probable $2.5 billion allotted to the DHS refresh.
This does point to a practical reason why I can’t see Cars Land ever being built at WDW–it rains too much there. Cars Land is VERY exposed to the elements (it’s supposed to be in a desert after all) and I found out even a mild rain shuts down RSR for several hours. They would have to put the whole thing under a dome, which would: 1) Feel very artificial and contrived–Cars Land works in Southern California because you don’t have to “fake” the desert atmosphere; 2) Be hideously expensive. I know that Dubai throws money at ridiculous stuff like an indoor skiing mountain, but Disney doesn’t that amount of dough, and if they did, there are much better ways to spend it.
I know everybody wants everything (including a replica of DisneySea at both Anaheim and Orlando), but I think the WDW real-world budget strategy makes sense: 1) Avatar E-ticket level land first to boost AK, 2) Pixar Playland B/C-ticket level next as a “quick win,” 3) Star Wars E-ticket level land to get DHS up to quality. After that, they need to focus on Epcot which will look sorely outdated by the time all these other projects come to fruition.
So is this park just going to be toy story, Star Wars and some Hollywood? It seems kind of weird to have a park with three distinct themed areas and I am wondering how they will tie them all together
First, I’m so happy CarsLand will remain exclusive to DCA. I frequent both CA & FL Disney’s, and it’s nice to have some exclusivity at each.
Toy Story Land doesn’t get me excited, but as a forty-something that visits WDW only with my wife, I’m not the target market. I do still look forward to checking it out though.
And I’m confident it will do it’s primary job, which is keep as many rugrats occupied and out of my way while I’m exploring the amazing new Star Wars Land.
eehhhh….a bit disappointed. My family & I love the dark rides, animatronics & all that creative imagineering stuff. This concept art kind of looks a little like Dinoland USA :-/ Will try to be optimistic & trust Disney will do this well!
At first, I’m with you about the attractions being off the shelf, but the more I’m looking at the concept art and videos, I’m not sure. The alien ride seems to be using the trackless technology Disney is using across the sea. The Slinky Dog coaster looks like it is longer and smoother than Disney’s other “kid coasters.” The cars look like they might have a similar swinging system as 7DMT, which would fit the slinky theme. The rest of ride seems to be intricately themed as a child’s back yard, with lots of Audio-Animatronics of the main and supporting characters, again using similar technology as 7DMT. I’m a little more lax about off the shelf rides at Disney as long as they are themed. I grew up near a park that used to be Paramount Pictures’ attempt at Disneyland before they sold it to Cedar Point. They had a Top Gun ride, and the only themeing besides the name was a model of a F-15, Fightertown USA written on the station, and it played Danger Zone as the cars entered and exited. Anything above that is well themed in my book.
But that being said, I was disappointed that this isn’t going to have other Pixar properties, but it looks well themed as a child’s back yard. A lot of my facebook friends who aren’t Disney parks nerds are really excited about the prospect of Toy Story land. My mom is super excited is wanting to plan a large family trip there when it opens (my dad is excited for Star Wars land). So I think it will be popular, draw large crowds, and be a hit among families and older guests, with the only people who will be complaining about it is us.
Andy,
I live basically five minutes from the theme park you are describing. Believe me, the sad state that it has become since being sold to Cedar Fair is embarassing. My family and I leave for WDW in about two weeks and just the overall cleanliness and family atmosphere differences are worth the trip to Disney. I have two small children who would love a Toy Story Land, I get the perspective of getting more rides in a park where there is literally NOTHING for my four year old to do. We usually skip Hollywood Studios every time we go. And we are Annual Passholders…..
With so much ride technology available “off the shelf”, the real name of the game isn’t E-tickets but immersive environments. Harry Potter and Carsland are really just rediscovering Disneyland: A turn-of-the-century American town that leads straight into a fairy tale castle, with side streets into a B movie jungle outpost, a wild west town inexplicably on the banks of the Mississippi, and a never-quite Tomorrowland. While all of them are more Hollywood pastiche than reality, they’re charming and persuasive as environments.
Even humble flat rides can, with proper staging, serve as kinetic eye candy for non-riders. The much-maligned Dinoland in Animal Kingdom is at least funny to look at, and does its job setting up the Dino Institute.
My one hope is that the 1930s Hollywood Main Street remains as the park’s entry point. Never-was Hollywood is as good a way as any to connect disparate fantasy worlds.
I’ve been following the D23 Expo coverage and loving hearing what’s coming. I have a Paris trip this December and WDW in April with another pencilled in for August 2017. I’m really excited about all the new additions from the new Jungle Skipper restaurant in Adventureland to Toy Story and Star Wars lands. I’m even excited about Disney Springs! I’m giddy about Avatar land because Animal Kingdom is by far my favourite park in the day time (I miss the jungle parade though). For me there seems like something announced or coming soon for a broad range of people. I have three kids 12, 2 and a baby and I know already which will get most excited about what. I imagine that the new ‘Arendelle’ will be some great imagineering (that just might my favourite but my 12 year old might pretend when her friends aren’t looking). I’m really impressed with the amount these parks are going to be invested in over the next few years. Disney is definitely going to see me return 3 – 4 – 5 years from now because it’ll have so much more. Well done I say!
I’m surprised by your interpretation of the announced rides for Toy Story Land based on the concept art. The coaster looks much more significant than a Barnstormer clone, hopefully it will be closer to a Big Thunder Mountain level of “Family Coaster”. Also, the alien ride sounds more like a Dumbo clone spinner. The structure in the upper left of the drawing looks like two spinners with a waiting area in the middle just like the current setup for Dumbo.
At the presentation yesterday, they showed a simulation video of the coaster as well as closer concept art of the alien spin–that’s what I’m basing my comparisons on. I still could be wrong, but I wouldn’t judge it based on the concept art here, as there was much more shown at the D23 Expo.
I agree with Gary. The coaster concept, when looked at closely, is much more than a “it’s already over?” coaster. The coaster has a portion of track named Super Launcher, so I’m thinking a swift and smooth linear induction coaster. The alien ride is concealed for the most part in concepts I’ve been able to find, but even if it’s a simpler ride, that’s fine. Hollywood Studios is severely lacking in rides that little ones can enjoy. Once the name is changed people will have a different perspective of theming. Magic Kingdom isn’t solely Tomorrowland themed, and people need to stop looking at this park to be named later as a rigid tribute to Hollywood past. Same with the never ending discussion of RSR and why it needs to be in Florida. Why isn’t Harry Potter in California? Where’s our Tron coaster in the States? And so on and so on… Evolution and diversity are hallmarks of Disney parks and when the new lands are announced, I swear there is more whining than appreciation anymore. Do you really want your park tickets to cost $200 so you can get your themepark thrills in a one stop shop? Didn’t think so…
It probably will be longer than Gadget’s Go Coaster and Barnstormer, but I think anyone expecting Big Thunder for kids will be severely disappointed. Maybe–hopefully–I will end up being wrong. Preliminary concept art nowadays seems very loose in terms of what the final attraction will end up being, anyway.
I agree completely about Cars Land. I’d rather a thoroughly amazing Star Wars Land than to split the budget on both. Unique draws are important to differentiate the parks.
They are actually building Harry Potter stuff in California. Not sure if it is an exact replica of what is in Orlando or if it is different but as of now I’ve seen an announced opening of Mid 2016.
I agree that Toy Story Land seems somewhat lackluster. Hopefully they’ll aim for some really great theming to make up for the lack of imagination on the rides themselves. The landscape shot seemed promising. I was very disappointed to hear that we’re not getting a Cars Land / Radiator Springs Racers clone – although I do see the logic in keeping it unique to DCA. I’m also very curious to hear how they’re going to tie all these random things together into a cohesive “theme” for the re-titled Disney’s Hollywood Adventure (or whatever they wind up calling it). Individually Star Wars and Toy Story are great IP, but they don’t really have anything to do with each other. Layer in Rock’n Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror down Sunset Boulevard and the walk down 1920’s Hollywood when you walk into the park….and i just don’t get the “theme”. Can you imagine walking from Toy Story Land directly into Star Wars Land? Or Star Wars Land into Sunset Boulevard? Huh?? How do you explain that transition? At this point I’ll consider anything a win in DHS, but I’m fearful that this is just going to be similar in vein to the Universal Parks where they just shoehorn in a bunch of unrelated IP as different “lands” and call it a theme. Not having a cohesive theme to the park as a whole is, in my humble opinion, really going to take something away from the entire experience. It just seems like the Disney of old where story was king and you could go a little crazy on the spending to make something really special is gone (welcome to corporate america in 2015 I guess?) On the other hand, I have a 3 yr old who really won’t care about any of that and will just love seeing Buzz and Woody and I’ll probably salivate at Star Wars Land, so I guess the opinion in the C suite is if they’re growing attendance and are still profitable, who cares about that other stuff? *sigh* Trying to remain optimistic!!
One or both rides will still have height restrictions, making them no go for infants (and therefore one parent that has to stay behind). Adults without kids will have little interest, and there is little repeatability. A dark ride could have checked all of those boxes, but they aren’t interested in that kind of investment or experience, I guess.
These are such great points! I sometimes think Disney lacks the parent perspective on these things. Some more focus on truly family friendly experiences seems like a no-brainer.
I’m very disappointed that WDW won’t get Carsland, so I agree with you completely that this is a lame substitute for something that could be far better. But given the lack of good stuff for young children at the Studios, this will be a welcome addition. I like your idea that spending less on this will leave more for Star Wars Land! Doesn’t it all go back to finding something big to compete with Harry Potter? Star Wars Land will do it. Carsland would have solidified this park as a major drawer of crowds. Do you think there’s hope for having Carsland come to WDW at some point in the future?
I second that Jan. Carsland is breathtaking and we were hoping Hollywood Studios’ expansion will include this land. I guess we’ll just continue to hold our breath until Star Wars Land opens.
I’m not sure. I think that Carsland should stay at DCA only, because it’s still drawing huge crowds, and Disney probably wants to keep toting it as a one in the world thing. And from what I’m seeing from friends on facebook who aren’t huge Disney park nerds like us, like my mom, they are extremely excited about Toy Story land, and don’t care that the attractions are “off the shelf”. That being said, I was hoping for some other Pixar things. Why have we not gotten an Incradibles ride yet? Or a Monsters Inc. door coaster? I’m not really understanding it.
I was expecting the Toy Story land announcement. I have mixed feelings about I loved what MGM Studios park was created around with the animation building walk through where you could actually watch animators working on movies and old studio back lot tour where you drove past the golden girls house, but the park is no longer focused on the magic of making movies which is sad. I think we will probably see a name change soon to address they change over.
I do see the need to update the park but this is a major re-haul, I wonder where in the park they are going to put Toy Story Land and Star Wars lands and what other rides/ attractions are going to be closed. I am really hoping they prefabbed most of the attractions and the park will be done by 2020.
Toy Story Land must be a big hit in Disneyland Hong Kong for Disney to put it in the other parks. I just hope there are more trees around than what they have in Hong Kong because when we were there it was very hot and there was not shade. WDW is a lot hotter than Hong Kong. Another thing that will be great is the green soldiers will speak in English as they speak in Chinese in Hong Kong and my child was pulled out of the crowd to perform with them and he was the only westerner and he couldn’t understand a thing they were saying.
I must say my children did enjoy all the rides there in Toy Story Land. We all had photos with Woody, Buzz and Jessie.
I was pleasantly surprised by the Toy Story land announcement. I was expecting something like “A Bug’s Land” at DCA and this sounds better in theme and attraction line-up (to me, at least). I also read the flying saucers as more Mad Tea Party than Junkyard Jamboree, but I could be off base.
Regardless of being pleasantly surprised, there is no way this can compare to the Star Wars land that was the real star of the show. But I’ve spent a fair amount of time with an <40" child at the parks. That rules out ToT and RnRC; they can't really participate in TSMM although it's still fun to ride; and GMR is pretty scary. So this is definitely a welcome addition to the park for those with young children.