Big news from Walt Disney World today! They have officially announced opening day for the highly anticipated Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios! Toy Story Land will open June 30, 2018!!
Opening Toy Story Land will give a much needed boost to Hollywood Studios, which has felt a bit…well, decimated over the last couple of years as attraction after attraction was closed to make room for both Toy Story Land and the still under construction Star Wars themed land. When we visited in November, it definitely felt like there wasn’t a whole lot to do at Hollywood Studios. We took advantage of the extra time we had and watched the Streetmosphere Players a lot (they are TERRIFIC!)…but we missed the Great Movie Ride, the Animation Academy, the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show, and even…dare I say…American Idol! Does anyone else remember Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey? That’s been gone longer, but I still miss it. But I digress….[what else is new?] Read more about our November visit to Hollywood Studios here.
Toy Story Land capitalizes on one of the most popular attractions in Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Mania, as well as the very popular Pixar Toy Story movie series. The idea is that when you enter Toy Story Land (much like when you enter the queue area for Toy Story Mania), you have shrunk down to “toy” size, and you are all set to play with the other toys. Toy Story Land’s superstar new attraction is a roller coaster called “Slinky Dog Dash”. Disney released a video of a test run on this attraction, check it out :
Another new attraction is called Alien Swirling Saucers, which sounds a little like that Mad Hatter’s Tea Party to me…the Disney Parks Blog describes it as aliens “swirling about in their flying saucers with guests in tow…”…So swirling? Sounds like spinning, but I could be wrong. I guess we’ll have to wait and see!
They’ve also added a third track to the VERY popular Toy Story Mania, along with a new game-themed entrance…this will hopefully help the ride move more guests through each hour, making it (fingers crossed) easier to get fast pass plus reservations for this attraction, as well as reducing the overall standby line. I love this attraction, and am always happy when I can ride it more than once over the course of the day.
Finally, they’ve added a new quick service restaurant called “Woody’s Lunch Box”–which is, you guessed it, Andy’s lunch box turned on it’s side. It’s a walk up window type restaurant, so I’m assuming we’ll see outdoor seating, or perhaps a covered seating area?
The whole land sounds super cute…with lots of toys all around. I can’t wait to see it. I’m guessing our trip at the beginning of May will be too early to have any hope of a soft open or a passholder preview, but you never know! If I can catch any glimpses, I’ll be sure to take pictures and share when I get back.
Otherwise, it will most likely be next year before I’ll get to explore Toy Story Land. I can’t wait to see it, though. I bet it will be lots of fun to explore and will have a ton of great photo spots. All those bright colors and “life-size” toys? I think it will look spectacular. Dare I hope for more green Army men? I love those guys!!
Happy dreaming!!
Brooke