Toy Story Land has been a hot topic amongst Disney Fans as of late with the opening of the brand new Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. This brand new land looks amazing and I can’t wait to check it out, but did you know that this is actually the fourth Toy Story Land to open at a Disney Park? The Toy Story franchise is very popular around the world and has led to a large amount of representation in all of the Disney Parks.
Walt Disney Studios Park:
The first Toy Story Land opened in Walt Disney Studios Park, which is the second Park at Disneyland Paris. This land is actually a mini-land in Toon Studio and is the only Toy Story Land that is called Toy Story Playland. It opened on August 17, 2010 and was heavily used in promoting Toy Story 3, which was released just two months prior. There are three attractions here. RC Racer is a half-pipe coaster that zips back and forth at a steep angle. It has a height requirement of 48 inches / 120 cm and offers a single rider line. Another attraction is Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin, in which Slinky Dog chases his tail around a dog bowl full of bones while guests sit in rows along his back. The ride is quite tame as it continuously circles around and around. The last attraction is the Toy Solider Parachute Drop. This ride was going to be part of Disney’s California Adventure on opening day, but the Maliboomer was built instead. The Toy Solider Parachute Drop brings guests up into the air and then falls 82 feet. It is not a freefall though, so it is fun for all ages. However, there is a height requirement of 32 inches / 81 cm. There is also a single rider line for this attraction. Generally, there are no characters to meet inside Toy Story Playland, but just outside in Toon Plaza, Toy Story characters offer meet and greets.
Hong Kong Disneyland:
Toy Story Land opened at Hong Kong Disneyland on November 17, 2011 and was the first of three new lands coming to the Park. Grizzly Gulch then opened in 2012 and the following year Mystic Point opened. This Toy Story Land has the exact same three attractions that can be found at Walt Disney Studios Park: RC Racer, Slinky Dog Spin, and Toy Solider Parachute Drop. When I was visiting Hong Kong Disneyland, Toy Solider Parachute Drop had the largest line of the entire Park, quite the popular attraction there! RC Racer has a height requirement of 48 inches / 120 cm and Toy Solider Parachute Drop has a height requirement of 32 inches / 81 cm and offers a single rider line. There is a designated meet and greet spot here called Barrel of Fun and different Toy Story characters rotate through. Hong Kong Disneyland is currently undergoing some major refurbishments and there is a rumour that Toy Story Mania might be coming to this park. There is some space between Toy Story Land and Fantasyland and it is the perfect place for this popular attraction. And if you are craving a churro, Jessie’s Snack Roundup is one of the only places to get one at Hong Kong Disneyland (the other being the BB-8 Snack Cart in Tomorrowland).
Shanghai Disneyland:
Shanghai Disneyland’s Toy Story Land was the first major expansion of Disney’s newest park. It opened on April 26, 2018 and is located in the back of the park between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. This Toy Story Land is the first to really have a backstory about the land being Andy’s Backyard. He set up all his toys but then got called away by his mom so the toys are still having fun in the backyard. There are three attractions in this land: Rex’s Racer, Slinky Dog Spin, and Woody’s Roundup. Rex’s Racer is the exact same attraction as RC Racer in the other parks, except it is set up to look like Rex and Trixie are playing with the RC race track that Andy set up. Rex’s Racer has a height requirement of 48 inches / 120 cm. Slinky Dog Spin is also the same as in the other two parks, but with the backstory that Slinky Dog is chasing his tail to keep other toys entertained while Andy is away. The only new attraction here is Woody’s Roundup. This whip-ride attraction has a height requirement of 32 inches / 81 cm and is identical to Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree at Disney California Adventure. Andy has set up an Old West town and when he leaves, Jessie and Woody let out all of the ponies to play. There is one quick service restaurant in Toy Story Land called Toy Box Café and a large shop called Al’s Toy Barn. There is also a character meet and greet area called The Meeting Post.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios:
The newest Toy Story Land to open was at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on June 30, 2018, and was arguably the one with the biggest hype. It has a similar backstory to Shanghai Disneyland’s Toy Story Land in that it takes place in Andy’s backyard. Two new attractions opened in Toy Story Land: Alien Swirling Saucers and Slinky Dog Dash. Alien Swirling Saucers is another whip-ride similar to Woody’s Roundup in Shanghai Disneyland. The theme here is that Andy won an alien playset at Pizza Planet and has set it up in his backyard. After Andy leaves, the aliens have powered up their flying saucers. This attraction has a height requirement of 32 inches / 81 cm. The other new land is Slinky Dog Dash. This family roller coaster has a height requirement of 38 inches / 97 cm. The story behind this attraction is that Andy has set up his Mega Coaster Play Set and put Slinky Dog on the tracks to ride around. After Andy leaves, Slinky Dog starts to give rides to the other toys and guests who visit. The popular Toy Story Mania attraction is not new to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but is new to Toy Story Land. The entrance to this attraction was formerly in Pixar Place, but has now moved to be inside of Toy Story Land. All three attractions offer FastPass+ but are considered to be in the same tier so guests may only choose one of the three to FastPass. There is one quick service location here and it is called Woody’s Lunch Box. It is opened for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and offers the Mobile Order option.
Great article! Learned some new things and it was fun to see how different and alike the Toy Story Lands are!