Williams Family: We Tried EVERYTHING in Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios

When planning for our summer 2018 family vacation, we soon realized that we would NOT be at Walt Disney World for the opening of Toy Story Land--we would be boarding the Disney Dream the day before!  Not wanting to miss out on all the fun, we added a couple of days at Walt Disney World after our cruise.  So, on Thursday, July 5, 2018, we woke up before the crack of dawn and made our way to Disney's Hollywood Studios to tackle Toy Story Land.

Coming upon the entrance.

Welcome! Be sure to listen to the tall statues.

See the big footprint on the ground?  You're the size of a toy!

Crossing the bridge to Slinky Dog Dash entrance.

Extra Magic Hours, 7:00-8:00 am, were being offered to Walt Disney World Resort guests.  We were at the bus stop at our resort at 6:00 am and on a bus--with other guests--by 6:15.  When we arrived at Disney's Hollywood Studios around 6:30, guests were already being allowed into the park and the majority of folks were walking right to Toy Story Land.

We walked on Slinky Dog Dash for our first ride by 6:45, rode, exited, and back in line by 6:55 am with a 30 minute wait posted.

Next, we took a turn on Alien Swirling Saucers.

This matched the theme of our shirts for the day, so thought it appropriate to take a picture!

The music and queue at Alien Swirling Saucers is quite fun!

We then found the new entrance to Toy Story Mania and discovered that Mr. Potato Head was back in the stand-by queue!

We'd had a busy morning and it was time for a snack at Woody's Lunch Box.  The line wasn't too bad and we tried the Breakfast Bowl and Raspberry Lunch Box Tart along with the Mini Babybel Snack Cheese.

Babybel, by the way, is the sponsor for Woody's so be on the look out for Babybel chairs!  All dining is outdoors with tables for both sitting and standing.  We didn't have any issues finding a spot to sit for our mid-morning snack.

While we didn't stop for photos on our way into Toy Story Land, we did stop on the way out.  There were two Photopass photographers taking photos at the entrance sign, which made the process much quicker!

We took a break from Toy Story Land, but did come back later in the day as we had FP for Toy Story Mania.  When we returned, we met the characters located in Toy Story Land, too.

You can see the bathroom entrance behind in this photo.

The Green Army Patrol march back and forth Toy Story Land, interacting with guests and they now have their own drum corp.

Now, for our review:

The land itself is cute and creative.  The boy noticed all the "sponsorships" that the land would need to make it look all plastic--Lego, K'Nex, Tinker Toy, etc.  The queues are creatively done and do look like everything is a toy.

We would rate Slinky Dog Dash, just under Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in terms of thrill level.  The last big hill is great!  There's more room for legs, bottoms, bags, etc. on Slinky Dog than Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Coaster!  Thank goodness!

There's a ride photo on Slinky Dog Dash that "automagically" connects to your MagicBand, just like FROZEN.  So, no congregating at the exit to check out photos and watch guests take a photo of the ride photo.  You get the photo with your Photopass account.

There are 7 attractions--including character meet & greets in Toy Story Land--and 5 of those are outside.  Which means, only Toy Story Mania and Alien Swirling Saucers remain open during inclement weather.  Add wind, and Alien Swirling Saucers will close down.  We asked Cast Members what, if any, plans were in the works to relocate character meet & greets inside, and we were directed to Guest Services to ask/advocate.

If you Fastpass Toy Story Mania, you will miss Mr. Potato Head, so we recommend using the Stand-by queue at least once.  Be ready for the LONG walk to exit Toy Story Mania as it now exits in Toy Story Land.

Stand-by entrance on the left, Fastpass on the right

If you look at this photo, the Stand-by entrance  for Slinky Dog Dash is on the left, while FP is on the right, but the long lines for Slinky Dog seemed to be to the right of the red umbrellas--look at photo below--most of the day, so I'm confused about what happens when those lines cross at the entrance!

Guests in the Stand-by queue stand to the right of the red umbrellas.

Bathrooms.  There is one located on far to the left, across from Alien Swirling Saucers.  It's themed and colorful--reminds me of Legoland Hotel.  It's also big, which is helpful.  What's not helpful is that there is only ONE paper towel dispenser for the entire location.  Not one near the diaper changing station only ONE above one of the sinks.  There are two other "blade" dryers above the sink area that require guests to stand in front of the sink and dry their hands making other guests wait to wash their hands AND since the "blade" dryers are above the sink, little kiddos can't reach them to dry their hands, nor can they reach the paper towel dispenser.  I used the women's bathroom 4 times during our day and 2 out of 4 times that ONE paper towel dispenser was, you guessed it, empty.

We will add Toy Story Land into our touring plans.  Slinky Dog Dash Fastpasses are now the hottest commodity on Walt Disney World property and will be until Star Wars Land opens in the Fall of 2019.

We came to tackle Toy Story Land, and we did!

Do You Know the Secret About the Giant View-Master?

If you have been on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, then you have noticed the giant View-Master that Buzz uses to train the Space Rangers.  But have you noticed that there are no other View-Master reels other than the one already in the View-Master?

That is because Disney Imagineers have hidden the View-Master reels at another park!  The giant View-Master reels can be found at Hollywood Studios in none other than the Toy Story Mania queue.  As you wind your way through this amazingly themed queue, you will discover several View-Master reels, but alas, no View-Master.  That is because there is only one giant View-Master in all of the Walt Disney World Parks.

So, the next time you are in the queue for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, ask someone nearby where they might find other View-Master reels for the View-Master.  Or, the next time you are winding through the Toy Story Mania queue, ask what happened to the View-Master for all the reels and see how others respond.

Click here to read more about Toy Story Mania!--our favorite attraction.

Toy Story Mania!--Our Favorite Attraction

Disney's Hollywood Studios boasts our favorite attraction, Toy Story Mania! Due to its popularity, get there first thing to ride or get a FASTPASS or both! Often FASTPASSes have maxed out distribution by noon.

OK, so you start by entering the queue and see that you are now the size of a toy. Possibly, one of Andy's toys. As you move through the stand-by queue you get to see lots of toys, including Mr. Potato Head. He operates as a game "barker" of sorts, asking questions, offering challenges and insults to the crowd. Note: If you use the FASTPASS entrance, you do not get to go by Mr. Potato Head.

Here's the giant Candy Land in the stand-by queue.
And the Tinkertoy set. Monkeys, checkers, and Tinkertoys adorn the ceiling.

Here's Mr. Potato Head. If he asks who your favorite character is, say Mrs. Potato Head.

He likes that answer!

After passing Mr. Potato Head, you will round the corner, pick up your 3-D glasses and head up the stairs.

After navigating the short queue you will enter Andy's Room and go down the stairs to get in your ride vehicle.

Here's a list of the Toy Story Action Figures that is posted in Andy's Room. The ride vehicles have a picture and name of one of the action figures. Ask if they have a Stinky Pete car.

And then, it is time to get in your ride car! The car has seats on both sides and spins and turns before you get to the practice screen. The "gun" has a pull string that throws pies, tosses rings, throws balls and darts, depending on the screen. For each screen, you get a score, a total score, and an accuracy rating. Be sure to the let the string of your shooter go all the way back in before pulling again. On the last screen you will be shown your score and the "prize" you have earned. My highest score was 177,800 (which beat Todd's by the way) with the prize of a black cat.

The word on the "street" is that the ring toss screen which currently features Bo Peep is going to be changed to feature Rex and Trixy?? ( a new character from Toy Story 3) and a volcano scenario. This update can be done by just changing out computer information and the prediction is that it can be done overnight without closing the attraction. Also, the word on the "street" is that there will more information posted about your score. I can't wait to see the changes! (221 days and counting)

Here's the boy and our friend Dale ready to ride Toy Story Mania!

(It's also great to run into friends while you are at the happiest place on earth! It is a small world after all!)

Our strategy for Toy Story Mania! is to head there at rope drop with the thousands (ok, hundreds) of other people. We give the husband all of our Key to World cards, as he is moving ahead of us to get FASTPASSes. (click here for tips on FASTPASS.) Then the boy and I move to the stand-by queue and the husband typically joins us quickly. We then move through the stand-by queue, ride, and check when we can get the next FASTPASS. It is usually within 20 minutes or so, so I collect the Key to the World cards, the boy and husband head to Star Tours, and I wait to collect another set of FASTPASSes. We then come back later in the day and ride two times in a row!

I hope you enjoy Toy Story Mania! as much as we do!