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NEW YORK — Toy Story Land, a highly anticipated attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, now has an opening date. It will open June 30.
“Hollywood Studios is certainly in the middle of an amazing transformation, and clearly Toy Story is right at the front of that,” said Phil Holmes, vice president of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, during a media event here highlighting the new area.
Toy Story Land is one of a number of new features in the works for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Next year, another new area of the park based on the Star Wars franchise will open — Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The following year, a new ride-through attraction, Micky & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, will open in the park in the former location of the Great Movie Ride.
The 11-acre Toy Story Land is based around the Toy Story film franchise, and is set in the character Andy’s backyard, where he has scattered a number of his toys.
“When you enter Toy Story Land, you suddenly become the size of a toy,” said Dave Minichiello, executive creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering. “In fact, you’re about the size of a Green Army Man in the land.”
Holmes said the idea is to create an “immersive environment,” making guests a part of their favorite stories.
Oversized toys surround guests throughout the land, which features the Slinky Dog Dash and Alien Swirling Saucers.
Slinky Dog Dash is a roller coaster featuring Slinky Dog as the vehicle. The coaster spans much of Toy Story Land.
“It’s really kind of the kinetic thing that threads the whole land,” he said.
The ride is appropriate for children as young as 3 or 4 years old, Holmes said.
Alien Swirling Saucers is an indoor attraction putting guests in vehicles towed by green aliens in spaceships, set to space-themed music with an electronic backbeat.
Toy Story Land will also feature a reimagined entrance and queue to the existing Toy Story Mania!, in which guests enter a ride vehicle and play a number of carnival-themed shooting games in 3D. The new entrance will look like a toy carnival game box, meant to represent the box that the Toy Story Mania! game came in.
The old entrance to Toy Story Mania! (off Pixar Place) will be shuttered, Holmes said, so everything Toy Story-related will be contained in Toy Story Land. Its new entrance will be in the middle of Toy Story Land.
Holmes promised unique merchandise for the area, and donned a headband with a Slinky Dog sitting atop it as an example, reminiscent of the popular Mickey ear hats and headbands featured around the parks.
It will also have its own quick-service food kiosk, Woody’s Lunch Box. Holmes said it will serve sandwiches, floats and some specialty treats.
The Toy Story franchise was chosen to be featured in its own land because its popularity has proven to be long-lasting, said Minichiello.
“It’s one of those properties that just continues to be popular out there in the world,” he said.
Source: travelweekly.com