I spent today at Hollywood Studios in hopes that they would have a soft opening. After waiting for a good portion of the day (and chatting with some really nice people) they finally let us in!
At 5 p.m. Disney management came out to address the crowd to let us know that we would be allowed in. Needless to say there was an eruption of applause. So we followed them in and got a look at the new land.
Like many others, I hightailed it to Slinky Dog Dash and was able to practically walk onto the ride. Slinky Dog Dash is a really fun roller coaster and a welcome addition to Hollywood Studios. It was a little more intense than I thought it would be. It’s not rough or anything, it’s just faster than I thought it would be, but it was so much fun. I loved seeing Wheezy at the end of the ride. He’s so cute and he’s an animatronic. The ride is a little longer than Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, probably around the same as Big Thunder. There are dips, turns, and a second launch where the ride vehicle passes through some flashing arches that say “Go.” It’s really cute and really fun. I highly recommend it. If you can’t get a FastPass for it then I would get to the park before it opens so you can be one of the first in line.
After Slinky I went over to try Alien Swirling Saucers. This is a cute ride that’s perfect for little ones and those that don’t like intense rides. It’s a really mild ride; I would say it’s even less intense than the tea cups in Magic Kingdom. This ride lasts for a few minutes too and you are being pulled around by one of the aliens. It swings you to the side, but it’s not a rough ride it’s very mild..
Next it was time to try Woody’s Lunch Box. I ordered the BBQ Brisket Melt and the Raspberry Lunch Box Tart. The BBQ Brisket Melt was really good and I sat with another solo traveler who also thought the brisket sandwich was really good. Unfortunately, the Raspberry Lunch Box Tart was a little too sweet and the pastry was a little too thick for my taste. Next time I think I’ll try the Chocolate Hazelnut Lunch Box Tart, it comes with candied bacon!
The merchandise is pretty cute. I ended up getting some Slinky Dog headbands, Alien headbands, Slinky light up toys, Alien cups, and some parachute toys. There are more items available at Beverly Sunset and Mickey’s of Hollywood.
I didn’t see Woody, Jessie, or Buzz walking around, but the Green Army Men and Women were walking around. They were great at interacting with the guests and were walking around the whole time I was there.
By the time I left tonight, Slinky Dog Dash was up to 120 minute wait and they had closed the line. Alien Swirling Saucers was up to an 80 minute wait. So we’re looking at a repeat of Pandora for the summer with the wait times. The good news is Toy Story Mania! didn’t have much of a wait. The wait time said 45 minutes, but it was practically walk on, which never happens. The new queue line for Toy Story Mania! is cute and I was happy to see Mr. Potato Head is still part of the queue line.
When you visit Toy Story Land make sure to look around. The rides are fun, but there are so many details everywhere. For instance, you can see things like pencils and straws holding up the Christmas lights Andy used to light up what he has built. Also, on the ground you will see huge footprints which are, of course, Andy’s footprints. Such a fun detail!
This is such a fun land, it’s not huge (like Pandora), but it’s detailed, so there is a lot to look at. I love that you can see Slinky Dog Dash from almost anywhere in the land.
If you are visiting any time soon and want to see Toy Story Land I would definitely get to Hollywood Studios at least an hour before they open. That will get you towards the front of the crowd and hopefully you will get to see everything. It’s a lot of fun and I definitely recommend making time to see it!
Are you planning to visit Toy Story Land?
Thanks for reading!
*Liz*
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Liz
I love all things Disney, but my main love is for Disney World and I'm always planning for the next trip. Before becoming a Disney blogger, I was a radio DJ, so I guess I'm just continuing in the communication industry, just in a different form. I love talking Disney and I could talk about Disney all day. That's why I started blogging and created the Facebook group. The Disney community is full of friendly, helpful, and happy people...and I love being a part of it! If there is any Disney subject you would like to see covered just let me know! Need help planning your Disney vacation. Feel free to contact myself or Melissa at Never Stop Dreaming Travel Co. We love helping people plan their trips! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to check out our Countdown to Disney app! Feel free to email me with suggestions of things you would like to see in the app :-)
We are going in November and I am so excited!!!
I hope you guys have a great time, Robert! It’s a fun little land.
We are going in November to visit again and have been look forward to toy story
Have fun, Mary! It’s really cute!
Wow! That looks amazing! Thank you for your post and for the pictures. We could see the construction of Slinky Dog Dash when we were there at Christmas! So it is nice to see your pictures to see how it all turned out! The details are amazing! Can’t wait to see it when we visit next summer! Hopefully it will be less busy by then but I doubt it! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Linda! Glad you enjoyed. It’s a cute little land to walk around. It will probably still be busy, but if you get there an hour before the park opens you should be good. I was talking to a Cast Member at Animal Kingdom and he said there is still a line to get into Pandora for Flight of Passage in the morning at rope drop and that’s been open for over a year. As long as you are there early you should be fine. 🙂
Hi Liz,
Thank you for the review of the new Toy Story land – it looks great!
We have under 50 days until our trip to WDW and can’t wait to see it for ourselves. Your review of Woody’s Lunch Box (hilarious name for us British folks!) has led me to wonder about dining plan credits: we’ve got the DDP for the first few days of our stay and I’m wondering when our credits have to be used by. We check into our Disney hotel on a Friday afternoon and check out the following Wednesday morning: will we be able to use any remaining DDP credits throughout the Wednesday or will we have to use them all up before we check out of the hotel?
Many thanks for any advice you can offer
Hi Eve! As far as I know, you can use them on the day you checkout, so you should be fine. 🙂
We’re going to Disney in October for our 10th anniversary. Can’t wait to check out Toy Story Land!
It’s really cute, Amy! Hope you have fun!