Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando has been in overhaul mode for some time now as the park makes (more) room for Pixar and Star Wars. Now, you can truly get hyped for your next Disney outing because beginning June 30, 2018, Hollywood Studios will be your gateway to the wonderful world of Toy Story. Buzz, Woody, and Jessie (silently) delivered the opening day news about the aptly named Toy Story Land on Good Morning America.
#ToyStoryLand will open at @WaltDisneyWorld Resort on June 30, 2018!
WE CAN’T WAIT!! pic.twitter.com/a1vqkGfaIc— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 16, 2018
Toy Story Land will occupy a full 11 acres of the park, boasting two brand new rides—Slinky Dog Dash, a roller coaster that shows you what it’s really like to sit inside Slink’s hollowed-out body, and Alien Swirling Saucers. Details are hazy on the latter, but according to Disney, “…if you’re really lucky, you might just get ‘chosen’ by the claw.†(The implications here are sinister, but I’m on board.)
Plus, Toy Story Mania!, a 4D shooting game that’s inarguably one of Disney World’s best offerings, ride-wise, will be getting an expansion, and Woody’s Lunch Box will be added to the roster of walk-up restaurants in Hollywood Studios. Themed food is a staple of any Disney trip, and it sounds like this locale will deliver that in spades.
It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that the elaborate set pieces of Toy Story Land will be, well, toys—larger-than-life reproductions of alphabet blocks, TinkerToys, and other childhood favorites. In a way, Toy Story Mania! now feels like a preview of what’s to come, which bodes well for the park’s overall expansion—the ride features some of the most ambitious queuing design in all of Disney World. (Fun fact: my Toy Story Mania! scores are downright pitiful.)
Disneyland loyalists need not fret—their own Pixar Pier opens June 13th, and both parks’ renditions of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge are set to open in 2019. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to start making a segmented paper chain to count down to next January, when the crowds will have thinned out a bit and I’ll be able to get a FastPass or three.
Images: ABC/Disney
