Toy Story Mania - what's the big deal?

[brerdawg]

I have been reading the disboards non-stop since I booked our spur of the moment trip for next month. I learned so much here that made our last trip to Disney just about perfect!
All I keep reading about is the crazy lines and fast passes running out for TSM. I looked at videos of this ride and descriptions of it online and I just don't get it??? What is the big deal about it that makes it such a hit? Am I missing something?
We didn't spend much time at DHS last trip - we went the day we arrived and saw the Ariel show, my husband went on the RR and TOT and I think we may have done a few other things that aren't exactly ringing in my memory even though it was only 3 years ago. We did see Fantasmic that night which was our reason for going to DHS in the first place.
We were planning a half day here for this upcoming trip so my son can do the Jedi Training (please tell me this is still open even though the ride is closed??).

Think Buzz Light Year on steroids. It truly is a blast. Flinging the pies at the targets in 3D is worth getting your FPs at rope drop!

 

[bcrook]

The entire experience of TSM is worth a visit. I took a group of 9 (four in the group over age of 50) to DHS last Sunday. I told them in advance what to expect about rope drop, thousands of people rushing to lines, FP return times for late evening even at 10:00 am. They were all in. It went just like the script says. We even had a middle aged mother physically grab her 16 year old daughter and pull her in front of our group, because the daughter didn't want to cut in line. The mother yelled, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!". It was crazy.

BUT - we loved it of course. My friends were not shocked because I warned them of the riotous ways. They adored waiting in line looking at the nostalgia and listening to Mr. Potato Head. The ride is addictive, fast-moving and fun. We all laughed and had a great time. Well worth the time. It is kind of like jumping into a mosh pit. It is a rush.

 

[cmurray234]

The queue is bloody brilliant, no lie.

The rest of my family really likes this ride. It's a complete downer for me though. I am blind in one eye and can't see 3D.

I prefer Buzz Lightyear at MK. But it's alright.

 

[KingRichard]

Sounds fun and new. It has been a while sense we have been and look forward to the new things.

 

[ratlenhum]

I love it but would never in a million years wait more than 20 minutes to get on it. We have the game at home and play it on our Wii all the time so now it's a been there done that for us. If the lines are manageable we'll go on it, if not we skip. If my son insists, which he usually doesn't, then we'll use his GAC.

I never understood the hype or craze about it either.

 

[greg42]

One thing, for those who have never seen the regular queue, you should go through it at least once. But you have to get there pretty early to do that without standing in line forever. You miss some fun things on some rides if you only ever enter through the FastPass line.

I got to ride just once, but I can see it being popular not just because it's something everyone can ride, etc. It's really well done, a truly engaging and immersive experience. It is similar to the Buzz Lightyear at MK in that you are shooting, but it's much easier IMO to aim, and the the action of the shooting combined with the 3D visuals of the targets just left me laughing out loud.

Keep in mind that the ride is relatively long too. I remember it being long enough that I was surprised when we had one or two more rounds to go. I figured we'd be at the end at that point. I wish I knew the length, but it felt like at least 5 min. Yes, that is relatively long in the scheme of theme park rides.

TSM put one of the biggest smiles on my face out of all rides in WDW. If I had to rank them, I believe only some of the thrill rides peg higher on that meter. I would make certain of riding it at least once, and probably angle to ride it more than that, on the next trip.

 

[CindyIsMyFave]

I completely love this ride too, and intend to make sure our next trip (whenever that is!) will include an AM EMH at DHS to make sure we get FPs and ride it once when it opens. Everyone else has laid out good reasons for liking it, and I agree with all. I've only been once (2nd time we waited nearly 2 hours, but it kept breaking down, so we had to give it up), but am dying to return!

 

[Lees3rwe]

I don't think it's worth it at all...
Glad we did it once, but there was no way we were going to wait in line for over an hour to do it again.

 

[kmarie99]

I have never been on TSM but from what I have been hearing about it on the boards, it sounds alot like Men in Black in Universal... is that correct?

 

[WheelCEO]

welcome to the MOST over rated attraction within the parks

 

[chartle]

I have never been on TSM but from what I have been hearing about it on the boards, it sounds alot like Men in Black in Universal... is that correct?

I would think MiB is more like Buzz Light year on steroids , real laser beams firing at real targets as you move along.

At TSM you are parked in front of a large 3D projection screen and fire virtual things(balls, darts, rings) at targets.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Well if your kids are at all into video games they will be very disappointed that they missed TSM but its your family.

One thing I'm not sure you know, Jedi Training is now first come first served so basically a line, so get there early. And since everyone doesn't have to wait, send someone over for some TSM FP's.

Not sure I agree. This seems a little harsh. If they don't go on it, then they won't have much grounds to be 'disappointed.' I mean really, the kids in our family don't get upset if a ride is closed while we're thre - and they KNOW what they are missing if a ride is closed. (because they have seen it before)

WDW is all good, and they know that, so missing any one ride is usually no big deal. We're have a blast almost no matter what we are doing. Once in awhile they decide there's one thign they really want to do, but even then, then don't really mind WHEN in the trip we do it.

I'll also say - yeah - MiB, TSM and Buzz are all pretty similar. Each is slightly unique, but they all have similarities.

HS doesn't have many attractions that appeal to me very much, so TSM is onthe list of attractions worht FP-ing, if I'm trekking to HS. Beyond that though, it also wouldn't bother me much to skip it. As another poster said, there are other attractions I'd miss more: PotC and HM to name a few. (but even when those are in rehab, it doesn't ruin our vacation.)

 

[tink519]

I am looking forward to riding this on our next trip, but didn't even bother with it last year. DD hadn't seen Toy Story yet (neither had I)...but now she has seen all 3 and DS LOVES Buzz...so both TSM and Buzz Lightyear will be on our list this year. Which is fun, something new to add to the mix....

But to the OP, there is soooo much to do and your kids won't know the difference. If they see it and want to ride it, then give it a try...but if the don't even know its there I wouldn't even worry about it.

 

[stitch34]

First time we rode it I was like eh, what's the big deal? But kids are big Toy Story fans and love it, so ended up doing it again, and again on other trips. Now, gotta admit, I really enjoy it and have fun trying to top my personal best score each time!

 

[hookedonears]

I think it's the new technology that's the big deal. Really pretty cool. That being said, however, we ride it once a trip at rope drop and that's it. We don't think it's worth waiting over an hour for, or even riding more than once during the trip. It's not that great.

 

[kaligal]

IMO, there is no reason for the popularity except that it is new and gets a lot of hype on the boards.

It isn't that great a ride. There are two other rides in Orlando where you ride around and shoot at stuff. Of the three, I still like Men In Black (at Uni) the best.

The outside of it and the queue are adorable (love those monkeys), but the ride is ho-hum.

Totally skippable.

 

[kaligal]

I have never been on TSM but from what I have been hearing about it on the boards, it sounds alot like Men in Black in Universal... is that correct?

It is and it isn't. You ride around and shoot at stuff, so that's the same.

If I had to make a comparison, it has more of a Cat in the Hat feel - with shooting at screens.

MIB is much better than Buzz or TSM.

 

[TJSchulte1]

This is an awesome ride - my whole family loved it....just because it was so different from the rest of the rides. Similar to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin...but taken to a whole new level. You really should try and grab a fastpass to try it at least once. Not sure we would have waited in the 100 minute standby line for this one...too much else to do at the park to waste that much time just "waiting". But we did manage to secure 2 sets of fastpasses throughout the day, so we were able to ride it twice. Get them early though....this ride will run out of fastpasses by mid-day.

 

[thf913]

This is one of the few rides that both DS loved!! Both DS (ages 2 and 5 at the time) loved it! For us, it is a must do!