Trials and tribulations on Toy Story Mania

[toothboy2k1]

You want to know the biggest challenge of Disney's latest attraction? Beat the Queue (high scores ranged in the 2-3 hour range). Best bet is to have someone keep your space, rotate in and out (thank goodness for the miracles of cell phones), and everyone joins in as the line nears the talking Mr. Potato Head (quick note on the Don Rickles-voiced animatronic character: though he addresses people in the audience and seems to respond to questions, this is not like Turtle Talk with Crush--Potato Head is programmed with 20 minutes of conversation, so he can point to the kids with the Mickey ears, or ask that you take a photo of his good side, etc). (And another quick not on line etiquette: if your party has more than 6 people or so, warn others around you that they will be jumping in line because everyone is going to be pretty grouchy about that sort of thing).

Once you're in, you'll be given 3D glasses before boarding the 8-person cars, (two 4-person carts) that swivel to face the video screens that soon will fill with your various projectiles.

Enjoy the ride between screens as the cars speed up, twist and careen around tight turns. Not a thrill ride, but a lot of fun for a Disney dark ride. The real magic happens when you start shooting. The 3D high-def graphics are amazing. It's easy to track your shots as you pull the string on your shooting, swiveling cannon. Hint: As you pull the string to fire, make sure it retracts all the way or your next shot won't be recorded. And pull as fast as you can, you can get off about 6 shots a second at the perfect pace.

And note the physics, which makes this ride stand out. Darts can actually glance off a balloon if not dead on, just as in real life. Very cool. And every now and then you may be hit by blasts of air or a splash of water as certain targets are hit.

My favorite game was the Green Army Men baseball toss, cracking plates with baseballs. Something about the destructive nature of that game ...

Least favorite: Ring toss. Aiming is just a little bit different here and will take you a few times through to adjust to.

Either way, a great ride, far better than Finding Nemo (which I still find to be rather lame and in no way deserving waits any more than 15 minutes). Toy Story Mania is going to make CA a lot more popular. Oh yeah, as a result, expect much longer lines on Screamin and Mulholland Madness, as they attract Mania overflow. When I was there, MaliBoomer didn't seem to experience a huge crowd.

My high score was 175,000. Beat that, kids.

 

[sbakersub]

Great info. I wish we could have tried it. We were in DCA on the 17th when it opened, and by 5:00 or so that afternoon the line was 3+ hours long Needless to say, we didn't try for it. We had checked the day before to see if there was any chance of getting on it a day early, but no dice. Just have to plan another trip, I guess...

 

[Ride Junkie]

I liked the ring toss. It was so funny when you'd ring one of the little green guys, and they would say, "Wheeeeee..." as they went whizzing by (and you felt the blast of air)! Totally funny. I also liked the balloon pop -- sometimes you felt a blast of air, sometimes water! Great ride. We were lucky to only have a 30-minute wait on the 18th (we charged in with the opening crowd).

 

[IndyBride]

You want to know the biggest challenge of Disney's latest attraction? Beat the Queue (high scores ranged in the 2-3 hour range). Best bet is to have someone keep your space, rotate in and out (thank goodness for the miracles of cell phones), and everyone joins in as the line nears the talking Mr. Potato Head (quick note on the Don Rickles-voiced animatronic character: though he addresses people in the audience and seems to respond to questions, this is not like Turtle Talk with Crush--Potato Head is programmed with 20 minutes of conversation, so he can point to the kids with the Mickey ears, or ask that you take a photo of his good side, etc). (And another quick not on line etiquette: if your party has more than 6 people or so, warn others around you that they will be jumping in line because everyone is going to be pretty grouchy about that sort of thing).

I hate when people "hold" places for people. Of course, I probably wouldn't mind if they warned me. I'm usually in the group with 10+ people.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

I hate when people "hold" places for people. Of course, I probably wouldn't mind if they warned me. I'm usually in the group with 10+ people.

I agree, especially on a ride like TSM where the line is going to be very long for awhile..

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Actually, I think it's against Disney policy to hold places like that for large groups of people. You cannot gauge how long the line really will be if the majority of the group is out having fun with only one or two people holding their place, while others maintain their groups together.

I know some people who tried to do that, and the CMs kicked them out of the line.

 

[goofy's friends]

I think it sould be allowed on this ride. At least until it's not as popular. People pay big $$ to go to Disney and to spend a couple of hours, or more, in line wastes alot of time. Everyone could be out and enjoying the park. I think rotating would be a great idea!

 

[DangerMouse]

I think it sould be allowed on this ride. At least until it's not as popular. People pay big $$ to go to Disney and to spend a couple of hours, or more, in line wastes alot of time. Everyone could be out and enjoying the park. I think rotating would be a great idea!

Perhaps it's great for the people rotating, but those other people inline, who also have paid big $$ to go to Disney, they get to wait even longer in line because of those who are cutting (I mean, rotating).

 

[bonita_babe232]

And thats why fastpasses are such a godo thing cause then you can get a pass to come back later!!!! I think all busy rides should have them!!!

 

[RideMax Mark]

Speaking of the queue experience, I know FASTPASS isn't loved by everyone, and I probably shouldn't be "taking sides" here, but having just returned from the DLR this past week I must say that the "queue" experience of this attraction in Orlando versus DLR stand in stark contrast to one another!

At WDW you get to either use a FASTPASS and wait in line just 10 minutes or so, or if you have to wait in the standby line you have a nice air-conditioned queue in which to enjoy the Toy Story-themed scenery. At DLR you stand outside -- possibly in the hot sun, depending on the weather -- for a minimum of thirty or forty minutes with very little to look at in terms of theming (except for the short inside portion of the queue).

I had the chance to answer an exit survey after one ride this past week, and made clear my preference for FASTPASS. It almost seemed like the guy doing the survey was just a little bit defensive of the DLR "no FP" decision, explaining that the FP-to-standby ratio at WDW was something like 95% FP to 5% standby. That sounded very high to me, but even if it were true, what's wrong with 95% of customers getting to board with very little wait? (As opposed to a wait of at least 40 minutes or so for 99% of guests at DLR? )

Making the situation even more difficult is that many folks seem to KNOW the attraction has no FP, so the "opening rush" crowds at DCA are extreme, IMO. One day I arrived at the DCA turnstiles at about 9:15 -- 45 minutes before the park opened -- and I still had to wait until about 10:25 before I was actually boarding the attraction. That's 70 minutes total, right when you'd *think* the wait should be the shortest!

I have to admit that over time the no-FP decision may work out just fine, as the attraction loses it's "newness" and fewer people ride. And the single-rider line should also help. But I'd still like to see FP on this attraction, at least for the first year or two!

There are so many things at DLR that stand head-and-shoulders above WDW (Space Mtn, Indy, etc.). And I actually liked the outdoor ambiance of the boarding area itself, but I still much prefer the WDW experience overall, largely due to FP.

Just my two cents...

 

[JadeDarkstar]

I have actuely read where ppl were told by cms to have one person hold the line and others go off.

 

[DangerMouse]

I have actuely read where ppl were told by cms to have one person hold the line and others go off.

I read that too, and it was during the first few crazy months of Nemo, when lines were 2+ hours long all day long. Of course CMs don't expect young children to be able to wait that long without exiting the que for food or potty breaks for even just to run off some steam (or go on another ride). But the wait times for TSMM haven't been reported at 2+ hours since opening day. I think once the initial rush is over this summer, this will be a rather quick loading ride and the wait times will not warrant the need to hold places in line like Nemo did.

Holding places for one or two people is fine, especially if it is young children, but six able-bodied adults begins to be offensive.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I read that too, and it was during the first few crazy months of Nemo, when lines were 2+ hours long all day long. Of course CMs don't expect young children to be able to wait that long without exiting the que for food or potty breaks for even just to run off some steam (or go on another ride). But the wait times for TSMM haven't been reported at 2+ hours since opening day. I think once the initial rush is over this summer, this will be a rather quick loading ride and the wait times will not warrant the need to hold places in line like Nemo did.

Holding places for one or two people is fine, especially if it is young children, but six able-bodied adults begins to be offensive.

I agree. Also, I think there is a big difference between younger children, or people with medical conditions that make it hard to wait so long and those who are perfectly capable of waiting like the rest of the people.

Rm Mark - thanks for your perspective. Since Disney has introduced Fastpass and it is so popular, it is a shame that they do not include it for the more popular rides.

It could also be that they don't want to spend the money installing the FP machine systems when they have found these systems to be unnecessary, like in Winnie the Pooh & Star Tours attractions. Still, it's a pity.

 

[Ride Junkie]

I agree. Also, I think there is a big difference between younger children, or people with medical conditions that make it hard to wait so long and those who are perfectly capable of waiting like the rest of the people.

True. The queue at DCA was definitely a hot one. The indoor portion had no air circulation, it was like a sweat chamber! Before the mad rush to the ride, we had been talking with a really nice lady who had two heart attacks last year & couldn't be out in the heat very long. We lost her in the stampede & ended up ahead of her. Luckily, as we were making our way through the queue, we spotted her about to enter the indoor hotbox & pulled her into line with us. That took some time off her wait; we were afraid she might faint in there! We only waited 30 mins from entering the line to boarding the ride, but that was a long hot 30 minutes. Fastpass would be nice for this one, or at least some A/C!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Yeah, I think all of us will be waiting in line when we go. I don't like it when people hold spots like that, so I wouldn't want to do that to anyone else.

 

[BC1836]

The no Fast Pass option at DL was a surprise to us when we attempted to ride last week. We had ridden the ride several times via Fast Pass at WDW a few weeks earlier, and even those lines were long. DL should rethink its current policy and offer Fast Pass. It's a terrific attraction.