Toy Story Playland - Opens 17th August 2010!

[Kristof]

Toy Story Playland
Project status: Under construction for a projected opening in late August 2010

Toy Story Playland will form a mini-land within Toon Studio and will be themed to the popular Pixar franchise with smaller attractions, immersive theming and photo locations. Three attractions are confirmed:

Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop
Bouncing tower ride with six parachutes and (unconfirmed) three seats under each. Manufactured by Intamin AG, a heavily customised and enlarged version of their 'Children's Parachute Tower' (used for Jumpin' Jellyfish at Disney's California Adventure).

Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin
Circular 'Musik Express' heavily customised to resemble Slinky Dog, with guests riding on his tail over rises and falls.

RC Racer
Halfpipe coaster with remote control car RC riding backwards and forwards on an orange "Hot Wheels"-style track. Manufactured by Zamperla, the actual system will be a brand new custom build, based on their Mega Disk'O and Intamin's Halfpipe coaster.

The expansion is not only planned to go on the patch of grass behind Art of Disney Animation, but will also take a chunk of the current Tram Tour route and forest area.

In mid-2009, it was announced that the three attractions would also open as part of a large expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland. Named Toy Story Land, this version will also feature food and merchandise locations and a rearranged attraction layout. The land was originally only due to appear in Paris.

Opens in late Summer 2010. No official date has yet been announced.

Discuss!

[burntsienna]

Cool!
Though the Halfpipe Coast scares me abit.
The Children's Parachute Tower (similar to Jumpin' Jellyfish) looks amazing, hope I get to visit DLRP when they are all built!
Scuttle's Scooters has to be the fastest snails (atleast I think they are snails) I have ever seen
Thanks for posting Kristof

[lil-shawn]

Oh my gosh i hope it never will see the daylight, this would be the badest thing they can do. after tower of terror and the hollywood blvd. they come up with this pice of crap...

whats wrong with them, to spend money in something that is just temporary and unthemed, money they can spend on a repaint of alice´s labyrinth or to save it for the next big and themed attractions or to begin with the theater district or what ever...
when they bring it up in 2010, it sounds like we will not se any new attraction in 2012 for toon studios.

[paul]

whats wrong with them, to spend money in something that is just temporary and unthemed,

If you read the OP, it says they WILL be themed.

[lil-shawn]

If you read the OP, it says they WILL be themed.

oops, right im sorry!

But it dosen´t matter if it themed or not that's money down the drain!
They can spend it in other stuff, in more important stuff!!
thats just what i think about it!!

[Nala_84]

Wow, thank you Raptor... that's the news of the day !!

The halfpipe thing is nothing for me though But I'd love such a Scuttle thing, hehe ! So there's no info about what the theming will be like?

[Kristof]

Oh my gosh i hope it never will see the daylight, this would be the badest thing they can do. after tower of terror and the hollywood blvd. they come up with this pice of crap...

whats wrong with them, to spend money in something that is just temporary and unthemed, money they can spend on a repaint of alice´s labyrinth or to save it for the next big and themed attractions or to begin with the theater district or what ever...
when they bring it up in 2010, it sounds like we will not se any new attraction in 2012 for toon studios.

I have no intention sounding "brusque" (hey people, I learned a new word not so long ago, I can finally use it! ), but what are you talking about????? This is EXPANSION with 3 new rides!!! A new miniature land with lots of theming and props??? What is wrong with that???


Ratatouille is still a go for 2012!!!!! (will rephrase my message above, might not have been really clear), and Theatre District is going to happen too. See this all in a bigger picture please. The future for WDS is bright!! This is just a very small part of it!

[RnRCj]

Well I really, REALLY hope this is just a rumour. The Music Express could look okay, and possibly the paratower, but I can't imagine a halfpipe coaster looking good there at all. It really is a ride designed for Six Flags, not Disney.

Kristof, when you say they will be themed, how themed do you mean? Because it doesn't matter whether it's themed or not, it's how good the theming is. If, say, the paratower was themed similar to Jumpin' Jellyfish at DCA, in my opinion that certainly wouldn't do. WDS needs better than that, otherwise we're heading back to square one.

Also, will the Studio Tram Tour route have to be altered? I can't imagine all 3 of those rides fitting onto that small patch of grass. It will be very cramped if so.

[-breeno-]

Sounds like great news

I have no intention sounding "brusque" (hey people, I learned a new word not so long ago, I can finally use it! ), but what are you talking about????? This is EXPANSION with 3 new rides!!! A new miniature land with lots of theming and props??? What is wrong with that???

I completely agree with you there Kristof, whats so bad about 3 new themed attractions!? WDS is moving forward with this and it can only make things better And i know how they theme it they will do a great job theming it. I honestly can't see how people are thinking this is bad news, it's made my day hearing it! Oh and i'm also not trying to sound "brusque"

[lil-shawn]

I have no intention sounding "brusque" (hey people, I learned a new word not so long ago, I can finally use it! ), but what are you talking about????? This is EXPANSION with 3 new rides!!! A new miniature land with lots of theming and props??? What is wrong with that???

hey kristof, i dont have any problem with the idea itself to make a miniature land, it´s the choise of the rides and that it will be temporary, vor me that's money down the drain!

I tryed to say before they make just temporary attractions and spend a lot of money, they sould spend it otherwise. A Music Express ride and a Children's Parachute Tower with the right themening i think it would be okay but the Halfpipe Coaster, i don´t know, it´s really nothing for Disney.

So when they do it it´s okay for me, i just hope they do it good and find the right theme!!

I hope now u understand what i was try to say

Ratatouille is still a go for 2012!!!!! (will rephrase my message above, might not have been really clear), and Theatre District is going to happen too. See this all in a bigger picture please. The future for WDS is bright!! This is just a very small part of it!

okay than i´m calmed down

[Anthony]

it´s the choise of the rides and that it will be temporary, vor me that's money down the drain!

Again, please read the first post! They won't be temporary! Disney doesn't do temporary like this. They're just trying to add a huge amount of extra capacity to Toon Studio for a fairly minimal cost -- expand it into something that can sit well as a cousin of Fantasyland.

The cost vs. final result ratio here will be great for the park. No longer will you get to Cars Quatre Roues Rallye and then "that's it!", you'll have five great flat rides to choose from in the area. These are exactly the kind of walk-on continuous rides we used to always wish for at WDS. Since their last expansion only really brought us Cars (Crush isn't exactly something you can do on a whim), this (and Ratatouille) would complete the land.

[RnRCj]

I just think they should scrap the half-pipe. That's the only ride of the 3 that I think will look bad. Another roller coaster isn't needed, and it's just too much of a thrill ride for DLRP. It's also a really low capacity attraction - Haven't they learnt from Crush's Coaster that's not a good idea?

The Paratower I'm unsure about. It could looks good, but it could look terrible too. We'll have to wait and see. Also, like the half-pipe, it's a fairly low capacity attraction.

I think the music express however could look good. As long as it is themed well - At least as good as Cars Quatre Roues Rallye.

[Riebi]

It all depends on the theming for me. If they have a great wonderful gorgeous (making me tears in my eyes cause all that joy) theming it could be a wonderful expansion for toon studios. I hope it will be such a wonderful one.

I´ve also some issues to get how they will make disapear this big U from the half-pipe-thing. For the other two attractions I´m hoping for something special and more elaborate theme.
There are allreade such themed attraction in european theme parks like tripsdrill:


(source: www.freizeitpark-welt.de)

(source: wikimedia.org)


(soure: wikimedia.org)


The theming is ok. But not Disney! So I only can hope that we get something nice. And for me, nice means not to develope a little Toy Story Land to have ONE MORE Toy Story attraction at DLRP. I clearly see some green army man at the tower, a big game box behind it to hint the big U and some woody-horsed to ride on it around.....I love Toy Story...but I find enough of it at DLRP.

So if the theming is right and remarkabel it could be a wonderful little land inside of Toon Studio. But if they just to a run-of-the-mill-imagineering-fast-quick-and-cheapy theming it could be the absolute worst for the steps to better theming inside WDS (which begans with ToT)

By the way: The theater district placemaking is still in mind Do someone (Raptor, yes I use this brusque name) know when this could start? Maybe a little post inside the Theater-district-topic?

[SophieD]

this sounds good!! the half pipe rollercoaster does seem a bit scary though!!
i love the idea of scuttles scooters that sounds exciting!!
glad that it will be themed!!!

i am glad to here that Ratatouille ride is still on track for 2012!

[Remco K.]

Ok, where to start... I understand your statement, Kristof. I understand they want to add capacity to the WDS. But are these rumoured rides really adding the needed capacity? Wouldn't it be cheaper to copy any of the existing 3D movies from the USA parks (Mickey's Philarmagic for example)?

As for the rides... I can live with two of them, but not the half-pipe. Anyway, this all explains the height tests done some time ago. At least, it now seems logical that it was all for the parachute tower. The parachute ride is still rumoured though.

I don't know... I guess I need to give it some time to get used to it. I'm trying not to bash anything I haven't seen completed, but it's very hard for me to see the rumoured additions work in our WDS.

[smurfy74]

they all look really good to me, my only concern is capacity, it says the half pipe can handle 1000 people per hour. Will there be 2 half pipes?? Crush can handle about 1000 guests per hour and looked what has happened there. Disney knows Europeans like thrill rides ( thats what led to the quick introduction of the vekoma coaster - indiana jones and the temple of peril - back in the day ) We all know imagineers do a great job so im sure it will be well themed, also if its due to open in 2010 then we wont have long to wait until an announcement as it less than 18 months away

[Maarten]

It seems that a large expansion of Toon Studio is currently being planned out by Imagineers for the grass area behind Art of Disney Animation.

The three smaller, but definitely themed and permanent rides will most likely form a mini-land, similar to "A Bugs Land" at Disney's California Adventure Park and Mermaid Lagoon at Tokyo Disney Sea.

Just to clear things up, is this supposed to become an extension of Toon Studio or will it become a seperated mini-land? Or a mini-land inside Toon Studio? I don't really understand. Maybe they can get rid of the half-pipe coaster idea and opt for Flik's Flyers instead. At least that would be a fun attraction that small children can ride aswell.

Any news on the addition of a simple playground? Although it was announcent back in 2003 (together with the Vinci Parking right?), it never materialised. I think it would be a great addition for small kids. Maybe a filmset version of Pooh's Playful Spot?

I am glad that the new additions won't be temporary and unthemed like early rumours suggested. At least now I will give them the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully Disney will have some more budget soon so they can add a real shop to Toon Studio and add restaurant capacity since that would bring in the cash, but that's way offtopic. These new addition are just quick and cheap (hopefully it won't show).

[penfold12]

The attraction at TDL works so well, because the surrounding area is soooo richly themed.

I truely believe that the themeing of the Cars attraction in DLP is great. A very simple attraction, but the themeing makes the ride incidental for adults, and the ride perfect for kids.

If we get that level or better of themeing, then im a happy bunny.

That said, I have to say, the half pipe attraction is the one that worries me. That really stands out as a Six Flags attarction, the challenge is there for WDI to make that ride become a themed attraction worthy of a place in a Disney Theme Park. WDS has taken long enough to become a Walt Disney Theme Park, I just hope these attractions bring enough theming to continue this evolution

[davewasbaloo]

Hmmmm, I am very nervous. I do not really like the look of the Mermaid Lagoon, and I have been to DCA, and while the theming of Flicks is good, the attractions suck and have very low capacity. I am not optimistic about this at all.

Again, a sign that Disney either does toons or thrills these days, they have lost their way.

[pussinboots]

Mermaid Lagoon looks wonderful to me. Yes, it has the off-the-shelf rides and a lot of fauxness, but it handles it with attention to detail and whimsy. Tokyo DisneySea is probably the most "immersive" park on the planet, so it can afford one area that doesn't try to convince you with all its might that it is real.

The Walt Disney Studios however is a whole 'nother story, and you just know that whatever is going to fill in that patch of land is not going to match up to the watery peaks of Mermaid Lagoon.

Here is the famous Al Lutz photo tour for anyone who's curious:
http://www.mouseplanet.com/tokyo/tdstour/tdstour9.htm
It also includes a comparison between DisneySea's Jumpin' Jellyfish and Disney's California Adventure's. Same ride, very different packaging.