Toy Story Land Opening & Inspiring My Kids to Dream Big

Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios in opening June 30th!! It is almost here and I am so excited! Actually my entire family is so excited. Toy Story is a classic in our house. We have enjoyed all three movies and it is truly incredible when you can see the first one as a child and watch the third one with your children. The new Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios is going to be an amazing addition to the Walt Disney World parks.

What’s Inside: Today I am sharing all the excitement about the Toy Story Land Opening at Hollywood Studios as well as how it has personally impacted our family during our recent visit. 

Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios Details

Get ready to walk into Andy’s backyard and be part of the Toy Story world. As you enter Toy Story Land you will become part of the story and be the size of a toy. Walk among some of your favorites like Woody and Buzz, Jessie and Bullseye, and Rex and Potato Head. Its going to be an incredible land that entertains guest of all ages.

What You Need to Know about Toy Story Land at Disney Hollywood Studios

• Opening June 30, 2018 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World
• Guest visiting Toy Story Land will shrink down to the size of a toy as they explore Andy’s backyard.
• 3 attractions that will all be family friendly and multi-generational.
  • Slinky Dog Dash- Ride around Toy Story Land on Slinky Dog. (Height Requirement: 38 inches)
  • Alien Swirling Saucers- As “The Claw” hangs overhead guests will swirl around in Alien Swirling Saucers. (Height Requirement: 32 inches)
  • Toy Story Mania!-  A new entrance will welcome guests to this fan favorite 3d adventure. Enjoy scoring points on fun carnival themed games with your favorite Toy Story characters. (Any Height)
• Woody’s Lunch Box will be the quick service addition to the land.

Making FastPass+ Reservations at Disney Hollywood Studios with Toy Story Land Opening

• Tier 1: Slinky Dog Dash or Millennium Falcon at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
• Tier 2: Alien Swirling Saucers, Toy Story Mania!, Disney Junior Live on Stage, Muppet Vision, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Star Tours: The Adventure Continues, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Disney Junior Live on Stage, Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, Fantasmic!, Beauty and the Beast
• Slinky Dog Dash will be the most popular. This should be your first pick. Then I would personally go with Toy Story Mania! if Slinky Dog FastPass+ are gone, followed by Alien Swirling Saucers.
• You want to arrive as early as possible to ride these attractions. I would suggest at least 90 minutes before park opening. During busy times even more.

How Toy Story Land is Inspiring My Kids to Dream Big

During our time at the Disney Social Media Moms celebration we had an opportunity to ask questions to a Disney Parks Imagineer who worked on Toy Story Land. I love the behind the scenes creativity that goes into designing the parks and I couldn’t wait to have a chance to meet someone close to the project.

I think being a Disney loving Mom my kids are bound to be inspired by the Disney magic of their childhood. We visit the parks and watch the movies and TV shows at home. We are inspired by Disney and what the real magic of Disney is. I thought I knew what the magic was all about, but I saw it in a different way during our visit to Hollywood Studios.

What Do You Ask a Disney Imagineer?

Before leaving for our trip I talked to the kids about the opportunity to ask a few questions to a Disney Imagineer. I love involving the kids in my work and making it about family. (This blog is truly a family project that I would never have without them.) With my husbands help we came up with a few questions.

• What is the process like for planning a new land?
• How many people help with the land?
• How do you become an imagineer?
• Do you design all of the attractions?
• Do you make a lot of attractions that don’t make the cut?
• Have you ever worked on a project that didn’t make it?

We were ready to go and so excited, and a little nervous, to talk to a Disney Parks imgaineer! Looking at the picture you can tell I was super excited as well as how focused my kids were! The Q & A’s session was an open flow area. This meant people were coming and going and it was open to the public where you could view the Toy Story Land model. When we arrived there were many people around the Disney Imagineer-Ryan, and we waited in the back for our turn.

Ryan has been working on the Toy Story Land project for over 2 years. He said there were so many people working on the project that it is difficult to count. He also said Toy Story Land is going to be multi-generational family fun. When asked what his favorite attraction was he said they are all amazing and he couldn’t choose. I have to agree they look awesome!

One of things that struck me is not what he said but how he said it. Ryan made the dream of becoming a Disney Imagineer a little bit more of a reality for my kids and that is what I love about Disney Magic.

The way he talked about his dream and his job with such pride made my kids beam. They saw his excitement and “Dream Big” became a little bit closer to reach for my kids.  Disney magic has given the possibility of a dream to my kids and for that I am forever grateful.

After our meeting with Ryan we attended a dinner hosted by GoGoSqueeZ. They had special place mats where the kids could draw and share what they wanted to be when they grew up. My son wrote a “Disney Engineer”! He was so proud and excited that he could one day be part of the magic.

During the dinner you entered your drawing for a chance to win a year supply of GoGoSqueeZ and we won!! Thank you GoGoSqueeZ! The kids can’t wait!! These moments are why I take my kids to Disney year after year. It is about showing them the possibilities they have inside each of them and an example of when you dream anything is possible. We are so excited for Toy Story Land and can’t wait to experience it on our next visit.

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