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Toy Story Mania
(photos below)
This Just In:
More Toy-Full Than Ever! Disney•Pixar’s ‘Toy Story 3’ is Celebrated
with New Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney California Adventure Fun
New Characters Added
New characters from the Disney•Pixar film “Toy Story 3” have been added to the joyful, toy-full adventure of Toy Story Mania! at Disney California Adventure and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In addition to playing with new characters in Toy Story Mania!, there are opportunities in both parks for up-close fun with another all-new character from “Toy Story 3” – Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear. He’s the bossman at Sunnyside Daycare in the animated feature film.
Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear, the pink, plush and ultra-soft teddy bear from "Toy Story 3," is the newest character to join the
Disney's Hollywood Studios family of stars. Seen here visiting the Pixar Place area inside the showbiz-themed park,
Lots-o'-Huggin Bear (or "Lotso" for short) makes meet-and-greet appearances inside The Magic of Disney Animation
attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Lotso also joins his "Toy Story" pals in the "Block Party Bash" at the Walt Disney World theme park.
Toy Story Mania! – the 4-D interactive ride-game attraction inspired by the Disney•Pixar “Toy Story” films – is extremely popular with Disney Parks guests on both coasts. This high-energy, immersive adventure puts players squarely in the action as their game play triggers surprises that deliver a fourth dimension of fun. Toy Story Mania! engages guests in a whole new way with delightful characters of “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2.”
Woody, Buzz, Mr. Potato Head and the gang are joined by a whole new set of characters from “Toy Story 3.” The new game greeting guests, “Rex and Trixie’s Dino Darts,” invites riders to shoot their virtual darts at all-new balloon targets in a primeval world filled with volcanoes and lava balloons, explained Sue Bryan, senior show producer, director, Walt Disney Imagineering.
Game players are welcomed by Rex (the nervous Tyrannosaurus rex) and his new friend Trixie (a blue Triceratops and one of the toy characters from the new film) cheering them on. The new game (it replaces “Bo Peep’s Baaa-loon Pop”) turns up the fun with more hidden surprises and the potential for volcanic levels of excitement. Other changes:
The “Hamm & Eggs” game is now hosted by Hamm and Buttercup (a toy unicorn with heart-shaped nostrils).
In the prize scene, Trixie, Buttercup, Dolly (a doll), Mr. Pricklepants (a lederhosen-clad hedgehog) and one other surprise – all from “Toy Story 3” – appear with Woody and Jessie.
“Our number-one goal in creating Toy Story Mania! was to come up with game-play challenges appropriate for all guests, from little kids to serious gamers,” Bryan said. “I love that we are keeping things fresh and new by adding these great new friends and fun to join some of the most popular characters of all time.”
TOY STORY MANIA! TURNS
EVEN MORE TOY-FULL: New characters from the
soon-to-be-released Disney - Pixar film “Toy Story 3” will
be added in late May to the ride-game attraction Toy Story
Mania! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s
California Adventure. At “Rex and Trixie’s Dino Darts,”
the new characters will invite riders to shoot their virtual
darts at all-new balloon targets in a primeval world promising
volcanic levels of excitement.
More Fun in Store
Disney Parks guests not only get to play with “Toy Story 3” characters in Toy Story Mania! starting in late May – they get to see another new character from the film.
Starting May 9, Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear will join his “Toy Story” pals in the delightful “Pixar Play Parade” at Disney’s California Adventure and “Block Party Bash” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In addition, Disney’s Hollywood Studios guests can pose for photos with
Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear in the meet-and-greet area inside The Magic of Disney Animation. Over at Disney’s California Adventure, guests can pose alongside the “Toy Story” gang inside a life-sized “blister pack” as if they themselves are toys.
About the Movie
“Toy Story 3” welcomes Woody (voice of Tom Hanks), Buzz (voice of Tim Allen) and the whole gang back to the big screen as Andy prepares to depart for college and his loyal toys find themselves in… daycare! These untamed tots with their sticky little fingers do not play nice, so it’s all for one and one for all as plans for the great escape get underway. A few new faces – some plastic, some plush – join the fun. "Toy Story 3"
disney.go.com/toystory/ is a comical new adventure in Disney Digital 3-D. Disney•Pixar’s “Toy Story 3” debuts nationwide on June 18, 2010.
In the timeless tradition of Disney storytelling, Toy Story Mania! takes its inspiration from the fact that Andy’s toys spring to life whenever he is away. Soon after Andy got a “Midway Games Play Set” for his latest birthday, the toys jumped at their first chance to open the box and set up the game booths and carnival trams so everyone could ride and play. That means “no assembly required” for their game-playing guests – just nonstop fun. (That is, until Andy gets home!)
Arriving guests are welcomed by Mr. Potato Head, more than five feet tall and looking like he stepped right down from the movie screen. The state-of-the-art Audio-Animatronics Mr. Potato Head makes a perfect carnival barker, capable of engaging guests in two-way conversation and encouraging them to “step right up” for the immersive Toy Story Mania! experience.
Everyone gets a front row seat when guests put on their 3-D glasses, “shrink” to the size of a toy and board Toy Story Mania! carnival tram ride vehicles which add a huge amount of fun to the interactive experience. The exciting and colorful route takes guests through “Andy’s Bedroom” filled with oversized murals and toys. The vehicles angle to face Toy Story Mania! game booths – high-tech yet rooted in classic midway games of skill – and guests aim for 3-D animated targets using their own on-board spring-action shooters. Players pair up and sit side-by-side for a friendly competition that delivers an ever-changing variety of targets and surprises.
As they play, guests can actually see the “virtual” objects they’ve launched leave their
spring-action shooters and hit (or miss) the targets. And thanks to 4-D special-effects technology, they may sense objects whirring past them as they pop out of the 3-D scenes.
The Toy Story Mania! games – five of them, plus an introductory practice round – are designed to be enjoyed by audiences of all ages and skills, from beginners to experienced gamers. Play is energized by the spirit of the “Toy Story” characters cast in games that best suit their very animated personalities.
No matter how many times guests return to ride and play, they can be sure every ride-through will seem different.
Toy Story Mania! was the first time that Walt Disney Imagineering created an attraction for two Disney parks simultaneously. The attraction opened in California and Florida in 2008.
On Saturday, May 10, 2008, Aronda
attended the PassHolder Preview for the new Toy Story Mania
attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Photography isn't
allowed inside the attraction (as it wouldn't work anyway,
with the 3-D projection systems in use), but she was able to
take some pictures of the outside of the building as well as
the preshow area. Have a look:
Mickey Avenue has been
totally transformed: no longer a simulated-asphalt lane, it
now has more of a courtyard feel to it
The Green Army Men are busy
at work getting the Scrabble board lowered into place--see
below for a photo of where it goes!
Both sides of the street
have been redesigned--a compelling and pleasant atmosphere
here!
FastPASS distribution is
located in the same place as it was for Who Wants to be a
Millionaire: Play It!
FastPASS machines themed to
match the rest of the area. They weren't operating during
the
PassHolder Preview, but the return time board was lit for
effect
Entrance to Toy Story
Mania. Note the larger-than-life toys. The theming inside is
designed to give a "toy's eye view" of the world
As you enter the building,
the walls stretch high. The nightlight is well above Guest
head level and is very, very large.
Someone hasn't cleaned up
his room! These huge toys are everywhere, and Guests wind
their way among them.
Candyland game board
becomes a wall in this structure.
Look to the left corner (not in this photo, but when you visit
the attraction) to see a stack of checkers holding up the
ceiling.
The monkeys continue inside
the preshow area. Notice the ceiling. It's the Scrabble board
that the Green Army Men were lowering
into place while you were outside. This building is really a
construction of toys--created by the toys themselves!
Mr. Potato Head talks,
sings, tells corny jokes and panders for applause and
compliments.
He also removes and reinstalls his right ear while Guests
watch!
A Lincoln Log cabin is the
pickup point for the 3-D glasses. After this area, the queue
leads up a flight of stairs.
After picking up 3-D glasses, the queue leads
up a stairway and then back down into the loading area. The
"game trams" are mounted two units to a platform,
with seating for (2) Guests per side of each unit, back to
back, for a total of (8) Guests per platform.
Inside the attraction, there are a total of
(6) interactive "shooting" areas, one is for
practice; the others contribute to your score. The game
controllers are stylized gun-shaped contrivances, with a
pull-string to actuate the firing mechanism. The game is very
realistic, your controller fires such items as pies (in the
case of the practice round), rings, darts, etc. in real time
into the 3-D images, making for a realistic interactive feel
to this game. The track is fairly short, with lots of
"hairpins" to have your tram going back and forth
among the various game areas.
This is a very well-themed attraction from the
time a Guest approaches the building all the way through to
the exit. A nice feature here is the
"cross-generational" interest it's certain to have:
youngsters who like Toy Story will love it, videogamers of all
ages will like the realistic video game aspect, and adults
will enjoy the game and the quality of theming. The game
itself is easy enough to please inexperienced Guests, but
challenging enough to keep teens and adults engaged.
We look forward to the grand opening of this
one!
Coming to Disney's
Hollywood Studios -- Fun for the whole family, “Toy Story
Mania!” will
immerse guests into the “Toy Story” world as never before.
Donning 3-D glasses, guests shrink
to the size of a toy, and hop into fanciful ride vehicles that
travel and twist along a colorful
midway-themed route. It will be a featured attraction in
summer 2008 for guests of Disney's
Hollywood Studios - renamed next January from Disney-MGM
Studios.
Walt Disney World Resort is in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Toy Story Mania, the new attraction being constructed in
the building on Mickey Avenue formerly occupied by Who Wants
To Be A Millionaire Play It! is reported to be an interactive
adventure utilizing the so-called CAVE technology to create
virtual scenes. Below, check out the construction progress as
the building is updated for the new attraction!
Aronda has been watching the construction, and will
continue to add photos on this page as she takes them. Check
back for updates--and new photos!
Toy Story Mania! Fun Facts
In General...
- Each ride vehicle weighs as much as 8,580 Woody dolls.
- It would take 5,026 toy soldiers lined up end-to-end to
make up the total track length.
- Toy Story Mania! is the first time that Walt Disney
Imagineering is creating an attraction for two Disney
Parks simultaneously.
- It has been estimated that, each day, guests may break
over one million virtual plates using the spring-action
shooters.
- Riders in the Sky, the award winning group that wrote
the songs that Mr. Potato Head performs as part of the
attraction, is the same group that wrote "Woody's
Roundup" for the "Toy Story" feature films.
- This is the first attraction that Walt Disney
Imagineering designed where the Imagineers had to wear 3-D
glasses to art direct all the black-light paint elements.
- The murals located in the load area at Disney's
Hollywood Studios are the biggest murals painted since
Epcot was built.
- In order to create a show that responds not only to
every pull of a guest's spring-action shooter, but also
every move their midway tram makes, there are over 150
computers communicating over multiple networks throughout
the attraction.
- At Toy Story Mania! every guest gets to experience life
at the size of a toy. So in Andy's room, a 5 foot 6 inch
person will feel about 14" tall.
- More time was spent programming Mr. Potato Head than for
any other Audio-Animatronics figure ever created by Walt
Disney Imagineering.
- Mr. Potato Head will be able to say more lines of
dialogue than any Audio-Animatronics figure ever created
by Walt Disney Imagineering.
- The Mr. Potato Head Audio-Animatronics figure is the
first time that an Audio-Animatronics figure can remove a
body part and re-attach it (in the case of his ear).
- The Mr. Potato Head Audio-Animatronics figure has new,
highly expressive and animated eyes that can look directly
at a particular guest in the queue when speaking to
him/her.
- Mr. Potato Head marks the first Audio-Animatronics
figure whose mouth appears to form words and vowel sounds.
The Game Itself...
- In each of the Toy Story Mania! games, there is at least
one "easter egg" -- targets that can trigger the
appearance of bonus high-value targets and other changes
in the scene.
- Toy Story Mania! is the first time that Woody and Buzz
Lightyear (along with some of their friends) from the
Disney-Pixar "Toy Story" films appear together
in a ride-through attraction.
- Watch for loose change in the prize scene -- Hamm is
carrying more than $6 in coins when his cork pops.
Nice to Know...
- Because of the indoor nature of the attraction and to
keep the guest experience fun for all, flash photography
or video is not allowed on Toy Story Mania!
- Everyone can play! There is no height or age restriction
for guests to experience Toy Story Mania!
- Actual ride time aboard Toy Story Mania! is a full five
minutes.
- Ready, aim, fire! Players have 30 seconds in each game
play area to score points.
- A beeline to fun! Toy Story Mania! utilizes Disney's
FASTPASS, a return voucher offering little or no waiting
time at select attractions. Single riders also have their
own queuing option for Toy Story Mania!
The following information was taken from the brand new
Disney Vacation Club magazine, Disney Files, winter
issue:
What We
Love about Toy Story Mania
Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts: If
there's one thing everyone on the Disney Files staff has in
common, it's impatience...and good looks. (And humility.) But
let's stick with the impatience. Case in point: Toy Story
Mania!
Imagineers are hard at work on the virtual-target-shootin',
high-score-bustin', every-age-pleasin' attraction, which is
slated to open in summer 2008 at the Disneyland and Walt
Disney World Resorts as The Year of a Million Dreams
continues. The interactive ride will immerse Guests in the
ultimate midway competition, where they'll shoot for high
scores, bragging rights and that proud feeling that comes from
outscoring your nine-year-old. (Or the quiet shame that comes
from the kid embarrassing you beyond belief.)
Fueled by our inability to wait until next summer, we took
a sneak peek behind the scenes at Walt Disney Imagineering.
Here's what we loved most about what we saw:
The characters: From Woody to Buzz to Rex and Hamm,
there's nothing like an anthropomorphic toy to bring out the
kid in everyone. (Except maybe a spring-action shooter. More
on that in a moment.)
The effects: The cutting-edge visual effects will
put you in the middle of the action, and there are a few
surprises that you'll not only see, but feel.
(We'd tell you more, but we'd lose our backstage access, and
that would be sad.)
The spring-action shooter: It's the nifty device
you'll use to shoot darts at balloons, rings at aliens, eggs
at barnyard targets and more. Not only does this thing look
cool, but we're pretty sure it'll qualify as your cardio
exercise for the day. (Either that or we really need to hit
the gym.)
The Mr. Potato Head Boardwalk Barker: This
five-foot-tall Audio-Animatronics character will spice up the
"pre-show" by interacting with Guests in real-time,
inviting gamers of all ages to "step right up" to
the challenges ahead. (Not since microwave fries have we been
this excited about potatoes.)
The unexpected: Anyone who has unlocked an
"Easter egg" on a DVD knows how much fun it is to
discover a digital surprise. The Toy Story Mania! games are
loaded with these hidden twists, making every ride a new
experience. (Let the obsessive Web postings begin!)
READY, AIM...FUN!: Seated
in one of the new attraction vehicles, Walt Disney Imagineers
Ira Frank (left)
and John Noonan (right) test the new “spring-action
shooters” which Disney's Hollywood Studios guests
will use to score points when the Toy Story Mania! attraction
opens summer 2008. Standing at right
is Jim Jannick. An innovative ride-game experience coming to
Disney's Hollywood Studios summer 2008,
Toy Story Mania! combines memorable film characters from
Disney-Pixar classics "Toy Story" and "Toy
Story 2"
with games that match their motion picture personas. Donning
3-D glasses, guests seemingly shrink to the
size of a toy and hop fanciful ride vehicles that follow a
midway-themed route. At each game booth,
they aim for animated targets using a special spring-action
shooter. The challenges are designed to
be fun for everyone from beginners to serious gamers -- and,
for Disney theme park guests on both coasts, as
Toy Story Mania! also is coming to Disneyland Resort in 2008.
It's all part of Disney Parks' Year of a Million
Dreams celebration for 2008.
These photos taken Saturday, August 18,
2007:
Mickey Avenue has been recently (within the
past several weeks) blocked to through traffic by a large
construction wall. To add to the excitement surrounding this
new attraction, Disney has just recently added some posters to
this wall. Check out the photos!
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