Toy Story Mania Ride Guide (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
Toy Story Mania is an attraction in Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios (Walt Disney World). Originally called Toy Story Midway Mania!, this ride opened in 2008 as part of Pixar Place. The entrance was later relocated, and it became part of the opening of Toy Story Land in 2018. Other versions of the attraction are available at the Disneyland Resort (Disney California Adventure) and Tokyo DisneySea.
Toy Story Mania features 4D screens and a gentle spin. Guests shoot blasters attached to their ride cars at interactive moving targets throughout the attraction. This ride does not have a height requirement. Below, we’ll discuss need-to-know details for experiencing this attraction during your vacation.
Here is a quick reference chart for Toy Story Mania.
Toy Story Mania | Disney’s Hollywood Studios |
---|---|
Location: | Toy Story Land |
Height Requirement: | Any Height |
Lightning Lane: | Yes, Multi Pass (Tier 2) |
Ride Type: | Shooting at Targets, Scoring |
Seats Per Vehicle: | 4 in a car, 2 per side |
Rider Switch: | None |
Early Theme Park Entry: | Yes |
Extended Evening Hours: | Yes, when offered |
Good For: | Everyone |
Scare Factor: | None |
Must-Do List: | High Priority |
Perfect For: | Toy Story Fans |
Special Mention: | Due to the spinning nature of this ride, Disney cautions those who are prone to motion sickness, should not ride. |
Accessibility: Guests must transfer to a wheelchair and then to the ride vehicle. A transfer access vehicle is available. Service animals are permitted with caution. An audio description and video captioning are available.
Make sure to check our one-stop Lightning Lane Guide to plan your attractions.
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Toy Story Mania Ride Review
Toy Story Mania is an exceptionally popular attraction at Hollywood Studios. It’s so popular that the ride often has long waits throughout the day. When this attraction originally opened, it offered a FastPass+ entrance. However, that system changed to Genie+, which is also now obsolete. Today, this attraction is a Tier 2 category selection with Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
Toy Story Mania is an excellent Lightning Lane selection if you purchase Multi Pass. However, if you’re planning to ride via standby, we recommend doing so earlier in the mornings up until 11:00 a.m. and later in the evenings after 7:00 p.m. This is also an excellent place to stand in line during inclement weather (rain or extreme temperatures). However, if it’s still raining after you exit, there are no other attractions with shelter in the nearby area.
Our favorite time to ride Toy Story Mania is after 8:00 p.m. The line tends to clear out significantly as people prepare for evening entertainment. Often, the wait times will be inflated on the screen outside the attraction as it gets later. You might see a 25-minute wait and be able to walk right on the ride. Of course, it will take a couple of minutes to get through the long queue.
The queue for Toy Story Mania is extensive. You’ll see fun elements like board games (Chutes and Ladders), card games (giant Uno cards), tremendous Crayola Crayons, books, and more! You’ll even run into Mr. Potato Head. (Hopefully, he’s working!)
When you get close to the ride load area, a cast member will direct you to pick up a pair of 3D glasses. They enable you to see the dimensional elements projected on each gaming screen. Toy Story Mania has five different game screens:
- Hamm & Eggs
- Rex & Trixie’s Dino Darts
- Green Army Men Shoot Camp
- Buzz Lightyear’s Flying Tossers
- Woody’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Shootin’ Gallery
Once you take off from the loading station, the vehicle spins through Andy’s room. Since you’re the size of a toy, everything around you seems larger than life. You’ll stop in front of the first bay, which is a practice area featuring Jessie and Buzz Lightyear. If you’re serious about winning, we recommend taking it easy for the practice round. You don’t want to wear out your trigger finger early on in the ride.
During each game, you’ll have the opportunity to beat your opponent and other riders in the car. Potentially, you might reach the highest score of the hour, day, or month. Scores are usually projected for a high score vs accuracy, the high score in the vehicle, and the highest score for the day. Scores are displayed toward the end of the ride when you are waiting to unload.
The Resorts Gal Spin on Toy Story Mania
We give Toy Story Mania the green light. We wouldn’t miss it, even if we did have to wait in a long standby line. Toy Story Mania is a highly competitive game. Therefore, I always recommend looking up a few tips so you can show off your skills and possibly beat your video-game-loving children. (You don’t ever have to tell them any different!) Imagine the look on their face now. The whole trip will be worth it! You’ll have bragging rights for months, possibly years to come.
Resorts Gal Traffic Signals
Green Light
We give an attraction the green light if we consider it a must-do, regardless of the posted wait. We also give the green light for attractions we deem suitable to experience anytime. For example, some attractions have high capacities. Therefore, the lines continuously move and you shouldn’t have a long wait unless the attraction experiences downtime.
Red Light
We recommend checking the posted wait times for red light attractions. Then, make a quick judgment call on whether to wait, skip it, or return later. We also red light some attractions that we feel might not be suitable based on our experience.
Final Thoughts
For more about this park, try our planning guide for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or check out these individual reviews:
- Slinky Dog Dash Ride Guide
- Alien Swirling Saucers Ride Guide
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Ride Guide
- Smugglers Run Ride Review (Millennium Falcon)
Toy Story fans might also enjoy our Roundup Rodeo BBQ Review, a table service restaurant in Toy Story Land.
If you are planning on spending several days at Hollywood Studios or Epcot on your next Walt Disney World vacation, you might consider staying at one of the Skyliner Resorts. Those include:
- Disney’s Riviera Resort Review
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Review
- Pop Century Resort Review
- Art of Animation Resort Review
You can also browse our entire list of Disney World Resort Reviews. Some of our favorites include planning a split stay and the best off-site hotels near Disney World.
In the Comments
Do you have plans to experience Toy Story Mania on your next visit to Hollywood Studios? Leave a comment and share your thoughts below.