Toy Story Mania Vehicles

[Carol]

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.

[TinkRocks]

Can't wait to experience the Toy Story Mania attraction!!!!

I would imagine this would be a 'Fast Pass' attraction for sure...

[MOJoe]

Thanks for the update! Any chance for a soft opening earlier than "summer 08"?

[Polynesian Dweller]

Looks really interesting. Will be interesting to hear about this attraction once it opens. Could be great.

[BrerGnat]

Is the ride supposed to open at the same time at DCA? (summer 2008)

[big blue and hairy]

Cooooooool.......

[chrisb26]

Any news on the official opening? I will be there in the middle of may and hope it will have a soft opening. I know I was there a couple weeks before Expedition Everest was scheduled to open but the ride was open already!

[pogo]

Hey.... this looks like fun !

Thanks for sharing this Carol !

[DizneyFreak2002]

Nice... Thanks for posting the picture....

[MegaDisney]

Is the ride supposed to open at the same time at DCA? (summer 2008)

It is planned to open on the exact same day. A Disney first!

[kristnjohn]

We were lucky enough to ride EE 3 times one night during a soft opening by just being in the right place at the right time. I'm hoping for the same luck this April when we go back, the ride is a great new idea that I can't wait to experience!

[Mufasa]

The ride vehicles for Toy Story Mania are really fantastic- they were constructed in Osaka, Japan by a company that's done work for the Tokyo Disney Resort and the quality really shows.

Let's see- with some of the questions in this thread... Fastpass will be offered at Disney's Hollywood Studios in WDW, but was not in the plans for Disney's California Adventure.

The attraction is for all purposes identical between both coasts- there's a slight difference in where/how as part of the storyline you're "shrunk" down to toy size (in one version we're able to accomplish this effect in the queue with some extra space in this area, while on the other it will be in the first portion of the ride itself) but it won't impact the attraction where one coast will have a better version of the attraction than the other.

The areas/show buildings for both attractions are looking really good- the nature of the surroundings for the attraction are aesthetically different between the parks (Paradise Pier vs. Pixar Place) but the theming should please a lot of people in each case.

In particular the Victorian theming of the attraction's show building at Disney's California Adventure is spectacular and is just a glimpse of the level of detail to come with the major work planned for this park. From my personal view I prefer the attraction's surroundings at DCA over DHS but that's just a matter of style/personal taste over the design.

The actual gameplay promises to be exciting and challenging- there's variation every time you ride and the games are being programmed and put together by a talented group under the direction of Jesse Schell (he was the creative director for WDI's VR Studio).

[Carol]

Thanks for the details, Mufasa.

[GothMickey]

Sounds exciting. I can't wait until this opens.

[JPL]

Mufasa thanks for the update!

I know they are in the tweaking stage of the Game play and Motion aspects of the ride itself to avoid motion sickness due to the 3D. Just wondering if it's still on schedule there have a been a few rumblings about it being more difficult so sync up and therefore the project is behind schedule any truth to this?

[brownie]

Looks cool!

[pdrlkr]

Thanks Carol!

[Mufasa]

I know they are in the tweaking stage of the Game play and Motion aspects of the ride itself to avoid motion sickness due to the 3D. Just wondering if it's still on schedule there have a been a few rumblings about it being more difficult so sync up and therefore the project is behind schedule any truth to this?

No, I wouldn't say there's really much truth to that- the project is well on schedule.

There's always been the challenge of trying to take 3D images and marry them with ride vehicle motion- to be able to just project a decent 3D presentation is enough of a challenge as there will always be a subset of individuals that won't be able to experience effective 3D.

However, there have been a lot of advancements in the technology that help to eliminate a lot of the complaints/problems that have plagued 3D presentations in the past. With digital projection you can eliminate a lot of the synchronization (jitter) and also tackle problems with image ghosting by increasing things like the framerate for smoother motion and make it less disorienting.

Also there are different techniques available in the projection of 3D images digitally that help overcome eyestrain by improving the stereo-separation of images to each eye while maintaining the quality of the presentation (with Toy Story Mania, keep in mind that the environments displayed onscreen- the rich, vibrant colors of the games are set up in a way that benefits the 3D presentation).

But the other significant part of a good 3D presentation is in the content design. In the design of the games there are techniques in the game presentation itself that can be used to help to direct the viewer's focus to certain areas.

For example, when meeting an onscreen guide to learn how to play the games you can subtly darken the edges of the screen (where 3D usually is at it's weakest) to help focus attention to where the 3D effect is most effective.

Also, when shooting at the screen it's important that you can keep track of aiming marker and ammo that you're firing at the screen so again there's emphasis placed on highlighting the color/contrast of your marker against the environment so it's easy to track and your eyes aren't wandering all over the place getting disoriented and with all the motion of the vehicle it otherwise would be difficult to keep track of.

Additionally, there's emphasis placed on immersing you in the gameplay. Having a physical connection with the game environment also helps overcome the effects of disorientation. By having physical game effects like air blasts, water feedback and effective sound- if a character launches something back at you you'll naturally react if you hear something whiz by just inches your head- that all works to make those projection screens disappear so you're not just watching a presentation.

One of the most interesting elements of the gameplay lessons learned from testing is with the spring-action shooters. They provide great tactile feedback that makes it fun, but they also serve an important role in making the game play even between experienced players and novices so that your teenage son who has a lot of experience playing games like Halo on the Xbox doesn't completely dominate mom or dad or their little sister.

Without a spring action shooter, a good player could fire off shots- maybe as fast as 5 shots per second and hit targets before any other player could. So the solution is to actually slow them down by introducing physical feedback that limits the rate at which shots can be fired and the emphasis is then placed on player skill & aim- making every shot count because they have to be accurate.

Some experimentation was done with slowing down the firing rate in software- but then the complaint is that the cannons just aren't responding when you're trying to shoot and guests react by thinking their cannon is just broken. So by solving the issue physically it makes the game fair and approachable for everyone.

[Scar]

There's always been the challenge of trying to take 3D images and marry them with ride vehicle motion- to be able to just project a decent 3D presentation is enough of a challenge as there will always be a subset of individuals that won't be able to experience effective 3D.

Mufasa,

I am blind in one eye and cannot experience 3D in the other films (Muppets, etc.) Can you tell me how this will affect me? Will I be able to compete, or will I be shooting off target at all of the 3D effects?

[Mufasa]

Mufasa,

I am blind in one eye and cannot experience 3D in the other films (Muppets, etc.) Can you tell me how this will affect me? Will I be able to compete, or will I be shooting off target at all of the 3D effects?

I can't say for sure how it will affect you as it may depend on the nature of the game being played, since there are varieties of games. A game based on the ring-toss might rely more on depth-perception than others and be challenging.

I've alternated covering over an eye at a time in testing 3D games like the ones in Toy Story Mania (the Pirates game at DisneyQuest is very similar for example) and found that it was not unlike playing a game on a standard TV set in that case- once I could observe where my shots were going in relation to the target then I was able to compensate without even thinking about it so I think you shouldn't have problems competing or enjoying the games.

And while much is made of the 3D visual effects tied into the attraction, the ride is not only about visual effects but also features audio and tactile effects much like the 3D films in the parks.