Toy Story Mania! Announced to Open "Late May" & Press Preview Conducted

[DisFan01]

Sorry if this has been posted, but I searched and didn't find this story...

From Orlando Sentinel:

by Dewayne Bevil
March 17, 2008

This just in from our friends at Walt Disney World. The opening date for the upcoming attraction Toy Story Mania has been more defined a bit. Instead of "Summer 2008," as previously advertised, the new interactive, shoot-em-up ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios, is now set for a "late May" opening.

The version at Disney's California Adventure will open in late June, they say.

[Figment!]

Disney offers sneak peek at Toy Story Mania ride

Brady MacDonald | Staff Writer
Los Angeles Times
March 18, 2008

Disney Imagineers allowed me to “play test” the new Toy Story Mania dark ride coming to California Adventure in June. From the preview I got, it’s clear the theme park giant has raised the bar again with this latest interactive attraction. (Play the online version of the game.)

Inside an unmarked, low-slung brick warehouse in Glendale dubbed the Walt Disney Imagineering Concept Lab, I climbed aboard a plywood and 2-by-4 mock-up of the Toy Story Mania ride vehicle quite literally held together in some places by electrical tape.

The stripped-down surroundings and slap-dash ride vehicle belied the technological wonders I was about to behold.

While Disney struggles to call Toy Story Mania more than a ride-through 3-D video game, it is just that and then some.

Poised behind a spring-action shooter, I fired virtual ammunition at virtual targets in an immersive environment unlike any other I’ve experienced — including Disneyland’s Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters, which the new ride is often compared to.

Capable of firing up to six rounds per second, the spring-action shooter is nothing more than a rope with a bob tied on the end that works like a slack pinball machine plunger. (Here’s the Wikipedia explanation of this arcane entertainment device for the Wii generation.)

The ride starts with a practice round hosted by “Toy Story” characters Woody and Jessie before moving through five scenes that become increasingly difficult. The two-stage lightning round finale, the easiest of all the games, is where players rack up a majority of their points.

To call me competitive is to call Napoleon short.

My initial strategy of focusing only on high-point targets proved only partially correct. Another key to success in the target-rich environment was continuous firing. I discovered with my unlimited ammo supply that I could rack up plenty of unintended points while moving from one bull’s-eye to the next.

I found most of the high-value targets at the top and bottom of the 10-foot-square video screen in front of me. The most difficult prizes requiring the greatest accuracy resided in the top corners. In several instances, hitting one target triggered another of higher value. In other cases, taking out a group of identical targets generated substantial bonus points. Low-value, special effects-laden spoilers served only to distract me from my mission.

On my first attempt, I finished with 102,000 points to 112,000 points by new friend (and mortal enemy) Arthur Levine, who writes a theme park guide.

In my utter humiliation, I turned to Toy Story Mania chief Imagineer Chrissie Allen for assistance in finding the much-rumored “Easter Egg” targets within the game. She refused to budge (though I am determined to break her and reveal said secrets in future posts).

Kind and wise Imagineer Estefania Pickens, holder of the current in-house high score (210,000) among Disney staffers, offered to mentor me and guide my training. Her patient tutelage soon paid off.

On my second and final attempt at the game, I scored 125,000 points, besting my Disney host (who will remain nameless to avoid bringing shame on him, his family and his future generations).

The only downside to my new favorite ride is the repetitive stress injury I’m sure to suffer from repeatedly playing the game.

Toy Story Mania seems to be just the E-ticket that Disney’s California Adventure needs to draw bigger crowds. Expect a long line.

[LittleD]

I'm going down May 7 - 12, does anybody know if they are holding any "soft openings" prior to the hard opening?

[BriarRose0708]

I'm so glad it will be open when i'm in WDW in June! Can't wait!

[DisFan01]

I'm going down May 7 - 12, does anybody know if they are holding any "soft openings" prior to the hard opening?

Can't really say for sure, but it is a possibility, as many rides have had soft openings...

[Jared]

This is so exciting! The ride sounds great, just like I hoped. I'll be down there for Memorial Day weekend, and it looks like I'll have the chance to try Toy Story Mania! for myself.

[garthbarth1]

will this ride replace the Buzz Lightyear ride? Or is this a different one altogether? Thanks for any info

[chrisb26]

I do hope they are having soft openings at the beginning of May when I'm there that would be awesome!! I remember I was there a couple weeks before Expedition Everest was supposed to open and they were having openings so hopefully the same will be true of Toy Story Mania!

will this ride replace the Buzz Lightyear ride? Or is this a different one altogether? Thanks for any info

This is a different ride all together. The Buzz ride is at MK and the new Toy Story Mania will open at MGM/DHS.

[Hull-onian]

This is very exciting news. However, we leave April 24th. So now, we have another reason to go back there. Can't wait for Toy Story Mania.

[disneygecko]

I cannot wait for Toy Story Mania to open, so I am happy to have a better idea as to when it will open. The only problem I have is that I won't be able to experience it until our next Walt Disney World trip, probably in January of 2009.

[pdrlkr]

Thanks Matt!

[goofy for pluto]

This sounds fun!

[SpecJoe Magic]

This is terrific news! Maybe it will be officially open by the time we visit in late May.

[Mufasa]

Toy Story Mania is a blast.

For those wondering about the length of the attraction- it's about 5 and a half minutes of action through 5 different games (31 seconds each) and a lightning bonus round at the end with an introduction to get you up to speed on how to operate your spring-action shooter.

And for your first tip on how to get a good score (so you have the edge on your competition)- in our testing we've consistently found that those who try to take out as many targets as quickly as possible score higher than trying to individually target the very tempting high value targets in the games.

You get a substantial set of bonus points if you're able to clear out groups of similar targets on the screen which more than makes up for the really high value targets (often up in the edges of the screen which are difficult to hit).

So at the risk of developing carpel tunnel, go for speed over accuracy and you should do well and have fun in the process

[cloud9]

Thank you for the info. I am so excited. We will be there until May 24th so hopefully we will get to ride it.

[#1donaldfan]

Great !!!!

MGM needs another ride to take the "edge" off the corner of the TOT N RRC.....glad to see them add something new !!

[chrisb26]

I'll be there May 1-10 I'm really hoping they have soft openings during that time.

[Mufasa]

Warning! The details I'm about to list here could be considered SPOILERS for the ride, so don't say you haven't been warned if you want to remain surprised for the actual attraction.

Really, this is your last chance to turn back!

Here are some more details about Toy Story Mania- first, what's the backstory? Andy (who you may remember from the Toy Story movies) just got a new toy- the Toy Story Midway Games playset which includes 5 different games, and a toy tram with spring action shooters on them.

While Andy is away at dinner with his family, the toys decide to break out the new toy and set up their own midway and they're inviting you along to explore their version of the midway, by shrinking you down to the size of a toy and getting to explore the playset.

Your vehicle has a screen which will show you your score for the current game, your cumulative score and accuracy statistics always available until the finale. The vehicles dispatch as a train of 2 connected cars, each car holding 4 riders or 8 riders per tram (2 riders on each side, seated back to back). The 2 cars can swivel and turn independently of each other which makes for a pretty crazy ride.

Mr. Potato Head, being the talker that he is of course serves as the midway barker, encouraging you to come aboard and test your skills. It's a truly impressive animatronic especially when it comes to the animation/programming work that was done (Imagineers like John Cutry, principal show animator and Eric Swapp, principal show programmer and members of the team really outdid themselves here on the Potato Head figure).

Of course, there's a warm up so you get familiar with operating your spring-action shooter (a pie-toss anyone?) before the real fun starts.

Now, your spring-action shooter and the ammo it fires are color-coded, so you should have no problem tracking your shots and perhaps what's most impressive is that they behave as you'd expect them to- so if you're launching a baseball you can follow and track the trajectory of the baseball the entire time (makes it much easier than on Buzz Lightyear's Spaceranger Spin/Astro Blasters in trying to track where you're aiming and actually shooting)

The first game you come across is Hamm & Eggs hosted by Hamm and Rex. It's a traditional knockdown game, where you use eggs to knock down targets.

The next game on your tour is hosted by Bo Peep and called Bo Peep's Baa Loon Pop. Here the gameplay involves using your spring action shooter to toss darts to pop balloons.

Now, of course some of the balloons might be a surprise (maybe a water balloon perhaps?)

Next up is a visit with Sarge and the Green Army Men's Shoot Camp with a version of a baseball toss and trying to knock down plates.

Next, it's Buzz Lightyear along with his alien friends hosting a ring toss style game (aka Flying Tossers) and just like the real midway ring toss game, this game is a lot more difficult than the others.

For the finale, you'll join Woody, Jessie, the Prospector and Bullseye where you get to shoot rubber suction cup tipped arrows at targets through Woody's Roundup (the Rootin' Tootin' Shootin' Gallery).

This is a double stage game, that ends with a final lightning round where the idea is to try and shoot targets as fast as possible.

There are still 2 more show scenes to go through on the attraction- first up, well it wouldn't be a midway with games if you couldn't earn prizes, so you'll come across a virtual prize booth where the Toy Story characters will all return and let you know what sort of prize you've won based on your performance. (yay for virtual plush!) Don't be alarmed here when your score disappears from the screen in your vehicle.

Then in the final area, you'll get to see just how your score compares to everyone who's ever played the game. The ride will calculate stats on the top 3 scores of the day (no names though), top monthly scorer, and can track the high score of all time and will show you exactly where your performance falls.

There are quite a number of hidden easter eggs and bonus targets to be found in the game, so there will always be a challenge and incentive to ride multiple times to try and unlock them all.

And being that the games are computer based there's also the possibility of updating them literally overnight- so during the holidays for example, we could replace those baseballs with snowballs. The possibilities and adjustments to the games make it exciting to always keep things fresh and new.