The transformation of Mickey Avenue to Pixar Studios is amazing. I can't wait for the final walls to come down so we can see all of it. It's a terrific invitation to the new fun inside. Toy Story Midway Mania! is the next step in Disney's interactive gaming at the theme parks. Having had the opportunity to go on the ride a few times now at two separate events, I find my developing opinion of the ride a bit of a puzzle.
Across from the entrance to Toy Story Midway Mania! we are invited to Meet the Toys
The first time through was a delight. It was amazing. I had a terrific time exploring the queue. It felt like my toys had gathered together and and assembled the Toy Story Midway Games playset. They created a queue using the inanimate materials around the playroom. They had placed Viewmaster reels (part of my collection sits beside me even now) along with playing cards and crayons in a row to create a FastPass and standby queue. They used Legos and Playdoh to create supports for the gameboard ceiling. So the wait for the ride was trip down memory lane and for me a reminder of afternoons spent in imaginative play or in lightly competitive fun such as Old Maid or Operation.
The Old Maid card was familiar
After getting off the ride I jumped right back on a few moments later. This time we encountered Mr. Potato Head (he was not operating our first time through) and I enjoyed his banter but he didn't seem to be as connected to our specific time and place as I had expected. Once on the ride I found I lost interest in the game from time to time and looking around, didn't feel like there was much more to discover. As part of a group of a four I partnered with another in our group and was back to back with my husband so I couldn't see how he was doing during the game. When we got off I wasn't that interested in going again even though the line was not long.
I was really surprised that my first and second experiences left me such a drastically different impression and began to wonder about the attraction's repeat-ability for guests like me (which is an admittedly a super small percentage), but with the ride still in previews my opinions are still in flux.
The ride vehicle travel as two through the ride. They rotate to create two rows of four in each Midway game area.
At the second event I attended I once again delighted over the queue and got to see Mr Potato Head take off his ear. Woohoo!!! Having heard about that for so long it was great to see up-close. During the ride I found I was again actively engaged in the ride and even noticed new tidbits here and there in the gameplay which I didn't expect. For example I discovered that if I shot all the balloons in the tree that were the color of my launcher Doobie would get misted with water possibly distracting him and permitting me to score more. When we jumped back on the ride about an hour later I enjoyed it even more and wanted to go again but other commitments didn't permit it. So I'm now really looking forward to upcoming Annual Passholder previews and its ultimate opening at the end of May. If you'd have asked me after my first two rides, which I'd wait in a longer queue for Pirates of the Caribbean at DisneyQuest or Toy Story Midway Mania! I'd have probably said Pirates but not anymore.
Spirograph images and a Pizza Planet stand up
During the previews, I have learned that I prefer to be a forward riding passenger than a backwards riding passenger (I'd experienced each twice). As the vehicle whips around suddenly from Midway game to game, I found it easier to keep my balance while facing forward. And that a slower and steady pull release action can work to your advantage over rapid fire insanity.
It seems that at the end of games based upon your score you are presented with a virtual plush animal that provides a ranking of sorts. I'm currently a plush rabbit and I suspect I'll be there for a long time.
Part of the fun is spotting small details like Luxo Jr's ball that also appeared in Toy Story and other Pixar films
Toy Story Midway Mania! is a lot of fun. My favorite game is the ring toss and I wish the part of the game where you shoot while on the move was even longer because that is such a unique element to the experience. I love the fact that the game play is relatively easy and even if you don't score well (me) the gameplay is enough fun to keep it from being boring or more importantly — keeps it from getting frustrating. I'm really happy it will have FastPass so I can come to Disney's Hollywood Studios pick up a FastPass and enjoy a show or munchie while waiting for my return time as I expect this ride to quite popular for awhile.
So as Mr. Potato Head says, "its a ride that's a game, its a game that's a ride, step right up and see what's inside."