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As a little tyke, my son’s favorite movie was Toy Story. He’d watch it over and over again. We as a family were happy when they came out with the second one. And the Third one was a Family Night out at the movies, which doesn’t happen much, with a 15 year old and the prices of movies being so high. So, I guess you could say we like the movies. One of our Favorite

attractions in Walt Disney World is Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. This is a fun time, where you “help” Buzz defeat Zurg, by shooting a laser beam at different targets. We love taking this ride and have even been lucky enough to get on it 6 straight times, with no line during an early morning Extra Magic Hour. Although this is a great attraction, it is not my favorite Pixar themed attraction in Disney World. That distinction would go to Toy Story Mania.

Before you even get onto the ride, this attraction is fantastic! You start off walking through Andy’s Room. You weave your away around, under and past his toys. You see everything from Lincoln Logs to a View Finder. You even see his handmade jail and other objects he used with Woody and Buzz. My favorites are the Monkeys from the Barrel of Monkeys that are hanging around and the Tinker Toy sculptures. These details are great and they really make the wait in the queue a little better, but making it even more fun is Mr. Potato

Head. The Disney Imagineers have made the childhood favorite a “Boardwalk Barker”. But he is more than just an M.C. here at the attraction; he interacts with the people in line. He actually tells jokes, makes comments about people and basically catches your attention. He is a neat Audio-Animatronics figure that makes waiting in the line a little enjoyable.

The actual ride of Toy Story Mania is an interactive 3-D ride through a carnival midway hosted by the stars of the Toy Story movies. It is located in Pixar Place in Disney Hollywood Studio. Disney actually promotes this as a 4-D experience, as “you can feel them as they whoosh by” (According to the Disney website when talking about the projectiles that are part of the attractions). The Projectiles that you are shooting are; Darts, Rings, Eggs, Baseballs and Pies. The Darts are shot at balloons; the Rings are tossed on the little green aliens from the claw; the Eggs you throw at barnyard targets; and the baseballs you throw at plates. The Pies are used as a warm-up to get you used to the “shooting” device.  Each one is used in a different section of the ride through the attraction and is presented by a different character from the movies.

The ride vehicle is a four person car, with two people sitting next to each other and the other two facing the other way, with a high seat back between you, so you and the person you are next to don’t see the other two riders, except when you get on and off the ride. As you ride through and interact with these different objects, there is a time limit on each activity and your score is kept for you and your car mate. This is always neat as you don’t really pay attention to the score as you are playing, because you really don’t have time. I usually glance at the score between activities. The scores are flashed up on the board as you are leaving and the top score for the car is pointed out.

I would like to take a moment here and say that this attraction is not only our one of family’s favorites, but it is a favorite of many people. This attraction does offer fast pass, and I highly recommend you getting one, if you are not going to ride first thing in the morning. This is the one Attraction that I have been told I resemble a Disney Commando when going toward, especially when we first get to Disney Hollywood Studios first thing in the morning. It isn’t

that I love the ride this much, but it is because even when we got there at 8:15 on an extra magic Hour Morning, the wait was already at an hour. After the ride was over, we were also told that the day before the FASTPASS for the entire day had been sold out by 10:15. That is kind of wild. So, my advice is to go first thing in the morning for an Extra Magic Hour and get a FASTPASS for later in the day, or try during the Extra Magic Hours at night. We were told once by a Cast Member that if you are in the queue before closing time, they will let you ride even if when you get to the ride vehicle, it is after the time the park closes.

For those of you that love this attraction there is a way that you can enjoy the ride without being in Florida. They have a version of the attraction in a game for the wii™. It isn’t exactly like the ride of course, but it is kind of fun to play in your own living room, when you need a Toy Story Mania Fix. This is kind of Magical. Not only is this Magical and the actual attraction is Magical, but there are some hidden Magics during the ride itself. There are ways of scoring over 500,000 points on the ride. I personally haven’t been able to do

it, but you can find plenty of sites on line that will describe for you how to do it. I think the problem would be remembering them all as you are waiting in the queue for so long. But whether you find these “Magic” ways of scoring really high points or just ride to enjoy yourself, Toy Story Mania is a blast! So, head on over to Toy Story Mania and tell them I sent you, after a while, you’ll get a great seat and have some fun!