Monday, December 24, 2018

Finally Made it to Toy Story Land! Another Disney World Favorite!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions stated are genuine and my own.



There are two things we have been wanting to see in the Disney World theme parks. One is the Avatar Flight of Passage ride (we've been in line for it, but left because the line is soooo long) at Animal Kingdom. The other is Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios. We recently went to Orlando and went to 2 parks: Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom, so we got to see the latter, woohoo! As we walked into Hollywood Studios, we were met with scenes from Fantasia in the topiary display at the entrance. Disney always does such a great job with their displays, but this one was an instant favorite. I love that movie, and can't wait for it to come back out of the vault (I had it on VHS, never on DVD).




Hollywood Studios was all dressed up for Christmas, and the characters were out in full swing too. I wanted to meet Daisy or Donald, but the line was pretty long and we really wanted to see the newest addition to the park (Toy Story Land), so we kept moving. I couldn't resist a quick pic. though. I do love Donald. :)


I got the mandatory road shot, and we were on our way.


We actually had no intention of stopping until we reached our objective, but "Walt Disney, One Man's Dream" was right in front of us, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to go inside. I was so glad that I did.


The photographs on the walls were amazing and really swept you into another era/time.


This sepia-toned photo was a fave. I'm sure it was staged, but it was still cool to see Mr. Disney at work.


There were so many treasures inside of this building, including early drawings of the mastermind, himself.


Nostalgia was touched time and again as we read and walked through the various displays. My son is far too young (11) to 'get' a lot of what's going on in there, but he still enjoyed the visit too, and was excited to see older versions on paper, that were drawn of the castle. This is a must-see if you are in the area. They have really done a great job of representing history.


And then we made it to Toy Story Land. There were some lines to wait for the rides (it's pretty new and we went on a weekend), but we were content just the same. We did consider making our fast passes, but we knew we were headed to Magic Kingdom later in the day, and you can only do passes for one park on the Park Hopper pass, so...we made good use of our gig waiting in line. We logged into our Disney account (free to sign up) and added our passes. Then we spent some time going through the options and getting our fast pass times set up for later in the day. What a good idea that turned out to be.


The larger-than-life displays of all of the characters from Toy Story were fun to see. Jessie is a personal fave of mine. I do love her so. :)

Slinky Dog Dash Roller Coaster

The Slinky Dog is another favorite, and this roller coaster was just too cute!  The tail was a slinky tail too, which I thought was cute and clever. 


While we were there, the toy soldiers came marching by, and boy did they put on a good show. They stopped at the end of the street and played (their drums) and interacted with the crowd for a good long while. It was fun to watch, and a pleasure to hear too.


Piggy (a.k.a. Dr. Evil Porkchop) is my son's favorite Toy Story character...I don't know what it is with this kid and pigs, lol, so we did stop for a photo opp at the life-sized piggy. This statue-pose does no justice to the excitement this youngster was showing before I picked up the camera. Something along the lines, of "Piggggggy!!" were coming out of his precious lips. ;)


We got to ride the Alien Swirling Saucers and felt like we were part of THE CLAW for a few. This ride was fun, and the seats were so nice and roomy. Everything was so new and shiny. 


Of course, Buzz Lightyear was standing nice and tall, overseeing all of the action.


We headed over to Toy Story Mania and visited Andy's room. There were life-sized games and toys littered all about.


Then we got to the 4D arcade and the competition was on. I always lose at the Buzz Lightyear ride in Magic Kingdom, but for some reason I was slaying on this ride, woohoo! I may or may not have rubbed in the victory. ;)


We had to go through Andy's backyard to exit, and came across a huge checker set he left out there. ;)


We also came across a plane crash with the green Army men, out in full force to help!


Tinker Toys and bulb lights adorned the (thankfully since the day called for an 80% chance of rain) blue skies.


We had a blast. In fact, it was so much fun, we contemplated staying in this park the whole day, but we just couldn't resist the urge to get over to Magic Kingdom. We picked up our ice cream on the way out (bar for he, and sandwich for me) and said our farewells to Hollywood Studio.


This is a park I recommend for everyone. There are shows, good eats, and so much to see and do that one could easily, and very contentedly spend the entire day here and leave with nothing but great memories.


A short drive over to Magic Kingdom and we were met with this view. Christmas decorations in full swing, 


and a Christmas Tree so high in the sky I couldn't even get it all in the picture.


Instant merriment and cheer filled our hearts as we practically skipped down Main Street. Disney really knows how to do Christmas.


We stopped in a lot of the shops and got some shopping done for friends and family. How could we resist going inside with window displays like this one here. :)


The Christmas Store is my favorite, and there were so many decorations I could have easily spent a whole paycheck if I hadn't had my responsibility hat on for the day. :)


We went to some of our favorite haunts (if you're looking below, no pun is intended),


and used our fast passes to ride the rides. We always wait to get on the Haunted Mansion ride, because we love it, but it was so nice to just skip through it all and walk right in on the fast pass side. Setting our tickets up really left us so much time to see attractions we otherwise might have missed. I have to say, I don't overly mind waiting in line (comes with the territory), but I do love NOT having to wait in line. If you decide to visit and haven't utilized that fast pass app, I highly recommend using it. There's no charge and it's worth it's weight in gold to take up the few minutes to set it up on your phone.


We rode a lot of rides that day, including Buzz Lightyear, where I got slaughtered as usual. Ahem.


This kiddo's just got a knack for that particular ride.


One change we saw was the penny machine, you know the type where you select the penny you want and crank a handle until it's made. Perhaps it's been this way awhile and we just noticed? In any case, I was torn. On the one hand you can use your credit card, which is great because we never seem to have two quarters and a penny to make them. On the other hand, there is no longer a crank and the machine makes it for you!!! Boo. Part of the fun was being able to 'make it' yourself.  We opted to skip it. If I'd have had a group of kids, I'd have probably made the purchase for the group set and given one to each person.


We closed the park down, staying for the fireworks and the light show at the castle. We waited too long to get a view out front (we were riding rides until the very last second), but we still had a marvelous view from the bridge (side of the castle). Disney is always a favorite, and the older I get, the more I love it (if that is even possible). It's even better during the holidays. 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

52 comments:

  1. What a fun trip! I'll bet Disney really know how to make everything look wonderful at Christmas time. If I went I would totally use the fast pass - I hate waiting in line!

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  2. Disneyland is a dream come true for most kids, so I am glad your family got to visit.

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  3. I always thought it would be fun to go Christmas time, but yeah, $$$ to do that haha sure looks like a grand time. The slinky rollercoaster is cute indeed. True, change isn't on hand much these days.

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  4. I didn't even know they had Toy Story Land.

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  5. This looks like so much fun! I love the Slinky rollercoaster.

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  6. I have heard of it but never thought that it can be so cool. Tbh not only kids but adults would love it too.

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  7. We visited Toy Story Land a few months ago with my grandsons and it was by far their favorite at Disney! My grandsons absolutely loved the slinky dog roller coaster, and they even got to bounce a giant ball back and forth with the Army men when they marched through!

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  8. Toy Story Land sounds like a fab place to visit! We would have loved to see the larger-than-life displays of the characters as well as to get on the ride

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  9. I am a firm believer that there is no better way to spend Christmas than at Disney. We always do the Haunted Mansion too. That at Pirates of the Caribbean are Jason's favorite rides. We probably won't make it back again until we are grandparents, but I always get an itching to book a trip when I see bloggers family photos. I am glad you all had a wonderful time together!

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  10. We love Disney in general, but Toy Story Land is our favorite. Toy Story is our favorite film franchise, so being able to experience it like that is just incredible.

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    1. I'm totally going to keep this in mind! We're going to Disney soon and making our itinerary now.

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  11. Aw, this looks like such a fun place to visit for the kids! I definitely want to take my nieces and nephews to this magical place!

    Xoxo - Elizabeth
    www.akeenesenseofstyle.com

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  12. We visit Disneyland quite often, but I wish we could go to Disney World! This looks amazing; my kids would have such a good time!

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  13. Wow this looks like so much fun! I love Toy Story, I think I would be the most excited about visiting!

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  14. Aw this post made me so jealous! I love Disney World, especially at Christmas and it sounds like you had such a great time!

    Soph - https://sophhearts.com x

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  15. You got a lot of great photos. This looks like it was so much fun!

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  16. I love Toy Story but mostly going to a fun theme park, it's great for kids.

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  17. this is really neat! looks like you guys had a lot of fun!

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  18. That looks so fun, Disney gets better and more fun all the time! I love it! I hope i could go there too and be like a kid again. 😘

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  19. Ever since I heard that this was opening I have wanted to go. It looks like it would be so fun!

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  20. How fun dos this place look? I need to get back to Disney so bad with my family ASAP!

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  21. This looks like so much fun! Excellent place to spend some time with the family!

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  22. I cannot wait to see Toy Story Land (HOPEFULLY) next year. My goal is to take the family to Disney next Christmas... We'll see what happens.

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  23. This must have been sooooo much fun! Love the pictures! Would love to visit one day.

    Chad
    www.mosaicslab.com

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  24. We have a surprise trip to Disney so that we can finally see Toy Story Land! I cannot wait to see how excited the kids will be!

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  25. Christmas in Disneyland sounds a wonderful idea! The place is a lot more festive than any time of the year!

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  26. Looks like a dream! Such a exciting place! lovely!

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  27. Don't kids love Disneyland? I have been to just a couple and even adults let their inner child come out for once when in Disneyland.

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  28. I want to visit Toy Story Land soon! Seems like a fun place!

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  29. I can just imagine how much fun that was and would love to take my niece and nephews one day.

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  30. Someday, oh someday, I'll go to Disney. Cinderella's Castle looks stunning at dark. I agree on the Pressed Pennies debate. I prefer the older way there it looks like you're making it yourself.

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  31. Such a great and fun experience you had. This is so amazing. truly a bucket list material. Seems like you really enjoyed your trip!

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  32. This just makes me want to go to Disney so badly! I've never been there... hopefully soon!

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  33. It looks like you had great fun. I'd love to visit Disney World some day - it's definitely on my bucket list. I live in the UK though so it's not exactly close :(

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  34. Certainly it is a dream for children! Worth spending that money!

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  35. I haven't been there in SO LONG. I did't even know Toy Story Land existed!

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  36. On my to go list for 2019 thanks for sharing.

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  37. OMG! That's everyones dream! To visit Disney! I'd save up so me and my son can go there

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  38. We had a plan to visit Toy land this Christmas. But for some reasons we couldn't. Waiting for next vacation.

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  39. I live about 45 minutes from Disney World, and I am waiting until my kids turn a little bit older before we go. They love the movie, Toy Story. I really love the Buzz Light Year ride. I can't wait to take them to see this.

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  40. I think I would enjoy Toy Story Land as well! The toy soldiers are definitely a nice touch.

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  41. I'd like to see Toy Story Land. And I need some that Mickey Mouse ice cream, too.

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  42. Oh wow does this ever look fun, and fun eats, too! I'd love to bring my nieces and nephews!

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  43. I'd love to see Toy Story Land! I love Toy Story

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  44. My grandchildren are huge Toy Story fans, so they would have a fantastic time at Toy Story Land. It looks super fun! I love the Christmas decorations. That tree is awesome!

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  45. This looks awesome! My whole family is a big fan of Toy Story. We would love this!

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  46. My kids and I love Toy Story so I know that we would have a blast here! This is definitely something that is on my family bucket list.

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  47. We went the year before you. Next year we're going back, and I'm so excited.

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