The newly opened Toy Story Playland at Disneyland Paris is the first of its kind for the Disney Theme Parks and Resorts around the globe. The highly anticipated land just opened August 17, 2010 in the Walt Disney Studios Park of the Disneyland Paris Resort.
I had the opportunity to experience Toy Story Playland this weekend and have to say -- it was quite magical. There are three rides and one shop that comprise the new land and based on the wait times Sunday morning, Europe's Disney fans are thoroughly enjoying it.
We arrived at the Walt Disney Studios Park about 15 minutes prior to park opening, but they were letting people in early as we saw when we passed Crush's Coaster which already had a 70 minute wait time noted, ten minutes prior to the scheduled official opening time.
Figuring the line for RC Racer would be the longest throughout the day, we immediately jumped in line with only a 15 minute wait time noted. The queue line for the ride was quite slick as you weave your way back and forth what looks like a small race car track with guardrails. Once we met up with the line inside, we were in line for only about five minutes before the unfortunate happened -- the ride began experiencing technical malfunctions, which was not all that surprising for such a new attraction.
The issue was resolved within five to ten minutes and we were on. Riders are put in a large RC style car that travels forward and backwards on the u-shaped track. At points you are completely perpendicular to the ground and I had several moments of my stomach in my throat as you experience that momentarily feeling of weightlessness just before an expected freefall. The ride offers some great views into the rest of the Disney Park and the view of Toy Story Playland is quite impressive from that height.
Once we were done with RC Racers the line had already grown to a wait time of 60 minutes while the Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop was up to 80 minutes and Slinky Dog ZigZag Spin had over a 40 minute wait as well.
Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop reminds me of Maliboomer that was part of Disney California Adventure, but this is themed exceptionally well. Based on the initial description of Slinky Dog ZigZag Spin, I was fearing something similar to the speed of the Tea Cups, a disaster for those of us with motion sickness. Much to my surprise, Slinky Dog is much slower and although it does speed up during the ride, it should not wreak havoc on those with mild motion sickness. The ride was filled with small children and even a few infants -- all of whom seemed fine upon exiting the ride.
The giant Buzz Lightyear at the entrance to Toy Story Playland is quite impressive, albeit a little hard to get a photograph with on a busy weekend. The Rex statue is located just outside of RC Racer and was quite popular with the kids as well. The Barrel of Monkeys shop is located at the exit of Toy Story Playland and features all Buzz Lightyear and a few other Toy Story themed toys and merchandise.
All in all, Toy Story Playland is a fresh and welcome addition to the Disney Theme Parks and Resorts. The realistic theme is kept throughout the small land and the oversized elements definitely give the feel of being toy sized.
Be sure to check out the slide show at the end of the article for photos of my visit to Toy Story Playland at the Disneyland Paris Resort.
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