Wait, is that a real videogame in Walt Disney World?
Do you enjoy video games? How about interactive shooting galleries, like Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in Magic Kingdom or Men in Black: Alien Attack in Universal Studios? If so, you're likely to love Toy Story Mania! Just be aware, this carnival game can really get your competitive juices flowing... and might leave your arm aching after five minutes of non-stop firing.
This isn’t just a 3D attraction, but a… 4D attraction! Don’t make fun of me, I don’t know what makes 4D that much different from 3D. I guess it means that you are moving around an environment while wearing 3D glasses? Because that’s what you do in Toy Story Mania. You hop onto a vehicle for only two guests, and move from mini game to mini game while shooting at stuff.
Keep in mind that there aren’t really any animatronics or anything special happening as your vehicle goes from screen to screen. In fact, there wouldn’t be much of a difference if your vehicle was completely still and just the screen changed in front of your eyes. This isn't like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or Transformers 3D where set pieces happen all around you, no. Here, your vehicle only exists to bring you to another screen and a new set of mini-games.
That’s also fine, since the essence of this ride lies in repeatedly pulling the string on your gun and aiming at targets in front of you. Sometimes you throw darts to blow up balloons, and sometimes you throw rings to hit targets and score points. It’s simple, it’s fun and everyone can enjoy it. Just make sure you’ve been hitting the gym, since your arm might get sore from shooting stuff over and over and over again.
These are the mini-games in Toy Story Mania:
- Pie Throw Practice, which doesn’t give you any points.
- Egg throw game
- Dart throw game where you pop up balloons
- Plate breaking game with the Green Army Men
- Ring Toss game with Buzz Lightyear
- A part where your vehicle moves slowly and you shoot everything in front of you
Each mini-game only takes around one minute, so they never feel overly long. That is a cool ride and, if I'm not mistaken, it's the one that demands the most participation from guests in all of Disney's theme parks. You won't have a blast just sitting back and watching. Grab your laser gun, pull that string, and get ready to blast away at everything that comes your way!
Your points are tracked throughout the entire ride and displayed at the end. A neat feature is that the daily and even monthly highest scores are shown too! That's more than enough to fuel my competitive spirit.
Oh, and don't forget to hit the gym and get those arms ready for some serious action!
Will Kids enjoy it?
Toy Story Mania is great, especially for young kids. It’s also very simple, like a videogame that you can sit down, relax and everyone can play without being too complex. Your vehicle moves slowly and only spins to direct you towards a new screen/mini-game.
Young kids can just fire randomly and be mesmerized by the visuals and screen in front of them, while teenagers (and adults, honestly) give in to their competitive side as they try to hit everything they can like their lives depend on it. There is a lot in common with a modern videogame here, so it's safe to say that teenagers in particular will really like this one.
