Toy Story Midway Mania! (also known as ''Toy Story Mania!'') is an interactive 4-D

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

attraction, located at three Disney theme parks: Disney's Hollywood Studios,

Disney California Adventure Disney California Adventure is a theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. The park is themed after Disney's interpretation of California ...

and

Tokyo DisneySea is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, just next to Tokyo. It opened on 4 September 2001, at a cost of 335 billion yen. The Oriental Land Company owns the park, and licenses intellectual prope ...

. Designed by

Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc.—commonly referred to as Walt Disney Imagineering, Imagineering, or WDI—is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construc ...

and inspired by

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

's ''Toy Story'' franchise, the attraction was first unveiled during a press conference at

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

in January 2007. The Florida version officially opened on May 31, 2008, while the California version officially opened on June 17, 2008. The Japan version of the attraction opened on July 9, 2012.

Concept

Park guests wear 3-D glasses aboard spinning vehicles that travel through virtual environments based on classic carnival midway games. Ride vehicles seat up to eight in four back-to-back pairs.

Games

The attraction features five games after a practice round, where the player can hit targets from 100 to 5,000 points. Each game includes at least one "

Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...

" that can trigger additional targets or gameplay changes. The games are: # Pie Throw Practice Booth (pie toss target practice game, a no points introduction) # Hamm & Eggs (egg throw game featuring Hamm and Buttercup) # Rex and Trixie's Dino Darts (dart throw game) # Green Army Men Shoot Camp (baseball throw / plate breaking game) # Buzz Lightyear's Flying Tossers (ring toss game) # Woody's Rootin' Tootin' Shootin' Gallery (suction cup shooting game) Each guest's score is recorded by an onboard display screen as points are acquired with individual toy cannons firing simulated projectiles at virtual targets. ''Toy Story'' characters including Woody, Hamm,

Buzz Lightyear Buzz Lightyear is a fictional character in the The Walt Disney Company, Disney–Pixar Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise. He is a superhero action figure from an Story within a story, in-universe media franchise. Buzz is recognizab ...

, Rex, Trixie and many more characters appear during the attraction's different games. Similar technology had been used in Disney attractions such as ''Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold'' at DisneyQuest and several Buzz Lightyear attractions. According to Disney, it is the first attraction created simultaneously by Walt Disney Imagineering for two theme parks. The attraction features a Mr. Potato Head

Audio-Animatronics Audio-Animatronics (also known simply as AAs) are a form of Mechatronics, mechatronic animatronics puppetry created by Walt Disney Imagineering and Trademark, trademarked by The Walt Disney Company for use in designed shows and attractions at Disn ...

figure that interacts with guests through pre-recorded dialogue performed by

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep (film), Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958), ''Enter Laughing ...

, who voiced the character in the ''Toy Story'' films. The figure identifies people in the audience, sings and tells jokes.

Former games

In May 2010, the original dart throwing game, Bo Peep's Baaa-loon Pop, was replaced with "Rex and Trixie's Dino Darts" (updated with the release of ''

Toy Story 3 ''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The third installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' series, it was directed by Lee Unkrich, the editor ...

'').

Technology

At its debut, Toy Story Midway Mania! was one of the most technologically sophisticated attractions yet developed by Walt Disney Imagineering, costing an estimated $80 million to design and build. It marked the company's first use of industrial Ethernet for a ride's control system. Many of the parts for the attraction's control system came from two of Disney's corporate sponsors,

Siemens AG Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the posit ...

(from Spaceship Earth) and

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...

(from Mission: Space). The ride was the biggest system that had been built at the time and ran on one of Disney's most advanced automation systems to date. The control system is divided into three components: one for the ride vehicles, one for the games and one more for the attraction's special effects.

Programmable logic controller A programmable logic controller (PLC) or programmable controller is an industrial computer that has been ruggedized and adapted for the control of manufacturing processes, such as assembly lines, machines, robotic devices, or any activity that ...

s in the vehicles alert the control system wirelessly via ProfiNET RT to the vehicle's speed and location. The central controller then sends its instructions back to the vehicles using a hard-wired network within the track. The one-way communications flow adds a factor of safety, even though the wireless network is protected against outside interference, such as a denial-of-service attack. The attraction features more than 150 PCs, which includes one HP

Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct successor to Windows 2000 for high-end and business users a ...

PC for each of Midway Mania's 56 game screens, as well as others that control the special effects at each game. At the game screens, two tracking systems provide the game control system with the vehicle's exact location, making sure that gameplay is not affected by even minor differences in vehicle position. According to Jody Gerstner, executive director of show and ride controls, "The game doesn’t care if the car parks in the same spot every time. It just needs to know where each car has actually parked, and it can compensate." Additional sensors in the spring-action shooter provide information on its orientation, which is fine-tuned using data on the position of the ride vehicle at the screen and the rotation of the seats on the vehicle base. All three sub-systems work together to handle any contingency. For example, if a delay or other vehicle stoppage is detected (such as might occur if the loading and unloading of the ride vehicles is taking longer than expected), the control system can command the affected game screens to launch a non-scoring practice round, so that guests may continue to shoot targets while they wait. Similarly, it can instruct the show control system to play an audio spiel telling guests about the delay. As the games are software-based, changes can be made to the attraction's lineup of games without significant effort. In April 2010, Disney Parks announced plans to replace ''Bo Peep's Baaa-loon Pop'' with ''Rex and Trixie's Dino Darts.'' The change took place on May 21, 2010. The new game includes one of the new characters from the ''

'' feature film, which was released in June 2010.

Locations

Tokyo DisneySea Toy Story Mania Night View 201306

: Pixar Pier, beneath the Incredicoaster roller coaster, a space formerly occupied by themed midway games and food service locations. The area is designed to resemble a Victorian-era seaside carnival. Pixar Pier replaced Paradise Pier on June 23, 2018, and the attraction located in California is the main attraction of the Toy Story Boardwalk area in the land. * Disney's Hollywood Studios: Toy Story Land, inside the studios' former soundstages, which were most recently used for the park's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Play It! attraction. The original facade, as well as the original surrounding area, resembles Pixar Animation Studios' campus in

Emeryville, California Emeryville is a city located in northwest Alameda County, California, in the United States. It lies in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley, California, Berkeley and Oakland, California, Oakland, with a border on the shore of San Francisc ...

. The attraction's entrance was relocated to Toy Story Land on June 30, 2018, with the Pixar Place area closing. *

: Located in the New York area of the American Waterfront in a new area called Toyville Trolley Park.

Operational changes

In October 2014, Disney's Hollywood Studios began testing a new procedure that would require all riders to have FastPass reservations for the attraction. The test, scheduled to last for a few days, eliminated the standby line that is used by visitors who have not already obtained a FastPass ticket for the ride, either because they had all been claimed or they were holding FastPasses for other attractions. In May 2016, a third track of the ride was opened to further increase ride capacity.

Name variation

The attraction is being referred to as both ''Toy Story Midway Mania!'' and ''Toy Story Mania!''. While the attraction marquees and some in-park signage read the former, the latter has been used in press releases to the news media, used in both resorts' advertisements, and on the disneyland.com, disneyworld.com, and official promotional website for the attraction, along with attraction merchandise. Websites for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World both identified the attraction with the registered trademark "Toy Story Midway Mania!" as of September 2014. As of February 2019, the attraction is known as "Toy Story Mania!", except for the Disney California Adventure version which is still known as “Toy Story Midway Mania!”

Voice cast

as Mr. Potato Head * Jim Hanks as Woody * Tim Allen as

* Kat Cressida as Jessie * Annie Potts as Bo Peep *

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, essayist, playwright, and screenwriter. He is known for playing Vizzini in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987), Mr. Hall in '' Clueless'' (1995), Dr. John Sturgis in '' Young Sheldo ...

as Rex * John Ratzenberger as Hamm *

Jeff Garlin Jeffrey Garlin (born June 5, 1962) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for playing List of Curb Your Enthusiasm characters#Jeff Greene, Jeff Greene on the HBO sitcom ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', and Murray ...

as Buttercup * Kristen Schaal as Trixie * R. Lee Ermey as Sarge * Jeff Pidgeon as Little Green Men * Stephen Stanton as Stinky Pete the Prospector

Music

Music for the queue area was arranged and recorded by Jennifer Hammond at Capitol Studios with a live orchestra. More than an hour of music was recorded, all based on the first two ''Toy Story'' scores composed by

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

Merchandising

Disney Interactive Studios Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher owned by The Walt Disney Company through Disney Interactive. Prior to its closure in 2016, it developed and distributed multi-platform video games and inter ...

released a '' Toy Story Mania!''

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

in September 2009 exclusively for the

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

Wii console. The game features gameplay and levels similar to those in the theme park attractions, along with original levels and features. Jakks Pacific also released their "Plug It In & Play TV Game" version of ''Toy Story Mania!'' in 2010 featuring the original levels & Infini-D technology (Infini-D glasses are included). A version for

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

and

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

was released on October 30, 2012, and developed by High Voltage Software.

References

External links

Disney California Adventure - Toy Story Midway Mania!

Disney's Hollywood Studios - Toy Story Mania!

Tokyo DisneySea - Toy Story Mania!
{{Tokyo DisneySea American Waterfront (Tokyo DisneySea) Amusement rides introduced in 2008 Amusement rides introduced in 2012 Amusement rides based on film franchises Audio-Animatronic attractions Dark rides Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney California Adventure Pixar Pier Paradise Pier Pixar in amusement parks Tokyo DisneySea Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Toy Story Land 2008 establishments in Florida 2008 establishments in California 2012 establishments in Japan