Disney’s Hollywood Studios underwent a massive transformation a few years back that resulted in not one but two new lands with both Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. However, both lands opened being quite a bit less than they perhaps could have been. Galaxy’s Edge was in much better shape once Rise of the Resistance opened, and Toy Story Land is now set to get its own upgrade in 2022 getting two things it desperately needs, a real restaurant and an actual gift shop.
When Toy Story Land opened back in the summer of 2018 it did so with two new attractions, the family friendly roller coaster, Slinky Dog Dash, and the whip ride Alien Swirling Saucers, and with a simple counter service eatery, Woody’s Lunch Box. It was a decent place to get a snack, but it was lacking if you were looking for a real meal. Disney World had previously announced an expansion to Toy Story Land in the form of the Roundup Rodeo BBQ, and now the park has finally confirmed the new dining location will open later this year.
But that’s not the only new thing that will fill a desperate gap in Toy Story Land, because the thing the land really doesn’t have at all is an actual gift shop. It’s hard to believe that the merchandising juggernaut that is the Walt Disney Company somehow built a new land in a theme park without a major merch location, but here we are.
Toy Story Midway Mania, the attraction that predated Toy Story Land but got a bit of a resign to include it in the new area at Hollywood Studios, exits into a gift shop in the version you’ll find in California, but in Orlando as you exit you walk down a boring hallway, and while there is technically a gift shop on the way out, it has no style or theming and was clearly never designed to be a permanent location. It looks like they took what was actually just a storage closet and added a cash register.
This will also get fixed later this year when the Toy Story Mania exit area is transformed into Jessie’s Trading Post, an actual gift shop which, according to Disney World, Andy just discovered tucked away in his attic. Apparently that’s why the space has been so empty until now. It was in the attic.
The attractions that exist in Toy Story Land are great, but it’s difficult not to feel like the land has been incomplete. These two new spots will go a long way to fixing that. No opening date has been given beyond the fact that these areas will open this year, but considering that other delayed attractions at Walt Disney World, like the Tron Lightcycle roller coaster, are not expected to open in 2022, despite construction beginning before Toy Story Land opened, fans will be glad that some new things are on the way in the short term.
Now if they can just add some shade, Toy Story Land will be perfect.
