On June 30th, Disney opened their latest addition to their Hollywood Studios theme park: Toy Story Land. The area features a new queue for the dark shooter ride Toy Story Midway Mania, a spinning attraction named Alien Swirling Saucers, tons of Toy Story Meet n Greets, and a counter service restaurant known as Woody’s Toy Box. The most important addition of all, however, is the new roller coaster named Slinky Dog Dash. This new Mack Rides family launch coaster is drawing in crowds from all over Walt Disney World resort, causing wait times to reach 2 hours. In other words, unless you have a fastpass or are doing rope drop, you’re going to be waiting a while to ride this thing. Is it worth it? Well, I’ve ridden it 3 times, and I’d say it is. Here’s why:
Slinky Dog Dash is currently the best family coaster at Walt Disney World. Yes, that’s a bold statement to make, but think about the other family coasters at the parks for a second. Big Thunder Mountain is a decent ride, but has bad pacing due to its 3 lift hills. Space Mountain is a fun, creative coaster, but it isn’t very smooth. Seven Dwarves Mine Train is half dark ride, and the coaster parts of the ride are boring and forceless. Expedition Everest is a fantastic ride, but it’s too intense to to be considered a family coaster.
Slinky Dog Dash, on the other hand, doesn’t really have much to complain about. Sure, the coaster stops completely halfway through the ride which ruins the pacing a bit, but the second launch gets you going again before you’re sitting too long. The ride is also incredibly smooth, and is actually pretty intense for a family coaster. There is even some good airtime on some of the hills if you sit in the back! Yes, the ride is on the shorter side, but that’s due to its 2 launches getting the ride going faster than a lift hill would. In my opinion, I’d rather have a short, strong ride, than a longer, poorly paced ride (such as Big Thunder or Seven Dwarves).
Slinky’s theming is also much better than I expected. When Toy Story Land was being built, none of the theming looked anything more than tacky and lazy. When I actually visit the land in person though, I found it to be quite charming. All the blocks and other toys found throughout the land and Slinky Dog’s queue really do make you feel like you’re in Andy’s backyard. Sure, it would’ve been nice if the the statues of Rex and Jessie found on the inside of Slinky’s track layout were actually animatronics, but I guess they’re more toy-like if they don’t move. However, an animatronic does exist at the end of Slinky. When you hit the break run, you get to listen to Wheezy the penguin sing “You’ve Got A Friend In Me”. It’s short, but it helps make sitting on the break run more enjoyable.
Overall, Slinky Dog Dash is a much better addition to Disney’s Hollywood Studios than I expected. It can’t compete with more extreme rides like Expedition Everest and Rock n’ Roller Coaster, but it blows the family coaster competition out of the water. I’d definitely say it’s worth waiting an hour for, but I would try and get a fastpass for it if the line is any longer. If you don’t want to wait an hour for it or can’t get a fastpass, never fear. Once Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge rolls around in 2019, Slinky’s wait times are sure to drop significantly!
Final Score: 8/10
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