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Hello all,

Monday I was able to participate in the first day of Annual Passholder Previews for the new Toy Story Midway Mania attraction. To enter you just had to visit the AP website, which I did and select the days/times you would like to apply for. I was randomly selected then... The crowds at the parks were surprisingly heavy to me. I was anticipating it being much less crowded considering it was a Monday afternoon, but both parks seemed to be fairly crowded, I would say summer has begun. Most wait times were still not too bad, but substantially more than my previous visit.

Jason

Trip logs and mileage reports are in the Park Miles section.

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

• Overall I thought the preview of Toy Story Mania was run really well. The application process was simple and the notification was fairly smooth. The email was a little misleading as you were given a large window (mine was 4pm-9pm) but then on the bottom in the fine print it said you had to show up 30 minutes before your start time to get your voucher. I talked to the information booth when I arrived and they said you could get your voucher any time during the window, which made much more sense. Once you had your voucher, which was available at the information booth near the Mickey and Friends Tram stop, you could go to the attraction and ride. They checked your voucher and wanted to see an Annual Pass for each person. Overall it went smooth and the wait seemed to be between 5-20 minutes depending on when you went.

• So now my first impressions of the new attraction. The queue building has a great amount of detail and really is up to previous Disney standards. Overall I enjoyed the experience and had a good time. I found the games to be entertaining and somewhat challenging. Your tram enters the building and you first get to experience a test game where you are throwing pies. No points are awarded but it lets you learn to use the spring action shooter. Then your tram departs and heads for one of several banks of screens where you play the next four games, then at the end your score is tallied and you receive a virtual prize. At the end of each game your score for that game and cumulative score are shown on a screen in your tram. At the end only the total score and accuracy are shown. As you head back to the unload area you see the high scores for the day and all time.
  
  
• Gameplay: I have never been a huge fan of 3D glasses.. they always seem to bother my eyes, but in this attraction the effects seemed to work perfectly and it did add a new dimension to the gameplay. Another aspect the geek in my found fun was how each game tried to apply real physics to the projectiles you were shooting. So the rings behaved differently than the darts or baseballs. This was fun to see and play around with.
  
  
• Some nuts and bolts: As you saw in the pictorial update the ride trams consist of two cars that each seat four people (2 back to back). They dispatch two trams at a time out of the main loading area. There is a separate loading area off to the side for guests needing assistance (handicap access). This seems to keep the trams moving nicely. Also note there is no Fastpass or Single Rider line (the Florida version has both). The queue itself is fairly boring with the notable exception of the Mr. Potato Head Barker who is an attraction unto himself. If Monday was any indication they still have kinks to work out with Mr. Potato Head. He was stopped when I arrived then working but later he was behind a tarp for the rest of the evening. I have seen they are having similar issues with the WDW one too. I guess this can be expected with a piece of equipment as complex as him. Only the last 20 minutes or so of it covered and the over flow out in the open. Last note if you have infants or other small children they have to sit on the seat, you cannot hold them. We had an 11 month old in our group and he did ok, but making sure it was ok disrupted the game play (or at least that is the excuse the Lazygeek used for his score). They really pushed that option over a baby swap, but I think if he would have insisted the CMs would have let him.
  
  
• I was a little disappointed that they did not have an on-ride photo/score/email option like they have on Buzz, I thought that was a great idea and fun for the once in a lifetime folks as a keepsake and for those of us who play all the time to see our scores. Maybe someday they will add this. In terms of setting the story for the attraction, I thought the set up was a bit awkward where you come from the Pier and basically put in the Toys world with no real transition. In Orlando they use the queue to bring you into the Toy World. Here you really do not get what is going on until the last scene in the loft of the gift shop where you see the Midway Mania box and other toy boxes on the ground.
  
  
• I received a couple emails asking if it was worth it or lived up to expectations... I think it really depends on what you were expecting. It met my expectations, but I would not say exceeded them, say in the way Indiana Jones did on my first ride or my first viewing of Fantasmic but I walked away satisfied and wanting to go on again. I think the attraction is well done, the games are fun, and it fits on DCAs Pier nicely. I enjoyed the games and see myself riding somewhat frequently, depending on the wait.
  
  
• The other event occurring at the park this week is the Hi Seoul Korea Performing Arts Showcase. The Annual Passholders website bills this as "From June 9 – 15, 2008, the 2008 Hi Seoul Korea Performing Arts Showcase presents a variety of family-friendly acts throughout the day, featuring: Traditional dance, Tightrope acts, Drumming (including all-female acts), Break dancing, Folk singing, Pageantry". I saw a handful of sets and they all featured traditional dance, drumming, some folk singing, and pageantry. I did not see any tightrope or break dancing which would have been much more interesting to me. I thought it was a little awkward to have the stage out on the Wharf where the seating area for the bakery usually is, but I guess that did make sure people would see the show, where as if they used the amphitheater the audience would have been smaller probably.
  
  
  

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