Disney not toying around with Slinky Dog
COMMENTARY
Spoiler alert: Slinky Dog Dash, the signature roller coaster of Toy Story Land, may have a bit more umph to it than you expect. That was my case during a preview at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park last week.
I’m going to share some surprises here, so if you want to go Dash-ing without clues of what’s to come, look away now.
I may have been lulled by the attraction’s familyfriendly labeling. But when walking up to the ride, it looks pretty straightforward and not too harrowing, even as the Slinky Dog ride vehicle zooms by. Slinky’s look is naturally just fun, and Rex, the “Toy Story” dinosaur, teeters on a stack of Jenga. I had to pause from ground level looking up at the highest point, which was more dramatic than anticipated.
Once aboard, surprises began, including a peppy puppy ascent to that high point right out of the loading station.
“We wanted right off the bat to get you accelerated,” said Dave Minichiello, creative director, who rode with me on the first two trips.
Along the way, we caught air time and G’s scooting along Toy Story Land. (Disney is dodgy about details like Slinky Dog Dash’s speed or height). About halfway through there’s a pause – you might think the ride is over. But Slinky is getting a second wind, one that send riders through a series of hoops and then back through back-to-back-toback humpback maneuvers. (“It’s like a Slinky Dog now,” Minichiello said.)
From this height, other Hollywood Studios landmarks are visible, including Tower of Terror, the Chinese Theater, and, yes, construction of the nearby Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land.
The ride’s grand finale involves Wheezy the penguin, an animatronic that sings “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” before the train rolls back into the station. We knew Wheezy was at the exit, but I had imagined us walking by the character, not coasting, so I’m counting this as the final pleasant surprise.
Imagineers had told us to expect an intensity level about like that of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom. Fair enough. I would put it between Mine Train and its more aggressive older sister coaster, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It hits the family-friend sweet spot: active but not inverted, speedy but probably not to the level of nausea.
Equally as intriguing is the backstory developed for Slinky Dog Dash, expertly implemented before our eyes. The coaster, as the story goes, is an amalgamation of select Andy’s toys, including his Slinky Dog, Dash & Dodge Mega Coaster Kit and its accessory power booster, the add-on that hurls Slinky through those hoops.
The loading station is made of the boxes those playthings came in, and the rest of the area reflects other toys and tools Andy might use to create his ride, including colorful building blocks, a giant bottle of Elmer’s Glue and a slew of Dixon Ticonderoga pencils.
Andy, it appears, is quite imaginative, perhaps a Junior Imagineer. His createdby-Crayon plans are posted – via giant push pins -- on the back wall of the loading station. The finished product is pretty true to these ideas -minus the shark attack and an appearance by “evil Dr. Pork Chop.” The graphic is T-shirt-worthy awesome.