Though all eyes are on the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, coming this fall to Walt Disney World, the newest land at Walt Disney World is still Toy Story Land, which opened last June to big crowds and long lines for its signature new attraction, Slinky Dog Dash. However, even though this land has barely been open six months, it looks like wear and tear have taken a toll on this land early, and guests may notice some changes on both Slinky Dog Dash and the Alien Swirling Saucers the next time they visit this land as Disney grapples with some interesting issues inside this land.
1. Slinky Dog Dash loses its tail
Guests who have visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios this week may have noticed something weird about the Slinky Dog Dash: the Slinky Dog trains are missing their tails! Though this may look funny, apparently this is a temporary change, as WDWMagic reports that Disney has said officially that they have proactively removed the tail feature of the Slinky Dog trains while “some adjustments” are being made to this part of the ride vehicle. Disney further added that the tails will be added back on the back of the Slinky Dog Dash ride vehicles at some point in the future. However, though this is the newest issue to arise on this ride, it actually isn’t the first…
2. Slinky Dog Dash “coils” now largely covered up by gray cloth
Aside from the wagging tails, one of the most prominent features of the Slinky Dog Dash ride vehicles is the silver “spring” that creates the signature “Slinky” look of the ride. And though this part of the vehicle looked fine when the ride opened (see above), reports indicate that the last seven months have not been kind to this part of the ride, as the silver paint has almost completely rubbed off (reportedly due to guests grabbing this part of the ride vehicle). In an effort to preserve the look of this part of the ride vehicle, Disney has covered up the damaged “spring” with silver fabric sleeves that mimic the painted look.
Because of the popularity of this ride, it seems unlikely that this issue will be fixed until Slinky Dog Dash closes for its first refurbishment, which is not even on Walt Disney World’s calendar yet, and probably won’t happen until Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is open. And while Slinky Dog Dash seems to be in the most dire shape, its not the only Toy Story Land ride suffering with some issues
3. Alien Swirling Saucers showing extra wear and tear
Alien Swirling Saucers is a fairly simplistic spinning ride, and though it has been very popular throughout the opening months of Toy Story Land, this type of simple flat ride should be rather durable. However, the next time you go on this ride at Toy Story Land, if you check out the floor as you are leaving you’ll see rips and tears in the floor that indicate the type of extreme wear and tear you would expect to see in a ride that is several years old. Of course, this is strange since Alien Swirling Saucers is only seven months old. Again, there doesn’t seem to be a quick fix for this issue, and a refurbishment will be needed to fix this problem as well. Because Alien Swirling Saucers isn’t as popular as Slinky Dog Dash, this ride might actually close sooner rather than later for repair but of course nothing has been confirmed yet.
Though we don’t exactly know why Toy Story Land seems to be deteriorating so quickly, whispers are circulating that this is an issue of Disney’s own making, as they used less expensive materials in construction to ensure that the Toy Story Land project came in on time and under budget, which meant that quality unfortunately took a hit.
Image: Disney
And while these are just rumors, if they are indeed true, the choice to make Toy Story Land cheap and quickly may end up costing Disney in the long run, as it looks like extensive refurbishments and replacements are needed to bring Toy Story Land back up to standard, less than a year after opening. While Disney has said that they plan to deal with the Slinky Dog tail issue in the near future, we have no way of knowing when or if the other problems with the new attractions in this land will be fixed.
Though there was plenty of excitement when Toy Story Land first opened last year, it looks like this land is starting to have maintenance problems just a few months after it debuted. Have you had a chance to check out Toy Story Land yet? Have you seen any of these issues up close?
