The next time you walk through Toy Story Land, look closer at the toys holding everything together.

WED Walks Through Toy Story Land

Walt Disney Imagineering shared a behind-the-scenes look at Toy Story Land, revealing how real toys, hand-drawn crayon artwork, and clever hidden infrastructure helped bring Andy’s backyard to life at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Two lead Imagineers who worked on the project – Alexis, Creative Director, and Jilian, Principal Production Designer – take viewers on a walkthrough tour as they discuss some of the creative thinking and toy-inspired design choices that went into crafting the land.

The video tour begins at the entrance to Toy Story Land, where guests are greeted by the 20-foot-tall Woody figure. According to the Imagineers, the oversized Woody serves to immediately establish the land’s scale, reinforcing the guest-facing story that visitors to the land have been shrunk down to the size of a toy and placed among Andy’s seemingly-oversized backyard playsets.

The Imagineering team explained that much of the design process involved thinking like Andy. During development, they held meetings where they physically played with toys to better understand how a child might assemble scenes, props, and play areas in a backyard.

One of the biggest hidden design elements throughout Toy Story Land is the use of Tinkertoy poles. While they help define the land visually, they also serve several practical functions. The poles support lighting fixtures and conceal operational equipment, including speakers, Wi-Fi access points, and other necessary infrastructure that would otherwise interrupt the illusion of Andy’s toy-filled backyard.

The video then moves toward Toy Story Mania!, where Imagineers point out that the large box near the attraction is meant to represent the packaging for the midway-style games featured inside the ride. The area also uses packaging graphics to expand the stories of smaller Toy Story characters. For example, the boxes for Lenny and Chuckles were designed to give those characters additional origin details through the land’s environmental storytelling.

One particular graphic near the Toy Story Mania! exit has an interesting and earnestly childish origin. Imagineers originally attempted to design the graphic from scratch with digital tools, but the result did not feel enough like something drawn by a real child. Instead, they simply drew the image using real crayon, scanned the artwork, and enlarged it for use in the land.

The tour also highlights several toy vignettes along the Toy Story Mania! exit path, including a K’NEX-style helicopter setup. Guests first see the toy’s box, then Green Army Men unpacking the pieces, and eventually the completed oversized helicopter. To design the full-scale prop, Imagineers built a real toy-sized version first, then used that as a model for the larger show set piece.

The Slinky Dog Dash marquee is another example of the land’s layered toy-based design. Imagineers described the entrance sign as a playful assembly of different toys and objects, including a height marker inspired by a board game piece, Buster’s tag, playing cards, roller coaster parts, Tinkertoys, blocks, and other toy elements arranged to guide guests toward the attraction.

The video also stops at a Green Army Men vignette, where the figures are shown stringing lights throughout the land. Imagineers explained that the soldiers had to be staged in ways that preserved their recognizable toy poses while still allowing them to appear as if they were actively helping assemble Andy’s backyard. The colored string lights are even shown connecting to a plug on one end, reinforcing the idea that the decorative lighting across the land is physically linked together.

Be sure to check out the full video tour from Jilian and Alexis on YouTube:

Toy Story Land opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2018 and includes Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers, Toy Story Mania!, Woody’s Lunch Box, Roundup Rodeo BBQ, Jessie’s Trading Post, character greetings, and Green Army Men entertainment.

What hidden detail in Toy Story Land is your favorite? Let us know on social media.

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