Toy Story Land: what is actually worth skipping the line for?
The short answer
Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios has 3 attractions we track, and 3 of them offer Lightning Lane. The land built for families with small children, which is exactly why its lines are the worst in the park. On our honest reading 2 are clear cases for paying to skip the line (Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Mania). 2 of the 3 have a height requirement, the tallest being 38".
What to expect in Toy Story Land
Three attractions, all of them rideable by most of the families who walk in, and that is the whole problem. Slinky Dog Dash is a family coaster with a 38-inch bar, sold à la carte as a Single Pass, and the hardest ride to get on at Hollywood Studios for the simple reason that nobody in the party is excluded from wanting it. Toy Story Mania is a midway shooting ride with universal appeal and modest capacity, so its line holds from open to close. Alien Swirling Saucers is a low-capacity spinner with a 32-inch bar that makes it many preschoolers' first real ride.
Is Lightning Lane worth it here?
Two of the three are worth paying for and the order matters. Slinky Dog Dash is the Single Pass case at Hollywood Studios. Toy Story Mania is a strong Multi Pass pick. Alien Swirling Saucers is worth a slot only because the queue crawls at midday even when the posted wait looks tame — it is a filler, not a priority. If you buy nothing at all in this park, be at the turnstiles before opening and ride Slinky Dog first; that single decision is worth more than everything else you can do here.
Worth the money in this land
- ·Slinky Dog Dash — Almost always worth it, 90+ min at peak
- ·Toy Story Mania — Usually worth it, 60–90 min at peak
The order we would walk it
Slinky Dog Dash at rope drop or on a Single Pass, and nothing before it — those are the only two short windows in the day. Then Toy Story Mania, which is the right place for a pre-booked Multi Pass slot. Alien Swirling Saucers is the one to ride immediately after Slinky Dog at opening, or to use as a throwaway slot while you wait out a Slinky Dog return time. Doing the land as one loop works; coming back to it twice does not.
Toy Story Land with young children
The height ladder in this land is a clean staircase, which is rare: 32 inches for Alien Swirling Saucers, 38 for Slinky Dog Dash, and none at all for Toy Story Mania. That means a child at 32 inches rides two of three and a child at 38 rides everything, so this is one of the few headline lands at Walt Disney World a young family can finish together. The 32-inch bar is also the lowest at Hollywood Studios and one of the lowest anywhere on property.
Height is checked at each attraction entrance rather than once at the gate, so a borderline measurement is worth planning around. Our ride height guide works the other way round from this page — it starts from your child's height and lists what opens up — and the crowd calendar covers the other half of the problem: which weeks make these queues worth paying for in the first place.
Every attraction in Toy Story Land, ride by ride
The family coaster everyone can ride, which is exactly why its line never dies.
Single Pass or first ride at rope drop — those are the only two short-wait windows.
A midway-style shooting dark ride with universal appeal and modest capacity — the line stays long from open to close.
A strong Multi Pass pick; pair it with Slinky Dog Dash in one Toy Story Land loop.
A low-capacity spinner with a 32-inch bar that makes it many preschoolers' first 'real' ride — the queue crawls midday even when the posted wait looks tame.
Ride it at rope drop right after Slinky Dog, or grab it as a throwaway Multi Pass slot while you wait out your Slinky Dog return time.
Have someone sequence Toy Story Land for you
A real guide works your party's heights, nap windows and the day's actual wait times into the order you walk each land — and tells you which passes to skip buying. From $75/hour on your first trip.