In a report from the Orlando Sentinel, Disney Imagineers and executives addressed their excitement with the progress of Toy Story Land‘s construction.
With June 30 — the opening date of Toy Story Land — quickly approaching, executive creative director with Walt Disney Imagineering Dave Minschiello focused on how quickly the project is coming together. He said, “Every day now, more blocks, more Tinkertoys. There are game pieces, game boards…all kinds of things. Every one of these are coming in off these huge cranes, as if Andy were reaching over and placing them.”
Minschiello also spoke about the giant lights that loom over the land. They will, according to him, be great for “ambient light” at night, and very “sculptural at day.”
Kathy Mangum, the regional executive for Walt Disney Imagineering, said that the land’s theming will be on a scale much larger than one particular Toy Story film. She said, “We didn’t want to take you into Toy Story 1, 2 or 3 or the upcoming 4.” She wanted to be clear that the theming will be much more expansive than one film in particular.
Mangum also stated that she hopes guests go in looking to have a good time and that they won’t worry about the scaling of each and every set piece. She said, “We don’t want you to go in with a scale and try to decide if it’s 1-to-20 or whatever. We just want you to have fun.”
Phil Holmes, the vice president of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, said, “You won’t have to use much of an imagination to believe you’ve shrunk down to the size of a toy, because, literally, the land is bigger than life.”
Credit: Orlando Sentinel
Stephen "Steve" Porter started going to the parks with his family in 1996. Since then he hasn't looked back! Steve was a cast member participating in the Disney College Program in 2013. Most recently he graduated from Penn State University!
