Toy Story Land Early Morning Magic
So back in September, I was lucky enough to attend the Toy Story Land AP Event with my mom and Melody. And since Toy Story Land was so new, it is unlikely we would have visited had it not been for this free event. Well I really wanted Brad to get to experience Toy Story Land, but it is still crazy crowded, and I was unsure of how we were going to accomplish this on our trip back in February. Well then Disney announced Early Morning Magic at Toy Story Land. Unfortunately it isn’t free, but it is only $79 per adult. It gets you prime access to all three rides plus characters and breakfast from 7:30 am (or even 7 am if you opt to eat breakfast first) until park opening. Check out our experience below.
So no doubt, our morning started early. We did this event our very first day of our trip. We figured we would be so excited to be at Disney, that this would be best. Luckily we were at The Boardwalk, so we walked to the park. We were able to wait and leave our hotel around 6:45 am. This was much better than trying to get to a bus stop at a hotel even earlier! Since we were planning to eat breakfast after exploring Toy Story Land, both Brad and Melody ate a small breakfast on the walk to the park.
Just like at the AP Event, as soon as we arrived they scanned our bands to confirm we had tickets, then we waited for an arm band, and they gave us a guide. The guide had a map of Toy Story Land on one side, then it had the menu for breakfast on the other side.
Then we walked to Toy Story Land. We were in around 7:15, and we just walked straight there. People were already riding rides at this point. And as you can see below, it is fairly empty.
We rode Alien Saucers twice. We could have ridden this MANY MANY more times though. Melody was terrified this trip so we didn’t force it. She loved it back in September, so I fully expected for us to take turns riding it with her while the other rode Slinky Dog, but after riding it once, she was done. We did force it one more time before leaving because I thought maybe she was just cranky since it was so early, but that still was not the case. We did have to wait around 10 minutes the second time because only one of the rides were working. But the first time we were literally the only people on the ride. We did ride it first thing since every else went straight to Slinky Dog first.
Speaking of Slinky Dog, we rode it three times total. Brad rode it twice and I rode it once. It did take a bit longer than it did during the AP Event. During the AP Event, we literally walked right on. This time, there was about a 10 minute wait each time. But of course, this is nothing compared to wait times during normal park operating hours. And if your kids are tall enough, you can accomplish it many more times too!
We rode Toy Story Mania twice. We did not ride this at all during our visit in September because it was closed most of the event. But this time it was open the entire time. We did walk on both times without any wait at all. The first time we rode in separate cars because I assumed Melody would want to play, but she was not interested. So the second time we all rode in the same car. She was still not interested, ha!
While we were not interested in the characters, we did stop and take pictures throughout our time here.
We literally started walking to get breakfast around 8:55. At that point, the regular park guests were already let into the park. And the line was exceptionally long for Slinky Dog already! The end of the line is below.
Breakfast is at ABC Commissary and it is open until 10 am. You can eat anytime before then. We opted to eat last to take advantage of the low crowds. I expected it to be crowded assuming everyone else had the same idea, but it was not. By the way, you will have to show your armband here, so don’t go ripping it off quite yet!
To start, there is a “buffet” of continental style breakfast foods. You can find assorted pastries, fruits, yogurts, cereals, milk, juice, and coffee. I got a plateful of pastries. My absolute favorite was the Strawberry Half Moon. I had two! It was quite yummy. The rest were pretty standard and didn’t stand out.
Now for the entrees. Brad ordered the Fried Chicken and Cinnamon Sugar French Donut bowl. He did finish most of it with the exception of the sweet potato barrels. I tried a few bites myself. It was my favorite of our two entrees. However, like Brad, I was not a fan of the sweet potato barrels. In general I do not like sweet potatoes, so this was expected. The donut was just a typical cinnamon sugar donut. Nothing special. The chicken was really good. Especially with the maple glaze. I am usually not a fan of Disney chicken tenders, but these are an exception. And I am not sure if it was the chicken itself or the glaze that made it, but they were really, really good. They were really crispy and the maple glaze helped with any dryness.
I ordered the Smashed Avocado Toast and Egg Plate. So it was very underwhelming. The avocado was a bit sour to me. I think they used a lot of lemon juice in it honestly. It was all I could taste. And I am a lover of avocado. The crostini’s were hard as a rock. And I know they should be crispy, but it literally hurt to eat it. So I think I tried one and never picked another up. The egg was overall good. I expected it to be a runny yolk, but it is cooked through. I did try and eat it with come of the avocado to help with the taste, but it didn’t help much at all. So I ate it with some croissants from the buffet. And the salad was decent, but nothing spectacular. Overall, I would not order this again. And I should have went up and ordered the chicken even after the fact. But I am a rule follower and it said to only pick one. Although other reviews I read said you can order as much as you like.
Melody simply ate fruit loops, ha.
So I do think the experience was worth the money for us. I think if we would have had to pay for Melody, it might not have been. Especially since she didn’t care for a single ride. But I really wanted Brad to experience Slinky Dog without the lines, and the breakfast was pretty good. I think the After Hours is probably a better value, but with Melody, late nights just aren’t possible. Maybe one day though!
