Disney's Hollywood Studios · Toy Story Land
Slinky Dog Dash
A two-launch outdoor family coaster over the top of Toy Story Land, and the hardest ride in this park to get on without a plan.
Ride facts
- Type
- Roller coaster
- Height
- 38in (97cm)
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Motion sickness
- Low motion risk
- Getting wet
- Stay dry
- Indoor / outdoor
- Outdoor
- Air conditioned
- No
- Rider Switch
- Available
Last verified July 2026
What it is
Slinky Dog Dash is a family coaster with two launch sections, a run of low airtime hills and a layout that climbs above the rest of Toy Story Land. It is not fast by coaster standards and it does not invert, but it is genuinely fun, and it is the ride at Hollywood Studios with the worst wait-to-length ratio in the park: two minutes of ride behind an hour of queue is routine.
The reason is capacity. The trains are short and the layout is long, so the ride simply cannot absorb the demand it generates, and it draws from every part of the family market at once. Adults ride it, teenagers ride it, and children clear the 38-inch stick years before they clear 48.
It opened with Toy Story Land in June 2018 and it has not gotten less busy since. Treat it as the ride you plan the morning around, not something you fit in later.
What riding it is actually like
The queue is the worst in the park: long, switchbacked, mostly in direct sun, with only intermittent canopies. On a July afternoon the standby line is a real health consideration, not just an inconvenience. Bring water, bring a fan, and reconsider standby entirely between noon and four.
The ride itself opens with a lift, a first drop through the land, a launch section that snaps you forward, a swooping turn over the top of the queue, a second launch, and a run of small hills into the brakes. The best airtime is on the hills after the second launch, and the best view of the land is on the high right-hand turn.
Sit in the back row. The back car gets pulled over each crest and produces noticeably more lift than the front. The front is better for the view and for a child who wants to see where they are going, but the back is the better ride.
Is Slinky Dog Dash scary?
A family coaster with two launches and a handful of airtime hills, all outdoors in daylight. There is nothing dark and nothing that jumps out. The drops produce a real lift out of the seat, so a first-time coaster rider at exactly 38 inches will feel it, but this is the correct first big coaster for most kids.
Scores are editorial, on a 1–5 scale, judged against what frightens a typical four- to seven-year-old rather than an adult.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair
- Must transfer to the ride vehicle
- Audio description
- Not offered
- Handheld captioning
- Not offered
- Assistive listening
- Not offered
- Sign language
- Not offered
- Service animals
- Must use a kennel or wait with a companion
You must transfer into a coaster car with a lap bar; the cars are narrow and the step over the side is fairly high. The queue is long, entirely outdoors and mostly unshaded, which is a genuine problem for anyone who cannot stand in heat.
Tips that actually help
- Back row for airtime, front row for the view. Ask at the load platform and the wait for the back is usually one or two extra trains.
- This should be your first Lightning Lane Multi Pass selection of the day, ahead of Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, because the standby alternative is so much worse.
- If you are going standby, go at rope drop or in the last 45 minutes before close. Both routinely produce waits under 25 minutes; the middle of the day does not.
- The queue has almost no shade. If someone in your group is heat-sensitive, this is the single line at Hollywood Studios where you should use rider switch and split up rather than all stand in it.
- Repeat visitors: night rides are meaningfully better. The land's lighting turns the layout into something worth looking at, and the second launch reads much faster in the dark.
Timing
- Best time to ride
- Rope drop or the final 45 minutes of the night. Night rides are better; morning rides are shorter waits.
- Typical wait
- 60 to 110 minutes through the middle of the day, dropping to 20 to 35 at open and close.
- Lightning Lane
- Lightning Lane Multi Pass
Slinky Dog Dash: common questions
What is the height requirement for Slinky Dog Dash?
38 inches. It is the lowest height requirement of any coaster at Hollywood Studios and one of the reasons the line is so long. Rider switch is available for parties with a child under the limit.
Is Slinky Dog Dash scary?
Not particularly. It runs entirely outdoors in daylight, has no inversions, no dark sections and no big drop. The two launches are brisk and the airtime hills lift you out of the seat, which is enough to thrill a first-time coaster rider without frightening them.
Why is the wait for Slinky Dog Dash always so long?
Low capacity meeting very broad appeal. The trains are short, the circuit is long, and it is the only major coaster in the park that most children can ride. The queue does not meaningfully shorten during the day, only at open and close.
Is it worth a Lightning Lane Multi Pass?
Yes, and it should usually be your first selection at this park. The standby alternative is a long, hot, unshaded queue, and the ride is short enough that an hour in line feels like a poor trade.
Should I ride Slinky Dog Dash at night?
If you can manage only one ride, do it after dark. The lighting package on the land makes the layout far more interesting and the launches feel faster when you cannot see what is coming.