On April 27, 2011, we reported that the large parachute from the photo set in front of the Toy Soldiers’ Parachute Drop in the Toy Story Playland (at the Walt Disney Studios) had been removed. It now turns out this was only the first step in a complete overhaul of the location which has now been finished.
As can be seen in the photo above by InsideDLParis the backdrop has been completely redone. Instead of the backdrop having a fully ”hand painted” look now a new CGI look has been put in place at least for parts of the backdrop (in particular the largest toy soldier to the left of the parachute for the guests). The new design with the border around the backdrop is set to recreate the design of a toy packaging from which Andy could have cut out the backdrop. The large three dimensional parachute certainly is back as well – and also received some plussing: some extra lighting stripes were added under it to illuminate guests posing under the parachute.
The upgrade of the photo set are not the only changes to the Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop area. In addition the floor under the actual ride has been redone. The park had to learn during the past winter season that the chosen paint resulted in the floor turning extremly slippery when wet. Therefore black plastic mats had to be placed over it as a temporary solution during the winter season to allow for continued operation. According to InsideDLParis the floor was now redone (as seen in the photo on the left) and is supposed to be no longer as dangerously slippery when wet as in the past, so that the black mats could be taken out for good.
Photos by InsideDLParis