Half of This Toy Story Land Ride Is Down at Hollywood Studios, and Disney Hasn’t Explained Why
Alien Swirling Saucers at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has had an eventful past couple of months.
Guests visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Tuesday, September 22, found only one side of the Toy Story Land attraction in operation. On the closed side, rolling planters have been set where a ride vehicle should be.
Disney has announced nothing. No reason given, no reopening date posted.
Why Half Matters
Alien Swirling Saucers operates as two parallel sides. Each has its own rockets, loading, and dispatching on its own cycle.
That is how a ride with a ninety-second cycle moves as many people as it does.
Close one side, and throughput does not dip. It roughly halves.
Toy Story Land has three attractions. Lose half of one and the other two pick up the difference, which in practice means Slinky Dog Dash, already the longest line in the park most afternoons.
One Side of Alien Swirling Saucers Closed, Rolling Planters Replace Ride Vehicle at Disney's Hollywood Studioshttps://t.co/Fk22A1dOlb
— WDW News Today (@WDWNT) September 22, 2026
About Those Planters
Small detail, but it says something.
Planters are what Disney rolls out when it needs a soft barrier that reads as theming instead of as a broken ride. They turn up around construction and anywhere a gap would otherwise look like a gap.
Putting them in a vehicle’s spot suggests the rocket was removed, not just parked for the day.
Why, and for how long, is unknown. Vehicles come out for maintenance constantly. Most of the time nobody notices.
Lilypad Arrives Friday
Here is the timing.
Lilypad’s Jams debuts at Alien Swirling Saucers on September 25. Lilypad, the tablet character from Toy Story 5, becomes the ride’s DJ with an all new soundtrack that Imagineers recorded in Nashville, spanning pop, country, EDM, and alt rock, mixing reworked Toy Story music with original songs.
She will also entertain guests who are not riding, with track intros, puzzles, drawings, and home videos featuring Toy Story characters.
The physical Lilypad is already installed outside the attraction.
So the ride is three days from its biggest update since 2018 while running at partial capacity.
Those facts may be unrelated. Disney has connected them in no way, and calling the closure Lilypad prep would be a guess.
It does mean a soundtrack debut could draw extra crowds to a ride loading at half speed.
Four Changes Since July
July 2026. Numbered vehicle assignments introduced, ending open boarding.
Mid September. Assignments scrapped. Numbers stripped off the rockets. Open boarding back.
Mid September. Lilypad installed outside the ride.
September 22. One side closed, planters in a vehicle’s place.
September 25. Lilypad’s Jams debuts.
Disney has publicly explained one item on that list.
For an attraction that sat unchanged for eight years, that is a lot of movement in two months.
What Disney Has Not Said
No explanation for dropping the loading assignments after two months. No word on whether that system is gone permanently. Nothing on why one side is down or when it returns.
Alien Swirling Saucers remains listed among Lightning Lane Multi Pass experiences at Hollywood Studios, though Disney notes availability is subject to change.
Planning Around It
Heading to Toy Story Land this week? Expect the line to move slower than the posted wait suggests, and check My Disney Experience before walking over.
Boarding itself is back to normal. Cast members may still line parties up on the numbered floor markers, but the numbers no longer assign you a rocket. When the platform opens, pick whichever one you want.
There are just fewer to pick from right now.
Source: Firsthand reports from Disney’s Hollywood Studios on September 22, 2026, and Disney Parks Blog.
