Five Things to Know About Alien Swirling Saucers

Alien Swirling Saucers is a “whip” ride in Toy Story Land. It takes its inspiration from the Pizza Planet sequence in the first Toy Story movie. To learn more, keep reading. Or to whip around to the nuts and bolts, here’s your shortcut.

1. Your saucer awaits in Andy’s backyard.

In the first Toy Story animated feature, Andy visits the Pizza Planet restaurant. In that film, the Little Green Men (the Aliens) are promotional toys found inside a claw vending machine at Pizza Planet. They are known for their near worship of “The Claw”, the claw overhead in the game they’re part of. They believe the claw is their master and chooses “who will go and who will stay.”

The ride is themed as a playset that Andy won from the claw vending machine and set up in his backyard. To get to the ride, you’ll need to walk “through the backyard” – in the queue. Look for a number of giant toys that Andy has left scattered around. When the cast member opens the gate, you can pick your ride – and then hold on.

2. Riding your rocket whips up some excitement.

Alien Swirling Saucers is a “whip” ride. Your rocket is pulled by a flying saucer piloted by one of the little green creatures. It circles around on top of turntables like a spinner ride does. But your saucer doesn’t spin around, per se. Instead, it whips from side to side, thanks to the mechanism attached to the front part of your saucer.

There are no levers to pull or a central steering wheel to control your motion, so you’re at the mercy of the Alien driving you around! Another fun feature: your saucer will switch from one turntable to another, so you travel in a sort of figure-8 pattern. That way, you’re not simply circling the same area over and over.

As you ride, you’ll recognize music from the Toy Story movies playing (jazzed-up versions of songs like “You’ve Got a Friends in Me”). And at night, the lights make it a whole different – and lots more fun – experience.

Since the motion is a bit different, some folks who can’t ride spinners like the Mad Tea Party are ok with this ride. It’s a different type of motion and a different intensity. But the side-to-side can really push you to the sides of your saucer, so hold on to the lap bar while you try to avoid the menacing claw overhead. The ride lasts about 3 minutes.

3. The Alien background check.

Disney revealed plans for Alien Swirling Saucers at the D23 Expo in 2015 as part of the Toy Story Land announcement. The ride opened along with Slinky Dog Dash, the other new attraction in Toy Story Land, on June 30, 2018.

As a whip ride, it uses the same mechanical system as Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree in Disney California Adventure Park at Disneyland. Yet another example of how the Imagineers re-imagine and re-theme to create an entirely new attraction built on what they know to be successful!

4. Some sauce about the saucers.

⭐ Look for the hidden Mickey on the Space Map in the queue.

⭐ Pizza details abound! Look for pizza columns, the Planet Pepperonia and a pizza space station among others. (And Buzz has left a giant ray gun lying in the grass near the queue.)

⭐ At night, the lights are coordinated with the musical soundtrack to create an entirely different experience.

⭐ During the holiday season, the soundtrack is updated with familiar Christmas favorites.

⭐ Tokyo Disneyland’s The Happy Ride With Baymax uses the same ride system as Alien Swirling Saucers.

⭐ In 2018, Disney announced that Alien Swirling Saucers would open in Disneyland Paris, but this has never come to pass.

5. The Nuts and Bolts.

Alien Swirling Saucers is located in Toy Story Land at Disney Hollywood Studios. It’s easy to find if you look for the 14-foot tall statue of Buzz Lightyear as you head to or from Slinky Dog Dash. The attraction itself is covered, so it’s not usually affected by bad weather. The outdoor queue is only partly covered. So, if it’s sunny, you can get really hot and if it’s raining, you’ll get wet.

There are two sides to the ride, each with 11 “saucers” that can hold two or three guests. There’s a single fabric lap belt for all riders. You’ll need to take a small step up, then a larger step up to board the saucer through the narrow “door.”

Guests must transfer from a wheelchair/ECV to board. Service animals are not allowed. There is a 32” height requirement to ride Alien Swirling Saucers, so you may use Rider Switch. There are no health and safety warnings.

Alien Swirling Saucers is open for Early Theme Park Entry. Wait time during peak hours varies from 35-50 minutes on days with average crowds. As with all popular attractions, lines will be shorter early in the day or near park closing time. If you’ve purchased Lighting Lane Multi-Pass, Alien Swirling Saucers is a tier 2 advance pick. Same-day it’s usually available until a few hours before closing.

The Bottom Line.

We don’t rate Alien Swirling Saucers as a must-do ride, but the littles do love it. As noted above, some people say you’re less likely to get motion sick on a whip ride, but others dispute that statement. I can only add that as someone prone to motion sickness, I have never ridden it. But my wife has, with all three sets of grandkids, mostly without ill after-effects. (Full disclosure: the kids loved squishing grandma to the sides of the rocket as much as they could get away with.)

Have you been whipped around in a rocket? What did you think? Let us know in the comments.