2. The pull-string gun

The experience: Ride users a pull-string to control each of the various different games, enabling to "throw" balls, fire darts and more.

The trick: Since Toy Story Midnight Mania! is not a true videogame, Imagineers faced a challenge in how to define the A button. By this, I mean the button on the controller that gets mashed repeatedly to make sure that Green Elf does not need food badly. Rather than hand actual controllers to players, an expensive solution that would expose Disney to item damage and theft, Imagineers delivered an inventive solution.

A modified pop-gun was added for each user. The introduction of this is important, because one of the target demographics for this ride is the under-10 crowd. They expect all phases of a ride to be interactive. The pull-string gun means that even if they do not enjoy aiming at targets, it is still a joyous procedure to pull the string repeatedly. As always, Disney employees are inventive about enhancing every phase of a ride.

The spring-action gun contains sensors which provide information on its orientation to the control system. This is combined with information on the position and orientation of the vehicle to generate the on-screen animation and to decide whether a target has been successfully hit or not.

1. The special effects

The experience: Anyone who hits a special target is rewarded in some regard. The interactive nature of the game, the 4-D as it were, is to provide a blast of air, misting of water or memorable smell. 

The trick: The key to accomplishing this trick again exists within the underlying computer system. Siemens Energy & Automation crafted a special control set for automation. At the time of the ride’s debut, this series of controls was unprecedented.

In addition to including one PC for every one of the 56 game screens, other (Windows XP) PCs are used to control each game's special effects. Two tracking systems inform the control system of the vehicle's precise location (which can very slightly - the cars do not park in the exact same spot every time), ensuring that the accompanying effects can be triggered appropriately.

In order to squirt a player, three things must happen. The computer must display the target, it must recognize that the user has struck the target, and it must immediately disperse a blast of air, moisture or odor. Imagine the precise level of programming required to accomplish that feat.

In fact, that exactitude exists from the moment you step in the cart until the moment you exit. Toy Story Midway Mania! is a landmark achievement in atmospheric ride creation.