Over a span of eight years, Disney theme parks across the world went from zero Toy Story Lands to four. Yes, every Disney locale except for Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland features a themed land dedicated to Pixar’s most popular characters. Let’s all act like Ant-Man and shrink down in size to appreciate the genius of the various iterations around the world. Here are several fun facts about Toy Story Land.

You can literally follow in the footsteps of Andy

Image: DisneyWhen you enter Toy Story Land, you shrink down to the size of a toy. You are now one of the residents of Andy’s playroom. The entire themed land is a recreation of various toys and sets that Andy has picked up along the way. Imagineers have connected the sets from the movies to everything that populates Toy Story Land.

As you explore, you may miss a few of the details. It's understandable given the sheer volume of Imagineering tricks on display. Toy Story Land is designed so that everything grows more prominent as you advance into the area. You'll feel like you're growing smaller due to this change in perspective.

Perhaps the best demonstration of this dynamic is a shoeprint. When you look at the ground where you’re walking, you’ll realize that you’re literally following in Andy’s footsteps. Disney has painted shoeprints into the ground to immerse guests into the realm of Toy Story.

The massive footprint looks like an 80-foot tall kaiju has stomped his sneakers through the land, which would also explain the cracks in the concrete. Yes, Disney planned for inevitable wear and tear by creating a visual that explains the causality.

The little touches matter

Image: DisneyTo you, Toy Story Land is a fun place to visit. To Imagineers, it’s a living, breathing world wherein toys are alive and extremely dedicated to their owner. Also, this themed land is the backyard of an incredibly imaginative boy. Many of the items that you see play up both of these facts.

The decorations that populate Toy Story Land tell a bigger story. For example, when you see the standard wait-time for one of the attractions, you'll pay attention to the front, the place where the number is.

The 45 that signifies a 45-minute wait is informational, but the back of this sign accentuates the theme. When you glance at it, you’ll realize that Andy’s home address is posted on the back. He’s hoping that in the sad event that he loses a toy, some kind stranger will return it to him. It’s even shaped like a hanging tag for effect. 

Toy Story Land doesn’t have your run-of-the-mill wooden benches. Oh no, that would never do. They have Popsicle benches! Since Andy is a kid who, in the immortal words of Lisa Simpson, can’t afford anything “with zeroes in the prices,” some of the accessories are intentionally cheap. Kids don’t have money for toy furniture. What they do have is ready access to Popsicle sticks. Andy has built benches out of 10 of them!