Slinky Dog Dash Had a Rough Week at Hollywood Studios

Slinky Dog Dash, the family coaster anchoring Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios, endured one of its most turbulent stretches in recent memory during the final days of August and first week of September 2026. Between August 28 and September 4, the ride was completely offline on four of seven operating days, affecting thousands of guests — including Lightning Lane Multi Pass holders who had reserved their slots in advance.

The trouble started with multi-hour outages on August 28 and 29, followed by a complete three-day shutdown from August 31 through September 2. A brief early-morning restart on September 3 lasted only about 30 minutes before the coaster went down again for the rest of that day. When the ride did reopen on the afternoon of September 4, guests noticed something unusual: the work lights along the outdoor track were still on while trains were actively dispatching — a detail that observers noted typically signals maintenance crews were monitoring or had been working on the ride right up to the moment of reopening.

Saturday, September 5 brought yet another temporary closure during the late afternoon, though maintenance teams resolved that issue more quickly, and the coaster was back running by 7:00 p.m. Eyewitness reports and on-the-ground observations pointed to potential issues with the linear synchronous motor launch system near the ride's second launch zone, where maintenance personnel were repeatedly spotted. Disney has not issued any official statement explaining the cause of the extended downtime. The company did, however, quietly pull Lightning Lane Multi Pass availability for Slinky Dog Dash through mid-September.

For guests headed to Hollywood Studios in the near term, a few strategies can help. Directing Early Entry time toward Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or Tower of Terror — rather than making a beeline for Toy Story Land — is worth considering until the coaster's reliability is confirmed each morning. When Slinky Dog Dash does reopen after an outage, standby waits tend to be shortest in the first 20 minutes. Guests whose Lightning Lane windows are disrupted by a closure automatically receive a Multiple Experience pass in the My Disney Experience app, redeemable at other headliner attractions.

This story was originally reported by Disney Fanatic.