Why Disney World Refuses to Add Characters to Roundup Rodeo BBQ

Disney fans are clamoring for Toy Story characters to be added to the Roundup Rodeo BBQ restaurant at Hollywood Studios. However, the concept isn’t nearly as simple as it seems.

Roundup Rodeo

Originally opened in 2023, Roundup Rodeo is a BBQ restaurant located in the park’s Toy Story Land area. Guests are treated like “Andy’s honorary toys” in an environment designed to look like it’s made out of cardboard boxes, toys, and other household items.

To add further immersion to the Toy Story theme, at intermittent intervals, an announcement of “Andy’s Coming” will ring out through the restaurant, and servers and guests will freeze in place like the toys in the Toy Story films.

Howdy

This intricate level of theming and attention to detail has led many to wonder why there are no live character interactions in the restaurant. Many guests believe that the restaurant is ideal for a Toy Story character dining experience, and question why the only “characters” present are static statues.

Calls for characters to come to the restaurant have only increased recently with the announcement that a live character Jessie’s Roundup show is coming to the Diamond Horseshoe at the Magic Kingdom, a much less thematically appropriate venue.

Forky Cupcake

So, why isn’t Disney adding Toy Story characters to the restaurant? It may have to do with the aforementioned “Andy’s coming” story. Those of you who have long memories of viral Disney trends may remember that several years ago, a story spread on the internet that Toy Story characters would throw themselves on the floor and stay still if you say “Andy’s coming”, often accompanied by a photo of Toy Story characters on the ground.

©Theme Park Insider

To be clear, this was NEVER protocol, and while it may have happened on and off in the past, it has been explicitly stopped for Cast Members’ safety in the years since the images went viral.

So, it stands to reason that after doing their best to clamp down on the story, Disney doesn’t want to have live characters “freezing” during the “Andy’s coming” portion of the meal. In addition, the restaurant’s heavy theming and layout would likely have to be changed in order to accommodate characters the size of Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang.

Hi from Woody and Jessie!

While the idea of adding Toy Story characters to the Roundup Rodeo BBQ might seem like a slam dunk, reality isn’t quite that easy. Stay tuned to DFB for more Disney thoughts.

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