Disney’s Newest Restaurant Could Be a Nightmare for Cast Members

Some of the most unique family dining destinations can be found right at the Walt Disney World Resort. On top of the Resort’s quick-service dining lineup, which takes fast casual menus far beyond burgers and hot dogs, Disney is home to truly unique table-service dining.

The Resort’s table service lineup includes everything from casual fare to character dining, to signature restaurants. Guests can opt for a family-style breakfast, lunch, or dinner with tastes for every member of the family, an AAA Five Diamond restaurant, and everything in between, including several totally immersive settings for every meal of the day.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios, in particular, takes immersive dining to the next level with the themes of its table-service restaurants. Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater brings Guests “outside” for an evening at the drive-in complete with retro film previews, 50s Prime Time Cafe takes on the experience of dining with family in a traditional 1950s setup, and the Hollywood Brown Derby is an impressive replica of the original location, known for creating the Cobb Salad.

RELATED: Disney Just Revealed the Opening Date & Menu Details for Roundup Rodeo BBQ!

The newest restaurant to open in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Roundup Rodeo BBQ, will be the first table service addition to Toy Story Land. The new addition will complement Woody’s Lunchbox, the land’s current quick-service restaurant that serves up sandwiches, “totchos,” and homemade Pop Tarts, offering Guests more time and menu items right in Andy’s backyard.

Roundup Rodeo BBQ will serve up family-style BBQ fare, but that isn’t the only part of what makes this location such an experience. During a recent preview of the new location, MyNews13 journalist Ashley Carter shared a preview of the audio package that will create interactive moments for Guests dining in the restaurant:

Music and other audio plays throughout Roundup Rodeo BBQ. Some of the audio will prompt interactive moments. For example, there’s audio for “Andy’s arrival.” When the audio plays, cast members at the restaurant will freeze in place. pic.twitter.com/jgYTbKglKm

— Ashley Carter (@AshleyLCarter1) March 15, 2023

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One of the activities heard in the video above will have Cast Members “freeze” just like the toys in the films when they learn that Andy could be coming (since Cast working in Toy Story Land are toys, after all.) The interactive element of the new restaurant looks adorable, and it will surely be a hit with families who are fans of the Pixar animated films. Still, we can’t help but be reminded of a similar “trend” from years past that made Disney Cast Members’ roles more challenging.

In the early 2010s, a photo began circulating around social media showing a Guest with Woody and Jessie lying on the ground in the Magic Kingdom. When the photo went viral, a rumor began that if Guests yelled “Andy’s coming!” the characters would drop and such a photo could be recreated. The trend was problematic for Cast Members because falling to the ground would simply be unsafe (for both Cast and Guests.) As such, it isn’t actually allowed, and a Disney spokesperson even confirmed to media at the time that the rumor was not true.

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While safety is the top priority for Disney Cast Members, Show is up there on the list of Disney’s Five Keys (Safety, Courtesy, Inclusion, Show, Efficiency). And in keeping with the show, Cast Members would often reply that Andy is in college when Guests would try the trend.

With a new form of “Andy’s coming!” arriving inside Roundup Rodeo BBQ, is it possible that this trend will resurface? We hope not, as Andy being in college doesn’t work with the timeline of Toy Stoy Land, and it could make Cast Member’s workdays quite challenging if the trend picks up once again.

In any case, if you dine at Roundup Rodeo BBQ, be sure to listen for the audio cues and enjoy the special moments unique to this dining location. Just remember, Andy is not actually coming.