Treats of Tomorrow! An Exclusive Look

On this special post I'll be taking a look at the Magic Kingdom's latest expansion... a snack stand for the future!

I know what you may be thinking. A snack stand? Has this blog, which used to be filled with exclusive content on abandoned park plans or hints at upcoming attractions, been resorted to reviewing snack stands since my Imagineering insider, going under the pseudo-name, "Outboundflight" went permanently offline? Is that what this has all come too? Reviews on snack stands ?!?

Well actually, there's a bit more in this snack stand than you may initially perceive. Going into this review, I was confused. Disney Snacks are so much fun, but they rarely are the frontliner, and it felt, why was Disney World so excited to show a limited set of high-profile bloggers this attraction before opening day?

I realized the reason once walking inside. This is the next Tangled Restroom: an experience than opens our eyes to how themed, polished, and integrated into the land something we once thought was simply a theme park facility can be. We have some amazing snackeries throughout Disney World, but this hits on another level entirely.

So yes, despite myself and your's initial reservations, this is something well worth discussing. Let's break down Treats of Tomorrow: Magic Kingdom's newest Snack Stand.

Treats of Tomorrow is just Rice Crispy Treats. Technically we've already got that down in Main Street USA. So what's so special? The fact that you can customize it to your hearts content. Using a state of the art touch-screen interface, you'll be able to choose your color, shape, and toppings all at one place, with the system calculating prices accordingly. It feels like those modern Soda Machines with all the flavors: only this takes it one step further.

Let me try and break this all down, in more simpler terms.

You'll find Treats of Tomorrow between Buzz Lightyear and the Carousel of Progress. The area used to be a plain wall, hiding some backstage. This backstage is moved down, and to my understanding, has not impacted the park whatsoever. There's that much space in Florida.

You might notice this is a bit larger than most snack stands: that's because it has a full queue line. Themed around a Japanese Garden, this tranquil space takes you out of the hectic hustle and bustle of most Tomorrowland. This is a really peaceful corner, and a great place to eat after making your custom Rice Crispy.

Now, to the building itself. Hardcore Disney fans will instantly recognize the Monsanto House of the Future serving as the front facade. The building is positioned diagonally, so upon entry we get a prime angle like the one below.

(I had to use a Yesterland photo because the Disney staff were very firm to regulate any cellular devices. They want it to be a surprise. I know this because one of the folks in our tour group, a podcaster who called himself "Tiki" got thrown out for bringing their phone. Silly Tiki).

However this is only the front facade: the building itself is rectangular in structure. As soon as you enter, you'll feel taken away to a Candyland-in-Space. Twelve "machines" capable of crafting your treat surround the room atop marble flooring. A model Disneyland Monorail circles the ceiling. And in the center, there's the bar.

Imagineers explained the next evolution of snack stands was expanding out the space. Instead of a singular cart with long lines, there would be what is effectively 24 carts around a central drink zone. This hopefully will limit the lines.

At the center are two robots, using rails (the lighter gray line in the center) to move up and down the central line. These characters are the most life-like animatronics I have ever seen.

(Pardon the crude drawing, again, we weren't allowed to take phones inside)

The bots are named TOV-I A and TOV-I B. That stands for Tomorrowland Occupational Vendor -- Independent Model. They have a neat design, as you can see above.

What's so special about them is that a person is controlling their every movement: sort of like Turtle Talk with Crush! That means when you interact with the robot, you are actually interacting with a living being, capable of responding to anything you ask. It is a cast member in every right, except flawlessly themed!

For instance, you might need directions to somewhere in the Magic Kingdom. TOV-I will tell you! You might want to know the weather. TOV-I will tell you! You can ask any question, and the machine will respond accordingly.

Better yet, the machines interact with each other. While I was making my first treat at the touch screens, I turned to see TOV-I B, without prompting, hit nearby TOV-I A (they each cover one half of the area, so they need to be as far center to touch each other). After TOV-I B bopped TOV-I A in the head, here's what transpired:

TOV-I A: Halt. What are you doing?

TOV-I B: (Spinning randomly in a circle) Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

TOV-I A: You need your humor capacitor rerouted.

TOV-I B: Perhaps. (TOV-I B randomly runs off) 

Imagineers later told us this is one of a dozen "scripted scenes" that frequently occur (apparently they'll sing There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow together, and the lights even dim for it). Still, many other moments may occur completely unscripted between the two cast members controlling the robots backstage.

We visited the park four days ago as of the time I was writing this. That was Star Wars Day. In honor of the day, TOV-I gave random Star Wars trivia. Imagineers also told us they were programmed uniquely for each holiday, and for Star Wars Day, had been given a list of random trivia to spew at guests. Other holidays, they might spout Christmas Jingles, or speak with a ghostly robo-voice.

The TOV-I bots also use facial recognition software. This mimics EVE from WALL-E by adding customized facial expressions, depending on the circumstances of the conversation. Whenever serving a guest, they appear either "happy" or "overjoyed". However they have a wide range of emotions when it comes to speaking to the other TOV-I bot.

Imagineers explained that although the cast member has full vocal control of the bot, they do not have complete physical control. That comes from a button guests can press right by their stool, which triggers a queue line for who's spot the animatronic will roll down to. But the cast member must approve "changing spots" themselves before jumping to a new conversation, preventing awkward ends to a discussion.

The TOV-I bot was originally going to be a drink vendor in addition to interactive animatronic, according to the Imagineers, but it was later determined there would be too long a line for the TOV-I bot, so instead, drinks come at the bar, built by the stands. These are smaller variants of the Interactive Coke Soda Machines, so all in all the snack stand requires no cast members beyond the two backstage. It makes it feel like a real futuristic snack bar!

You only call the bot if you wish to speak with ti. That said, the TOV-I bot seems to call out to random people when it has nothing better to do. So wherever you are, it's adding to a feeling of realism in Tomorrowland. You really think of it as a friendly artificial-intelligence bartender.

Overall: this is one of the coolest additions Tomorrowland has seen in a while.

THE SNACKS

I think in any other snack stand, the TOV-I bot would instantly steal the show. And while it is a pretty big part of my excitement towards this expansion, the interactive "make your own space snack" is also quite revolutionary.

As you saw on the map, twelve "consoles" allow you to build your own treat. For each console there are two touch screens, so a total of 24 people can build a snack at any given time. Anticipating crowds, Imagineers designed the Japanese Garden as a "mini-queue" to keep things under control, while also being a great place to eat your treat after creation.

You can design your treat as follows:

After creating your treat digitally, the machine calculates the cubic volume and toppings to determine a price tag. For our early-access visit, the pricing module was disabled. But considering this is Disney World, expect things to be overpriced.

They then make the meal right before your eyes. First they take a large block for your preferred color and laser-cut out the shape. Then they add the toppings as you've requested and then a syrup if you so chose. Finally, the little door opens and your snack slides out. All in all, the process took just over a minute.

For those that don't want the hassle of creating your own meal, you can also choose from a variety of presets:

The Mickey: Original-Color, Mickey Head-Shaped, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Syrup
The Minnie: Pink-Color, Minnie Head-Shaped, Extra Marshmallows, Strawberry Syrup
The Donald: Blue-Color, Donald Head-Shaped, MnMs and Almonds, No Syrup
The Daisy: Original-Color, Daisy Head-Shaped, White Chocolate Chip, Caramel Syrup
The Goofy: Green-Color, Goofy Head-Shaped, Gummy Bears, No Syrup
The Vader: Red-Color, Vader Mask-Shaped, Brownie Bits, Chocolate Syrup
The Captain America: Blue-Color, Shield-Shaped, Blueberries and Raspberries, Raspberry Syrup

Overall... the food was really good! It's obvious the crispies and toppings were recently made, and it looks like everyone was putting a lot of effort towards making sure this area didn't go unnoticed. I look forward to getting a bite at Treats of Tomorrow, overlooking the gardens, far away from all the chaos of everyday Tomorrowland.

Overall Rating: 40/40

Well that was my review of Treats of Tomorrow, Disney's latest snack stand. Please post your own thoughts, comments, and opinions in the section below. And if you like my content you can join my Patreon for special access to exclusive blogging content! This is DisneyDreamz, signing off!