This episode was written by Matt Fusfeld and Alex Cuthbertson and directed by Tim Parsons and Jennifer Graves.
When Steve sees his kidnappers are also suffering, he invites them into his fantasy, managing to trap them in the cell while he and Stan escape.
Impressed by his son's resilience, Stan realizes Steve uses make-believe to escape the harshness of reality and grudgingly accepts the need for play.
"Toy Whorey" first aired on May 13, 2012, in the United States as part of the animated television night on Fox.
'Wheels & The Legman And The Case Of Grandpa's Key' more effectively used whimsical fantasy; 'The Scarlett Getter' used every character and had a great guest star, and the aforementioned 'Virtual In-Stanity' was a more emotionally affecting father/son plot with bigger laughs.
"[3] Dyanamaria Leifsson of TV Equals gave the episode a positive review saying: "What Stan couldn't realize until the end of their adventures, was that while Steve still enjoyed using his imagination and playing with toys, he was not necessarily immature.
Still, in keeping with the typical American Dad structure for plots that revolve around Stan, he was incapable of realizing these things until he had put everyone through hell so he could learn that lesson on his own terms.