Summer 2016: WDW with Kids- Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney's Hollywood Studios is one of my favorite parks, but unfortunately, we visited when the park was starting to under-go major transformations. It felt like the park was a big construction site.

Next to EPCOT's World-Showcase, Disney's Hollywood Studios was the second least interesting for the kids. Actually, only for one kid. At the time of our trip, Zoe was turning nine and Felix was almost seven. Zoe enjoyed the thrilled rides, while Felix was a little scared. Disney's Hollywood Studios has two of the most thrilling Disney attractions: both a big hit with Zoe, not so much with Felix.

We visited the park twice, so as with my other trip report, I'm combining the two days. Let's start at the beginning, with the park entrance.

I love the sanitized, prettied-up version of Hollywood. I grew up just about ten minutes from Hollywood and let me tell you, the Disney version is much nicer! Although, the real-deal is much better for people watching.

Posing with Gertie!

Both our first and last ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios was Star Tours. We had watched the original Star Wars films with the kids and they were somewhat familiar with the characters and Star Wars universe. This attraction is great, because it's thrilling, without being too scary. We used a Fast Pass for our first ride, but just did the queue the second time. I love the Star Wars queue in Florida.

Speaking of Star Wars, we also used a Fast Pass for a character meet and greet at the Star Wars: Launch Bay. We had a choice of characters and decided to meet Chewbacca. The whole area is themed and you wait behind a door until it's your turn for pictures, giving your group one-on-one time with the character. I was entirely unprepared for how tall and intimidating Chewy would be. He was right at the door when it opened and I jumped back. Dan is very tall, but not as tall as Chewy and Chewy gave him a pat on the head, making us all laugh. Check me out in this picture, it's me still giving a bit of distance because he was so gigantic.

I think we underestimated how much the kids would enjoy meeting characters. The character meet and greets were a huge hit and we have pictures to cherish from the experience.

We had also watched the Indiana Jones movies with the kids and they LOVED them. Indiana Jones was a bigger hit than Star Wars. They had fun at the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, which we also used Fast Passes to secure good seats.

One of my all-time favorite attractions, a close second to Disneyland's Indiana Jones Adventure, is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I'm a huge fan of the Twilight Zone ( many happy memories of watching the 4th of July marathons with my uncle) and I love the whole theming of the attraction. It's so immersive. Plus, it's just a exciting thrill ride. We rode it twice with Fast Passes. Zoe loved it, but Felix was scared. I think more than the motion, the loud sounds freaked him out. He was a trooper and even rode it a second time, after we told him that I would sit it out with him. I'm fairly certain that it was his least favorite attraction of the entire trip.

Our birthdays are all within less than three months and so we celebrate in the summer. Dan's sister, Ali. and her family, sent us money for a sweet birthday treat during our trip. This picture of Dan, Zoe, and Felix is one of my favorites from our vacation. Thank you Higgin's family!

The other big thrill ride is Rock N' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. I'm a big chicken and it took me years to go on Rock N' Roller Coaster. YEARS. I was in my late twenties before giving it a go. It's pretty intense, but when I finally rode it, it was nowhere near as bad as I had anticipated. The kids were both a bit shocked when they got off, but then excited that it had been their first upside down rollercoaster! That's a great milestone.

We also had a fun moment in the queue, when my magic band triggered a personalized tour poster. This personalization of objects in the queue was something that Dan and I first experienced on our winter 2015-2016 trip. It's a magical addition to a few of the attractions and is exciting when your name pops up.

Ending with the tame: Muppet Vision 3D is a must-do attraction for me. No matter how many times I've seen it ( over fifty?), it never fails to delight and make me laugh. Is there anyone who doesn't adore the Muppets?

One piece of unfortunate marketing. The show was canceled before our visit, but the poster was still up. How was this overlooked? The wording is very unfortunate and appropriate.

We were sad that Lights! Motor! Action! had closed a few months before our trip. Felix is car obsessed and would have loved it. Dan isn't a fan of The Great Movie Ride, but I wish we would have done it, because it is now forever closed. I also wish we had done Fastasmic, as I think that would have been a big hit for the whole family. It just didn't work into our schedule.

We should have made sure to do Toy Story Midway Mania. The kids would have loved it. The reason we skipped it is because we couldn't get a Fast Pass for it. The Fast Pass Plus system at Disney's Hollywood Studios is broken into two tiers, with more popular rides in one tier and less popular ones in another. You are not allowed Fast Passes for too many of the most popular attractions, which is fair enough. So it's really more we prioritized other attractions and didn't select Toy Story Midway Mania.

I'm not a fan of the Fast Pass system and I wish we could go back to the days of just waiting for what you want to ride. However, my family is a fan of Fast Pass and would rather skip a ride, than wait in a queue. I've done everything in the parks many times, so I went along with the majority. We really skipped too much at this park. To do it over again, I would have allowed another half-day to our tour plans. My other advice, is to make sure to do a dining experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios. We should have booked Sci-Fi Dine-in or 50's Prime Time Cafe, both uber themed and great for the kids.

We just caught this park in a transition period. The new Toy Story Land looks awesome and I know that the Star Wars expansion will be amazing. I hope we can return to WDW soon!

Winter Holiday 2015/2016 - Disney's Hollywood Studios

We visited Disney's Hollywood Studios on New Years Day, and although the holiday crowds were still around, they began to noticeably subside in the final days of our vacation. The Fast Pass situation is a little frustrating at Disney's Hollywood Studios, as they use a tiered system. Rather than picking Fast Passes for any rides that have them available, you have to divide them among two different groupings of attractions. This is clearly to force visitors to pick Fast Passes from less popular attractions. I'm not complaining, because Fast Passes are free and the ability to book them in advance is awesome, but it also meant that we had to be very strategic in what we picked. We ended up with Fast Passes for Star Tours, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Rock n' Roller Coaster.

Most people go on vacation to escape home, but I love being from Southern California, having Hollywood in my backyard. Visiting Disney's Hollywood Studios is like experiencing the prettiest aspects of Hollywood from the Golden Age of movies. It's clean and safe, but still has a familiarity from home.

Our first attraction was The Great Movie Ride, located in a replica of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, which like the original, has famous handprints in the cement out front. The Great Movie Ride is a slow moving dark ride through scenes from classic films such as Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz. I love it, Dan thought that it was dated and boring. I'll agree that it's dated, but that's part of its kitschy charm. It's a celebration of the art of film making.

Next, we walked across the park for our lunch reservations at The Prime Time Cafe. During our walk, Dan took this panorama shot of Echo Lake and Gertie the Dinosaur.

Themed to a 1950's house, The Prime Time Cafe is one of my favorite Walt Disney World Restaurants. You have to be prepared to play along with the theming. this is an interactive dining experience. The servers treat you like a family member ( they might be your mom/cousin/brother/aunt/et...) and they will make you do things like set your own table and they'll harass you to clean your plate before dessert. If you do clean your plate ( and you should), make sure to ask for a "clean plate club" sticker and wear it proud! The service is always good, but be prepared for some teasing. The Prime Time Cafe is excellent for its over-the-top 50's theming and yummy comfort food. I recommend the meat loaf or pot roast. So good!

After lunch, we noticed that the Star Wars Path of the Jedi, was about to begin. We walked inside, having no clue that were were about to waste time watching a short film hyping up the latest Star Wars movie. Meh. This is strictly theme park filler, although a good place to take a short break if everything else is crowded. As we were trying to maximize our day, this was a waste of our time. Top Tip- Make sure you know about the attraction, before you jump in line. I felt like a sheep.

Keeping with the Star Wars theme, it was time to use our Fast Pass at Star Tours. The actual ride is the same as the one at Disneyland, which I've ridden a billion times, but the queue in Orlando is definitely better, you walk under a giant AT AT and through the Endor forest.

We caught the last performance of The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. This is a show where it's beneficial to have a Fast Pass. We were in the regular queue for about thirty minutes and due to the large number of Fast Pass holders, it wasn't guaranteed there would be enough room in the show for everyone in line. We just managed to make it inside. The stadium is huge. Another benefit to having a Fast Pass, is seat selection. We were off to the side, not ideal. During our trip in the summer, we made sure to make The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular a top priority for Fast Passes. Although this is an old show, it still holds up, and is a lot of fun. When we took the kids, they loved it. The show has a good mix of comedy, action, and audience participation. The sets are impressive.

We followed The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, with another stunt show; Lights, Motor, Action. As the name indicates, Lights, Motor, Action is a car stunt show, set on the streets of Paris. It's exciting and unexpected. I'm disappointed that Lights, Motor, Action is now gone to make way for the new Star Wars addition. We had so been looking forward to taking my stepson, Felix, to this show. He's obsessed with cars and it certainly would have been his favorite Walt Disney World memory. I think it might still be in Paris...guess, we will have to plan a trip to France to see it. Darn! It's almost as if I planned this out...

Another beloved attraction demolished? Good-bye Catastrophe Canyon. It was nice to get a last look at you from the Lights, Motor, Action stadium. I miss the Backlot Tour.

Dan and I had some nice pictures taken by a Disney Photo Pass employee at Echo Lake. It's always worth getting the professional pictures.

Here's one we got of Dan battling Darth Vader!

My happy-spot is Muppet Vision 3-D. Who doesn't love the muppets? I've seen it a million times and I always notice something new in the queue. I always laugh at the same jokes. The penguin orchestra is the best.

I get a picture with this snowman every visit. Where are your favorite WDW photo spots?

Next, we headed to one of my all-time favorite Disney attractions ( And I mean favorite of all the parks), The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I have fond childhood memories of watching the annual Twilight Zone 4th of July Marathon with my Uncle; we would hide out from the BBQ going on outside, and sneak ice cream while watching Rod Sterling's morality tales. I was thrilled when the ride was created. I'm a bit chicken when it comes to thrill rides, so I've been through the queue more times than I've actually been on the ride. However, when I finally decided to try it, I loved it. It's not scary at all, just a lot of fun.

A thrill ride that does still make me nervous is Rock n' Roller Coaster. I get anxious about the quick take-off and the loops. It's fine when I'm riding it, but in the queue, I always feel on the edge of backing out. When we visited, the Aerosmith theming was still in place, but I've heard that they are changing the theme. I can't imagine it without Aerosmith, especially when the music is blasting.

Star Wars Launch Bay is filled with costumes and props from the Star Wars films, primarily the current release. It's also the place for Star Wars character meet and greets. We didn't take any character photos this visit, because the lines were long ( get a Fast Pass), but we did in the summer and it was worth the wait to have the kids meet Chewbacca. My husband is very tall, but Chewbacca towered over him, he's enormous!

Our night was not over yet, we had a very special holiday event to attend at Disney Hollywood Studios. It's special enough to warrant its own blog post. Coming soon.