We are heading to Hollywood Studios this afternoon but we have a lazy morning first. There is talk of the pool but we don’t even manage that and just sleep in and hang out in our room.
What we do manage though is to buy Genie+ and start collecting Lightning Lanes. Katie is on it at 7am and gets Slinky Dog. At 7am this is for 1pm. That’s a bit too early so she goes to change it at by 7:03 they are offering 4pm which is perfect for us but means they are selling out fast.
She gets another one at 10:30 am and eventually we get dressed and go out to Steak and Shake for lunch.
We all had burgers and milkshakes. It’s not fancy but it’s really good.
After lunch we went into a gift shop next door. Molly is looking for a postcard which she didn’t find. But I did spot these.
Alligator head anyone?
We also looked in Dollar Tree and Walgreens. And then we headed to the park.
We used to always enter Hollywood Studios from a back road near the Boardwalk but I think that entrance is gone now as we couldn’t find it. It’s probably been gone for years as we don’t tend to drive to the parks.
We had fastpasses stacked up for the evening.
Katie had been collecting them all day. We actually got to the park just in time to watch the 3:30 show of the Frozen singalong. Sneaking in just as it started.
This is good fun and we were all joining in and singing along.
After the show we went straight onto Mickey & Minnie’s runaway railway. We were actually a few minutes early for our Lightning Lane time but they waved us in.
This was much better without the ride stopping frequently and it’s a cute addition to the park. I like the trackless ride vehicles. I expect they will be the way forward for more rides.
As we had lightning lanes stacked up we were straight over to Slinky dog. This is a fun little coaster. It’s quite nippy but it’s still more a kids coaster. A good first coaster for little ones.
We walked straight over to Toy Story Midway Mania and shockingly had a short wait. Maybe 5 minutes. Nothing to worrying. Then a very strange thing happened. Instead of going over the bridge we were sent to the right where it turns out there is a whole other track! This has never happened before. We were quite confused !!
I love this ride. It’s possibly my favourite in the parks. No thrills. Just good fun and one day I will get the best score in the car. Just not today.
We had time for a little break now and so we went to Woodys lunch box and got some pop tarts. These are really good
It was starting to rain a little bit but it was cooler and we had a drink and a snack so we were quite happy.
After our rest we walked into Batou. This place looks amazing. It’s very confusing and I get lost pretty easily but you can’t fault the impressive theming.
We had ridden Smuggles Run earlier in the week as single riders but we wanted to ride again and go through the queue.
I’m not a big enough Star Wars fan to get every reference but I have to admit it was pretty cool.
There is one point where you are crossing into the ship and it feels like you are on a flight bridge. The floor moves slightly and it feels a bit wobbly. It’s very clever and just a tiny detail.
It must have been quieter as they had no single riders and we got to ride just the 4 of us. The girls piloting and Phil and I were gunners.
It’s a really fun ride. Definitely better for the pilots but the whole experience is very immersive and well done.
We came out of the ride and we had a while before our OGA’s cantina reservation. We could have booked another Lightning lane but we had done everything we really wanted to do so we went on an old favourite. Muppets 3d.
This poor show needs some love :(. It hasn’t changed in 20 years and it’s looking it’s age. Still it’s the Muppets and its funny. Even when you know every line.
After the show we had a bathroom stop and then we realised we’d left the water bottle in the theatre. We had to wait for the next show to end to retrieve it. And it’s quite a long show. This made us a bit late for OGA’s and they were actually calling our name as we arrived.
I’ve never had that before as we hadn’t checked in yet as obviously we weren’t there!
We were seated and told you have to share a table and you have 45 minutes at the table.
This place is so cool. Again I imagine the Star Wars fans are really getting excited but I was pretty impressed with the whole experience.
We ordered some drinks and the girls drinks were bubbling when they arrived.
Mine didn’t bubble but it was very tasty.
The family at our table bought a drink in a souvenir cup. Which I am sure was $45! Including any drink. The drink didn’t come in the cup though they brought it out in a box.
I’m definitely not a big enough fan to pay $45 for a cup!
However the bar is very cool with loads of stuff to look at.
We also ordered some Batuu bits for a snack. These turned out to be vegetable crisps.
After our visit to the Oga’s Cantina we decided we would wait in line for Rise of the Resistance. The advice online was to wait until 8:30-9pm for a shorter line. It was 8pm but there seemed no point in waiting outside of the queue until the line was shorter so we got in line. It was posted as 50 minutes.
The line moved pretty well and this is the only queue I have ever known with seating along the majority of it which is so good. The difference between this queue and Tron which is all outside with little shade and no seating was huge.
There isn’t a great deal to see initially. It’s a lot of caves but then you start to queue through storage areas and see uniforms and ammunition etc. We made it to the first of the preshows in 30 minutes.
Things just start to get more and more impressive at this point.
First you go outside to board your ship. The experience of walking outside and actually into the ship makes it feel so much more authentic. It seems a silly detail but it was very cool.
Then you leave the ship after being captured and you walk into this room.
It’s absolutely breathtaking. It looks stunning. We didn’t get long in here. I could have stayed for ages just taking it all in.
Then we were put into a cell. The cast members keeping completely in character at all times.
Something went wrong here. We were in this cell for ages and nothing happened. I was starting to think we were actually in jail!
Eventually we escaped and made it to the ride. I hadn’t read much about the ride and wasn’t sure what to expect but it was fabulous! It’s not a fast coaster or one where you have to hold on tight. It’s just really really cool being chased around the ship and then there is a clever bit near the end where it becomes a totally different kind of ride for a few moments. The whole thing is just very very impressive. I’m pleased we managed to do it.
We came off the ride at 8:50 so it has been 50 minutes start to end but the actual experience lasts a good 20 minutes.
Fantasmic started at 9 so we decided to try and get over there. This was the furthest possible point for us to head towards! And then once you get to the theatre it’s about 12 miles to the seating area.
We got into the theatre just after the show has started and were seated in the overflow area at the back.
It’s not the best view but it was ok. Until the finale when half the theatre decide to leave early and walk-in front of us. I don’t get going to see a show and then leaving before the end to avoid the queues.
We stayed until the end and then made our way out of the park. Very tired but pleased with ourselves. We had managed to get a lot done and had a much better day than our previous Hollywood studios day.
Skating on Thin Ice 