Monday, November 24, 2014

Hollywood Studios

Monday was our first real day at Disney, and we headed to Hollywood Studios.  We woke early that morning, had breakfast at our hotel dining hall, and then caught the bus to Hollywood Studios.  At the resort we had to wait for about 30 minutes for a bus. The line was outrageous (this should have been our first sign..).  The park itself was crowded as well due to the fact that it was an extended magic hours day.  It was not crazy packed, but still crowded.  The streets in Hollywood Studios are more cramped so I think that added a little more to the crowded feeling. 

**We had used a Disney Vacation Planner plan our trip.  I highly recommend going through one! They are no expense to you, but are paid by Disney.  She set up all our reservations, fast passes etc.  She had fast passed mostly shows for us on this particular day.  I would say that shows do not need a fast pass in general.  It insures you a closer seat but that is about all.  You can use the Disney app to change your fast passes, but some of the best rides are not available the day of. If we were to do Hollywood Studios again I would for sure fast pass the Toy Story ride.  **

We began our day by attending the Disney Junior Live show.  This is a must do!! The kids loved it! It features Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters, Doc McStuffins, Jake/pirates and Sophia and gang.  It is very interactive, and has a lot going on.  It kept all of us entertained.  After the show Nick took Caleb to meet Jake, and I stood in line with Kinlee to meet Sophia. 



 

After we met the characters we ventured to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground to kill some time before our next fast pass.  The kids, and Nick and I had a great time playing.  I put Paxton in the Ergo, and climbed around the jungle gym with them.  It was a lot of fun.



We then went to watch the Voyage of the Little Mermaid.  Anything Ariel was a huge hit with Kinlee.  It was a cute show.  Caleb was not thrilled with it because it was a "girl show", but it was short and sweet. 

After that we headed for our table meal at the 50's Diner.  I really wanted to get a reservation for the character meal at Hollywood Studios but they were booked.  The 50's diner had amazing food, and was decorated cute.  I don't think the kids loved or hated this meal, but they didn't have much to say about it. They did however, eat their food and have a great dessert, so that was a win. 

After lunch we headed to ride Toy Story.  We waited in line for a long time, but it was so worth it.  This ride is a MUST DO!!! I can not stress this enough.  We were also able to meet Woody and Buzz.  Caleb wanted to meet them, but he did not want his picture with them....??



We then headed to the Frozen Sing Along show.  This show was great.  It had jokes that kept the parents entertained, and it full out snowed at the end of the show.  Like foam! It was awesome. 

As we were walking to the next ride the entire street lit up with Christmas lights. We were not expecting it, so we were really surprised.  It was an amazing light show, and the kids had a great time watching it. 

There were a few rides that we wanted to take Caleb on that Kinlee was not tall enough to ride.  We designated this as her rest time in the stroller, and Nick and I did child swap with Caleb for Star Wars.  It was fun, and when he rode with me his picture popped up on the screen as the "spy".  He was so excited. 

We then had a quick service meal for dinner.  **With the dining plan we were given 4 quick service meals and one table meal plus 4 snacks per day.  They were all on our magic bands, and your receipt would tell you how many you had left after each use.  The quick service meals are large enough to split.  Nick and I would split one adult for one meal, and the kids would split 1 kids.  That way we had one adult and one kids left over to split for our next meal of the day.  It worked out perfectly.  We never had to purchase additional food while we were at Disney.**

After dinner Nick took Caleb to ride the Tower of Terror.  I had a feeling he would hate it, but he was excited to try.  I took the younger 2 to watch Fantasmic.  After the show we met back up with Caleb and Nick, and Nick told me that Caleb did indeed hate the ride (mama knows best). 

It was getting into extended hours times, so anyone not staying on location at Disney had to leave the park.  We took this time to ride Toy Story once again since the line was short,  and we also rode The Great Movie Ride.  We had a pretzel and popcorn for a late evening snack, and then we headed to the bus stops to head back to the resort.

**the bus line for our resort was insane. It was very far away from the entrance, and once we arrived, we could not even get through the crowd to get in line for our bus.  The kids fell asleep in the stroller, while Nick and I stood in line for over and hour for the bus.  We had 2 strollers, and 3 sleeping kids to pack onto a standing room only bus.  I put Paxton in my ergo, slung Mckinlee on my hip, and we had to wake Caleb to walk.  Nick grabbed both strollers, and we got onto a very crowded bus.  Thankfully a man offered a seat for me and the kids, but I had three overly tired kids on my lap in ONE seat.  I eventually stood with Paxton and let Caleb and Mckinlee have my seat.  It was nightmare!**

We were very grateful to arrive back at the resort, and Nick and I vowed to stay at a more expensive hotel for our next Disney vacation.

Magic Kingdom up next

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