Tag Archives: Disney’s Hollywood Studios

5 Things to Do While Waiting for Disney’s Fantasmic to Start

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DSCN2620Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is an incredible evening show.  We think it’s a “must do” attraction and so do thousands of other people.  This show is very popular.  For good reason!  Characters galore, very special effects – lights, water, music, villains – it’s just super.  Might be a tad scary for little ones, but it’s unlike anything else at Walt Disney World and is worth the wait.  And wait you will!  The only real options now to avoid the 60 – 90 minutes usually required to arrive early enough to secure a seat are:

  • Book a Fantasmic Dinner Package – eat at select table service restaurant (Mama Melrose, Hollywood Brown Derby or the buffet at Hollywood and Vine) for lunch or dinner and receive a VIP pass for reserved seating at Fantasmic.  We’ve done this at Mama Melrose and were offered food choices from a special (abbreviated) menu.  You still need to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to show time.
  • Book a FastPass for Fantasmic.  A FastPass will get you into reserved seating like the dinner package will, but you’ll be using not just one of your three FastPasses of the day, but you’ll be using one of the “Tier 1” FastPasses.  Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot have tiered FastPass systems which allow you to choose only ONE headline attraction with your FastPass choices at that park for the day.  At the Studios, if you burn your Tier 1 FastPass on Fantasmic Wait 1Fantasmic, you will be giving up a FastPass for one of these:  Toy Story Midway Mania, Rock’n’ Roller Coaster, or Beauty and the Beast – Live On Stage.  No WAY would we forfeit either Toy Story or Rock’n’ Roller Coaster for Fantasmic when we don’t much mind waiting in the theater for the show to start.

Can’t decide what to do?  Here are FIVE things to do while waiting for Fantasmic to start:

1.  Snack – Pick up some treats on your way to the theater (best choice) or hit the concession stand near the back of the theater (long lines).  I’ve read posts on message boards about people who make a festive picnic out of their wait-time in the Fantasmic Theater.  Our favorite counter service places in the Studios are not far from the theater down Sunset Blvd.

2.  Play games, look at pictures – Bring some small puzzle books or coloring books and a few crayons.  Play some games on your smartphone.  Review the pictures you took on your digital camera that day and share with the group.

3.  Bring along some glow accessories to share.  You know, like those glow sticks, necklaces, Fantasmic Wait 2and bracelets you can buy at the dollar store?  Buy up a few packages specifically for this purpose.  While waiting for the show to start, break those babies out, tell the people around you that you brought the glow-jewelry just for this purpose and start passing them out all around.  Makes your little corner of the World a little brighter AND you’re sharing and making new friends.  What could possibly be a better use for some spare time than that? (We’ve also done this with bubbles on our Disney Cruises for the Sail Away party – small party bubbles are really easy to pack and SO much fun to share!).  For $25 you can purchase a “Glow With the Show” earhat to wear, but that won’t give you anything to share with your new friends.

4.  People watch – check out the cool Disney shirts and pin-filled lanyards on your fellow Fantasmic Theater-mates.  You can also watch the people who DID spend $25 on a Glow With the Show earhat and see what all the hubbub’s about.  DSCN2615

5.  Our favorite…..Take the SAME picture of your family every time you’re waiting for Fantasmic to start!  Yep – we are the weird family with the strange Disney traditions (like the hat tradition in Epcot’s Norway Pavilion) and this one is just another in a long list.  So, why not.  You too can pick a pose and get busy with the photography – just repeat for every visit.

What’s your favorite way to kill time waiting for Fantasmic to start?

Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

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IMG_4880Last week, Disney announced that for the first time, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will host FIVE Star Wars Weekends in 2014.  Beginning Friday, May 16th and concluding Sunday, June 15th, guests of Walt Disney World will be able to enjoy all the exciting events and special guests Disney’s unique tribute to all that is Star Wars encompasses.  Since 1997, Disney’s Star Wars Weekends have offered visitors the opportunity to become immersed in the epic battle between the Rebel Alliance’s good guys and the Dark Side’s villains through a wide variety of special events – those Disney Jedi knights really know how to throw a party!

We have a habit of visiting Walt Disney World at the end of May.  Here in the South, schools get out for the summer a bit earlier than they do up North.  Plus, Raymond’s birthday is at the end of May and it’s always great to celebrate a birthday at Disney World!  So, these May visits mean that we’ve been to several Star Wars Weekends over the years.  For those of you who’ve been wondering what all the hoopla’s abIMG_4856out and if these events are mostly geared towards the avid Star Wars fan, let me explain.

Five Great Things about Star Wars Weekends!

1. Excitement is in The Air!  Evidence of all the magic Disney pours into making Star Wars Weekends truly special is all around you.  We are not major fans, but can’t help but be impressed!  Details large and small abound.  We’ve been greeted by Stormtroopers on the roof of the main gate,  seen Jedi Mickey posing for pictures, and, I don’t know, but for some reason, the Star Tours attraction even seems especially fun during Star Wars Weekends!

DSCN25652. Darth’s Mall – Special merchandise – really cool stuff – is available only during Star Wars Weekends.  Darth’s Mall is an actual shopping location, in the form of a gigantic tent sale, set up in an area near Rock’n’ Roller Coaster.

3. Photo Ops, Meet and Greets – Spread throughout the park are opportunities for great pictures with some of your favorite Star Wars characters – even monsters!  Actors from Star Wars movies and cartoons are on hand for autograph signing – they even ride in special motorcades through the park.

4. Dressing as Your Favorite Star Wars Character is A-OK! – Diehard fans get into character – donning their very best costumes for total immersion into the spirit of the event.  It’s great to IMG_5382see how detailed and creative some super-fans can be.  Just showing off your love for Yoda or a certain Wookie is tons of fun!

5. The Jedi Training Academy – if you have a young Padawan, he or she may be chosen to hone their lightsaber skills with a Jedi mentor – on stage!  Times guides will provide information on when this opportunity is available (several times each day) – watching appears to be almost as much fun as being a participant.  You can’t help but love seeing those adorable little Jedis-in-training all dressed up for this event!

The theme for 2014 is “Join the Rebellion” – will you be enjoying a Star Wars Weekend this year?

 

 

 

 

What-If Wednesday – Changing Disney’s Hollywood Studios

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IMG_0906Ladies and Gentlemen!  It’s time for…….What-If Wednesday!  The game show where we use our imagination to bring about Disney change.  Contestants from Twitter and Facebook go head to head and compete to invent the most popular (pretend) changes.  Get ready to let your imagination run wild!  And as Drew Carey would say, this is “the show where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.”  Let’s GO!

This week’s episode – Changing Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

Okay, now that you’ve got the idea –  Here’s how this really works.  A couple of weeks ago I posed the question – If you had Superpowers, but only at Walt Disney World, what would they be?  That question was SO much fun and the answers so imaginative, I decided to give it another go.  This week’s question was:  If you had the power to change THREE things at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, what would they be?

Here is what participants had to say:

Get busy on adding Star Wars Land (Bill Maguire @wfmaguire, Mrs. Mouseward Bound IMG_3531@MousewardBound, Jordan Duncan @JordanGhastly, Stephanie via Facebook ).  See, the worst thing about Star Warsland is that Disney spoke of it.  Teased us – led us on, if you will.  Now we want them to fork over the goods!  Will the expense of MyMagic+ be the demise of what would have been a very needed, very popular addition for the Studios?

Update The Great Movie Ride! (Bill Maguire @wfmaguire, Mrs. Mouseward Bound @MousewardBound ).  I’m old enough that I still get a kick out of The Great Movie Ride as is, but you young whippersnappers probably find it a bit out of date.  There are SO many great movies, it would be very cool indeed to see this ride revamped from time to time to include a few newer, yet no less important, classics.

Make it less of a “Half-Day Park” (Waltdisneyworldwords @WDWords) by adding more rides!  I IMG_3081couldn’t agree more with this suggestion.  While we can make it a full day park, it can sometimes be a challenge.  Perhaps that’s been because after you’ve hit Toy Story Midway Mania, Tower of Terror, and Rock’n’ Roller Coaster – everything else seems a bit tame.  My theory is FastPass+ will actually help this – you’ll get more opportunity to spread the big three out over the course of a day and add things like Star Tours, Muppets, Indiana Jones, and the Great Movie Ride in between.  Anybody else think so?

Add a Monsters, Inc. Door Coaster (Bill Maguire @wfmaguire ).  Ah, Bill.  If only.  Think about how innovative and exciting this would be!  Totally different from anything already at Walt Disney World but a perfect (and much-needed) addition for Pixar Place.  The effects they could use for this would make it an e-ticket ride for sure.

Close Backlot Tour (BRGUEST @Florida407wdw) (Forever?)  – Backlot Tour IS currently non-operational.  Maybe that’s a good sign.  If the nice Disney people have no intention of restoring this attraction to some semblance of its former enjoyable-ness, they need to raze it all and put something fabulous in its place.  I adored the original Backlot Tour, but it had become a mere shadow of what it once was and for me, too depressing to contemplate riding (good thing it’s closed then, huh.)

Revise Muppets (BRGUEST @Florida407wdw) – Now that the Muppets have returned to the big screen in a big way, it is time to revamp the Muppet Vision 3D movie experience and throw a little cash and TLC over that way in the Studios.  Much of what’s there is fantastic – it just needs modernized so the younger fans feel like “their” Muppets (Walter!) are well represented.

IMG_3026Build a Hollywood Tower of Terror Resort (Jackie Psarianos @JackiePsarianos) – Jackie!  This would be sensational.  Think of the possibilities!  Restored to it’s 1930’s glory, the Hollywood Tower Hotel would be one of (if not THE) most sought-after resort properties at Walt Disney World.  Just imagine – The dining, the gardens, the pools, the rooms!  Yeah…sigh…good idea.

Destroy the American Idol Experience (Mrs. Mouseward Bound @MousewardBound).  Yes.  ‘Nuff said.  (How about a big round of applause!)

Add a Super Hero section (Stephanie via Facebook) – this idea was seconded by Anna (Facebook) who is ready to see Marvel at Disney World (hey – I gave everyone the power to make changes, that power would certainly overcome any legal obstacles involved, right?).  When you think about all the incredible things Disney Imagineers could come up with involving the Marvel franchise, it boggles the mind!  Sadly, Disneyland (and non-US Disney properties) will be the recipient of anything Marvel-ous for the foreseeable future.

Add an Indiana Jones ride (Jordan Duncan @JordanGhastly).  I would love this.  Indiana Jones was one of those movies that just got to me when I first saw it and made me a fan for life.  There is an Indie ride at Disneyland – I’m sure something like that in the Studios would be an immediate crowd favorite!

Lose Aerosmith on Rock’n’ Roller Coaster and replace them with a better band (Jordan Duncan @JordanGhastly) – WHAT?!  I challenged Jordan on this since I’m a huge Aerosmith fan, but I couldn’t help liking his Beetles and Rolling Stones ideas!  Joseph (on Facebook and member of The Fam) suggested making RnRC longer, which would give music lovers a chance to enjoy more tunes as well.

Add more rides for younger kids like a Disney Jr. area with a giant Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to play in! (Stephanie via Facebook) – Not having little ones anymore myself, I don’t have a good perspective about what’s lacking at the Studios for the curtain-climber set.  I can see that if the Studios had more attractions for the under-8 folks, it could probably go head to head with Magic Kingdom for IMG_3046popularity.

Toy Story Midway Mania drew some suggestions of its own:  The first change would be to how they do FP for this attraction. (Waltdisneyworldwords @WDWords) – I checked and this suggestion had to do with changing the ratio between standby and FastPass guests so the standby line would move a bit better (or at all!)  and second change would be to improve the stand-by line experience for Toy Story Midway Mania – Joseph suggested this one – he is his mother’s son after all.

Wow!  That was FUN!  Thanks for playing, everyone!  What were your favorite ideas?

Any suggestions for next week’s What-if Wednesday?

 

 

 

Unfair and Unbalanced – Disney’s Hollywood Studios

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IMG_3131Today I’m launching a new type of review – the Unfair and Unbalanced Review.  I have found that for a generally (very) opinionated person like myself, one of the best things about having my own blog is that I can talk about whatever I like and express my opinion honestly.  You want a fair and balanced review of something Disney-related?  This may not be the place for you – you’re entitled to an opinion of your own here, too.

Today I offer you my Unfair and Unbalanced Review of Counter Service Dining Options at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  When I’m finished, I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions as well – please be as unfair and unbalanced as you like.

Here are the choices:

ABC Commissary – The last time we ate here was on the Dining Plan.  I remember nothing – means it wasn’t horrible, but wasn’t delicious either.  Currently there are not a lot of choices on the menu – burgers, seafood platter, or salad.

Backlot Express – More choices than the Commissary (and more ambiance, if you care about such).  Dogs, burgers, nuggets, and a couple of salads and grilled sandwich options.  Just okay.

Catalina Eddie’s, Rosie’s All Star Café, and Fairfax Fare – I’m lumping these IMG_3028three together, but don’t get the wrong idea.  It’s not because they’re poor choices for counter service – just the opposite, if fact.  They are all in the same area (Eddie’s and Rosie’s are side by side, Fairfax just a few steps away) and if The Fam and I want lunch in the Studios, this is where we head nearly every time.  Here’s why:  At rope drop, we make a beeline for Toy Story Midway Mania, then go straight to Rock’n’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror.  At that point, depending on the Fast Pass situation, it may be close to lunch.  If not, we’ll visit the shops on Sunset Blvd. until we’re ready to eat.  These eateries are in the Sunset Ranch Market on Sunset near the exits for RnRC and TOT and each, on their own, has pretty slim menu options… Combined there’s good variety.  With a great outdoor seating area and pretty tasty food – everyone can find something they like.  Raymond and I like the hot Italian deli sandwiches (over the pizza) from Catalina Eddie’s and the BBQ pork sandwich from Fairfax Fare (ribs and chicken are also on the menu there).  They’re good!  Rosie’s has burgers and nuggets (good for picky eaters).

Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner – This is where we go for beer.  I’ve heard the Italian sausage is good here too, but since it became tradition – I’ve only had the beer.

Pizza Planet – if you like pizza (or food) do not eat here.  Please, just trust me.  They call it pizza, but I’d rather just put a piece of cheese and some ketchup on a slice of Wonder bread and eat that.  If you like this restaurant, please don’t tell me.  I actually might think less of you.

DSCN2520Starring Rolls – THE choice for a mid-morning snack.  Perfect location as you start down Sunset Blvd, on the left next to The Hollywood Brown Derby.  Delicious, delightful treats can be found here.  If you’ve heard rumor of a Butterfinger cupcake – this is the place.

Studio Catering Company – This sandwich shop actually has some pretty decent choices of the pressed, wrapped, and grilled variety.  The downside for us is the location – it’s near nothing we care all that much about.  Near the entrances to Lights, Motor, Action and Backlot Tour (oh, how we used to love you) on one side and the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area on the other.  On a crowded day at the park, this place would be a good bet as it’s out of the way and there’s lots of seating.

Toluca Legs Turkey Company – Yes, home of the gigantic smoked turkey leg.  Hot, greasy, meaty goodness.  Joseph eats one here almost every visit.  I ate one once.  Then I found out the fat gram and calorie count.  Seriously – I’m pushing 50 and my metabolism’s shot.  I must never eat one again.  You go right ahead though.

So – bottom line.  Our favorite choices for counter service at the Studios is over at the Sunset DSCN2572Ranch Market area near the end of Sunset Blvd.  You’ll find reasonably priced, tasty fare in a great location.  Toluca Legs is over there, too, if you just have to have one – don’t blame me if you go home heavier – I did try to warn you.

Weigh in!  (Hahahaha – I kill me!) What are your favorite counter service places at Disney’s Hollywood Studios?