2012 Trip - Day 3 January 25 (Part 1)

After a solid night’s sleep, it was time to hit Hollywood Studios (HS) for rope drop (RD). A word about Shades of Green (SoG) bus service, and the negative comments it often gets. The schedule IS somewhat more limited than other resorts.  Although they DO have shuttles to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) every 20 min, direct busses to AK and HS (as well as the 2 water parks) only run once per hour. The busses themselves are every bit as nice as the WDW busses, and as SoG is a small resort, and doesn’t share busses with anyone else, I find them to be typically less crowded.  I did miss the first SoG bus to HS, but I took one to the TTC, hopped onto a WDW bus, and made it to HS 30 min before RD.

Main Gate of the Disney Hollywood Studios

Looking down Hollywood Blvd from inside the entrance

They’ve been playing around with various opening procedures for the parks, and the variant that I had was that the turnstiles opened at 8:45 (as did the full park grounds), attractions did not open until 9:00 (“official” park opening time).

Toy Story Midway Mania (TSMM) is NOT a “must do” for me; it’s a fun ride, but in my opinion it’s very over-hyped, and the ridiculous stampede to the attraction first thing in the AM is just not worth it.  So, instead, I made my way quickly down Hollywood Blvd, turned right on Sunset Blvd, and headed straight for the Rockin’ Rollercoaster.

Rockin' Roller Coaster

Aerosmith's Studio preshow for Rockin' Roller Coaster

I arrived right at 9:00, and was the 6^th person in line (the above picture was taken later in the day when it was markedly more crowded). Enjoyed the preshow in a half empty room and was on the first “limo” to launch for the day. From there I went to the Tower of Terror…

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

…and the line queue was so empty I was able to take a number of unobstructed pictures of the lobby area.

The Hollywood Tower Lobby

There was a short line in the “basement” waiting for the elevator, but as I was a “single” and the were trying to fill rows, I even got to bypass most of that.

The service elevator - your entrance to the Twilight Zone...

My next priority was to ride Star Tours (I hadn’t seen it since it reopened in 3D), but I figured that if I was going to ride Toy Story, I should probably walk past and see if there were any FPs left. It was about 9:45 when I got there, there was NO line for FPs, and the return time was for 2:30 – reasonable. The standby line was already at 60 min.

I wandered through the Streets of America, and along the way got my first ever carrot cake cookie from Writers’ Stop. OMG! If asked what my favorite dessert/snack at WDW is, this wins the prize.

The Streets of America - New York

The Streets of America - San Francisco

Got to Star Tours and there was a posted 20 min wait; it seemed reasonable enough so I got in it. In reality, I was boarding in about 10 minutes.

Entrance to Star Tours

The At-At outside of Star Tours

R2-D2 on a Star-Speeder in the Queue for Star Tours

C3PO in the Queue for Star Tours

A Star-Speeder Diagram

Tatooine Traders - for all of your Star Wars needs

The extended refurbishment time was definitely worth the wait; the new version is truly excellent and elevates the technology from the 1980s to the 21^st century. 

My goal on this visit was to catch all of the things I missed on my last visit back in March ’11, and near the top were the four main shows (2 stunt shows, Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast), so much of my day was selecting show times and then fitting other things in between. I had about an hour to “kill” before the first showing of “Beauty and the Beast”, so I strolled over to the Magic of Disney Animation to see how it had changed since the last time I saw it 10+ years ago.

Entrance to the Magic of Disney Animation

I was happy to see that there were still two animators working on cells.

An Animator working on Mickey

My biggest surprise was that Sorcerer Mickey was doing pictures, AND there was only a very short line.  Not only is Mickey my favorite Disney character, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” is my favorite Mickey film, so I pretty much “had” to stop and get a picture.

Mickey and me!

There is really way more in the “campus” to effectively see in less than an hour, so I quickly strolled through the galleries and exhibits and then made my way back to Sunset Blvd and the Beauty and the Beast Theater.

Entrance to the Beauty and the Beast Theater

It’s quite a large theater, and for a low crowd day, I was surprised to see how full it was 20 min before show time. “Singles” luck was with me again and I was able to find a spot right on the aisle, about 7 rows back from the stage.

Beast

"No one fights like Gaston..."

"Be our guest, be our guest..."

Final Bows

It was a very “pretty” show, and entertaining, but it was not as grand a production as I was expecting based on what I had heard/read about it. I was also a bit disappointed that Belle and Gaston were the only two “live” singers; all of the rest was lip-synched to a prerecorded track.

Upon leaving “Beast”, I had just enough time to make it to the far side of Echo Lake, grab a beer from the “Oasis” and get into the “Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular” show.

Entrance to the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular

I had seen this show once before, 12 years ago, but had forgotten virtually all of the details, so it was kind of like seeing it for the first time.

Escaping the ball

Falling from the roof

Hand-to-hand fighting

The finale - explosions, fire, gun fire, fighting, running - who could ask for more?

I really enjoyed this show; the stunts were exciting, and the script well written.  I would have to say that this was by far my favorite of the four live shows at HS (not counting Disney Jr. – which I had NO intent on seeing).

Once again, timing was perfect for me; I left the Indy theater and went straight to Momma Melrose for my lunch ADR.

Momma Melrose - my favorite DHS restaurant

Momma Melrose is a favorite of mine, and a trip to HS would just not be complete without a meal there.

The fun decor at Momma Melrose - reminds me of a place in Queens I used to go to with my parents...

I had the Italian meat “flatbread” (in my opinion, by far the best pizza anywhere in WDW except for Via Napoli in Epcot) and a couple of glasses of a nice Volpolicella. I left absolutely STUFFED (two people could easily share a flatbread for lunch).

Next stop was Muppetvision 3D,

Muppetvision 3D

The show is brilliant from the waiting area to the end of the film; one of my favorites.  But I do have to confess to a bit of sleepiness after a whole pizza and two glasses of wine…

The pre-show waiting area for Muppervision 3D

Not everyone likes the show...

It was about 30 minutes until my Toy Story FP return time, so I thought I would go over early, and if there was a “reasonable” standby line, I would ride once standby and then a second time with my FP.  I found a very “unreasonable” 70 min wait, so I went to the near-by “One Man’s Dream” exhibit (one of my favorite HS attractions) and spent a half hour or so looking around at the exhibits.

Walt Disney's office as it was in the 1950s

Then, it was on to Toy Story Midway Mania.

Pixar Place, across the street from Toy Story Mania

Toy Story Mania - the most "in demand" attraction in Walt Disney World

Toy Story Mania - the theming really IS amazing from the minute you walk through the door

With FP in hand, I was on Toy Story in less than 10 minutes; it really IS a fun ride, but certainly NOT worth waiting more than 20 minutes for (or enduring the AM stampede to get there first). Keeping my eye on the next (and final) showtime for “Lights, Motors, Action” – a “must see” for me on this trip as I had never seen it before – I determined that I would have time to do the Back Lot Tour first. I had not done this in 10+ years, and knew it had been considerably truncated from its original form, so I was interested in seeing “what was left” it. It was entertaining, and even educational – but not necessarily one of the highlights of the day.

Staging a water-dump stunt

Battle at Sea

The props room - props from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"

Catastrophe Canyon

The tour conveniently ends right near the entrance to the “Lights, Motors, Action” amphitheater, so it was easy to walk right in and get a seat.

Entrance to Lights, Motors, Action

The very large theater was almost 2/3 full, and I was not as lucky getting a close seat, but I’ve heard the horror stories of getting out again after the show, so I chose a strategically placed seat for an easy exit.  Overall, I was underwhelmed by the show; there was a LOT of “dead” time between stunt sequences, and the whole thing seemed pre-packaged and artificial. No doubt there was some excellent driving, but after a while watching cars skidding through turns and turning donuts became dull. For me the highlight was the appearance of Lightning McQueen from “Cars”.


The Lights, Motors, Action Set

Lightning MacQueen arrives at Lights Motors, Action

The only thing left on my “must do this trip” list was “The Voyage of the Little Mermaid”, so I walked  through the Echo Lake area...

Across Echo Lake at Hollywood and Vine and 50s Prime Time Cafe

Gertie the Dinosaur

The Dockside Diner

The Sorcerer's Hat - icon of Disney Hollywood Studios

 ...back over to the Animation Courtyard, and more or less walked right into the theater. It’s a very pleasant show with some nice effects and puppetry – and of course the music.

The Marquee of The Voyage of the Little Mermaid

"I want to be, part of this world..."

Ursula the Sea Whitch

Unlike “Beauty and the Beast” where at least the two principals were singing “live”, I’m not certain if anyone was in this show (if they were, they had VERY concealed mics). 

By this time I had ridden all of the “headliners” and completed everything on my “must do” list and was feeling a bit tired and waiting for it to get dark (I had never been at HS after dark before), so I walked over to the Hollywood Brown Derby to see if they had a bar where I could relax and have a drink.

The Hollywood Brown Derby

Interior of the Hollywood Brown Derby

I was told no, but was directed to the Tune-in Lounge, next to the 50s Prime Time Café – so over I went. It’s a very nice little lounge with a vintage seating area and a very retro bar.

Looking across Echo Lake from 50s Prime Time Cafe

The sitting area of the Tune-In Lounge

By the time I had finished a couple of margaritas night had fallen, so I completed one final circle of most of the park, taking pictures along the way.

Tune-In Lounge and 50s Prime Time Cafe after dark



Gertie after dark

Hollywood and Vine after dark

The Dockside Diner after dark

Magic of Disney Animation after dark

It was close to closing time, so I thought a perfect capstone to a very complete day would be The Great Movie Ride – once the“flagship” attraction of the Studios.

An exact replica of Grommen's Chinese Theater marks th entrance to The Great Movie Ride

Munchkinland sequence in The Great Movie Ride

Although it doesn’t get a lot of love from many fans, being a classic movie buff, I have always really enjoyed it (although with the MGM connection broken, I think it would be great to re-imagineer the ride featuring all Disney films…).  For the last half hour of park operations I strolled back down Hollywood Blvd, going in and out of shops, and waiting for the exodus to thin out a bit.

The Sunset on the corner of Hollywood and Sunset Blvds

Hollywood Blvd after dark

Looking down Hollywood Blvd towards exit

The Disney Hollywood Studios Gates after dark

After exiting the park, I took the short walk to the boat dock for a relaxing trip to the Boardwalk for dinner at Kouzzina and some evening exploring along the Boardwalk... but that will be the topic of my next post.