Did You Know About Hollywood Studios--Part 2?

Did you know about Hollywood Studios?


For fear of leaving out a couple of things, I want to insert them here: We did enjoy a quick walk through of the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground set. We were all too big to play this time, but we liked seeing the giant sized stuff.



I also enjoyed seeing the huge backdrops of San Francisco and New York City.



After we finished our meal in the 50's Cafe, the boys took off to the Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show. Us girls were a little behind and got there late. We were afraid we would miss the show or have poor seats. As we were funneled around the stadium, we were brought back to a section in the middle where the cast member opened a roped off area. We got to sit right in the middle in some excellent seats!

We saw some extremely beautiful driving in the car ballet scene. We learned how the cars are able to do backwards stunt driving, how they can jump a ramp and keep driving, and how they can drive on two wheels. We even got to see Herbie!




Next, the motorcycles came out for some cool stunts. One guy skidded into a fire. We were shown his protective gear and how he caught on fire and how quickly this had to be put out, even under five layers of protective clothing! We all enjoyed this show a great deal.




Next we enjoyed the Great Movie Ride, reliving scenes from some classic movies, all housed in a replica of Mann's Chinese Theater. My daughter and I went on to meet Mickey. We had to stand in line for a good while before getting him to sign some Mickey Mouse shoes she had bought!




We met up with the boys and rode the TOT and coaster again. We tried to get in to see the Fantasmic show. We actually could not get a seat at the first show, so we went out and walked around a bit more, grabbed something to eat, then came back to sit outside the gate for the next show.

I got in line early and was able to grab some great seats for this wonderful show, hosted my Sorcerer Mickey! The scenes were wonderful and filled with characters, dancing water, fire and fire works! I adored seeing my teenaged son clapping through the show like a little guy! A great way to end our fun filled day at Hollywood Studios!






I had heard there is a Journey Into Narnia (which will soon be turned into Prince Caspian) exhibit that I wanted to see. We never did see it, but since being home, I heard it is still running. I am sorry to have missed it. We also did not get to see the new Toy Story Mania , which opens in a couple of weeks.

Did You Know About Hollywood Studios--Part 1?

Did you know about Hollywood Studios?

The next part of our big adventure was over to Hollywood Studios, formerly called MGM Studios. Both the kids were looking forward to this park and my son seemed to really remember it well. There was so much we wanted to do there, and for resort guests, the park stayed open til 1am! The first thing we did was head over to the Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror.



We grabbed a fast pass and headed over to ride Rock N Roller Coaster while we waited. The line was very long at the roller coaster, so we thought we would wait til the time specified so we could get another fast pass for the roller coaster. While we were trying to decide how to best plan out our time, a lady gave us her three fast passes to the roller coaster. So the kids and I went through the fast pass line and my husband went on the single riders line. The kids rode together and I rode with someone else, as did my husband-who actually got on before us. We decided to use this method each time we rode it after this. Going through the single rider line cut the wait time substantially.



After these rides, and I believe the Star Tours, we really wanted to see the Indiana Jones stunt show. We did not know that fast passes were used for this show as well, and did not feel like standing in the very long "standing room only" line. We tried to get fast passes for a later show, but it just kept not working out for us, since we had a reservation to eat at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. We did get into a later showing by having my husband go early to get into the "standing room only" line. We got seats no problem, though at the time we were not sure we would. The show was really great and my son remembered quite a bit of it (from our previous trip.)




After the show, we went over to the 50's Prime Time Cafe for our reservation. My husband went to try to get fast passes for another motor stunt show. They did not give them out for that show, so we had to wait before we could check into the diner until he was back with us. The cafe was set up like a home in the 1950's would have been. There were different rooms to seat guests in, each with an old fashioned TV playing a reel of clips from 50's shows. The food here was ok. My husband had the meat loaf, my son had the chicken pot pie and a really excellent chocolate malt, my daughter had fried chicken and I had a grilled chicken sandwich. My daughter ate the drumstick and mashed potatoes, but did not want to try the greens (an unusual side dish I thought!) so our waitress, "Cousin Silvante" fed them to her "airplane style"! My husband was threatened with punishment for putting his elbows on the table and my son kept getting told to stop being a tattle tale!!

Did You Know a Good Mother's Day Gift?

Did you know a good Mother's Day gift?

Well, since Mother's Day is around the corner, I guess I better start dropping hints to my family. Never mind all the signs in all the stores-they seem to never notice! So here are some good ideas: clean the house, make a nice meal, another family trip, a massage chair, books, chocolate. Maybe that will help get them started...

Did You Know About Our Adventure in Animal Kingdom?

Did you know about our adventure in Animal Kingdom?

Our first stop at Disney was Animal Kingdom. They opened early for resort guests this day. There were only a few things we wanted to do in this park, so we went early and got them done and moved on.

We of course wanted to check out the newest attraction, Mt. Everest Expedition. The line was a little long, but we got through fairly quickly and got fast passes for another ride later. The ride was fun. You climb up and ride up and down to a "broken end of the track" (from here I could see Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror in Hollywood Studios.) Then you ride backwards for a ways. There is a part where the Yeti's shadow is animated onto the wall and you see him tearing up the track. You finish the ride going past an angry Yeti who will be waiting to catch you on your next ride through.




After this we went on the the Dinosaur ride. We did not do that last time and so wanted to check it out. It was ok, and probably better if you really like dinosaurs. The "show" and animatronics is good. The ride is a bit jerky and maybe scary for young kids (dark and dinosaurs "jump" out at you.) After our ride through this era we headed to the Tree of Life to see the Bug movie. My husband and son had seen this one before, but it was a first for my daughter and me. The 3D is fun, but I don't like getting squirted with "bug juice" (they squirt water on you for effect!)




There is much more to do in Animal Kingdom, but for the sake of time, we left after this and headed out to Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM Studios.)

Did You Know What the Meteorites in Space Mountain Are?

Did you know what the meteorites in Space Mountain are?

Well, as we stood in line for the Space Mountain ride, my husband asked if the meteorites floating across the screen were chocolate chip cookies. We all laughed. But I found a site today that actually confirmed that the meteorites on the screen are indeed chocolate chip cookies!!

Did You Know About the Role of Diet Pills?

Did you know about the role of diet pills?

Since we were gone for nearly a week, we had little options for healthy eating. And being on vacation, we wanted to be able to enjoy splurging a little and enjoying some treats while we were gone. I know that eating right is a major part of being healthy. I have heard some diet pills claim that you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight. I would have to say that no diet pill, from Akavar to ZyMelt can take the place of eating right, whether at home or on vacation.

Did You Know About Pop Century Hotel?

Did you know about Pop Century Hotel?





I had never stayed in a Disney resort before. We enjoyed our stay and the Pop Century had a lot of fun items to look at and to reminisce over. Each wing was set as a different decade from the 1950's through the 90's. At the top there were several sayings popular during those years. The stair wells were designed with different fads from those particular years. The 50's had bowling pins, the 60's had yo-yos, the 70's 8 track tapes, the 80's Rubik's cubes, and the 90's cell phones. It looks like they are building another wing. We think it will be the 2000's. Maybe their stairs will have iPods.




The pools are nice. There are playgrounds and kiddie pools too. A walk down "Memory Lane" has signs telling you about different happenings throughout the years. (This is a good place for joggers too.) The shuttle buses come through about every 20 minutes to take you to your different theme park destinations. There is a food court and a souvenir shop as well. We even had our towels folded into Mickey one night.



The only downside to staying here was that we felt the lack of options for food. We did not care for the food in the food court, but ate breakfast there every day. There were no grocery stores nearby to get stuff for sandwiches either (not that we had anywhere to keep the stuff anyway.) Overall, the hotel was a positive place to stay and we liked the convenience of catching a shuttle bus almost anytime we wanted to.