Truly the most Magical Place in the world: Walt Disney World: Hollywood Studios

Disney World: Disney's Hollywood Studios

As we had only 3 days in Disney World, we had to choose either Animal Kingdom or Hollywood studios for our final day. The girls and I went over the attractions of each park and decided that we have seen enough animals and been to enough safaris to skip Animal Kingdom.

Disney World: Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney World: Disney's Hollywood Studios

We arrived at Hollywood Studios upon opening and headed straight for Rock n Roller Coaster. After lining up for 15 or so minutes, we finally got to the front of the line. Then, the ride shut down, much to the disappointment of everyone who was set to go on this one for their first ride in Hollywood Studios. We wasted about an hour but got Fast Passes to come back when the ride was working. Guess we could still consider ourselves lucky as some folks were actually stuck in the coasters, with the harness still locked!

Rock n Roller Coaster: Hollywood Studios

We went to the Great Movie Ride next. Wait time was not indicated so we figured it wouldn’t be so bad. Wrong again, it took us about 25 or so minutes to get on this ride which was in need of an update. And it took another 20 minutes for the actual ride. By the time it was over, we barely had time to get to Star Tours to redeem our fast pass. Of course, we had to get out in time for the Frozen parade so it made it quite difficult to make our way to the Echo Lake area. With only minutes to spare, we managed to get in. Good thing it was a cool 4D ride. Our morning was saved!

Star Tours: Hollywood Studios

Then it was already time for lunch. Where did our morning go? We were getting quite disappointed with this park having been on only one ride so far, so we decided to have some decent lunch. We met up with some relatives who were also in the park and headed for the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater for lunch.  Like a 50’s drive-in, the tables were set up like you were inside vintage cars. A large movie screen was up ahead showing old, black and white sci-fi movies. It was a fun experience and the food not bad either!

Sci Fi Dine In Theatre: Hollywood Studios

We rested a bit after lunch and allowed our food to digest before we went to redeem our fast pass on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. DD#1 had been waiting to get on this ride! And as soon as i get my heartbeat under control, I will let you know that it was such a fun ride! We rode an “elevator” and made our way up the hotel to be plunged into the darkness below--all the while with some scenes from The Twilight Zone. I was screaming the whole time and am not sharing our photo on this one! It also scared 7-yr-old DD#2 a bit but she was ok a few moments later. 

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: Hollywood Studios

And, as we were already back in the area, we redeemed the fast pass on the Rock n Roller Coaster. It was a blast—literally, as Aerosmith screamed through the speakers all throughout the ride. Ok, this one was definitely worth that fast pass!

By this time, there were only a couple of Indiana Jones shows that were left that afternoon. So, deciding to forego the Frozen show (as no one seemed keen to do a sing-a-long), we redeemed our fun Fast Passes for Toy Story Midway Mania, where I (ahem, ahem) beat the rest of the gang in getting the best score! Weeeee! 

Toystory Midway Mania: Hollywood Studios

We also managed to check out the Voyage of the Little Mermaid while waiting for the next Indiana Jones show. It was a nice theatre show where the talented Ariel had a clear singing voice. On hindsight, though, we should have watched something else as this was pretty redundant with the Little Mermaid ride we took in Magic Kingdom.

We made our way back to the Indiana Jones location and got into the second to the last show. By then it was standing room only. Luckily, some folks squeezed in the benches and we managed to get seats, albeit not altogether. Hubby and I were super glad we had the girls watch the Indiana Jones series a few months back. Now, they were able to relate to the scenes and characters. It was a wonderful show!

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular: Hollywood Studios

Before calling it a day, we decided to check out one last ride/show and we went for MuppetVision 3D. The intro was quite long but the 3D show was entertaining.

Muppet fountain: Hollywood Studios

 Again, we did not stay for the Fantasmic show as we were just exhausted. Maybe when we come back, we’ll plan our days later in the day to catch these shows and fireworks. We still think Hollywood Studios was a better choice for our family over Animal Kingdom. It was smaller than Magic Kingdom and Epcot, but worth seeing as well.

In a nutshell:

If you don’t have fast passes, head here first: Rock n Roller Coaster

Where we used our fast passes: Star Tours, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Midway Mania

Be sure to check out these shows: Indiana Jones and these which we missed: Frozen, Beauty and the Beast

Truly the most Magical Place in the world: Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom

Main St. Disney World Magic Kingdom

One great benefit to staying at the Disney Resorts is that you have access to Magic Hours (extra hours either in the morning or evening in selected parks). However, it is not daily. We took advantage of Magic Hours during our trip and, boy, were we thankful! We were at Magic Kingdom at 8am when the park opened to the public at 9. We managed to go on so many rides all before lunch!

We got our park tickets just a few days before our trip. So, we were not able to take advantage of early Fast Pass booking for Disney World Resort guests, which was available 60 days before the trip.  

As we could not get Fast Passes to Seven Dwarves Mine Train, that was where we headed first—apparently, this was also the strategy of everyone else! By the time we made our way to the Seven Dwarves ride, there was already a 20 minute wait time. Oh well. Still, it was not so bad a wait. There were things to keep the kids occupied along the way and the line moved quickly enough. The ride was awesome and was the only coaster ride Grandma took. It was a cool coaster, but needless to say, Grandma did not ride a coaster again the rest of the trip!

Seven Dwarves Mine Train

Another thing we were not able to book for Fast Pass, by choice as we could only pick 3, was the meet and greet the princesses at the Fairy Tale Hall. We saw that the wait time was only 25 minutes so we figured, what the heck, let’s check it out. The girls got to meet Elsa and Anna and we took tons of photos!

One of Cinderella's stepsisters catching a carousel ride

We went to Haunted Mansion next and then back tracked again to Fantasy Land to Peter Pan’s flight (fast pass) and It’s a Small World, a classic ride! We also managed to go to Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid. All of these before noon! Not bad, eh?

Peter Pan's Flight at Disney World Magic Kingdom

It's a Small World. Disney World Magic Kingdom

We went back to Liberty Square for quick service lunch at Colombia Harbor House. Good thing these areas were right beside each other as we kept going back and forth to get to the rides we wanted!

Then, it was off to Tomorrowland where DD#1 had her first ride-by-herself experience at Tomorrowland Speedway. She was finally tall enough to drive her own car. It was fun but the cars were not easy to maneuver. We rode the Astro Orbiter next-- in the rain! What were we thinking?! It rained every afternoon in our trip but just for 10-20 minutes. Of course it had to happen while we were about to ride the Astro Orbiter. We were quite wet but, thankfully, not soaked through.  It definitely provided some much needed relief from the heat and sun!

We rode Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (laser shooting game) and Stitch’s Great Escape (surprisingly a nice 4D ride) before heading to Space Mountain. Space Mountain, hands down, was one of the best rides in Magic Kingdom. 

Space Mountain at Disney World Magic Kingdom

By that time, it was time for the parade. We were back in Liberty Square by then, making our way through to Frontierland. We had a great view right by where the parade began. The girls enjoyed watching the characters in their fancy floats!

Frozen: Anna and Elsa at the parade. Disney World Magic Kingdom

Tangled: Rapunzel at the parade: Disney World Magic Kingdom

After the parade, we passed by Adventureland where the girls rode The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Beware the camel which spits! After which, we headed to Frontierland where redeemed our Fast Pass for Splash Mountain. Another fun ride! We were not quite as wet as we were in the Astro Orbiter.

When we got out, we saw Big Thunder Mountain with a 30 minute wait. That wasn’t so bad, right? But the wait time posted was not accurate and we ended up waiting for 50 minutes! Can’t really say it was totally worth it. It was ok. Ride if you can, but it is something you can miss, in my opinion—especially if you are already going for Space and Splash Mountains. I think the Seven Dwarves Mine Train is much better than this one.

The girls got some fairy dust sprinkled on them by a Fairy Godmother over by Cinderella’s castle while we checked out the other stores. Window shopping was our excuse for getting some much needed airconditioning, away from the sticky air and scorching sun.

By this time we were quite tired and ready to head back to the resort. Obviously we could not muster enough energy to wait until 10pm for the fireworks. We just took our final photos and accepted we will not be able to ride the following: Jungle Cruise, Liberty Square Riverboat, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mickey’s Philharmagic, and Monsters Inc. Oh, and Pirates of the Caribbean was closed for refurbishment, so we missed that one too. But it was all good. We rode what we could and especially those we really wanted. This was really one of the best parks!

In a nutshell:

If you don’t have fast passes, head here first: Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Princess Fairy Tale Hall, Haunted Mansion

Where we used our fast passes: Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight

Truly the most Magical Place in the world: Walt Disney World: Epcot

Disney World: Epcot

The first park we went to was Epcot. Although we wanted to go to Magic Kingdom first, we scheduled Magic Kingdom for a day when there were extra Magic hours (available to folks staying in the resorts). Just seeing the Epcot sphere brought up the excitement level by 10 notches! We were at the gates about 30minutes before the park opened. As soon as it opened, we headed straight for Test Track, where we did not have Fast Passes booked. This one is a must! Design your own car and then test drive it (well, performance-wise).

Test Track ride: Disney World: Epcot

Design your own car to test drive: Test Track at Disney World: Epcot

Next we checked out The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Turtle Talk with Crush, and looked at the huge manatee in the exhibit upstairs. We also managed to see the Journey into Imagination with Figment before we left “the Seas” area.

We then headed to “the Land” area where we rode a boat to explore the greenhouses at the Living with the Land ride. 

Living with the Land: Disney World: Epcot

We also saw the Circle of Life movie (can be missed) before we grabbed lunch. We rested a bit before we used our Fast Pass for Soarin’. We all enjoyed gliding through the different US states!

Soarin;: Disney World: Epcot

After Soarin’ we checked out the different countries at the World Showcase. They showcased Canada, England, Morocco, Japan, Americas, Mexico, Africa, Paris, Italy, China, Germany, and Norway. The kids played the Phineas and Ferb adventure where they were given a smartphone to complete missions. They followed instructions on the phone and it allowed them to explore a country. Each mini-mission completed made something move in the area—like activate the waterfalls or make a robot come out. The girls played the mission in Japan only but if there were time and energy, they could have gone on every country. If you purchased a passport in one of the gift shops, the kids can also get this stamped at each country visited. Also, kids can collect stamps and create a personalized souvenir at the Kidcot fun stations at each country.

England at Disney World: Epcot

Morocco: Disney World: Epcot

Drum show at Japan: Disney World: Epcot

Japan and Americas: Disney World: Epcot

 Each of the countries featured a shopping area and dining area. We were not too hungry after having just eaten lunch so we did not get to try out all the goodies featured. We did have some Bratwurst, sauerkraut and apple streudel in Germany for dinner.

Bazaar at Mexico: Disney World: Epcot

We met Mary Poppins at England and then Aurora in Paris. The girls got their autograph books signed and got a lot of photos. Character meet and greet, check! 

Belle at Disney World: Epcot

Another fun thing which the girls got into was getting some pressed penny souvenirs. We went on a quest to check out each machine we could find to see if there was anything interesting. A practice in discipline, the girls knew they had to choose well as I told them they could only get two each.

We headed back to the Future World to get the last of our Fast Passes: Mission Space and Spaceship Earth. What we didn’t get to do was explore each country in depth except for a few or watch fireworks. We also forgot to pass by Cool Club where you can sample pop from all over the world—for free! I know, I know, we missed quite a few. However, at the onset, we had already kept in mind that we will not be able to do or see everything. As long as we hit the popular rides and then some, we were good.

Mission Space: Disney World: Epcot

Disney Monorail: transportation to parks and resorts

After every ride, you go through a gift shop, of course: Disney World: Epcot

In a nutshell:

Where we used our fast passes: Soarin’ or Test Track, Mission: Space (orange for more intense) and Generation Earth.

Our fave countries: Japan (Mitsukoshi store), Morocco (loved the bazaar), Norway (Stave Church gallery)

Downtown Disney Orlando

Downtown Disney

Downtown Disney in Orlando is much bigger than the one in California. They do pretty much have the same staple stores (Wonderful World of Disney which had a branch of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and Lego) and restaurants, such as Rainforest Café. We wanted to try T-Rex but the wait time was 90 minutes so we ended up in the Rainforest Café Lava Lounge where we sat outside (instead of inside where they had the airconditioning we wanted). 

World of Disney at Downtown Disney

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at World of Disney: Downtown Disney

Lego dragon in the water! Downtown Disney

DD#1 went nuts looking at all the sweets at Goofy Candy Co. and we enjoyed browsing Christmas stuff at the Days of Christmas store. The girls also had fun doing their pin trading at the marketplace. We had ice cream at Ghirardelli and checked out the goodies at the Marketplace Fun Finds.

As the sun set, the area became more and more vibrant. There was a dance party at the Waterside Stage and the bars started getting packed. Since we had been up from 430am that day, we decided it was time to head back to the resort. With little sleep and with kids in tow, we really did not have the energy to revel in this street party. We had to get ready for back to back days in the theme parks so we skipped on the Cirque show and passed on many other stores . 

Downtown Disney at night

We did manage to catch a live performance at the Raglan Road Patio stage where we saw a fun rendition of Pharrell’s Happy in violin! But that was about all we could take for the day. We caught the boat back to Port Orleans Riverside and called it a night. The trip to Downtown Disney definitely set the mood for the fun days ahead.