Hollywood Studios Day!

After having such a great day celebrating my mother-in-law’s birthday the day before, we were all ready to keep the party going at Hollywood Studios!  We were, once again, out the door early in the morning.  It was another warm day in Orlando, but the sun was hiding behind some gray clouds.  Once we arrived at the park, we took a quick picture of where we parked so we could remember later.  We did this at every park that week, we all had about 100 pictures of parking numbers!  I thought it was so funny, as you looked down the parking aisles, you would see everyone doing the same thing.  Let’s be honest, how many times have we parked at the mall and forgot where the heck we parked our cars?  Sounds familiar, right?  LOL! 

The last time I was at Hollywood Studios, it was still called MGM/Disney Studios.  The Great Movie Ride still existed and so did the Back-Lot Tour.  Talk about a change in scenery!  I was quite impressed with how much the park has changed.  It was all so new and exciting; we were all happy to be there.  It was wonderful to be first in line for our picture on Hollywood Boulevard.  I must admit, the Memory Maker has really turned out to be a favorite option to have while visiting the parks.  I have probably looked at our pictures a thousand times since we returned home.  Each one reminds me of every moment we shared on our vacation together.    

After getting through security, I looked up at the Crossroads of the World and was quite excited to start our day at Hollywood Studios.  We had a few fastpasses and one dining reservation for lunch.  After having our picture taken, we headed down Hollywood Boulevard.  I loved seeing all the shops and was so tempted to start shopping right away.  We ended up right in front of the Hollywood Tower of Terror.  We had no fastpasses for it, but my son, Alex, really wanted to go.  My husband decided to wait in the standby line for over an hour with him. 

As they waited for the Tower of Terror (and my brother-in-law went to ride Rock ‘n Roller coaster), my sister and I chose to go off on our own for a while.  We had a great time, stopping for our Memory Maker pictures, shopping and just enjoying our time together.  I loved that the park was already decorated for Christmas; although, my sister was telling me that even though it was beautiful, she wasn’t ready for it yet.  I had to remind her it was already November!  Only one month until Christmas, so let’s enjoy it all!   

After walking around most of the morning and waiting for the guys to meet up with us, it was time for lunch at the Prime-Time Café.  My mom always loved this place.  She said the décor reminded her of her childhood home and she loved how the cast members stayed in full character.  Although we arrived on time, we had to wait a bit to be seated.  We took full advantage of our time as we waited, taking pictures in the living room.  Once we were seated and met our waiter, all I could think about was how much my mom would have enjoyed being here with us.  Deep down, I am pretty sure she was sitting at the table with us in spirit.  

After lunch, we headed over to Toy Story Land.  We had a fastpass for Toy Storia Mania, but we took our time taking in all the sights.  Once again, as we passed by the Slinky Dog Dash, the boys were all dying to get on it.  We didn’t have a fastpass, but they wanted to wait in line for it anyway.  I must admit, I was really worried about putting my boys on it, especially Michael.  I spent about 15 minutes trying to convince my husband that it wasn’t a good idea.  I said what if he is really scared and he can’t tell us?  What if he gets sick?  When it comes to what Michael can or can’t do, my husband will always push forward in allowing Michael to experience everything.  I can’t argue with that, so I finally gave in.  I spent the next hour in misery, trying to convince myself that both of my boys would be fine.  I just reminded my husband and brother-in-law to please hold onto my babies!  Ugh, I know, it’s just me.   

Well, as we waited anxiously, my sister and I laughed as we watched them go by!  It was obvious, they were really having fun and my husband told me that Michael laughed the entire time.    

Our fastpass for Toy Story Mania was next!  I loved the queue, the bright colors and the attention to detail was amazing!  My boys really loved it.  I wish we had time to get back on again, but we had other fastpasses to get to.  I wanted to ride the Alien Swirling Saucers, but we didn’t get a fast pass and the standby line was just so long that day!  

After Toy Story Land, we made our way to Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge.  Once again, Disney did not disappoint.  The attention to detail was evident everywhere you turned.  Once you entered, you really felt as though you were entering another galaxy.  Although Alex and Michael haven’t seen any of the Star Wars movies yet, Alex was familiar with most of the characters.  He ran behind the Storm Troopers trying to get their attention and a picture!  It was kind of funny when, in true character, they told him to move out of the way!  

Our next fastpass was in Animation Courtyard for the Voyage of the Little Mermaid.   The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite movies!  We were able to sit in the front row and we were happy about that.  I thought it was perfect in case we needed to escape if Michael wasn’t enjoying it.  As the show started, Michael stared at all the characters.  They had his full attention.   

After that, we headed over to Star Tours.  This was so much fun!  I don’t know why but it looked familiar to me, but it wasn’t here when I last visited.  After finishing our fast passes, we took some time to take pictures with Vamperina.  The show is one of Michael’s all-time favorites on Disney Junior.  I couldn’t wait to see the expression on his face!  Well, although, he didn’t mean it, in his excitement of seeing her, he reached out and poked her in the eye!  She took it in stride though, patting Michael on the head and taking plenty of pictures with all of us.   

We spent the rest of the day, just walking in out of the shops, making sure we didn’t miss anything!  I was on a quest to find a coffee mug from every park and it just so happened that Starbucks had exactly what I was looking for.  So, a nice hot cup of coffee to go was the perfect way to end our fantastic day at Hollywood Studios.    

My biggest take away from our day was learning to let go when it comes to what Michael can and can’t do.  I think I hold him back sometimes based on my own fears.  He proved me so wrong that day.  They both did.  Alex went back on the Tower of Terror later in the day with my brother-in-law.  I’m happy they are adventurous and willing to try new things.  It was a wonderful day at Hollywood Studios.  I left there with a huge smile on my face – we all did.   

What is your favorite thing to do at Hollywood Studios?  I’d love to hear in the comments below.