2018-01-02: Magic at Hollywood Studios

It was cold again this morning, but there was no rain. The weather for the rest of the week will be pretty similar unfortunately. We woke up around 7;30am, got dressed, and headed down to the Wave restaurant in the lobby for something different. They had a breakfast buffet which was decent. After eating breakfast, we walked out to the front of the hotel where they have a Disney bus stop. Disney has a huge fleet of busses that ferry people all over the resort. After waiting for about 10 minutes, we boarded the bus for Hollywood Studios.

It took about 15 minutes to get to Hollywood Studios on the bus. We got off the bus and went through a similar security/bag check station as Epcot the day before. This line moved much faster though and we were inside the gates within a few minutes. The first thing we wanted to do was try to get the kids signed up for Jedi Training. Michael didn’t want to do it, but Patrick did. We headed to the sign up desk but they only had the 6:40pm show available for signups. They offered to put us on a waitlist for an earlier show which we agreed to.

From there, we headed over to Star Tours for our first ride and Fastpass of the day. We entered a shuttle that was being flown by C-3PO and R2-D2. They took us to Jaku and Crait from the latest movies while we were being chased by First Order fighters. Patrick thought it was awesome. When that ride was over, Darrell took Patrick back to the Jedi Training desk to see if they could get Patrick into the next show. Unfortunately, everyone who signed up for the show arrived so we were out of luck. The rest of the family went to see a film about Luke Skywalker’s life from being a moisture farmer on Tatooine to becoming a Jedi Master. We all met up again outside the theatre and made our way over to Toy Story Mania.

When we arrived at Toy Story Mania, the wait line for the ride was at 95 minutes. After discussing it with the kids, we decided to wait in line for the ride. After about an hour and forty-five minutes, we made it to the ride. The wait was long, but the waiting area was kinda cool. It was decorated as Andy’s toy box so you were walking around board games and toys as if you were the size of a toy. We finally boarded the ride. You enter a pod with three other people. You are taken from video screen to video screen where you get to shoot a gun attached to the pod at targets on the video screen. Each target is worth a certain number of points. You collect points as you shoot the targets. Woody, Buzz, and the gang join you on the screens as well. At the end of the ride, you are given your final score as well as the highest score in your pod. Everyone really enjoyed the ride.

After completing Toy Story Mania, we headed for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror for our next FastPass. Jim and Linda decided the vertical drop wasn’t for them and they elected to bypass the ride. The rest of us entered the tower. The ride was terrifying. It throws you up and down vertically three or four times. It moves so fast you literally leave your seat. If there was no seatbelt, people would be flying everywhere. Some of the rise and falls are in the dark, others they open the doors so you can see outside. Patrick kept saying he wasn’t scared before he entered the ride, but he was holding on for dear life and was looking pretty terrified during the ride.

We met up with Jim and Linda after the ride and grabbed a bit to eat at one of the local quick service restaurants. Everyone had pizza except for Darrell who opted for a chicken caesar salad. Once lunch was done, we headed to Rock’n Roller Coaster to use our final Fastpass. The line to get in was very long for a Fastpass entry, but the line moved quickly. Rock’n Roller Coaster is a roller coaster with a rock and roll theme starring AeroSmith.  It was a very fast roller coaster. A lot of it was in the dark with neon signs passing you by while Aerosmith music blares around you.

We headed to the Muppetvision 3D show next. Along the way, we ran into a group of Stormtroopers marching down the street. We watched them for a few minutes before continuing on. The Muppet show was classic Muppet comedy. They ended up blowing up part of the theatre at the end. It made us chuckle. Patrick didn’t want to see if he could get into last Jedi Training show, so we headed back to the entrance and boarded the bus back to the hotel.

We explored the stores in the hotel for a few minutes once we got back before returning to our rooms for about half an hour. Then it was time to grab some dinner. We had a reservation for dinner at Wave in the lobby again. The dinner was really enjoyable. They serve American cuisine. After dinner, we returned to the hotel room and settled in for the night.