If you are staying at a Walt Disney World resort hotel, you may be unexpectedly surprised by a little visitor when you return to your room at the end of the day. Whether it is pixie dust from Tinkerbell or magic from the folks in “mousekeeping”, no one knows for sure 🙂 but it sure can be fun to find one!!
When it comes to our family’s favorite rides/attractions at Hollywood Studios, picking a few is kind of challenging. Not because we don’t really like anything here, but because we definitely each have our own taste in what qualifies as a “must-see” here.
And we don’t especially agree. 🙂
And we keep changing our mind. 🙂
So I am picking 3…our current top 3….to highlight today. One from each of us: my favorite, my husband’s favorite, and our daughter’s.
We’ll start with mine because, well, it’s my blog lol!
The one favorite that I have to see, every time, no matter what, is not your “typical” Hollywood Studios attraction. It’s not extremely well known, in fact, many folks don’t even know it is there!
My favorite thing to do is the Magic of Disney Animation. Located in the Animation Courtyard, just to the right of the Chinese Theater, this is a great way to learn how animation works….and the reason I love it…..to try your hand at it.
When you enter this building, you have the chance to take a short tour that gives you a very general idea of how the animation process works. It’s pretty interesting. But my favorite part is at the end of the tour, where you can choose to create your own Disney character art in the Animation Academy.
Here, for the next 15 minutes you will get to watch an animator at work, and follow his/her direction on how to do it yourself. And the best part is, at the end, you get to keep your creation! It’s fun, you don’t really need any particular artistic talent, and you get a personal, free souvenir at the end!
One note: this is great for adults and older kids enjoy it a lot as well. But if you have little ones, I would recommend waiting to do this when they get older. They…and you…will appreciate it more.
Well this is Hollywood Studio’s newest, latest, and greatest and it is some fun. And if you previously read how much my husband enjoys Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at the Magic Kingdom, then when I tell you that Toy Story Midway Mania is Buzz Lightyear on steroids, well you will understand why this is his favorite.
Think old carnival midway games….only fast, electronic…and in 3-D. Set in a Toy Story theme, the goal here, as with Buzz Lightyear, is to score the highest. Your car spins, goes forward, backwards, and periodically stops for you to try out the next game. It is pretty darn fun, I will say!
In fact, it is so much fun, that this is easily THE most popular ride at Hollywood Studios right now. And if you want to ride it, you must, MUST go there first thing, when the park opens….unless you are willing to wait in line for a very long time, or have a FastPass return that could conceivably be later that night…if there are even any FastPasses left.
Is it worth all that? Yeah, it is. Go first thing, and go straight there. You won’t be sorry.
Our daughter has enjoyed a variety of attractions at Hollywood Studios over the years, but her current favorite is probably Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Loud, dark, fast, and with lots of twists and turns, coaster enthusiasts love it. At least that’s what DD tells me. 🙂
Not being a coaster enthusiast, I take her word for it. 🙂
But I do know that tons of folks agree with her as this is a ride that typically has one of the longest lines in the park, and it is easy to see why. Incorporating the music (and theme) of Aerosmith, this ride has the distinction of being the first ride on Disney property to include a high-speed launch that goes from 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds.
Located at the end of Sunset Blvd., to the left of Tower of Terror, you can’t miss the giant guitar that marks the ride’s entrance. Since this ride is so popular, use FastPass if possible to make the most of your time. Because if you are a coaster lover….or have one in your group….then you will not want to miss this.
Well, there you have it. Our family’s eclectic must-sees. And if you have been to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I would love to hear about yours!
Have a magical day!
As there are every week, there have been some really great, fun, and very interesting posts from our Disney blog-world friends.
Here are a few of my absolute favorites that I hope you enjoy!
Meltdown Free Disney discusses how to find “souvenirs” to help your child have Fun With Fine Motor Skills
Chip and Co. shares some great thoughts on helping baby prepare for a Disney vacation: Baby in Training for Walt Disney World
Disney4Dads offers some ideas for Disney Souvenirs for Kids on a Budget
The Disney Driven Life talks about how Getting There can be Less Than Half the Fun
Disney Every Day taught me a new tip for making the most of your time at the parks in Kelly Family Discovers Secret Disney Fastpass in the Magic Kingdom
And finally, our friends at the Disney Food Blog provide another mouth-watering reason to visit Walt Disney World: “You Won’t Believe This!” Snack: White Chocolate Chip Brownie
That’s it for this week friends. Have a wonderful and magical weekend!
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That’s it for this week. Have a wonderful weekend!
Continuing the discussion of our family “favorites” at the Magic Kingdom, I have to say that there are so many great attractions and rides in the Magic Kingdom, it is kind of hard to just pick a couple of favorites…we enjoy quite a few things!
Previously I shared our Tomorrowland and Fantasyland favorites. Today we’re going to stroll over to Frontierland to start, 
because it is here that we find my personal favorite ride in all of the Magic Kingdom: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
I absolutely cannot visit Disney World without riding this at least twice (thank goodness for FastPass!) This is THE ride for me, and I can guarantee that if you are in the park when I am riding it, you will hear me. 🙂 I have no shame.
The thing about Big Thunder Mountain is, I hate roller coasters. Won’t go on ’em, hate the “big drop” feeling. But this is not a typical roller coaster. Big Thunder Mountain doesn’t have drops but it is fast…..very fast….and I love that feeling a lot.
(The extent to how much I love this ride….and how loud I scream…. has been preserved on video by my oh-so-very funny husband, who thought it would be great to sit in the front seat once with the video camera and record my, um, enjoyment…. No, it is not on YouTube…. No, it will never be on YouTube…. Don’t ask lol.)
What I always tell folks who are not coaster fans, is that this is a “coaster” you can ride. No drops, but quite a few curves, and lots of speed. Go ahead, give it a try….And if you scream like a little girl, well that makes it a bit more fun, I can promise you that. 🙂
OK, Magic Kingdom required rides: Buzz Lightyear, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Anything else?
Probably our other “must see” has to be Pirates of the Caribbean…for a number of reasons.
First of all, it really is a Disney classic, and personally I am amazed each and every time I ride it, by the incredible attention to detail. Clearly it is such a favorite that it inspired an entire series of movies, and probably a million pirate wannabes all over the world.
Beyond this though, this is just a fun experience! You really need to ride it multiple times to “get” just how amusing it is, as you notice the “jokes” scattered throughout. Try to listen to some of the dialogue too if you can, it can be highly entertaining. (Hint: Listen to the auctioneer of the “ladies”….)
This ride underwent a refurbishment a few years ago, to add in some details…and a certain very popular pirate…from the blockbuster movies. So watch carefully to see where Captain Jack Sparrow pops up, it can be the most surprising locations!
I do have a warning for you though…and that is the pirate-themed gift shop that you have to walk through to exit the ride. If you have little pirates with you, be prepared to part with a bit of your gold on the way out, as it is going to be very hard to walk right through this without picking up a souvenir or two. Just be prepared is all I’m saying……..
There is actually one more favorite of ours, not a ride, but not-to-be-missed: the Magic Kingdom fireworks show called “Wishes”. Disney is known for their fireworks, and deservedly, and this show is one of their best: it is breathtaking, it is sweet, it is moving, and you cannot miss it. Be sure to check the times it will be shown and plan accordingly. This is not your hometown fireworks, I can assure you.
So there you have it, our must-sees at Magic Kingdom, the things which, for us, no Disney World vacation is complete without. There are certainly many other great rides and attractions, and to learn about all of them if this is your first visit, you should refer to a great Disney vacation planner such as The Complete Disney World to get all the details you will need to decide what is important to your family.
For those of you who are Disney veterans, I would love to hear about your “must-sees” at the Magic Kingdom! Please feel free to share in the comment section below.
Have a magical day!