disney’s hollywood studios

Tuesday Disney Tips: Learning to Zig When Others Zag

Brenda Disney Vacation Planning, Tuesday Disney Tips, What to Do at Disney World , , , , , , , 3 Comments

One of the most important things to know when planning your days at Walt Disney World is that you may need to adjust your itinerary based on the habits of the other guests. Learning to zig while others zag is based on experiencing the parks on different days and at different times of the year with varying crowds. There are many books available that speak directly to planning your day in the parks, but what I am referring to is modifying your plan when you are faced with the unexpected. There are many ways to conform to your unique travel circumstances whether at the resort or at any of the four Disney parks.

If you have planned to have breakfast at 7:00 on your first day at the resort and you are greeted with no tables at which to sit, long lines of guests waiting to order and to pay for food, or a loud and chaotic environment, then you might want to rethink your breakfast time on day two. In this scenario, you may wish to plan to sleep in a little while, have breakfast at the resort at 9:30 or 10:00, and then stay at the park later. Conversely, you may want to get up extra early, have breakfast in the room then head out to early extra magic hours. The choice is yours.

Try to be flexible enough in your planning so that you can zig while everyone else zags. In other words, plan your time for less stress and more fun by not going with the flow. Two specific tips I can provide are based on your choice of resort and your choice of park ticket. If you are staying at a Disney resort, taking advantage of extra magic hours is a great idea. But, if you are not staying on Disney property, you will want to avoid the selected EMH parks on those days. Also, having park hopper tickets provides maximum flexibility, so if you can purchase these, I highly recommend it.

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Disney World Ride-Wimps Can Have Fun Too!

Nancy What to Do at Disney World , , , , , , 3 Comments

I have mentioned in the past that I do not share my husband and daughter’s fondness for thrill rides, and am in fact, a pretty major ride wimp. 🙂 There are *some* thrill rides that I will do, like Test Track or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, because they involve speed but no big drops. But for others, it’s just not happening for me….and that’s ok, it’s all good. They do the ride, and I do something else….

That “something else” is an evolving thing for me, and is in fact, one of the things I enjoy the most at Disney World. This is not to say that I don’t love doing things with my family….but an hour here or there to just explore to my heart’s content, doing just what *I* want, is pretty darn awesome.

So today, I want to share with you a little of how I spent my time this past trip at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, while DH and DD were riding those Thrill Ride Twins: Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Let’s explore a little!

Sunset Blvd., the street leading to the Twins, is a fascinating place to wander around. I have always loved how each of the stores has a very unique “personality”: it is fun to browse around in each because you will find some items that you may not find elsewhere.

Love the Disney villains? Visit the Villians in Vogue store for things to commemorate your favorite anti-heroes, as well as Fantasmic items.

Are you a big movie buff? Check out the Legends of Hollywood store or the Planet Hollywood Super Store for things related to all kinds of movie-related (including Disney themed) items.

Looking for jewelry? Check out Sunset Club Couture. And if you are on a budget, no worries, you will find inexpensive items along the way.

Be sure to check out the architecture and details all up and down the street that are all meant to convince you that you are in 1940’s Hollywood: movie theatre, signage, old cars, and even a Victory Garden. Plus, there is the Beverly Sunset sweet shop with fudge and your favorite Disney-themed candy. 🙂

I popped into Starring Rolls Café, as usual, for a latte and one of their pastries.

Sometimes I will skip breakfast at the resort altogether and just do breakfast there: they have a great selection and the tables outside are perfect for relaxing a bit. There are also benches all along Sunset Blvd, which is a great place to people watch.

And by people watch, I am referring to the “residents” of Hollywood who are Disney castmembers who will just spontaneously start a conversation with each other, bringing guests into it, and just having a merry old time in the process. Stop and watch one day: I once spent close to 30 minutes enjoying the Hollywood Police Officer stop various guests, making sure they were obeying the “laws”. Of course, his “laws” were a bit, um, unusual, which made it even more fun to see people’s reactions to being cited for “wearing a shirt from an Unapproved Theme Park”….. 🙂 Other times you will find filmmakers in search of aspiring actors: Be careful, or you might find yourself auditioning for a role, whether you want to or not! It’s all in good fun, and a fantastic way to spend some time!

(Thanks to Brenda for the DHS residents of Hollywood pictures!! 🙂  )

My new favorite place is the Writer’s Stop, which is on the other side of the park, over on the Streets of America.  It was here that I went in search of the renowned Carrot Cake Cookie, and while I found the cookie, I also found a lovely, quaint, and honestly hidden little coffee/book shop where you can find all kinds of Disney-related books. You can get a latte or coffee here as well, and curl up in a cozy chair to read, relax and rejuvenate for a bit. Add in the Carrot Cake Cookie and its pure heaven. Our writer Kelly recently wrote a great review of the Writer’s Stop on her blog, Disney Guru: be sure to check it out to learn some fun facts about this lovely little store!

I always have a GREAT time while my family is off thrilling it away, and I usually smile to myself when we are reunited, because for some reason they are sorry for me! They think I am “missing out” and they feel guilty for leaving me while they are “off having fun”……

They don’t believe me when I tell them that I had fun too….but that’s ok with me. It’s my little secret. 🙂

Now you know it too!

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Thrifty Thursday: My All-Time Favorite Disney Ride: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Brenda Thrifty Thursday, What to Do at Disney World , , , , , 5 Comments

I am a Disney thrill-seeker, no doubt about it. I love the Rock N Rollercoaster, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Expedition Everest, Space Mountain; all the great rides. But the ride that gives me the biggest thrill at Walt Disney World, and is thus my hands-down favorite, is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

The first thing I do upon entering Disney’s Hollywood Studios is walk straight ahead to Sunset Boulevard and make a sharp right turn heading to a 13-story structure known as the Tower of Terror. I check the wait clock to see whether I am going to get a fast pass or just wait in line. In most cases, I will get a fast pass for The Rock N Rollercoaster and just wait in the Tower of Terror line.

The line twists and turns through an ungroomed, misty, eerie courtyard. While winding through the landscape, I love listening to people around me nervously discussing how apprehensive they are about the ride, and even whether or not they should be in line at all. All is calm for a few minutes but then, without warning, the doors several stories up open and all I can hear is screaming before the riders take their next drop! It sounds like the riders are terrified, adding to the sinister chuckle I get listening to the unsuspecting new riders around me. I would guess, though, that if someone interviewed these newbies on their way out of the ride, they would say that they thought it was awesome!

As I get closer and closer to going inside the “hotel,” I get more and more excited. After queuing through the dusty lobby of the old Hollywood Tower Hotel, I am directed into the library for the pre-show, which is a short film hosted by Rod Serling, creator of the old Twilight Zone television series. In the momentary darkness, I start to feel the adrenalin pumping while I am then guided into the Hotel’s boiler room.

Once the doors open to the boiler room, the butterflies start flying. I have been on this ride probably 50 times or more, but every time I ride it the butterflies show up. I think that is part of the fun!

The cast member, dressed in a vintage bellhop costume, taunts everyone by thanking us for “dropping in.” I am then directed to my appropriate row and seat number which is painted on the floor in front of the place where the elevator will pick me up. Finally, our “freight elevator” arrives and I find my appropriate spot just as it was on the floor diagram and get into my seat and put on my seatbelt. Note: there used to be a bar and only one special seat had a seatbelt, but Disney added to the excitement by changing the safety mechanism for all seats to seatbelts only. I am ALL smiles at this point; high-fiving my kids and getting ready to go. I can’t wait until the doors close and we are off on what is my all-time favorite ride.

We take off and as the elevator rises up, I am ready for the visual. The doors open again as the “freight elevator” glides through mysterious hotel passageways showing us ghostly images of former guests. Then, the elevator enters the shaft. It is pitch black and chilly. Then I feel it…our elevator is locked into place. Here we go!

There is a 130-foot free-fall drop and then it shoots quickly up, then down, then up; plummeting again and again in random drop sequences. When the doors open, I smile and get ready for the camera flash, look out over the park, then laugh at all the people with me as we are all screaming our lungs out but thoroughly enjoying the experience. Once we are back on the ground and the ride is over, I think to myself, this is what I have been waiting for all year and I am grateful to be back! I hope you will drop in on this baby during your next trip!

Brenda is a native Texan born and raised on the Gulf Coast. She visited Disney World twice as a teenager and always dreamed of growing her family Disney. She took her first-timer husband and their three children to Disney World in 2000 and they now spend every Thanksgiving there. Brenda writes with a comedic twist on various Disney topics. She will be sharing tips she has learned during her travels and also hopes to enlighten people on little-known freebies that Disney has to offer. She wishes she could have met Walt Disney and considers herself to be a student of Walt. In parallel to his dream it is her wish that everyone would take at least one trip to Disney World in order to share in its magic with their families.

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Must Sees at Disney World: Hollywood Studios Top Picks

Nancy What to Do at Disney World , , 0 Comment

Hollywood StudiosWhen 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.

My Personal Favorite: It’s Artistic and It’s Free

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.

Dear Husband and Toy Story Midway Mania

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.

What’s a College Kid Like? Coasters of Course!

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!

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