Day 4 and 5: Disney World Hollywood Studios Review
Day 4 and 5: Disney World Hollywood Studios Review
As I continued my magical adventure at Disney World, I couldn't contain my excitement for our visit to Disney's Hollywood Studios on Day 4. My son is a big Star Wars fan and was very much looking forward to all the Star Wars rides and Galaxy's Edge. This was the theme park he was most looking forward to, even more than Magic Kingdom. Now we are not roller coaster fans, so rides like Slinky Dog Dash and Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway were not on our itinerary for the day. My kids generally do not like thrill rides, and I am happy to avoid them as well. Neither of my kids wanted to wait in line for a character meet, so we only met characters at character dinings on this trip. To check out a review of our favorite character dining this trip see Disney World's 1900 Park Fare Character Dinner Review.
Getting to Hollywood Studios
Stepping into the park felt like stepping onto a movie set, with iconic landmarks like the Hollywood Tower Hotel and the Chinese Theater. We walked along Hollywood Boulevard and Echo Lake, taking in the sights as we made our way to Star Tours. Which surprisingly didn't have a long wait. Star Tours is a 3d motion simulation ride that has a nice Star Wars story behind it. A fun fact, you can ride this ride several times and have a different story each time. Each ride experience is different and it has low wait times so this is a good ride to repeat. It is a bit bumpy, but not too bad. It is less bumpy than Smugglers Run. My 8-year-old daughter liked this one, even though she isn't a big Star Wars fan. Star Tours has a gift shop at the end of the ride with neat Star Wars items, but we waited to buy more items at Galaxy's Edge.
Galaxy's Edge
I regret caving into my kid's indifference on seeing Indiana Jones epic stunt spectacular, it will be on my want list for our next trip. We continued to Grand Avenue to watch the Muppets 3D movie. The story is well-written and it has all the classic muppet characters. After the Muppet's 3d movie, we went on to Galaxy's Edge. We had a Geni+ reservation for Smuggler's Run, but we had some time before the window started. So we wandered around Galaxy's Edge, looking at the shops at the Market Merchants and taking in the sights. We saw a Storm Trooper walking around and Chewbacca. It was really neat to see the characters walking around and they played their character's parts very well. My son loved it, and his favorite ride the entire trip was Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run. This is also a 3d motion simulation ride, and it is very bumpy. If you get motion-sick, this one may be tough, but the kids loved it!
Hollywood and Vine
After Smuggler's Run, it was time to make our way to our lunch dining reservation at Hollywood and Vine. If you are looking to make reservations on the day of your visit, it is possible. I was able to score this reservation the morning of. Hollywood and Vine is the only character dining option at Hollywood Studios. The restaurant is set up like an old-fashioned dinner, with cute retro theming. As is the case with many character restaurants there was a photo op (without any characters) when entering the restaurant. All the characters, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, and Goofy come around to each table, pose for pictures and sign autograph books. The characters took their time in their interactions, it didn't seem rushed. In different seasons, the characters are dressed differently. At the time of our visit, It was the Springtime Dine, so all the characters were dressed in their spring attire. The food at Hollywood and Vine was served buffet style and had good options to accommodate all of us. I was pleasantly surprised to see many vegetarian options including tofu with an Asian glaze, a potato dish, and a salad bar. (I am a vegetarian but my family isn't). There was a kiddie food section in the buffet including chicken nuggets and tator tots which made my daughter very happy. To appease the meat eaters in our group there was a carving station and many meat and seafood options as well. What made the kids the happiest at Hollywood and Vine was the soft-serve ice cream station. They were thrilled to make a few trips to the soft-serve ice cream machine. Our lunch at Hollywood and Vine was a welcomed treat and a break from the heat. After Smuggler's Run the heat was getting to us, but the a/c break and food prepared us to be ready to face Toy Story Land.
Toy Story Land
After lunch, we headed to Toy Story Land and rode Toy Story Mania and Alien Swirling Saucers. Toy Story Land has wonderful theming and great elements from the Toy Story movies. I thought Alien Swirling Saucers was a really fun ride, but was very short. It seemed over in no time. Word of advice, there is minimal shade in Toy Story land, and it is hot in the afternoon! My parents found a bench in the shade and stayed there while the kids and I went back to Galaxy's Edge.
Back to Galaxy's Edge
We had yet to go on Rise of the Resistance. Rise of the Resistance was down for a while during the day, but my daughter said it was one of the best rides of the day. We did have a lightning lane for Rise of the Resistance, but the regular line did have long waits.
While at Galaxy's Edge, we took advantage of the Disney photo pass photographers, giving us some great shots in Start Wars Galaxy. I do like the photo pass option, we got some great family shots throughout our trip. Of course, no visit to Hollywood Studios would be complete without a stroll down Sunset Boulevard, where we indulged in some shopping and delicious snacks from the various food carts lining the street and rode the Tower of Terror.
Fantasmic!
After Tower of Terror, we needed a break so we headed back to our hotel for the rest of the afternoon. My son wanted to see Galaxy's Edge at night time, so around 6 pm, we made our way back to Hollywood Studios. My daughter had enough for the day and stayed at the hotel, so it was just 2 of us for the evening. We rode Star Tours and Smuggler's Run again and roamed around Galaxy's Edge as the sun started to set. It was a great time, taking in all the sights and just walking around Galaxy's Edge. There were Star Wars characters (accompanied by cast members who were also in character) roaming around and interacting with the guests, many guests had lightsabers lit up and were dressed in Star Wars-themed outfits. Galaxy's Edge really was the best place to be after dark. Even if you aren't a Star Wars fan, Galaxy's Edge is a place to see once the sun goes down. We spent so much time in Galaxy's Edge after dark that we were a bit late to Fantastic!. We were able to get seats but they were obstructed and in the very back of the arena.
Day 4 at Hollywood Studios was truly a magical experience that I will never forget. Day 5 of our trip (4th park day), was supposed to be our second day at Magic Kingdom. However, the kids preferred Hollywood Studios and wanted to spend the day at Hollywood Studios instead of a second day at Magic Kingdom, so we went with it. Since we were all tired and wanted to attempt to see the 9 pm showing of Fantasmic!, we decided to head to Hollywood Studios around 3 pm. We spent the morning of day 5 going to Target for souvenirs and hanging out at the hotel. Target is a great choice to get Disney tee shirts, mugs, key chains, etc for cheaper than at the parks.
Hollywood Studios Repeated! Day 2 of Hollywood Studios
On day 5 at Hollywood Studios we rode our favorite rides again from the day before, which included Star Tours, Smuggler's Run, Rise of the Resistance, and Alien Flying Saucers. We wanted to have a more leisurely evening, so we took our time to walk around Galaxy's Edge again, check out the shops, and take in the sights. We enjoyed dinner at Docking By 7 Food and Cargo which was wonderfully themed and a good food choice for a quick check restaurant.
We all wanted to ensure we had better seats for Fantastic!. This time we wanted to get to Fantasmic! with plenty of time to get unobstructed seats. We started making our way over at 8 pm and ended up with front-row seats! Warning, you will get wet sitting in the front few rows of Fantasmic! but wow what a show to see close up. If you are willing to get wet, you can have the best view of the show. For the Disney fan, Fantasmic has many characters from Disney films, singing and being a part of the show. Mary Poppins is one of my favorites and I was pleasantly surprised to see her in the show along with Elsa, Mickey, Belle and the Beast, and many others.
Many people say that Hollywood Studios is a half-day park or to skip it altogether. However, it ended up being one of my kids' favorites, so much so that they preferred it to Magic Kingdom (to read about our day at Magic Kingdom check out "Day 2 of Disney World Magic- Magic Kingdom Review". You can hit most of the major attractions in a day, or stretch to a day and a half and repeat your favorites like we did. I would suggest not overlooking Hollywood Studios on your next trip to Walt Disney World Resort. To learn about how we scored our hotel, airfare, and 7-day park hopper plus tickets for $1400 total check out "Plan a Free Trip to Disney World Using Credit Card Points."