darthmacho
09-11-2012, 02:23 PM
Darth Macho’s Dream Trip, Day 3
DHS: The Hardest Park to Plan
The Cast:
DM: Darth Macho (41yo)
DW: Darth Wife (41yo)
DD1: Darth Daughter 1 (11yo)
DD2: Darth Daughter 2 (8yo)
The Stage:
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The Report:
After two days of getting up at six and going all day, I could already see the fatigue setting in on the family, so despite an extra hour of sleep, the enthusiasm was on the wane during the 7AM wake up call. We still managed to get to DHS and ride Toy Story Mania for the first time ever. Both the queue and the ride were great, but the long lines are still a little bit of a mystery to me. I don’t remember the exact scores, but I pulled out ahead, but DW ended up beating me and getting the high score. Vowing revenge I snagged FP for later, and went to check out the other big-ticket rides, ToT and RnR.
Here’s where things went awry. ToT posted a 60-minute wait, so that was out. RnR posted a 30-minute wait, and DW wasn’t ready to ride, so she was going to get ToT FPs for the kids and I while we waited in line for RnR. As it turns out, it took us 90 minutes to get through the RnR line and DW couldn’t get the FP because we had them for TSM. (Sorry for all the acronyms!) Anyway, we had been in the park 2 hours already and had only been on two rides and were fairly tired and frustrated already. Still, it was early on a long trip, so we made the best of things and continued on with our day. The Beauty and the Beast show was nearby, so we watched it, and finally we were able to get our FP for ToT. We checked out Starring Rolls for lunch, but the kids didn’t like the selection, so we ended up lunching at ABC Commissary. It often gets bad reviews, and the theming is lame, but it was cool, comfortable, and the food was good, so we were satisfied.
Meanwhile, it was time for our ToT FP, and we’d have just enough time to get there, but the kids made a good point, which was that we probably shouldn’t ride it right after lunch, so we decided to save that for another time. Instead we opted to ride Star Tours, which was closer and something we were excited for with the new changes. It posted a 10-minute wait time, but we basically walked on. It really has improved, and the queue, which was always excellent, was even better too. We had a great ride, with the Vader opening, Hoth second, a visit from Admiral Ackbar, and the Coruscant finish. Unfortunately, none of us were the Rebel Spy. We wanted to ride again, but the line was now out the door as Indy and the JTA shows both broke up, so we for FP and moved on.
Next, we visited an underrated classic, Muppets 3D, and I loved it. I’m not even a huge Muppets fan, but I love this attraction. The only character I don’t care for is Waldo, who I find mildly irritating, though not enough to ruin my enjoyment of the show. Personally, I think Stitch and Iago get a bad rap when this guy is way more annoying.
Last trip, we put off the Indy show until it was too late and the last show got cancelled due to rain. We were determined to fit it in early this time. We just made it into the theatre as the sky opened up, and after seeing the first segment the rest was cancelled due to the wet conditions. On the bright side, we were dry and the storm had passed, so we made our way back to Toy Story Mania to use our FP. This time, I won with a score of 135,900, which wasn’t all that impressive, but our high score for the trip after riding twice. Again, it was a fun ride, but not worth the wait times it gets.
Back to Star Tours for our FP, this time we got a Vader, Kashyyk, Yoda, and Death Star combo. Again, none of us were the Rebel Spy. We had time to kill before our ADR, and the line for Great Movie Ride was too long and we just missed getting into the Little Mermaid show, so we opted to explore a backstage area, and got a photo with Sorcerer Mickey. We just got done in time for our 5pm ADR at Mama Melrose. I’ll do a review, but I’ll say now that it mostly exceeded my expectations. Also, the smell was amazing as we walked up.
The kids wanted to swim again, but I asked that we do Great Movie Ride before we go. The line was a lot shorter now, about 10-minutes, so they agreed. I’m so glad we got to do this, because it wound up being our only ride of the trip. I was going to ask to sit in one the front rows, but I didn’t have to because that’s where we were lucky enough to get it. I think being up front makes a big difference, and it was an amazing experience. To me, this is another unheralded gem. Some would say it could use a refurb or updating because it doesn’t have any modern movies, but I say that it is a timeless classic that is genre-driven and therefore it doesn’t need it. That’s just my opinion.
Afterwards, we took the kids to the Hippy Dippy Pool, and I was introduced to the Captain’s Mai Tai at Petals. The next day was our “off” day, so I didn’t mind being up late. Stay tuned for more entries!
DHS: The Hardest Park to Plan
The Cast:
DM: Darth Macho (41yo)
DW: Darth Wife (41yo)
DD1: Darth Daughter 1 (11yo)
DD2: Darth Daughter 2 (8yo)
The Stage:
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The Report:
After two days of getting up at six and going all day, I could already see the fatigue setting in on the family, so despite an extra hour of sleep, the enthusiasm was on the wane during the 7AM wake up call. We still managed to get to DHS and ride Toy Story Mania for the first time ever. Both the queue and the ride were great, but the long lines are still a little bit of a mystery to me. I don’t remember the exact scores, but I pulled out ahead, but DW ended up beating me and getting the high score. Vowing revenge I snagged FP for later, and went to check out the other big-ticket rides, ToT and RnR.
Here’s where things went awry. ToT posted a 60-minute wait, so that was out. RnR posted a 30-minute wait, and DW wasn’t ready to ride, so she was going to get ToT FPs for the kids and I while we waited in line for RnR. As it turns out, it took us 90 minutes to get through the RnR line and DW couldn’t get the FP because we had them for TSM. (Sorry for all the acronyms!) Anyway, we had been in the park 2 hours already and had only been on two rides and were fairly tired and frustrated already. Still, it was early on a long trip, so we made the best of things and continued on with our day. The Beauty and the Beast show was nearby, so we watched it, and finally we were able to get our FP for ToT. We checked out Starring Rolls for lunch, but the kids didn’t like the selection, so we ended up lunching at ABC Commissary. It often gets bad reviews, and the theming is lame, but it was cool, comfortable, and the food was good, so we were satisfied.
Meanwhile, it was time for our ToT FP, and we’d have just enough time to get there, but the kids made a good point, which was that we probably shouldn’t ride it right after lunch, so we decided to save that for another time. Instead we opted to ride Star Tours, which was closer and something we were excited for with the new changes. It posted a 10-minute wait time, but we basically walked on. It really has improved, and the queue, which was always excellent, was even better too. We had a great ride, with the Vader opening, Hoth second, a visit from Admiral Ackbar, and the Coruscant finish. Unfortunately, none of us were the Rebel Spy. We wanted to ride again, but the line was now out the door as Indy and the JTA shows both broke up, so we for FP and moved on.
Next, we visited an underrated classic, Muppets 3D, and I loved it. I’m not even a huge Muppets fan, but I love this attraction. The only character I don’t care for is Waldo, who I find mildly irritating, though not enough to ruin my enjoyment of the show. Personally, I think Stitch and Iago get a bad rap when this guy is way more annoying.
Last trip, we put off the Indy show until it was too late and the last show got cancelled due to rain. We were determined to fit it in early this time. We just made it into the theatre as the sky opened up, and after seeing the first segment the rest was cancelled due to the wet conditions. On the bright side, we were dry and the storm had passed, so we made our way back to Toy Story Mania to use our FP. This time, I won with a score of 135,900, which wasn’t all that impressive, but our high score for the trip after riding twice. Again, it was a fun ride, but not worth the wait times it gets.
Back to Star Tours for our FP, this time we got a Vader, Kashyyk, Yoda, and Death Star combo. Again, none of us were the Rebel Spy. We had time to kill before our ADR, and the line for Great Movie Ride was too long and we just missed getting into the Little Mermaid show, so we opted to explore a backstage area, and got a photo with Sorcerer Mickey. We just got done in time for our 5pm ADR at Mama Melrose. I’ll do a review, but I’ll say now that it mostly exceeded my expectations. Also, the smell was amazing as we walked up.
The kids wanted to swim again, but I asked that we do Great Movie Ride before we go. The line was a lot shorter now, about 10-minutes, so they agreed. I’m so glad we got to do this, because it wound up being our only ride of the trip. I was going to ask to sit in one the front rows, but I didn’t have to because that’s where we were lucky enough to get it. I think being up front makes a big difference, and it was an amazing experience. To me, this is another unheralded gem. Some would say it could use a refurb or updating because it doesn’t have any modern movies, but I say that it is a timeless classic that is genre-driven and therefore it doesn’t need it. That’s just my opinion.
Afterwards, we took the kids to the Hippy Dippy Pool, and I was introduced to the Captain’s Mai Tai at Petals. The next day was our “off” day, so I didn’t mind being up late. Stay tuned for more entries!