All tagged Hollywood Studios
During our March 2023 trip, we spent our second day at the Disney parks (third day in Orlando) at Magic Kingdom that morning and Hollywood Studios that evening. We had a big, late breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table, so we didn’t do a real lunch. We decided to make a dinner reservation at Sci Fi Dine In Theater once we secured the plans for Magic Kingdom. Melody had never been there, and I hadn’t been there since our trip with friends in 2014
Day Six was our final day at Disney World before heading back to Huntsville. We opted to start our day at Hollywood Studios doing some of the bigger rides we didn’t do on day three. Then we wanted to end with our favorite park, EPCOT.
Our third day didn’t go quite as planned, but we also all went in different directions at different times. Generally we spent the morning at Magic Kingdom, and we spent the evening at Epcot. Bob planned to play golf that morning, so he did not plan to come to Magic Kingdom. We had plans to meet up with him at some point in between Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Where things went in a different direction is when I woke up not feeling so great. I had a headache and still had some vertigo issues. I ended up sleeping in and set an alarm to make sure I would make it to Magic Kingdom in time for our dining reservation for a late breakfast. However, Brad, his mom, and Melody went ahead and went to the park in time for rope drop. I did get up and buy Rise of the Resistance for all 5 of us, and Genie+ for the 4 of us doing Magic Kingdom. I booked Big Thunder Mountain first thing since that was a must for Melody.
We decided our first day would be spent at Hollywood Studios followed by the evening at Animal Kingdom. We opted for Hollywood first for a few reasons. One, we knew we wanted to also do Magic Kingdom and Epcot for sure. And those were fitting on Tuesday and Wednesday. Magic is never a good idea on Monday, and with the Food and Wine Festival going on, Epcot wasn't ideal for Monday either. We love doing Animal Kingdom at night, so that left Hollywood during the day. Melody LOVES Dinoland at Animal Kingdom, and we find it best in the evenings.
Back in May when we visited Disney World, we were lucky enough to snag a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance. We went into the trip assuming we likely would not get to ride it, but we still booked a park reservation for one of our days for Hollywood Studios. We attempted to get it for 7 am. Read below about our experience. If you want to remain spoiler free, but you want to read about the boarding groups, you can read my post. I will keep the boarding group information at the top. Now as soon as you get beyond the boarding group screenshots, I cannot guarantee it will be spoiler free!
When we visited Disney World back in May 2021, character meals were still minimal and came with little contact even when present. One we could not get before arriving was Hollywood and Vine during the breakfast hours. During those hours you are greeted with Disney Jr. characters. I thought for sure Melody would love this and be less skeptical. She is obsessed with Doc McStuffins, and she is a fan of Fancy Nancy. With little contact as an added bonus, I really wanted to snag this reservation. Well the night before a 9 am reservation opened up, so I grabbed it.
Our last park day started with a pressured filled morning. Today was our Hollywood Studios morning. This meant getting up to get a Rise of the Resistance boarding group at 7 am. We also had breakfast reservations at 9 am at Hollywood and Vine. While the breakfast was good, I do kind of wished I had not booked it. Then we would not have been in as much of a rush to get to the park. But such is life I suppose.
While at Disney back in August, we visited Backlot Express for the first time in a long while. I am not a huge burger person, so I have typically avoided eating here. We don’t usually spend a lot of time at Hollywood Studios, and when we do, there are a lot of other places I would rather eat at (I am really selling this place to you, huh?).
So back in August, we made a 100% completely spur of the moment trip. Like we started discussing it a week before leaving. And we didn’t even decide we were officially going until the day before. Brad was getting the Disney itch, my annual pass was still good, and we had points to that would cover the costs of the hotel. We would literally only pay for food, gas, and Brad and Melody’s tickets. It was also Brad’s birthday. And what better way to spend your birthday than at Disney?? So we pulled the trigger and went!
So this isn’t like most of my Disney posts. Usually I post about my trip itself, then post about all the other big details. Well this couldn’t wait! Back in August, we made a spur of the moment decision to go to Disney for Brad’s birthday. We had no intention of going to Hollywood Studios, much-less Galaxy’s Edge. We were going to be in the parks August 29 and 30. I really didn’t want to even consider dealing with the crowds. Well late Thursday night, I read people were getting in the land without boarding passes. We decided to check after we did a few things in Epcot Friday morning. And sure enough, no boarding pass was required. So we headed over and literally walked right in without any issues. It really made Brad’s birthday getting to experience it on his actual birthday. I would definitely recommend devoting more than the 3 or so hours we spent there. I am sure we could spend a whole day just here! Well here are some pictures from our few hours and the few things we got to do!
So I know we have been back from our Disney trip in February for nearly three months, but I have finally finished blogging about everything from our trip! Check out all of my posts here!
While at Disney in February, one of the places I wanted to try was Rosie’s All-American Cafe at Hollywood Studios. They had a fried green tomato sandwich that sounded amazing. It had sounded similar to the one served at The Plaza Restaurant. I wasn’t sure if we would still be at Hollywood Studios by lunch but thankfully we were. Let me share our experience below!
So back in September, I was lucky enough to attend the Toy Story Land AP Event with my mom and Melody. And since Toy Story Land was so new, it is unlikely we would have visited had it not been for this free event. Well I really wanted Brad to get to experience Toy Story Land, but it is still crazy crowded, and I was unsure of how we were going to accomplish this on our trip back in February. Well then Disney announced Early Morning Magic at Toy Story Land. Unfortunately it isn’t free, but it is only $79 per adult. It gets you prime access to all three rides plus characters and breakfast from 7:30 am (or even 7 am if you opt to eat breakfast first) until park opening. Check out our experience below.
Back in July, Disney announced a special event for WDW Annual Passholders called Passholder Play Time. It was offered in September for various days throughout the week at 7 am and 8 am. It provided pass holders access to Toy Story Land for an hour with little to no wait times on the three rides along with the character meet and greets. And Woody’s Lunchbox was open for breakfast. Mom and I were able to snag a reservation for 7 am on one of the days during our September trip.
So I have been meaning to write about the Baby Care Centers at Walt Disney World for quite a while. I mean we last visited them in February! However, it has been falling on the back burner. With us planning another trip at Christmas, I decided I probably need to look back at the Baby Care Centers for myself for some planning purposes. So why not write about them now?!
On our recent trip to Disney World, we tried PizzeRizzo at Hollywood Studios. This wasn't pre-planned by any means (we originally planned to eat at Backlot Express). We did plan to eat somewhere at Hollywood Studios for lunch, and we preferred something quick-service to save money. While Brad was riding Star Tours around 12:30 p.m. or so, Melody and I waited in the Muppet Courtyard in some shade we found. I have no desire to ride Star Tours unless I am riding it WITH Brad, so we did not do a rider swap for this attraction. When Brad was finished and came to find me, it occurred to be to try PizzeRizzo since we were literally already right there! And pizza was the one thing we had not eaten this entire trip. Below is a quick review!
So my mom and I knew we would not have enough dining credits for EVERY meal. So we decided we would either pay out of pocket for a meal that didn't take the dining plan or for breakfast. Well we only ate breakfast one morning, so we decided to try The Brown Derby Lounge. As I mentioned in a previous review, The Brown Derby itself is not worth the two credits for the table service dining plan usage. However, if you want to try some of the foods The Brown Derby has to offer, such as the Cobb Salad, stop by the Lounge. It is first come first service seating. We arrived at 12:30, and there was plenty of seats available.
