Hollywood Studios

Last month we surprised the girls with a trip to Disney that we’d been planning for over four months. We took them geocaching at Eastgate Park where we hid a cryptic message near the geocache that they had to solve. They instinctively worked together solving the message, thereby proving Disney’s magic transcends to sisterhood.

After sharing the surprise with the girls we had about a week to finish last minute planning details. We bought some Mickey, Star Wars, princess and Lion King t-shirts before leaving on our trip. We also watched the Bucket List Family’s 30 Stays in 30 Days of Disney World episode and walked through all the rides and parks we planned to visit. The girls got increasingly excited, and it was so thrilling to witness their anticipation build throughout the week.

Though it’s only been about a month since returning from Disney it feels like forever ago. Disney truly has the ability to magically transport you into a separate universe during your stay only to return you to reality as soon as you come back.

Over six hot days (without rain) we each walked over 110,000 steps equal to about 45 miles. Having just conquered Disney, naturally, I feel like we have super powers and can do anything. Here are our tips and tricks that worked for us while we were there.

Getting a Disney Planner

One of the most crucial parts of our trip was using a Disney Planner. I got a recommendation from a friend to use Haley at Wishing Well Travel and she was fabulous from the beginning. She met with me in person to learn about our trip goals and go over the millions of questions I had about hotels, FastPasses, dining plans, transportation, and more. After our meeting she sent me quotes comparing the different hotels. Based on our kids’ ages (8 and almost 6) she steered us towards certain hotels, leaving out all the guesswork.

After we booked the hotel and 4-day pass, Haley started reserving character meals. Then, once our FastPass window opened up she helped with our FastPasses. Throughout the months she occasionally checked in with me to see if we needed anything. As we got closer to the trip she arranged for our Magic Bands and Magical Express bus transportation. During our final meeting she gave me a packet showing our schedule for the week along with a list of her special tips and reminders. Having her expertise throughout the trip planning really helped ease my Disney fears; I’d use her again for the next trip too!

Another recommendation Haley gave us was to get the Memory Maker photo package. With this package we enjoyed unlimited photos throughout the parks. We simply scanned our Magic Bands after rides or after crew members took our pictures. Then, the photos showed up magically in our Disney app and we could download them after getting home. It took the hassle out of taking our own cell phone photos and ensured we got really great photos!

Staying There

Choosing a Hotel

Since entering elementary school both girls claimed to “be over” princesses and way into Star Wars. So, when trying to decide about where to stay we really looked hard at the hotels near Hollywood Studios. Ultimately, we nixed the idea of staying too close to Hollywood Studios because of the unknown Disney magic that might draw them back into the world of princesses. Boy, am I glad we didn’t commit to a Hollywood Studios hotel location! My oldest embraced all the Disney magic from her toddler/preschool days and even travelled with Cinderella dress-up, which she wore to the Cinderella character dinner at 1900 Fare – my heart was full! In case anyone needs a reminder of their former princess obsession love here’s a (little) montage of their Disney dress-up:

After we decided on a more centrally-located hotel, we deliberated more about which hotel and which room within the hotel to choose. Since we were staying for 6 nights we compared the pricing, space, and room features when deciding between getting two adjacent rooms, a suite, or just one room. Ultimately we stayed with our original decision of getting one room at Port Orleans Riverside, and opted for a River View room. For us we felt the extra room/suite cost wasn’t going to be worth it since we wouldn’t be spending much time in our hotel room.

As it turned out, we wouldn’t have needed the extra space in a suite or second room. We left our room by 7:30am each day and usually didn’t return until dinner time. Everyone immediately passed out when their head hit the pillow, too! The corner room we stayed in had two queen beds, a small table/chairs, dorm fridge, TV, and double sinks with a black-out drape for privacy.

Port Orleans Riverside River View rooms were beautifully adorned with tasteful princess decor. The girls loved discovering the hidden decorations in the room. The room’s carpet incorporated Aladdin’s magic carpet, the headboards featured light-up fireworks, and the wall trim had accents of Chip from Beauty & the Beast. We also awoke each morning to a wake-up call from Winnie the Pooh telling us, “I do hope you’ll have a wonderful day!”

Hotel Fun

When we weren’t sleeping in our room or exploring a park we spent time in the hotel’s pool and dining area. The pool area featured a winding slide, island with waterfalls, adjacent playground, hot tub, nearby bar, and separate baby pool area. The girls enjoyed climbing on the island and jumping into the waterfalls. Sadly, they’ve been spoiled with our neighborhood pool’s new slide and were unimpressed with this one (you’re killing me, Smalls)!

We were all really impressed with the dining options at our hotel. We enjoyed breakfast each morning in the casual dining area with either a quick-service meal or on-the-go snacks (fruit, bagel, muffin, cereal). One night we enjoyed a table-service meal at the Boatwright’s Dining Hall restaurant, which had delicious cajun-inspired food. We all agreed it was the most delicious meal of the week.

Friends who did Disney earlier this year told us to make sure we picked up our reusable thermoses that were included with our dining plan. The thermoses have a chip that allows you to get unlimited sodas and coffee at the hotel. We usually chugged coffee in the morning on the way to the bus while the girls filled theirs up with ice water. When we got to the parks we used them to refill with free ice water stations at the quick-service restaurants. The girls and I regularly use them around the house now!

Our hotel’s gift shop also contained a decent selection of convenience, snacks and beer. I almost Instacarted a small grocery order to our hotel room, but in hindsight wouldn’t have needed the extra food. We brought enough snacks, took home left-overs and bought an overpriced six-pack to keep in the room.

Getting Around

Going into the trip I felt a little overwhelmed because of not completely grasping the transportation between hotels and parks. Once I thought of Magic Kingdom as a transportation hub, it all dawned on me! Each park has buses that run to each hotel that are clearly marked. Near Magic Kingdom there’s also the monorail and boat that run to nearby resorts like the Polynesian and Grand Floridian. Port Orleans Riverside hotel also featured a special boat that ran to the Disney Springs area, which we took on our first day.

We took advantage of every mode of transportation, but mostly rode the Disney buses. The Disney app features transportation times where you can check bus arrivals, however that wasn’t always dependable. If you go into the trip knowing the buses usually run every 15-20 minutes, then you probably won’t be disappointed. We never tried to catch a bus based on arrival times in the app. The hotel bus stop shows incoming arrival times so we’d just show up and wait. We definitely witnessed some irate people complaining about bus arrivals, but to us it wasn’t worth the extra aggravation. And, yes, sometimes our kids sat on the bus floor because the bus was so packed, but they didn’t care.

We also hailed an Uber driver when leaving parks or other hotels in the late evening hours. After dinner at Ohana (Polynesian) and 1900 Fare (Grand Floridian) we easily got an inexpensive Uber ride to our hotel. For us, it was worth the extra $10 to avoid the extra transportation time getting back to Magic Kingdom and then to our hotel.

On our last night we rode the boat from Magic Kingdom to the Polynesian to watch fireworks. Fireworks start around 9:15pm during summer so we arrived about an hour early. The girls played in the sand while we enjoyed delicious drinks and watched a pre-fireworks water show. After the fireworks we easily caught an inexpensive Uber ride back to our hotel, avoiding big crowds at Magic Kingdom.

Getting Through Security

Disney takes security seriously! They spend time opening each zipper pouch and taking out items to get to the bottom of the bag. Our family arrived at each park before the usual 9am opening, so we waited about 5-7 minutes for bag check. Friends of ours suggested stuffing your cargo pockets with a small, foldable book bag and snacks to go through the “No Bag” security line with no wait. It would’ve been nice to save that time especially if you arrive during a busier time, but with all the sunscreen, water bottles, and rain coats we couldn’t make it happen.

Each day I wore my REI Trail 25 book bag filled with sunscreen, dried fruit, extra water bottles, back-up cell phone charger and raincoats. This book bag worked great because it has small interior and exterior pockets, including three exterior spots for water bottles. Bill also carried a small book bag for his things and used a carabiner clip to attach his Disney thermos to the outside.

Food

We signed up for a Dining Plan that provided each person with one quick-service meal, one table-service meal and two snacks per day. As soon as we settled on our trip dates and planned out the park visit schedule we started making meal reservations. We changed some reservations along the way and even forfeited some money by cancelling a dinner at Hollywood Studios because we didn’t give enough notice. But, our kids were exhausted by 4pm at Hollywood Studios and there was no way we’d make it to a 6pm dinner.

The Disney app was really easy to use when searching for available table-service reservations. We quickly learned to save our table-service meals for character dining plans because it was a great way to see all the characters in a relaxed, cool environment. We also learned that we really enjoyed having table-service meal reservations for lunch – it gave us some downtime in the A/C while filling our bellies. It also meant we had more flexibility for dinner in case we just wanted to eat at the hotel and go swimming.

Our favorite meals were the character ones at 1900 Fare (Cinderella), Crystal Palace (Winnie the Pooh), Tusker House (Safari Donald and friends) and Cinderella’s Royal Table (princesses). Our kids really love Winnie the Pooh so I’m glad we switched out a Belle lunch for the Winnie the Pooh lunch at the Crystal Palace. We all really loved the Cinderella dinner at 1900 Fare with Cinderella and her stepmother and stepsisters. The actresses interacted with each other and really stayed true to their character during dinner.

The only dinner we wouldn’t repeat again was Ohana at the Polynesian. The food was really good, but it was too much food and it wasn’t the best spot for kids, especially at 9pm. We got a late reservation hoping to get a good window seat for the fireworks, but instead we sat with a view of the kitchen while one kid picked at her food and the other slept through dinner.

I was also overwhelmed trying to determine the difference in the meal options included in the Dining Plan. I didn’t understand what snacks were included and where the different meal plans were accepted, which meals were served at which restaurants or how many meal credits each table-service restaurant used. Before our trip, I found a helpful website summarizing all of the quick-service and table-service options. Once we got to Disney, I learned that dining plan snacks are designated with a purple Mickey icon. Some snacks we ordered included french fries, veggies and ranch, Mickey pretzels, popcorn, ice cream treats, and fruit.

We tried using the mobile ordering option when possible to avoid waiting in long lines. I specifically tried using it while waiting in line for the Star Tours ride, but the order never went through. Luckily, the Backlot Express was pretty quick and easy. Don’t forget to use your alcoholic beverage allowance included with every quick-service and table-service meal!

Here’s a quick glance of where we ate over the week. We used up all our meal credits and even had to pay for 1/2 of the breakfast at Cinderella’s castle because it uses two table-service credits per person. The Cinderella breakfast wasn’t on our original schedule, but I kept calling the night before and they had a last-minute morning opening, which worked great with our schedule and the extra Magic Hour. The Disney app was also helpful for tracking how many meal credits you had remaining.

The Parks

Magic Kingdom

The mountains are calling and they are Splash, Thunder and Space. On this trip we discovered that our kids are crazy for coasters – the faster, the better. In most of our roller coaster pictures their eyes are closed and their heads are down, but as soon as we got off the ride they screamed, “That was amazing, let’s do it again!” And, as soon as they saw friends back at home they shared stories about how much fun they had on the coasters.

We originally planned for only one day at each park (MK, HS, AK and Epcot). However, about halfway through the week we decided to swap the Epcot plans on the last day for another day at Magic Kingdom. We’re so glad we added the extra Magic Kingdom day, as we were able to take advantage of early magic hours and score a last minute breakfast at Cinderella’s Castle.

• Each land (Adventureland, FantasyLand, etc) has a special 9am rope drop signaling when you can proceed to the areas and ride the attractions. At 8:55am there’s a special opening ceremony at the Magic Castle where Mickey and his friends welcome you to the park. This was one of the most magical parts of the whole trip because you see so many characters dancing and singing together, and then the Fairy Godmother arrives and exclaims, “Bippity, Boppity Boo” – it’s a great way to start your magical day! I definitely teared up during the short 5-minute performance.
• Visit Sir Mickey’s (usually Castle Couture, but it’s under renovation) and ask a cast member for a pixie dust sprinkling
• My husband loved the Dole Whip dessert located in Adventureland
• We originally had FastPasses for Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. We used the first two FastPasses in the morning, but then Seven Dwarfs Mine Train became temporarily closed during the afternoon FastPass time. They gave us a replacement FastPass Experience where we were able to select one ride from many choices, so we traded it for Space Mountain. Of course, shortly after getting off Space Mountain, Seven Dwarfs became operable and the standby line was over an hour long.
• Thumbs Up
  • Enchanted Tales with Belle experience was magical and interactive
  • We loved the movie music and up-close encounters riding in a clam shell at Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid ride
  • Lunch with Pooh and his friends at the Crystal Palace (restaurant with glass atrium) was enchanting and dear
  • Pirates of the Caribbean ride was suspenseful and fun (we rode it twice, taking advantage of short lines and cool temperature waiting area)
  • Splash, Thunder and Space Mountain were all our favorite rides – the rides are longer and faster and worth the wait
  • The Hall of Presidents show was beautiful and relaxing
  • The Monsters Inc Laugh Factory Floor was interactive, restful, and funny
• Thumbs Down
  • Winnie the Pooh ride had beautiful story details, but the pace of the ride was too fast to enjoy everything
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train features a beautiful, slower mid-ride mine exploration, but overall the coaster was too short

Hollywood Studios

Our family loves Star Wars so we were really excited to visit this park and experience the character meet and greets, Jedi Training and First Order marches. We arrived to the park right before 9am and already noticed a really long wait time for Slinky Dog Dash. So, instead we took advantage of no wait times with the Star Wars characters, which were super fun. We caught a glimpse from far away of the new Star Wars Land set to open later this summer, and can’t wait to explore that new land in a few years.

• Originally, we had FastPasses for Toy Story Mania, Star Tours and Tower of Terror. We used the first two FastPasses in the morning, but then (again) Tower of Terror became temporarily closed during the afternoon FastPass time. Again, we got a replacement FastPass experience where we could select one ride from many choices (Slinky Dog not included). Based on our day-before experience at Magic Kingdom, we killed a little more time to see if Tower of Terror would get fixed quickly. However, it was a trade-off because as soon as you ride a third FastPass you get an additional FastPass. After 30 minutes, Tower of Terror was still inoperable so we blew our last FastPass on Indiana Jones. Sadly, the Slinky Dog Dash FastPass was not available, so we just waited in line anyways.
• Thumbs up:
  • Everyone really enjoyed the indoor shows, which provided a great break from the intense heat. We saw Frozen Sing-a-Long, Ariel’s Sea Voyage and Muppets 3-D. All were great shows with a lot of fun comedy and singing.
  • Character Meet & Greets – when the park first opened we quickly got in line to meet Chewbacca and BB-8; meeting Chewie was an especially fun treat for my kids and husband
  • Star Tours simulator – a fun simulator ride for the whole family that tilts and moves as you ride through space
  • Jedi Training – despite the intense heat, Claire rocked this interactive training session with her focus and expert training
  • Indiana Jones Experience – similar to what I remembered as a child, this brought the movie to life in front of our eyes with suspenseful music, action sequences and audience participation
  • Slinky Dog Dash – without a FastPass we waited about an hour in the heat for this ride. We killed time by people watching and playing “I Spy” and the popular iPhone game “Head’s Up.” The ride was super fast with a fun quirk in the middle. Both girls exclaimed, “That was so worth the wait” after getting off the ride!
  • Guest Services store sells deodorant, which was super helpful when I realized I had forgotten to apply some
• Thumbs down:
  • Bathroom and water fountain facilities seemed harder to locate
  • In hot summer months, it would’ve been nice to have more water rides or places to escape the heat

Animal Kingdom

The last time I went to Disney World was over 20 years ago when Animal Kingdom wasn’t built yet. The park design, restaurant decor and rides really blew us all away. We arrived right before rope drop so we could take advantage of short lines on Expedition Everest. Claire was a yeti hair above the height requirement, so we rode it three times in a row! The girls closed their eyes for most of the ride especially when the yeti came out, but they loved the thrill of it!

• Thumbs up:
  • Kilimanjaro Safari ride – riding in the safari jeep with the oppressive Orlando heat and seeing the different animals really helped imagine the reality of an actual safari. We saw close-ups of giraffes, elephants, rhinos, and hippos and enjoyed listening to our guide tell us interesting animal facts. My favorite part was driving right by a sleeping a giraffe, who sleeps standing up!
  • Festival of the Lion King – Broadway-style show features songs, puppets, acrobats, fire dancers and stilt walkers celebrating the movie, The Lion King, all in a 360-degree stage. We all loved this show and again, it provided a great break from the heat.
  • Flight of Passage – unfortunately Claire didn’t pass the height requirement for this ride, which was the same as Expedition Everest. We waited in the ride’s gift shop for Bill and Ash to finish the ride. Then, after lunch I used my FastPass and Ash rode it again (they gave us a Rider Swap). This 3D simulation ride was unlike any ride before. It’s a simulation of riding on a Na’vi banshee bird and you’re strapped into a motorcycle-like contraption. The ride exhilaratingly overloads your senses with dips, tilts, and ascents as you ride through the Avatar world. You feel mists of water and puffs of air as you ride through Pandora and duck through forests, encounter whales, and skim across the ocean. I walked away from the ride in complete awe, and Ashley was over the moon about getting to ride it twice!
• Thumbs down:
  • Kali River Rapids – the ride reminded me of King’s Dominion’s White Water Canyon but with less drenching. We were all really hoping to get drenched, but we didn’t. The ride was okay, but it seemed too short in my opinion. I’m glad we had a FastPass for it.
  • DinoLand – seemed too rundown and old; we only rode the Triceratops Spin ride, which was mildly amusing for this crowd

Typhoon Lagoon

For our mid-week “down day” we made a last minute decision to visit a water park. We debated between Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach and ultimately decided on Typhoon Lagoon because of having a wave pool. Plus, I visited Blizzard Beach when I was younger so I wanted to try a different water park. Typhoon Lagoon has a fun selection of water rides for the whole family, and really fast rides for adults too! The lines are all generally short and despite walking around a park another day, it felt relaxing and cool!

• Thumbs up:
  • Wave pool – the girls LOVED trying to survive the super high waves
  • Ketchakiddee Creek – the girls enjoyed splashing around the kiddo playground and rafting down the small river
  • Several crew members circulate around the park ready to capture your memories so you can leave your phone in a locker all day; we especially enjoyed chatting with a photographer in the Ketchakiddee Creek area
  • Crush ‘n Gusher – full adult/taller kid ride with raft
  • Keelhaul Falls – great raft ride for all ages
  • Gangplank Falls – fun four-person raft ride
  • Castaway Creek – relaxing, twisty lazy river with several waterfalls for getting wet
  • Fast and easy lunch options with lots of shaded seating
• Thumbs down:
  • Humunga Cowabunga – a steep and fast ride on your butt, so expect water to go into all orifices

Fast Passes

FastPass windows open up 60 days in advance of your Disney hotel check-in and 30 days in advance (if not staying on Disney property). Again, our Disney planner helped us with our FastPasses and these are the ones I’d recommend getting FastPasses for because they have longer wait times and are awesome rides. The Disney app was super helpful for checking wait times and deciding which ride to go on next.

Random Things That Worked For Us

• Bring a bag of gum – Disney doesn’t sell gum at the parks, so bring your own. Having gum helped save us some whiny waiting times.
• Pack raincoats in gallon-sized ziplock bags – we could fit 2 in each gallon-sized bag and felt they saved us precious book bag space
• Try to pre-order meals while waiting in line – if you can time it right, place your next meal order while you’re waiting in line for a ride so you can easily pick up food after your ride
• Set limits for souvenirs – we gave both girls a maximum limit for souvenirs and kept a running total of the items they bought throughout the week, so they could get what they wanted within the limit.

Next Time

Our time at Disney was truly magical, and we learned so much along the way. Some things I’d like to do next time include:

• Staying closer to Magic Kingdom at the Polynesian (the pool and sandy beach area seemed really inviting)
• Watching the big afternoon parade at Magic Kingdom
• Visit the new Star Wars Land at Hollywood Studios
• Spend a day exploring Harry Potter World; our kids should probably be old enough for most of the rides by then
• Spend a day visiting Sea World – I remember being amazed by the animals
• Visit Epcot
• Look into the Disney Cruise Ship options

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