Our stay at the Disney property over, we packed everything up, made our lightning lane selections and headed to Hollywood Studios. The park opened at 9am today (8:30am for us as resort guests) so we decided to get there extra early and arrived at 7:30am – one bonus being an extra close car park.
We were let into the park about 8am so almost an hour before general opening and onto the rides almost straight away. We went straight for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith where you race through the darkened freeways of Los Angeles in a super-stretch limo to the rockin’ tunes of Aerosmith. Instead of the usual slow crank up to the top of the coaster, this one shoots you off at high speed. We did this ride twice and then went for a third time but it had broken down. I can’t say I was surprised as when we were almost back at the station the second time it stopped and seemed to take a very long time to move us slowly back in.
We looked at the queue for Tower of Terror but it was huge and the ride wasn’t even open (the Disney marathon was on so I think that had delayed it as it went right by that ride) so we opted for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway as there was only a 10 minute wait. In this ride, Mickey & Minnie are taking a leisurely drive to a picnic in their sporty roadster—with engineer Goofy’s train following merrily along and you join them. The technology turns the flat world of a cartoon into a multi-dimensional sensory experience. Mark took a break and so I took the kids. It is a fun ride and much better than we were expecting.
Next we headed to Toy Story Land and Slinky Dog Dash as the wait time was 20 minutes and we knew it can get long later on. This is a rollercoaster where Slinky Dog’s coils twist around curves, hills and drops and it was really good. Mark met us at the end of the ride and we headed back to Starbucks for a drink and bite to eat.
Everyone’s appetite sated, we had a look around a few shops and got some photos taken before heading to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror using our lightning lane pass. Here you hurtle up and down into the Twilight Zone aboard a haunted elevator ride. TJ wasn’t keen to do it so Mark stayed with him and the girls and I rode the ride, which meant as there were only 3 of us we got the front row so everyone was happy. The ride basically takes you into a haunted hotel and then when you’re in the elevator it fails and you are dropped and then go up again and dropped again – this happens a few times. It is such a good thrill ride.
Next up we went to Muppetvision 3D which is as the name suggests a 3D show featuring the Muppets. It wasn’t bad but not something I would queue any length of time for, I in fact it gave me (and Sophia) an opportunity for a little shut eye.
Finally, what TJ had been waiting for, Star Wars – Galaxy’s Edge. This land is relatively new and the level of detail they have gone to is quite incredible – even for a non Star Wars fan I could appreciate the effort and level of detail they had put into it. There is a high proportion of Star Wars geeks there … many dressed in costume. Today highlighted to me that Disney is the place to go if you are a misfit as there really is no such thing there. ?
We had lunch at Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo. The food was really good – I definitely think the level of food has improved at Disney and it was nice to be given metal cutlery for a change.
We were supposed to ride Rise of the Resistance using our lightning lane (this was one we had to pay extra for) next but the ride had broken down so we had to wait. Apparently this happens most days with this ride. Instead we went to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. In this ride you’re in the famous cockpit of the Millennium Falcon on a daring flight—you get posted to a role depending on where you sit, whether you’re a pilot, engineer or gunner, every role is apparently crucial. The engines rumble as the Millennium Falcon blasts off, pushing you and your crew back into your seats when you jump into hyperspace towards adventure. Along the way you face danger at every turn and depending on your role, you have different things to do. TJ and Sophia were our pilots, Mark & Greer the gunners and I was the engineer. It was a really good ride but I found you’re so busy concentrating on what you have to do (ok, I was trying to video at the same time) you don’t really get to enjoy the full effect of the ride, although this depends on what role you are allocated.
We had a look around some of the shops at Galaxy’s Edge and then the Rise of the Resistance ride reopened so we headed straight there. This ride is divided into a few parts where you join the Resistance in a battle against the First Order. When we got into the actual ride part of it, the girl who was in our carriage with us asked if we had been on it before and said they it was really intense. Suddenly, the girls and I had a little hope that we might enjoy the ride a bit more. But no, clearly her definition of intense and mine are at opposite ends of the spectrum! There was one small drop but otherwise I really didn’t get the appeal. I think you need to be a Star Wars geek to really fully appreciate it. I have absolutely no intention of either (a) paying another US$17 (that is per person) to get a lightning lane to skip the queue or stand in line for 2 hours plus to ride that again. We agreed next time, the boys can do that ride and us girls will do tower of terror. ?
TJ wanted to try the blue milk … some drink from Star Wars (having done a little research I see that Luke Skywalker was seen drinking blue milk in a couple of the movies and it is known as Blue Bantha). It looked fairly disgusting to me but he liked it so that was good. Greer got a Mickey shaped pretzel and she got herself some “ears” to wear for the next couple of weeks and we headed to the local Publix supermarket for some groceries.
Loaded up it was time to check out the house and we weren’t disappointed. It is spacious and not too far away from the parks. We made our own dinner which everyone enjoyed and had some downtime watching TV and playing in the games room before bed.
