Unfortunately for us, our neighbors in the hotel weren't all that kind in maintaining a quiet atmosphere. We could hear children running and yelling outside (this shouldn't have come as a surprise since the Magic Kingdom was open for 24 hours that day) and it sounded as if there was a baby crying in one of the adjacent rooms. I know we were both up until at least midnight and I was up at several points during the night. Come to think of it, I'm not sure that I ever got into a deep sleep. I knew it would make things tough on us the next day since our wake-up call was at 6 AM, but we were going to make the best of it regardless.
One of the best things about staying on property at the Walt Disney World Resort is that as a guest you're provided with transportation all around the resort. You have access to buses, the monorail, boats, and probably other methods of conveyance I don't know about. Point is, you never have issues getting from where you are to where you want to be. The buses typically run on a schedule to where you can expect to see one roughly every 20 minutes.
Maybe it was just my anticipation of wanting to get to Hollywood Studios as early as possible, but on the morning of May 24 it felt like they were running more than a little late. We were in line outside the hotel by 6:45 AM; I believe the bus arrived near 7:15 AM and we were dropped off around 7:40 AM. By the time we got there a sizable crowd had already gathered at the front gate, however it wasn't as huge of a crowd as I'd expected. Again it seemed like it took forever for us to get through admissions - I take the blame for that as I picked the ticketing lane we got into. Fortunately we were inside the park for the first treat of the day, "Storm the Gates"!
We immediately headed for Pixar Place so that we could get in line for Toy Story Midway Mania. If you didn't know, TSMM is arguably the most popular ride in any of the Walt Disney World parks. It's not unusual to see wait times for it upwards of 90 minutes. We had a FastPass for the ride later in the day but we wanted to get on it first thing so we could do it twice. I think we may have waited 10 minutes, tops, which boggles my mind.
Next we went to Darth's Mall (Get it? Darth Maul - Darth's Mall?), a pop-up shopping mall filled with - you guessed it - Star Wars merchandise. You'll find apparel, toys, and plenty of accessories therein, most of which was emblazoned with either the SWW logo or the logo for the upcoming Star Wars: Rebels animated show. There is a character meet & greet area in Darth's Mall and we were able to spend time with Darth Goofy as well as Jedi Mickey and Princess Minnie. Also in Darth's Mall is Ackbar's Snack Bar (as in Admiral Ackbar), an eatery offering themed beverages & snacks. This year the hot item was a Storm Trooper stein, which they were sold out of when we were there. They also had popcorn buckets shaped like Darth Vader's helmet, churros, cupcakes, frozen beverages, and a pair of specialty drinks called the Dark Side and the Force which could be served with or without alcohol. Not only was it too early for vodka and rum, it was also much too hot which is why we sampled the non-alcoholic versions.
Both were quite refreshing but I enjoyed the Force more so than the Dark Side. (Side Note: The Dark Side came with a glowing Death Star "ice cube" and the Force came with a light-up lightsaber.) I can't say that they paired too well with our cupcakes, however I will say that the Vader cupcake was amazing. It was like a German chocolate cupcake with a combination of chocolate and peanut butter flavored toppings.
The great thing about SWW is that there's a lot going on throughout the day, and yet the horrible thing about SWW is that there's almost too much going on throughout the day. What I mean by that is it felt like we were running from one area of the park to another for the rest of the day so that we could try to make it to certain events. The scorching heat only made matters worse (local news outlets were reporting that the days we were in Orlando were the warmest they've seen so far in 2014). I don't believe I've perspired as much as I did that day in a very long time. To Disney's credit, there are water fountains everywhere and park guests can bring canteens in from outside (which we always do), so they have obviously realized they have an obligation to protect their customers from heat-related injuries by offering water.
We rode a several more rides (Star Tours, The Great Movie Ride, and the Tower of Terror) and saw a special preview of the upcoming film Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie. We didn't get to some of my favorites like the Back Lot Tour, the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, or Lights, Motors, Action, but we definitely had a full day. There were an assortment of meet & greet spots set up throughout the park so that fans could interact with a number of characters including Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Jango Fett, Storm Troopers, Clone Troopers, and more. My favorite moment of the day, though, was getting to see Stars of the Saga, a live variety show of sorts hosted by James Arnold Taylor (the voice actor who gave life to Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Clone Wars animated series) and featuring appearances by Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) and Warwick Davis (Wicket).
We waited in line for almost 90 minutes to be assured that we'd get a seat in the theater for Stars of the Saga and I'm glad that we did. It's a one of a kind show and those three made for a very entertaining combination of personalities.
For supper that evening we dined at the 50's Prime Time Cafe, which is a real hoot of a dining experience I'd recommend to anyone who might visit Hollywood Studios. The gimmick is that the interior dining rooms are all decorated to resemble kitchens or diners from the 1950s. The staff take things further by addressing everyone as "you kids", the kitchen staff are collectively known as "Mom", and you better eat your vegetables and keep your elbows off the table else you won't get any desert. Jill & I started off our meal with an order of beer battered onion rings served with horseradish sauce. (I've noticed the kitchens at Disney use horseradish regularly; you won't find any complaints from me about that as I love the flavor.) We both selected the Mom's Favorite Recipes sampler as our main course. It comes with fried chicken, pot roast, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, sauteed green beans, and collard greens.
I don't eat fried chicken often (all the KFCs in our area closed last year, believe it or not) but that there was some of the best fried chicken I've ever had!
Our day at Hollywood Studios ended with the Symphony in the Stars fireworks show and a ride on the Tower of Terror. I get a kick out of that ride regardless of what time of day I ride it but it's especially awesome at night. (PRO-TIP: If you want to feel what it's like to free fall, leave a little bit of slack in your seat belt.) I think Rod Serling would be impressed with it.
Speaking of impressions, I can't say enough about how much fun the whole day was there at Hollywood Studios for Star Wars Weekends. It would've been nice to have had more than one day there to get the full experience of all there is to do at the park normally plus all there is during SWW. That's as good of a review as I guess anyone can give of something like this - to emphasize that it would've been great to have been able to stay longer.
Trust me when I say we didn't have any issues sleeping that night. We took luke-warm showers to wash off the grime of the day (a rather grotesque mixture of sweat residue, body oils, and sunblock) and I'm fairly certain we were both asleep by the time our heads hit our pillows. Good thing, too, because we had another busy day ahead of us, this time at the Magic Kingdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment