Day 4 was Monday – Hollywood Studios. We had originally planned to have an early night at the resort but we had already done that, which meant that we now had no ADR and we needed to use our DP credits. The kids voted to go to the Rainforest Café at DS and we were able to get reservations. They were earlier than we would have liked – 4pm – but the kids were excited.
Just a quick comment about fireworks. We’ve already seen Fantasmic several times so I didn’t plan for it. And I wasn’t expecting them to still be doing the Star Wars show so I didn’t plan for it. I was pushing to stay in HS, eat, and catch the show, but I was outvoted. This was surprising, as all of us are big Star Wars fans, and also I figured that my husband and son would have preferred to stay in HS than do DS. But I didn’t push for it and we all started the day on the same page.
Our FPs for the day were Toy Story @ 10:25, Star Tours @ 12, and ToT @1:10. We got to the park early and were all on Hollywood Boulevard when they opened the rest of the park. But we were spread out a bit. Three of us were planning to do RnRR and Tot first thing. One was planning a peaceful walk to soak up the MGM-feels. And one – me! – was planning a relaxed, solitary breakfast at Starring Rolls. I did some people watching – always a pleasure at WDW – and felt really glad to be there!
We had plans to meet at the Great Movie Ride @10, but we were all early and got on line by 9:45. The line was very short and we had a great time. We had front row seats – first time! – and it was so much better up front! We could really see the guide and gangster up close, which made it all funnier. After the ride we needed to kill some time before our TSM FP, so we went to One Man’s Dream. We hadn’t been for several years so we felt like it was all new. We especially liked the models that Walt had built. But we didn’t stay for the film, as it was Toy Story Time!! This ride is always fun. Since we are a group of 5, someone has to ride alone for this kind of ride. I volunteered as I am not particularly competitive (iow, I stink!) so I just relaxed and had fun.
Afterwards, we headed over to the Star Wars Launch Bay. My husband and I had been there last year, but the kids were so psyched, all wearing Star Wars shirts. The film was a big hit, as we love “the making of…” stuff. And we, as a family, also really enjoy concept art so we spent a lot of time looking at that. We have a Disney Visa, so we got to see a “special” character, who turned out to be Kylo Ren. I get the feeling that they wanted to keep the line moving and Kylo was herding – intimidating! – us into position for a photo, but my kids wanted to have a little fun first. Kylo played along, but the PhotoPass woman was a real sourpuss. But the picture came out well
As a fitting follow-up to our Star Wars fun, it was time for our ST FP. It was a good ride – more exciting than usual. I love the different combinations, but most of us can’t ride this more than once in a day, so I don’t usually get more than one ride a trip. We don’t like to spend our Park time feeling all woozy! We spent some time in the Gift Shop, as we were intent on checking out all the new Star Wars swag. By the end of the day, my kids had found some amazing pins and one daughter was hot on the trail of a particular shirt that they didn’t have in her size. She eventually found it…I think a few days later in Epcot.
We split up for lunch. My daughter with the allergies went over to the ABC Commissary as she had something specific in mind for lunch and the rest of us ate at the Backlot Express because we hadn’t eaten there for several years. I think that my son would have preferred to try the new PizzeRizzo but I didn’t think of it till later. Well, we shared lunches as we weren’t that hungry. I am sure that some of my family had been having Mickey Bars and popcorn etc. during our days but I wasn’t really paying attention. That is one of the pleasures of having older children!
Next up were FPs for ToT…but we had time for a show first. My husband and son went to Indy and my daughters and I opted for the Frozen show instead. We sort of love to hate Frozen…I mean, we love Frozen but the hype can be unbearable sometimes, kwim? So we didn’t plan to see the show, but when it came down to it, she and I just admitted that we were dying to see it! It was so much fun!!! By the time we all met up and polished off ToT, it was getting close to 3:00 and time to get over to Disney Springs for dinner.
But. We bickered a bit about the best way to get there. Plus it was getting cold and certain members of our party claimed that they had always intended to go back to the room for a jacket before we went to DS. And why did our ADR have to be so early? This was goofy bickering, nothing too acrimonious, but still. I said before that it is easier with older children, but there is something to be said for the days when I could insist that they carry a jacket,follow my plan, and stop being ridiculous. I suspect that they prefer being older lol!
So we made it a little competition. The boys asked a friendly Cast Member the fastest way to DS since the bus to DS wasn’t running yet. They went to a close resort – AoA or Pop. maybe? – and then on to DS. The girls went back to the CBR, grabbed some jackets, and waited for the bus to DS. And waited. And waited. The girls obviously did not win, but we were all checked in to the Rainforest Café by 4:10 so it all worked out.
The Rainforest was better than I expected…they no longer had my favorite meal, the Pot Roast, so I was sad. I can’t remember what everyone else got, but I had the Blue Mountain Chicken sandwich and it was delicious! I had been bummed that were going to eat there, as I would have preferred to try one of the more fun-looking restaurants at DS – Raglan Road or maybe Bongos – but at least the sandwich was wonderful and my family was all happy. Score!
DS was lovely. The last two times we were there we saw a lot of construction and this time everything seemed mostly done. It was bigger than we expected and we actually got a little lost, wandering around! We did some window shopping, bought a few things, and worked our way over to the real reason I was excited to see the new Disney Springs – Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar! The younger ones got sodas and we ordered 4 drinks to share between the adults. I really liked the place and but it was too crowded to really get a close look at the décor. I just love Disney theming and they really got this one right!
After the drinks we worked our way over to the bus stop and I was (privately) very glad that our day was ending. I was pooped and we had a full day planned at the MK!