Day 3: Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is Disney's attempt to attract visitors from Universal Hollywood Studios. While they have miserably failed, there are several redeeming qualities to the park, which I'll spare for another post.
One of the cons of staying offsite is that you will get to see a lot of roads since Disney wanted to be as far away from civilization as much as possible. For those who are onsite, it may be a good thing. You get to be shielded from the problems of the modern world. As usual, we made our drive down I-4 to get to DHS. Like EPCOT, DHS has its own lot. So no ferry or monorail hopping required.
We started this day even later than the day before, in which we didn't get into DHS until noon. All we had that morning were a few snacks that we've packed, but we were craving more. The first time we both had a turkey leg was at DHS in '07 and in the rain. As per tradition, we grabbed a turkey leg. In addition, we grabbed some hot chocolate then sat at a bench to people watch.
At 1 past the hour, we caught a showing of Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage. I would have to say that the 1991 film is vastly superior to this show.
To walk off the 1,000 or so calories of turkey, we went on The Great Movie Ride. I would say that we had an okay guide. The most exciting part was when our vehicle was commandeered by gangster who acted like it was still the 1930's, pretty much driving our old guide away. Maybe its because I'm not a movie buff (I haven't seen Mary Poppins yet, shame on me), but this ride needs updating. I think they should throw in some Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Iron Man into the mix.
After we had our fill of movies, we went to see Voyage of the Little Mermaid at Animation Courtyard, which is another stage show...based on a movie. I'm not sure what it is, but the Little Mermaid shows and rides fail to capture the essence of the original movie. At least the shows and rides weren't based on Ariel's daughter.
After the show, we went towards the building that housed The Magic of Disney Animation. Since my hand was cramping up from taking photos (not really), we opted out of exercising our amazing drawing skills. Instead, we just took more photos of the various awards and artwork to further develop carpal tunnel.
Adjacent to the gallery we were just in was a store called Animation Gallery. We checked it out and wanted to buy everything in it.
At the end of the gallery, there was a short film about the life of Walt Disney narrated by Julie Andrews. Maybe it's nostalgia (that I've never experienced), but it beats the socks off the other films I've seen at EPCOT.
Rather than having dinner in the parks, we stepped out to Sweet Tomatoes. By the time we came back, the entire park underwent a total transformation. Actually, it was just the Streets of America that was transformed and a party seemed to be happening at the sorcerers hat. During the holidays, the Streets of America houses the The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, a huge display with millions of lights that are synchronized to music. This is also one of the five areas in the resort where your Glow with the Show ears can dance to the music.
Once we've explored enough of the area, we went to Sunset Boulevard to use up our Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith fastpasses. I think Rock 'n' has the best queue of any Disney park; therefore, making it the best queue ever. Just look below for proof.
With the night winding down, we decided to check out some merchandise. As usual, we just took pictures of things instead of buying them.
Next up, Disney's Animal Kingdom!
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