Disney World Day 4 - Hollywood Studios

On day 4 in Disney World, we went to Hollywood Studios. This was the last park we hadn't visited at Disney World. We didn't have too high of expectations for this park because there is a lot of construction going on. On top of that, the weather was pretty dismal. As we were getting ready I heard a pounding outside I looked out our window and it was pouring rain. When we left 20 minutes later it was still pouring rain. This was an ominous sign for the day. 

Fortunately, Alison was very prepared for the rain. We had all brought umbrellas, but as Alison was watching the forecast and saw that nearly every day there was a possibility of rain she ordered some disposable ponchos and had them shipped to our hotel. We didn't need them for the first few days of our trip, but boy did we need them today. 

We got to the park and went straight to our first fast pass - Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Our only stop along the way was to fill up my grandpa's popcorn buckets. His popcorn the day before was not quite to his liking - he thought it was a little stale. So he asked the lady at the first station we saw if the popcorn was fresh popped. She was very sweet and assured him it was made fresh. When he pulled out his card to pay for the refill she told him these refills were on her. We found a spot that was mostly dry and left my grandpa eating his popcorn while we went on the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. This was a fun ride. I had heard great things so I was pretty excited. The theming was great. Loved the Aerosmith theme. My grandma told us she had a lot of fun listening to Aerosmith when she was younger. The ride itself was a lot of fun - it is a little short, but otherwise a very thrilling ride. 

Up next we had a fast pass for the Tower of Terror. We had a fun time on this ride telling my grandma about how much I used to hate this ride. I used to make Alison ride it alone. Eventually, she got me to go on it begrudgingly until I actually grew to enjoy the ride. The Disney World version is a little different than the old Disneyland version. The elevator goes forward before it goes up and down. It is also random so each time you go on the ride you don't know what drops to expect. 

As we got off the Tower of Terror Alison and I saw a stand selling donuts and sweet rolls. We got a donut for ourselves and a sweet roll for my grandpa - knowing that he would really enjoy it. He was pretty happy when we walked over with a treat. 

Right next to the Tower of Terror there is a theater where they have a Beauty and the Beast show. We decided to give it a try. It was a little weird but still enjoyable. 

Next, we headed across the park to our third fast pass of the day - Star Tours. Hollywood Studios does not currently have very many rides. Usually, Alison and I avoid Start Tours because it tends to make us both a little motion sick, but it seemed like my grandma wanted to ride it so we gave it a shot. It seemed much better in Hollywood Studios than at Disneyland. It was bigger and vented better. We enjoyed the ride and didn't get sick. It was a win. 

Since there aren't very many rides in Hollywood Studios we had reservations for two different sit-down restaurants one for lunch and one for dinner. For lunch, we went to the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. This was one of the favorite meals we had on the trip. When you sit down the tables are set up like cars and they all face a big screen where old drive-in movies are playing. They even play announcements from actual drive-in theaters. My grandparents loved it. They told us all about going to drive-in theaters when they were growing up. It was a lot of fun. The food was good - it was burgers and fries. The shakes were exceptional. It was a very fun dining experience. 

Then we went to the Muppet Vision 3D show. My grandpa loved this show. He really enjoyed the way it looked like you could reach out and touch the objects coming out of the screen. It was a fun little show. 

After the show, we stood in line to meet Mickey and Minnie. Meeting characters is not my grandparent's favorite thing, but they were great sports and indulged us. My grandpa especially is a great sport. His shoulder has tendinitis and was giving him trouble all trip, but he didn't ever complain and he did everything with us that he could and was content to wait for us when we went on rides that he was not interested in. 

After meeting the characters we had another fast pass to Midway Mania. I love this ride. It is a lot of fun and is one that my grandpa could go on with us. I had an exceptionally good game and almost broke 200K with my score. This was exactly the same as the one at Disneyland so I know a few tricks from having played it many times before. 

Our next stop was the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. This was an awesome show. It consisted of a bunch of actors doing some pretty thrilling stunts live. We were all amazed by the stunts. It was one of the better shows we watched during the trip. 

We had just enough time to ride Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and to see the Path of the Jedi (a show that summarizes all of the Star Wars movies in about 12 minutes) before dinner. Dinner was at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. This was a restaurant-themed kitchen right out of the 50s. We walked in and my grandma told us how her house was decorated just like this restaurant when she was growing up. The waiters treat you like family. They aren't afraid to joke with you either. My grandma ordered soup and salad and requested that they be brought out together. The waiter joked he might need a bigger bowl to put the salad in with the soup. We all had a good chuckle about that. Alison asked my grandpa about his experiences working with his mom at the restaurant they owned and he told us about sweeping the floors, cashiering, and being a short-order cook. 

After dinner, my grandparents were ready to go back to the hotel. We walked them out to the front gate and then we ran and rode Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Midway Mania again before finding a seat for the firework show. We were right up near the front for the show. Before the firework show, there was a celebration of Disney Movies projected on the Chinese theater at the center of the park. The firework show was incredible. We were in a great viewing spot. The show is Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular. It was a fun tribute to the Star Wars movies and mixed projection with fireworks and lasers to create a stunning show. 

After the show, the park closed and we headed back. There was no wait to get onto a shuttle back to our hotel so we were back pretty early (by 9pm). We didn't really think we would like Hollywood Studios, but it ended up being one of our favorite days at Disney World. There wasn't a lot to do, but everything we did ended up being a lot of fun.