A Far More Successful Day At Hollywood Studios

I know, I know, I'm a little behind on blogging our trip.  We've been home for a few days now, and I'm just now getting around to our last day in the parks.  In our defense, it was a super long day, and then things were a little chaotic getting back home and adjusting to reality once again.  I know I'm just making excuses, but it's the truth!

So, if you read about our first day in Hollywood Studios, you'll know that it was definitely a disappointment.  Our second day, however, was definitely an improvement, although the crowds were still ridiculous.  Like I said a million times in my first Hollywood Studios blog post, that park simply isn't built for crowds.  Thankfully, we spent most of our day in Galaxy's Edge, which is far more equipped to handle crowds than Toy Story Land.

Our day started far earlier than our other days in the park because we wanted to get a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance.  Our travel agent suggested we splurge for the Minnie Van, which goes through its own entrance to the park and won't get backed up with all the other Ubers and Lyfts (it's run through Lyft but only goes to Disney locations for a flat rate no matter the distance or how many people).  There was a lot of back and forth between Bryan and I about how to get to the park.  He wanted to take the skyliner without a bag, go through the no bag line, then go back to the hotel for our bag.  The skyliner doesn't open until 7:15, and even with the no bag line, we would potentially be cutting it close.  In his defense, when I suggested the Minnie Van, he misunderstood me and thought we would be renting a car for the day, which wasn't true.  Once he understood what I was talking about, he was perfectly fine with it.

Unfortunately, things were far easier said than done.  We had a lot of problems getting the Minnie Van, it kept cancelling on us, and I started getting extremely stressed the morning of.  We were about to call an Uber and hope for the best when I got an alert on my phone saying my Minnie Van had arrived.  Great.  Apparently in all the chaos and sleep deprivation, we had done something correct.  We shared the ride with another guy, and we were off.

I will say this, despite its faults, Hollywood Studios does one thing correctly: it's super efficient at getting people through the gate.  It probably has the most turnstiles to get into the park that we saw, and, despite the crowds, we were through the gate in record time.

Once we got inside the park, most people ran towards Galaxy's Edge to get in line for Smuggler's Run.  It was pretty much like what we saw at Epcot for Frozen Ever After and Animal Kingdom for Flight of Passage.  We didn't run, we just accepted that we'd be in a long line for that at some point during the day, but more about that later.  We were going to head towards Toy Story Land to rope drop meeting Woody and Bo Peep, but a cast member said we wouldn't be able to get Rise of the Resistance boarding groups if we were in that part of the park, which didn't make sense to us at all.  Another cast member said that that wasn't true, and his best advice was to have someone completely close out of the app at about 7:55, then open it up right at 8 AM, while another member of the group open it at about 7:59 and start pressing "Join Boarding Group" right then, so that's what we did.  I closed out of the app, and Bryan had his open.  I'm going to be honest with you, that was the most stressful minute and a half of my life.  I was so afraid if we didn't get a boarding group, Bryan would get a little grumpy because we'd gotten up early, bickered with each other about how to get to the park and went through all this trouble for nothing.  It would just start off our last day in the parks on the wrong foot, especially in a park we already had a sour taste in our mouths about.

Well, all that stress was for nothing, we got boarding group 36 (or something close to that), and we could finally relax.  It was hilarious watching other people get boarding groups, there was cheering and high fiving all around us.  With our boarding group in hand, we could finally relax and enjoy our last day in the park.

The park technically didn't open for another hour, but there were a few things open.  We headed over to the Star Wars Launch Bay, which isn't in Galaxy's Edge to meet our first character of the day, Chewbacca.  Unfortunately, many of the characters we met on this day didn't do autographs, so our Hollywood Studios frame looks a little empty.  Now, Chewbacca wasn't a big fan of Bryan because he had Darth Vader on his shirt; he tried to kick him out.  What threw me about Chewbacca was how tall he was, I even commented on it.  It was a little intimidating.  It's one thing to see how tall he is in a movie, it's another thing to stand next to someone in a Chewbacca costume and experience it for yourself.  Meeting him was a great way to start off the day.

After meeting Chewbacca, we got some popcorn.  It didn't matter to me that it was something like 8:30 in the morning, popcorn is one of my favorite foods, and when I'm on vacation, I'm allowed to have popcorn for breakfast if I want.

We then headed into Toy Story Land to try and rope drop meeting Woody and Bo Peep.  We wanted to do this sooner rather than later because the line for them can get extremely long throughout the day.  As we were waiting, we actually found out from someone in line that it was Bo Peep's last day, she's retiring, along with Mike from Monster's, Inc.  When I made a comment about this to Bo, I asked her what she was doing.  For the first time in our trip, I honestly couldn't figure out what the character was trying to say (or make an educated guess that they just go with, but, honestly, they're pretty good about getting their message across).  I actually said to her, "I have no idea what you're saying."  Finally, I figured out that she's going to look for her sheep.  I was actually a little embarrassed that I couldn't figure that out sooner.

Having met Bo Peep and Woody, we had a little bit of time before our first FastPass for the day, so we decided to get breakfast at Woody's Lunchbox, which was just as crowded as when we went there for lunch the previous weekend.  A Disney vlogger I like said the breakfast bowl there is amazing, so I decided to try it out.  Honestly, I didn't like it at all.  It had tater tots, scrambled eggs, brisket and gravy.  I ate a little bit of it, but Bryan ended up eating most of it.  I didn't mind, I had my popcorn for breakfast earlier.

By now, it was time for our first FastPass for the day, Slinky Dog Dash.  This is an adorable roller coaster where you ride in Slinky from Toy Story.  It's supposed to be a roller coaster that Andy built in his backyard with his toys.  I'm so glad we got FastPasses for it, as it had a three hour wait but 9:45 in the morning, which was absolutely ridiculous.  I mean, it was a fun roller coaster, but it wasn't anything amazing.  Disney's definitely trying to make some smaller scale roller coasters that will appeal more to children, and this is one of them.  Still, it was fun, and the line was adorable.  There were little drawings by Andy and his toys scattered all over the place.

At this point, we were done with Toy Story Land; it's crowded, has little shade and is loud.  It really isn't built to hold any type of crowds.  On our way out, we noticed that Buzz was supposed to come out in a minute or two, so we stuck around to see him again.  Unfortunately, this would be the last signature on our Hollywood Studios frame.  Yes, it looks very empty when compared to the others (especially Magic Kingdom), but am I going to let that get me upset?  No.  It is what it is.  If anything I've definitely learned to go with the flow more with this trip, which is a miracle.

On our way to Galaxy's Edge, we decided to meet Mike and Sulley, especially since it was Mike's last day.  They were a lot of fun to meet, but I was a little upset.  I was prepared to meet them the first day in Hollywood Studios, complete with a clean sock to present to them.  This time, however, we didn't plan on meeting them, so I didn't have a sock.  Okay, there were socks in our backpack, but I took my socks off at some point in Epcot the day before and stuff them in the bag.  I think they're still in Bryan's backpack, oops.  There was no way I was going to give them my smelly socks from the day before, so we just met with them.  I asked Sulley if he'd seen Boo lately, as they were standing in front of Boo's door, and he said they had.  He seemed pretty excited about that.  Mike and Sulley had sculpted hands that they couldn't move, so we couldn't get an autograph from them, but we still got some great pictures.

By now, we'd gotten the exciting news: our boarding group was called for Rise of the Resistance!  I couldn't wait.  We had two hours, so we weren't in a huge rush to get to Galaxy's Edge, so we took our time to explore the area a little bit.  Unlike Toy Story Land, Galaxy's Edge is a completely immersive experience.  Nothing in the area says "Star Wars" on it, you're supposed to be on the planet Batuu.  This includes Storm Troopers wandering around, along with Kylo Ren every once in a while, along with Chewbacca and members of both the First Order and the Resistance.  It was unlike any other part of Disney World I've been in before, you actually felt like you were there.

I think what I liked most about Rise of the Resistance was the line didn't feel like a line.  You had all the pre-ride stuff, which is really just more of the line, but it didn't feel like it very much.  You first go into this room where you're given a mission to get information to the Resistance from Rey and Poe.  You're then put on a shuttle with an insanely realistic looking animatronic of Admiral Ackbar, where, unfortunately, you are captured by the First Order.  Even though you're standing, the shuttle shakes, moves back and forth and feels like you're caught in a tractorbeam.  I have to say, however, my favorite part was getting captured by the First Order.  You're taken into this large room with a bunch of Stormtroopers in it, and if you look close enough, they move ever so slightly every once in a while to give the impression that they are real people instead of animatronics; if they stood completely still the entire time, they wouldn't look realistic.  We were allowed to take pictures to "Document the greatness of the First Order" according to the cast members.  You could definitely tell they had fun with their jobs.  You were given colored groups to determine which group you would be "interrogated in", and then you had to stand in a line on that color.  I know this is all part of the line for the ride still, but, honestly, it didn't feel like it at all.  Unlike rides like Mission: Space, where it's just waiting around and getting talked to, you feel like you're actually there and there are exciting things happening around you, so you don't really mind waiting.  Anyway, while waiting in line, apparently I was slightly out of step with the rest of our line, and a First Order member came up to me and said, "Does the concept of a straight line escape you?"  I actually felt like I was in trouble!

We were then taken to another room where Kylo Ren appeared and said that we would be interrogated for information about where the Resistance is located, but, thankfully, then the Resistance showed up to rescue us.  Since they're trying to make it seem like we have to hurry to get away from the First Order, people were quick to load up into the actual cars for the ride.  That's right, everything leading up to this wasn't part of the ride.  You're sent off speeding through the starship, including underneath Imperial Walkers, all the while dodging shots from Stormtroopers (don't worry, since they're Stormtroopers, they don't actually hit anything).  At one point, you make it to the bridge where you see Kylo Ren yelling at General Hux for allowing us to escape.  I have to say, that's probably one of the best animatronics I've seen next to the Shaman on Na'vi River Journey; he spins around and throws his cape back, it looks like a real person!  We finally make it to an escape pod where we drop down and fly through an epic space battle before crash landing.

I have to say, everything about that ride was absolutely amazing, and, in my mind, it was totally worth getting to the park early.  Bryan said he didn't feel like all the staging ahead of time was necessary, but I personally loved it, and it definitely made it feel like it was an experience not a ride.  If this is the trajectory of future Disney rides, we're definitely in for some wonderful and amazing experiences in the years to come.

After Rise of the Resistance, we temporarily left Galaxy's Edge to ride Star Tours, which isn't part of Galaxy's Edge because it doesn't fit with the timeline of when Galaxy's Edge exists, and it has been a part of the park for many years.  It was a fun ride, but it was also a little forgettable.  Bryan had a good point, it definitely felt dated, and when compared to the other Star Wars rides, it just didn't live up to the hype.  Disney's going to have to do some major reconfiguring of that ride if they want it to live up to the expectations of the other Star Wars rides and attractions.

When we were done with Star Tours, we went back to Galaxy's Edge where we made our big mistake of the day: believing the time on the Disney app saying the wait for Smuggler's Run was 90 minutes, which would give us some down time between that and our reservation at Oga's Cantina.  We waited two hours.  Towards the end, I was extremely cranky and stressed that we wouldn't get out in time for our reservation.  The cast member I talked to was also extremely not helpful and unsympathetic.  I asked him how long the wait was from where we were, as it said an hour and a half, and it was two hours at this point, and we had reservations at Oga's coming up.  All he said was, "Well, those are estimates anyway."  Since he wasn't being helpful, I said, "If your estimate is that far off, there's a problem."  I totally get that they're not going to be 100% correct, but to be that far off is a problem, especially when you have people like us who think that they'll have enough time to get to a FastPass, reservation, etc.  People base a lot of their decisions on those estimates, so they should be somewhat accurate.

Someone told us the line for Smuggler's Run was really interesting with all sorts of weapons, machinery, etc., but it really wasn't.  Once you got inside, it was just some machines making a bunch of noise and the same announcements coming over the PA system.  I've definitely seen more interesting standby lines in Disney World.  It's somewhat worth noting that they do have a bar in line where you can buy drinks, but it's also worth noting that a glass of beer is $14.  That's right, that's a ridiculous price even for Disney.  The horrifying part was the fact that people were actually buying the beers!  That's supply and demand for you.  Bryan and I were going to get beers, but when we heard how expensive they were, it was a hard no.  Besides, once we got off the ride, we had reservations as Oga's.

As much as I hate to admit it, I really enjoyed Smuggler's Run, despite the two hour wait.  Would I wait in line for two hours to ride it?  Definitely not, but once I was on it, I enjoyed myself.  Unlike Mission: Space where the same thing happens every single time, regardless of if you press the correct buttons or not, what you do on Smuggler's Run actually makes a difference.  Bryan and I were pilots, which meant we were completely screwed.  It wasn't Bryan's capabilities I doubted, it was my own.  I'm terrible at steering when it comes to video games and such.  He took care of the up and down steering, while I handled the left and right.  In a way, it makes it easier since you're only in charge of one lever, but it also means you have to communicate a lot.  The premise is simple, you're flying the Millenium Falcon to deliver some smuggled goods you're stealing from the First Order for Hondo Ohnaka, who's apparently a character from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which is something I've never watched.  You have to work as a team of six to find the goods, steal them and deliver them without getting caught.  It's far more challenging than it sounds, especially with me steering.  We actually only ended up getting 38% of the proposed profits because we damaged the ship so much.  Oh well, it was a lot of fun, and the fact that it was so interactive distracted me from the stress of waiting in line for it for two hours.

Finally done with Smuggler's Run, we headed over to Oga's Cantina for our reservation, making it right on time.  As of right now, you really can only go into the cantina if you have a reservation, and then they limit you to a 45 minute visit so as many people can get in as possible.  It's a shame, because this place was a blast!  Definitely one of the more exciting places we ate on vacation.  We stood at the bar and had a wonderful bartender.  The first drink I got was the Yub Nub, which was alright, it just tasted like a typical tropical drink.  My second drink, however, was a Fuzzy Tauntaun, and it was absolutely amazing!  Now, I don't really drink fuzzy navels, but this sounded interesting, so I gave it a shot.  The "Buzz Button Tingling" foam on top was the strangest thing ever, it made my lips and tongue tingle as I drank, which definitely made the experience better.  I would seriously drink that all the time if I could get my hands on it; I've never experienced a drink like that in my life.  For my last drink, I decided to step way out of my comfort zone and get a Rodian Ration, which was pretty much a large jello shot in a petri dish.  Now, I can't stand jello, but this had bobas and pop rocks, so how bad could it be?  What a game changer!  I'm thoroughly convinced that all jello shots should come with bobas in the bottom and pop rocks on top; I couldn't get enough of it.  I actually want to make some jello shots now and try out some fun mixtures of jello, bobas and pop rocks.  I know it sounds crazy and like I'm back in college, but you should definitely try it out.  You could definitely tell the mixologists had a blast making the drinks for that place.

Not only did the mixologists have fun, but the bartenders were a blast.  They taught people drinking songs, chest bumped each other, got people to chant when they ordered different drinks.  This is all on top of the robot DJ playing music in the background (including the famous/annoying song from the cantina scene in A New Hope).  It felt like we were in a tough and tumble bar somewhere in the furthest reaches of the galaxy, not in Disney World.  Disney definitely did a fantastic job creating an immersive experience there.

Even though we left Galaxy's Edge for the time being at this point, we kept with the Star Wars theme by meeting Darth Vader.  Me being me (and still on a mission to trip up a character in some capacity), I greeted with with the biggest smile in the world and said in the happiest voice I could come up with, "Hi Anakin!"  Yeah, I was that person.  This is where I got in trouble for the second time today, this time by Darth Vader's handler, who said, "He prefers Darth Vader."  I regret none of my decisions; it was so worth it.  I did decide to not ask for a hug, although the temptation certainly was there.  As to be expected, he was curt with us, didn't stand near us for the picture and pretty much told us to get out.  Bryan thinks he has pre-recorded sayings that just come out at random, which would make a lot of sense.

At this point, the plan had been to head down to our last FastPass/ride in Disney, but instead we opted to meet BB-8 instead.  I have to say, it was a little weird meeting BB-8, since it was just a little robot that's probably controlled by a person backstage.  I don't think he was an animatronic in the sense that he repeated the same little movements over and over again, as he did react to what we said.  Bryan asked him if he preferred Rey or Poe, and he let out a sad little beep and seemed to shake his head back and forth as if to say he wouldn't pick.  Had he not done that, I would have thought he was just an animatronic.  Despite the slight awkwardness, he was still fun to meet, and he had an actual PhotoPass photographer, not one of the machines like they had with Chewbacca and Darth Vader.

Sadly, once we met BB-8, that was our last character we met, which I'm sure Bryan was happy about, but I wasn't.  We also headed back down to Rock'n'Roller Coaster for our last ride in the park.  This time, we were equipped with a FastPass, so we didn't have to experience the nightmare that had been the first time we tried to ride.

I have to say, I absolutely love Rock'n'Roller Coaster, it's definitely one of my favorite rides in all the parks.  You're completely surrounded by music and it's an actual inverted roller coaster with loops and corkscrews, which none of the other roller coasters in the park are.  My head did bang from side to side the entire time, which wasn't particularly pleasant with earrings on, but it was still a blast.  Let's not forget it's also a launch roller coaster, which is my favorite time.

Of course after riding Rock'n'Roller Coaster, we had to get more of that amazing chili mac and cheese from the stand right outside the exit.  I have no idea what Disney puts in its mac and cheese, but I could eat it all day every day.  Seriously, when you go to Disney you need to get your hands on some of it; you won't regret it.

Food in hand, we doubled back to Galaxy's Edge.  We'd heard it's wonderful getting pictures in front of the Millennium Falcon at night.  Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones who thought that, as it's the perfect opportunity for people who got lightsabers to turn them on and get some amazing photos.  The PhotoPass photographer went above and beyond with the lightsaber photos, but it also took an incredibly long time, especially for people like us who didn't have lightsabers and just wanted some nice, generic pictures.  Thankfully, we were entertained while in line.  Like I said before, there were different characters wandering around Galaxy's Edge in character, including some Stormtroopers.  We watched them wandering around in front of Smuggler's Run from our perch when all of a sudden they cut to the right and went into the fenced off area around the Millennium Falcon.  At first, I couldn't figure out what was going on until I saw Chewbacca go running out another gate on the other side of the starship, and the Stormtroopers went running after him and the Resistance member with him.  They tried running all over the place and hiding behind people.  At one point the Resistance member and Stormtroopers came up where we were, so I did the logical thing and got in the way of the Stormtroopers (others were doing the same thing).  It was a lot of fun, kept us entertained and helped create that immersive experience I talked about earlier.

Once we got our photos, we were going to watch the Star Wars fireworks at the Chinese Theater, but we were both tired, so we decided to call it a night.  It was a wonderful, somewhat relaxing way to end our amazing trip.  Plus, we got to sleep in the next day, which was amazing and much needed.