Magic, Mayhem, Wifi and more; Our Return to Disney --Day Three
Cast
Me (Husband) - 54
DW - 42
DD - 12
DS - 5
"Please, Stand By. We are Having Technical Difficulties!"
I wake up early, ready myself, and head to the courtyard for coffees. (Actually, iced tea for DW.) The foul taste of the previous night is still lingering with my wife. Now, we have to figure out the logistics of navigating a Disney Park without her phone. I have mine. DD didn't charge hers so communication when we're apart will be near impossible.
Again, we let kids wake on their own, dress, and then we all head to bus stop. We arrive around 9:30. Not too bad! FPs for today are Star Tours 2.0, Toy Story Midway Mania, and Tower of Terror. All are later in the day, so there's no danger of missing them.
This is the most crowded I've ever seen Hollywood Studios. I've been here in October, April, May and December. All of those previous trips have had large, but manageable crowds. This trip, we chose September for light crowds. Boy, were we wrong.
Wife nabs a table outside the new Trolley Car Cafe. Very nice theming! I sit while she gets food for kids. While I'm waiting for wife to return with food, I notice I can't access any of my info on My Disney Experience. I turn off WiFi and try again directly with AT&T. Nothing. I pass it off as bad location and put phone away. My turn. I get the Spinach & Feta Wrap. Wow!!! (I get three of these on the trip's duration!!! That good!)
We have some time before first FastPass so we make our way to Muppetvision 3D. On our way, the Frozen Sing a-long has a short line, but DD does NOT want to deviate from plan. She's become a HUGE Star Wars Fan and that's our first FP! We have FPs for Frozen Sing A-long on a return trip here so we press on.
We love Muppetvision, but Fozzie "sprinkles" water on DS and that's it for That Ride!!! Chalk another up to "I got wet. I hate that ride!!!!" How many rides is that now?
Quick snack break and I still can't access My Disney Experience. I notice two men talking, so I question them.
Nope. No Access either! System is down resort-wide!!!!! Here's a tip: make a backup of your FPs on your phone's calendar just like you do with your ADRs. Now, I have no idea of my FP's times.
I stop by the FP booth and they are able to tell my my return time. Another 20 minutes. They do this all day for guests! We go into Tatooine Traders to waste time and kids point out things they want after the attraction. Since I can't coordinate with DW, she is forced to sit in corner of store and wait for us to exit ride so we don't miss each other. (She gets motion sickness.) Keep this in mind: she is NOT a Star Wars Fan!!!
FPs work well and we enter pod withing 15 minutes. Once on ride, gentlemen in back row is telling his children (and anyone else within listening range) how cool this ride is. They will be amazed.
Unfortunately, the screen doesn't work. The pod throws us around and the lights flash, but there's no screen so it is probably the worst 4:00 of the trip!!! Horrible. He says, "I remember it being better than this!"
As the doors open, a women yells to a CM the screen never came on and refuses to exit!!. She tells all of us NOT TO EXIT!!!
CM is so polite. He tells us to wait while he finds us another ride pod. After another 15 minutes, he takes us from our pod to another queue line. Once in, he tries to start this ride, but one belt won't light up as locked. As luck would have it, it is the woman that refused to exit. And since she is with a party of six, the whole party must exit again and find another pod!!! She handles the disappointment well.
Kids love ride, especially DS. When we exit, I worry about DW. It's been about 45 minutes since we left her in store. I hope she's there. She is, but looks miserable. Again, not a Star Wars fan.
Kids want to make custom-made light sabers, but the guy who told everyone how great the ride is beats us to station and wants to make light sabers with his two boys (about 13 & 11.) I'm trying to be polite, but this one grown man DOMINATES the entire station AND THE CM's PARTICIPATION for about 20 minutes or so as they make, disassemble, re-make, argue, disassemble, move back and forth from station to station with great energy, while my 5-year-old waits patiently for his chance to build one. Finally, DW (Not a Star Wars fan) walks over and asks "can anyone else build one?"
DS makes a cool weapon, then begins posing in his Jedi form. Adorable. DW walks over to me and says, "I have to get out of here. Nerd germs are invading me."
We ride Toy Story Mania. Before FastPass+, we had only ridden this ride once because the FPs were usually gone by the time we'd arrive. This time, we reserve our time and the ride is actually more fun than I remember. It was a blast actually. We have just enough time to ride The Great Movie Ride before our lunch ADRs begin. Alien scene frightens DS to point he wont un-bury his head from wife's lap til ride is over.
Lunch is at Sci-Fi Dine-In Restaurant, but the Alien scene is fresh in my DS's mind and he runs away. I grab him and carry him back, telling him it's just a restaurant. I'm the only one who likes their lunch. I get Sci-Fi Specialty Burger. Drippy, but delicious. DS is still frightened, until he sees giants Ants on screen, attacking people. "Cool place, Dad-o. I love this place." Now he won't leave.
We shop at Keystone Clothiers for a bit, one of DW's favorite stores. While in there, I call Lost-And-Found. They have my wife's phone and I tell them I'll be there tomorrow to get it. Whew! Big relief. (I wish I could say tomorrow would be my only trip to Lost-And-Found on this trip, but I would be wrong!!!)
Walking down Sunset Blvd, we see Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage. Great entertainment. We ride Tower of Terror. Fantastic. Much better than I remember. DS won't ride, so first DW & DD, then DD & I. She and I also ride Rock n Rollercoaster, one of my favorite rides in the park. DW won't ride; she hates rocket launch!!! Are you kidding me????
We decide to do Ariel and I'm able to secure a FP over the phone APP for later in the day. (Quite close to our actual time, truthfully.) We use FPs and the CM there asks us if we like Toy Story Midway Mania. "Yeah!!!" She gives us traditional FPs for four!!! How cool. We ride it right after Ariel, which is much better than I remember.
On TSMM, our screen malfunctions and Buzz Lightyear won't get out of our way so DD & I receive no points for that round and lose to DW. Bad day for Disney technology all the way around; good day for Disney CMs all the way around!
Decision time: yesterday I pushed the issue with disastrous results. Should we stay for Fantasmic? Guests were already lining up for show at 6:00 p.m. when we last rode TOT!!! No. Let's go back to resort.
We stop at food court for pizza. Not bad pizza. Then -- one of the highlights of trip -- DD and DW night swim while my son and i go on a Bat excursion! he loves Bats. Not Louisville Sluggers!!! Flying Bats. Fruit Bats!
"Dado, let's go deep, deep, deep, DEEP into the Bayou and look for Bats!"
It didn't matter we didn't find any. The conversation was terrific. On the way, we encounter another dad with his sons looking for swamp alligators. I pointed them in one direction; he pointed us in the other. That's what vacations are for!
We returned to our room and I tubbied him. Later, the girls came in all "giggly." Disney had rebounded from yesterday a bit. Tomorrow, the pixie dust would continue to sprinkle.
Off to bed early. No sleep-in day tomorrow. Breakfast before the park opens. The drill Sergeant returns!
Lights Out!
