Meet me in the Land of Hope and Dreams -DAY 17- Video killed the ride photo star! Or did it?

[walt4it]

Welcome Back again

Thanks for reading and for some wonderful comments too - most welcomed and very much appreciated.


Today sees a park opening - a first ever time experience and it also involves a lot of photo fun too ( apologies if we spoiled yours)

Previously - DAY 16 is here

Index of the whole trip ( just in case you have missed the fun so far) is here.

If you are interested in reading previous rambling stuff that you do on a holiday - then the 2013 trip report is here.

It does include some excellent Springsteen references too

Welcome to ...

Thursday 14th August 2014

FP + planned for today...


Star Tours 9.35- 10.35
Rock n' RollerCoaster 10.45- 11.45
Tower of Terror 11.55- 12.55

A park opening yesterday called for ...

another park opening today! We were up sharp and off to Hollywood Studios before anyone had time to question it.
Parking in Stage 42, not that that has any impact on your day but it was on the notes kept on my phone so felt it worth of inclusion as it is the only way I can ever remember where we park!

We were early and for a reason, posted opening was 9am yet the
park gates opened at 8-45 but we were then held at the stage area until 8.55 - at which point we were escorted down to Toy Story Mania- it was chaos.

Have to admit that we did keep our elbows wide and walk at a rather quick pace behind the CM we were probably in the first hundred on the ride

I dread to think what it was like further behind us
My main thought was that in the past at least the number of people in this area was split between paper fast pass and the queue itself - now it is just a rammy for the ride - and a rammy it was!

What was strange was seeing the highest score today as zero and all ride vehicles entering the loading area empty- yes we really were some of the very first riders of the day. I managed to put my dodgy gun experience from last week to sleep and put Josh firmly back in his place! Mission accomplished!

We then headed to rock and roller which was showing as a five minute wait but was visually longer- CM confirmed it was around thirty mins. So we got in the single ride line and waited only a few minutes before all getting on.





je suis un rock star!




We headed to Tower of Terror in the knowledge that as of yesterday there was a new addition to this ride - still with a ride photo but now with a video that arrived on your magic band account.

Click on the black square below to see if it works ( it does for me but...) any issues then I will build a link to youtube.


Now that did set us with a new challenge - the video looks best when you are moving the photo best when posing and still.

So here are a couple of pics from today - we did ride a few times just for the fun of it
Our favourite one as it made the annual family calendar just in time for DW's special birthday ( which saw a DLP trip )

Entitled " Guess who's 40?"




" Look no hands"




and ... " you're getting boring now with all these pics! "




This is what the same pic looks like before you edit using Memory Maker - great to add borders and ride names but you can also zoom in and avoid the guy videoing the video



Such a fantastic addition and if you look carefully there is a part videoed prior to the actual ride too.
We had a few more days of fun with this on holiday - will share more in due course!

As the queue times built we headed for star tours which was our first FP of the day - it was not needed so we did standby and then rode again using the FP - do make sure that if the standby line has a low wait time you don't waste the FP - we could have used the app to change it but we didn't.

We stopped for coffee and a Writers Stop - I have mentioned this place in the past and if you are not aware of the place then stay that way I t will mean that the small space remains a place of pleasure and tranquillity amidst the park!
As we supped coffee / apple juice and a cinnamon roll as Josh bought a Kingdom Keepers book- the first in the series - note to self has he read any of the subsequent few that made it to the Christmas stocking?
Joe nipped to the loo and on our way back we spotted the photo opportunity with Darth Vader- having found that Jedi training was full for today this was a good find.



Not to be outdone by a star wars pic - Josh found it too.





We put our head in at the animation hall for a Mickey meet- now this still rankles with me and for anyone reading who is of a young age please look away now.
Mickey has shrunk
I found myself crouching to simply make it a little less obvious but the pic has not seen too many viewings in our house.
Yoda Mickey in a previous life perhaps!


not the best interaction I have ever seen but this was surpassed by the Minnie meet and greet where we were all made to feel very special ( does not take much effort but it really does make a difference)



This was a fab experience and without a queue - there were very few signs pointing to it and most people just headed to the Mickey line. ( so keep it quiet)


We then headed back to Tower of Terror to use our fast pass and we then queued to ride once again - it was fab again and we started to have fun with the ride photos ( see pics above)

It was then time to bypass the now 80 minute wait for Rock and Roller which we rode at the back- favoured place !
On exit we bought Joe his obligatory holiday drum sticks and noted that he really wanted the best of Aerosmith cd - he seems to know most if the words! I wonder why:-/





We exited to a huge clatter of thunder - this meant a quick walk ( think TSM pace) as we headed to the animation hall to do the drawing class - another totally hidden gem that does not get the recognition it deserves within the park and is overlooked by most park goers, you do need to seek it out and you do need to soak it all up. Whilst you may need to queue in August, I'm sure if you go in the quieter months it would not need a 20 min wait- Josh did state he welcomed the seat whilst we waited- must have been the pace of the walk! We got there just before the rain came and so the queues were much more lengthy when we exited. Well worth the early avoidance of rain as the animation hall becomes busy with park goers seeking shelter from the elements.
The class time came and we got to draw...Goofy!
The artist tried to choose a character nobody in the room had drawn before - 20 mins of concentration resulted in us being mightily jealous of DW's efforts



Artist also willing to share pics with children too - if they ask nicely


We did an Incredibles meet and greet to avoid the rain




as we left the rain halted and we had a bit more photo fun..

now the tee shirts the boys are wearing are in their very final trip for Josh ( don't think it will fit him now)
They always get CM's attention and always have a Fantasmic effect on the boys





They owe us nothing- the tee shirts not the kids! -we got them at the Disney Character spot at Premium outlets a few years ago for embarrassingly few dollars. Never seen since and always draw a comment or two in a queue line.

The sensible pic looks like this



We left the park at 2.30 and were in need of a quick lunch - against my better wishes it was McDonalds but it hit the spot and was free soft drink refill city!

Refreshed and refuelled we headed to the shops! just for a walk around and to see if there were any bargains to be had- my lack of notes suggests we found very little and a little trip to Publix on the way home saw us photographing dinner




"If it is good enough to do at a restaurant you need to do it here!"
Thanks boys - you really must have been hungry!

We had an early(ish) night with a bit of a different day to follow tomorrow

DAY 18 is here

[Maggiemae]

Another excellent day - love your poses on Tower of Terror, we may have done similar
And I agree about the animation class - a real hidden gem.
The Writer's Stop is completely rubbish though and no-one should go there ever, especially not for a carrot cake cookie!

[KittyBlackDog]

What a great ride day, pretty much a perfect day in my view... although lots of park crossing lol!

Love the photos, might see if I can challenge dd to do the same...I've 2 hopes of getting dh back on tot!

Cute video

Enjoying your reports even more (if that is at all possible ) as my countdown is getting smaller

Keep them coming...not long until your next trip...it would be a shame to have to overlap

[jemima2]

My niece is so excited about meeting Minnie , glad your meet went well! You have surpassed yourselves re the photos today! Animation class looks cool...queues probably v long when we are there ( in 3 days! ) another lovely day , highly enjoyable to read!

[Dissie]

Another great day

[collybird]

The boys' t-shirts are excellent.

A great day today, the Studios is getting a tough time just now but it's still a fantastic park.

[flo-tinka]

Thanks for reminding me how much we need to avoid Writers Stop, never been and it is most certainly not on my list of places to try a carrot cake cookie this time around!

[mick]

Another fantastic day I love the boys tee shirts!

Joan

[Disneyloverz]

Looks like you had a great day & lots of fun on tower of terror.

Thanks for sharing

[walt4it]

Originally Posted by Maggiemae

Another excellent day - love your poses on Tower of Terror, we may have done similar
And I agree about the animation class - a real hidden gem.
The Writer's Stop is completely rubbish though and no-one should go there ever, especially not for a carrot cake cookie!

See more...

Dreadful place that Writer's stop
Glad someone else has taken a similar approach to TOT poses - more hints and tips to come in future days as we got used to the new video on MM.
As for the animation class - this week has seen the rumour of it closing - hopefully for something bigger though. It is a must do - thanks for reading and your comments too

Originally Posted by KittyBlackDog

What a great ride day, pretty much a perfect day in my view... although lots of park crossing lol!

Love the photos, might see if I can challenge dd to do the same...I've 2 hopes of getting dh back on tot!

Cute video

Enjoying your reports even more (if that is at all possible ) as my countdown is getting smaller

Keep them coming...not long until your next trip...it would be a shame to have to overlap

See more...

There will be no overlap PROMISE!

I finished last years in the early hours of the day we set off on this one It may be a similar time scale but I will ensure we get finished before your trip and when you see us over there stop and say hello - I'm sure you will recognise us from the photos

Originally Posted by jemima2

My niece is so excited about meeting Minnie , glad your meet went well! You have surpassed yourselves re the photos today! Animation class looks cool...queues probably v long when we are there ( in 3 days! ) another lovely day , highly enjoyable to read!

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Thank you- have sent a PM about the animation class as I think you will read that before you read this again - have a fab holiday

Originally Posted by Dissie

Another great day

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Thanks for reading and leaving a comment too - appreciate it

Originally Posted by collybird

The boys' t-shirts are excellent.

A great day today, the Studios is getting a tough time just now but it's still a fantastic park.

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It is a fab park but I just wish Disney would help themselves with the Studios - they closed the backlot tour months ago and have not done anything with the space. Why wait until D23 in Aug to announce the changes as it will then be another couple of years of chaos ahead too

Originally Posted by flo-tinka

Thanks for reminding me how much we need to avoid Writers Stop, never been and it is most certainly not on my list of places to try a carrot cake cookie this time around!

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Dreadful place for cinnamon rolls too

Originally Posted by mick

Another fantastic day I love the boys tee shirts!

Joan

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Thanks Joan

Originally Posted by Disneyloverz

Looks like you had a great day & lots of fun on tower of terror.

Thanks for sharing

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Thanks for reading and posting a message -we had a great day and a lot of fun with the pics too. Appreciate your comments