Too scary, too hot & too splashy - Orlando May-June 2022 - Day 3 (Hollywood Studios / Typhoon Lagoon

[sheluk]

Day 3 – Thursday 19th May – Hollywood Studios/Typhoon Lagoon

The Index is here


I didn’t wake up until 4.15am today – hurrah, a step in the right direction. Which meant we’d still had 8 hours of sleep thanks to the early bedtime too. Charlie was up soon after that to use the toilet and they were both awake by 5am.

We decided to go for early entry at Hollywood Studios before Typhoon Lagoon’s opening at 10am.

It was a bit of a rush then to get everyone fed, creamed and out by 7am but we just about managed it and was at the car by 7.10. It was only an 8 minutes’ drive to Hollywood Studios. So grateful for the car, it really did allow for so much more spontaneity as we could get between places quicker.

We were pulled up and parked in the front row quickly and were walking in the gates by 7.25am. There was a reasonable sized queue ahead of us still and if we’d been on the bus we’d have been hundreds of people behind no doubt, unless we’d got up and out even earlier.

At 7.40 we were let through and headed straight for Toy Story Land as we wanted to get on Slinky. As soon as we arrived in the area they announced that Slinky was down and were directing people into another queue for Toy Story Mania. We were slightly gutted as that was the main reason for the rush this morning.

We were really impressed by the Toy Story area as it was our first time seeing it. I imagine it would be even nicer at night all lit up.

Richard and the kids explored a bit whilst I waited in line. All the reports of there being no shade in this area was true, it was already hot in the sun at 8am. They let us through on the dot of 8am. It was so fun to see the normal queue area too as you miss so much in the Lightning Lane.

I sat with Penny on the ride and she gave it a really good effort. It really spins you round so I had to have one arm round her but she still did bang her head a few times on the back of the seated area. Charlie was fine apparently so just a note for the 3 year olds that are brave enough (she’s slightly taller than average for her age).

Charlie absolutely loved it and Richard said he did quite well!
When we came off we asked a Cast Member standing by the massive Slinky line how long it was likely to be and he said it wasn’t anywhere near opening and would be a while. We did measure Penny whilst we were there as we didn’t know if she’d be tall enough – but she was, just!

We decided to go and use our Lightning Lane for Alien’s swirling saucers instead then and once we got to the entrance we saw all the Slinky queue heading in. Just a TAD annoying. Was he not in the know or was he actually lying, either way the queue was growing by the minute so we stuck with the saucers instead. The standby was 25 minutes and it took us about 10 minutes to get on.

These were a great bit of fun and the music is very catchy.

The Slinky queue was already at 60 minutes when we got off the saucers so we decided to head out instead via the shops. Still on the magic band hunt! We realised how much we were struggling to get them at this point.

Charlie found a Captain America one. It was $30 but Richard managed to get DVC discount which was nice.

Back in the car and heading for Typhoon Lagoon, we pulled up at 9.30.

I got me and the kids changed and Richard had got himself changed then was tasked with heading up the mission to get a lounge in the kids area in the shade. I really wish we’d brought the pram as I had a lot of bags and two hot kids.
They rope dropped at 10am – why don’t they open earlier when its peak season?

We walked our way to the kids area – Ketchakiddee Creek, which literally felt like the back of the park, and Richard had got a few chairs to park our stuff on. There were no loungers in the area so I knew Penny wouldn’t nap.

The kids were off in the kids play area for a fair bit and enjoyed all the things to play with including the little ride in the area. Although Penny was not a fan of the water sprayers – “TOO SPLASHY”!.

We convinced them both to leave after a while and headed for Castaway Creek – the lazy river – we did a full loop and Charlie loved all the sprayers on the sides, Penny not so much… but she did enjoy the float and sailing around the area.

We then headed to Gangplank Falls and both had to hold onto Penny to keep her in the raft. Charlie did really well holding on by himself. Again he loved it but of course it was TOO SCARY for Pen.

By this point it was lunch time so we headed to the nearest lunch place (I think it was Leaning Palms) and the kids shared a hot dog meal and Richard and I both got a chicken tenders salad which was really nice. Surprisingly nice for waterpark food! I had again also brought some chopped up fruit and cucumber with us and a couple of juice boxes for the kids.
After this we dumped our lunch bag back in the kids area and put more cream on, so the kids had another small play in that area. We wanted to get on Miss Adventure Falls so headed that way via the wave pool.

Charlie spotted the small slides that go into the wave pool so headed for those with Richard whilst Penny just chased leaves round the waves in the shallow area. I think she would have done this for the rest of the day! They were all named – Mummy, Daddy, Charlie and Penny leaf and she’d drop one then go running after it shouting its name. Very cute.

We spent a bit of time jumping over the waves. The boys went a bit deeper. Charlie really didn’t want to leave the wave pool so there were some tears but the day was getting away from us so we convinced him telling him we were going on another water ride.

We made it to Miss Adventure Falls and there was only a short wait. This was much quicker than we remembered so again we were holding on tight to Penny but it was good fun!
Richard then wanted to ride Crush n Gusher so he went there whilst the kids just played in one of the nearby pools. There was only one he could go on by himself – he called it the Daddy coaster as it was just a bunch of middle aged men waiting for it. It took about 15 minutes until he was down that, I saw several men going flying off it as it exits into the main pool but he managed to stay on.

Next up was ice-creams and I had seen a dole whip place earlier nearby so we headed there and got two of the speciality flavours. I can’t remember them now but I’m sure one was lime and the other perhaps raspberry. They were both very nice and a bit different to the usual dole whip.
After this we were pretty much done and were happy with what we’d achieved. It was 2.30 and the kids were both super tired again and hadn’t napped so we knew not to push them too far. We’d all realllly enjoyed it and hoped to get back to re-ride or do some of the favourite rides again at some point.
We went to collect our things, then get changed with a plan to meet in the gift shop. We were all done and dusted and we decided to head for Disney Springs as it was literally over the road and we still realllly wanted magic bands.

So we loaded up the car (after cooling it down!) and drove over the road, parking in the usual lime garage. It was 3.15 by this point.

It was really overcast and cloudy at this point but still humid. By the time we had walked from the garage, over the bridge towards the Rainforest Café the kids were both asleep. We had hoped they would be hence the long walk over, we had been told to go to pin traders by someone at Typhoon Lagoon when we asked about magic bands. The volcano went off literally as we got by it with the two kids sleeping but neither of them even stirred as it roared and sent the flames into the air.

We really enjoyed walking around as it all felt so familiar even after so many years away. Even down to that lego monster.

There were no main bands at pin traders, or the World of Disney, but someone told us that you could design them yourself back in the marketplace area D tech so once again we headed in there. I had a flick through the designs but didn’t love any, but Richard found one he liked and ordered that. I seem to think it was $27 with a DVC discount. We had to wait 45 minutes for it so wandered to find a drink somewhere. Why not – especially whilst the kids were zonked.

It was at this point I decided to just use one of the old ones I’d brought with us. I knew the photo function wouldn’t work on rides, but Richard and Charlie both had new ones so we’d just be sure to scan those and mine would work for the basic stuff still as the battery is meant to last years (it was from 2017!).

We ended up at Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar as we knew it had a shaded area over the water and we could fit the pram down the side entrance. So we grabbed a seat there. I ordered a margarita and Richard had a spiced ale of some kind. We also ordered some chips and dip as lunch felt like a while ago. It felt great sitting there with two sleeping kids. The order came to $47.

I mobile ordered a birthday cupcake from Sprinkles as I’d had an email about it and they sent me a link to collect at 4.15.
The kids rose after a while and helped us out with the chips and dip.

After we were finished Richard went to pick up his magic band and I took the kids in the pram to Sprinkles. I felt a bit sorry for the store, there was only one member of staff there but you don’t have to interact with them as its all done on a tap/scan register. It all felt a bit empty and sterile. I picked up by cupcake and also grabbed a red velvet one to share later. We didn't end up eating it till the day after in the end.

It was 4.50 by the time we got back to the car. We were glad the kids had napped as we wanted to eat at Geyser Point tonight. It was still 32 degrees at this point.

We got back and freshened up and did the short walk to Geyser Point. This was our first visit but had heard so many good things about it, especially the bison burger! We got a lovely table overlooking the water.

The kids both had grilled chicken which came with fries and a drink. Charlie begged us for chocolate milk after hearing the waiter offer it, but Penny only wanted normal milk. They both did really well with this dinner.

We obviously both had the bison burger which came with fries. Richard had another spicy excursion spiced ale which he said was strange and very strong. I had a nice glass of cold pinot gris. Although both were in plastic cups which was a bit strange given we were eating in.

It came to $83 plus tip which we thought was reasonable for the quality of what we had.

The kids had been running along the path next to the water before dinner and Penny had fell once again and cut her knee so she wasn’t in good spirits after that. It took weeks for that knee to heel she fell so many times on it.

Charlie made the last minute of marshmallow roasting outside of the restaurant so was pleased with himself.

We went straight back to the room after that, cleaned up the kids and put them to bed, they were fast asleep by 8pm. We weren’t far behind ourselves after getting the bag ready for the next morning and was asleep by around 8.30!

[ClaireNJ]

What a great day, you packed a lot in
Love the ‘Daddy” rollercoaster 🙊🙊🙊
Penny was cute playing with the leaves in the water, love her 💕
Bison burger is very popular on the DIBB & looks so good 😋😋😋

[Lisa_Lollipop]

So many gorgeous photos in Toy Story Land, the one of Charlie on Alien Swirling Saucers is heart melting! Such a shame you couldn't get on Slinky as hoped though

I love how your days start so early so you mange to fit so much in! And then still in bed before 9pm! I think I may have to re-evaluate the way we do Disney on our next trip! :P

Also I'm confused why it's so hard to get a magic band... is there a shortage of them or something? Handy that you brought an old one!

Oh and drinking whilst the kids nap... the absolute dream!

[Rescuer]

Looks like another great day, you were all over the place. I love toy story mania and the swirling saucers is such a cute wee ride.
Typhoon Lagoon looked great we’ve never been there and how nice you got to sit and chill with a drink while the kids had a nap.

[DisneyDreamer81]

Such a great day! I absolutely lovely Typhoon Lagoon. Of all the parks it's the one that reminds me most of going to Florida with my parents as a kid. And that burger at Geyser Point looks so good!

[oh_darling]

Ahhhh Michelle I'm loving your report so much! I'm sorry I'm really rubbish at commenting but just to say please keep going as its so so helpful and I'm really enjoying it! Hope you and your gorgeous little family are doing well xxx

[mick]

That was a lovely day

Joan

[sheluk]

Originally Posted by ClaireNJ

What a great day, you packed a lot in
Love the ‘Daddy” rollercoaster 🙊🙊🙊
Penny was cute playing with the leaves in the water, love her 💕
Bison burger is very popular on the DIBB & looks so good 😋😋😋

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I think Penny playing with those leaves in the water is a core memory now - was so cute!

The Bison burger is genuinely worth the hype!

Thanks for commenting x

Originally Posted by Lisa_Lollipop

So many gorgeous photos in Toy Story Land, the one of Charlie on Alien Swirling Saucers is heart melting! Such a shame you couldn't get on Slinky as hoped though

I love how your days start so early so you mange to fit so much in! And then still in bed before 9pm! I think I may have to re-evaluate the way we do Disney on our next trip! :P

Also I'm confused why it's so hard to get a magic band... is there a shortage of them or something? Handy that you brought an old one!

Oh and drinking whilst the kids nap... the absolute dream!

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Ah I love that pic. Screams happiness.

I think they’d stopped ordering them due to the new Magic plus bands. It was a tad annoying.

Drinking whilst the kids sleep = parenting goals on holiday x

Originally Posted by Rescuer

Looks like another great day, you were all over the place. I love toy story mania and the swirling saucers is such a cute wee ride.
Typhoon Lagoon looked great we’ve never been there and how nice you got to sit and chill with a drink while the kids had a nap.

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We really enjoyed TL - couldn’t fit in another visit but would have loved too.

Tx for commenting x

Originally Posted by DisneyDreamer81

Such a great day! I absolutely lovely Typhoon Lagoon. Of all the parks it's the one that reminds me most of going to Florida with my parents as a kid. And that burger at Geyser Point looks so good!

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Yes I know what you mean - it’s those waves! I remember it too from being young.

The burger was sooooo good! Hard recommend x

Originally Posted by oh_darling

Ahhhh Michelle I'm loving your report so much! I'm sorry I'm really rubbish at commenting but just to say please keep going as its so so helpful and I'm really enjoying it! Hope you and your gorgeous little family are doing well xxx

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Hey Libby! Not long till your visit now. No worries at all thank you so much xx

Originally Posted by mick

That was a lovely day

Joan

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Thank you Joan, appreciate that x

[Lisa29]

What a great day, sounds like you had such a good time at TL.

Penny playing with and naming the leaves

Off to read the next day x