Do They Know It's Christmas? Helen&Andy-Nov17. Day 4: Hollywood Studios, CBR & Disney Springs

[HelenJNT]

Originally Posted by Toff Princess

The bus situation you are describing is shocking. I know its a ‘free’ service but I feel it is very much included/payed off by the huge prices we pay. It should have been better and more prompt. I think thats also adding to the not-paarticularly-loving feeling you are getting for AKL. Its irritating!

We were pretty lucky most of our holiday with the busses. Disney Springs and AK to GF runnlike a dream. However being on the Poly route of Disney Springs means busses are full full.

The worst bus situation we had was after Ohanas breakfast not being able to get on the Hollywood Studios one due to how many people there were and having to grab a mears to make our fast passes. That happened to us 2x at Poly but in general even grabbing a monorail there can be an issue. After our Kona cafe dinner there were so many people we had to wait for two to pass before getting on the third. I honestly feel like they need to 1.lower the maximum capacity at all the parks and 2.provide a faster bus service with more busses 3.assess if they really need any more hotels or villas. Too many people on Disney Property at any given time! A hotel lobby really should be empty at certain parts of the dau for that reason id never stay at Poly!

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You're right, I always forget that we've paid for the bus service somewhere in the room charge - but then again we've never resorted to getting a taxi or Uber anywhere as we just end up sucking it up.

You are also so right about the number of people. Hotel lobbies were always heaving at any time of day or night and with the parks rammed to capacity, you have to wonder how many people are on property at any given time. More hotels are only going to lead to busier parks too, and it is getting to the stage where there aren't enough attractions to swallow the crowds.

I love parts of the Poly but to me it really feels like a 70s convention centre and I don't think it's necessarily worth the money that Disney charge for it. I think we're Moderate people at heart, our best holidays have been at the Port Orleans resorts.

[HelenJNT]

Originally Posted by i love jack

Well done for braving ToT I did it last year but had been on it in the 90’s when it absolutely terrified me! Last year I loved it!
Breakfast burritos and pizza looked good, interesting display at Starbucks - good delights! Bit random!
I’m interested in the guardians meet and greet if there’s a Chris Pratt lookalike

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I'm so pleased I rode ToT finally! And that it didn't terrify me at all. But if I had done it back in the day, before the wonder of watching rides on You Tube, it probably would have been a very different story - at least I knew roughly what to expect.

Haha - Chris Pratt, a "good delight" indeed!

[HelenJNT]

Originally Posted by mick

Another great day

Joan

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A very busy day! But we still managed to have fun despite the odds being against us with the crowds. Thank you for reading!

[Cazzius]

That must be so frustrating about the buses.
You did better than us though, as I know we would have lost patience and just got a Lyft or Uber. Lazy, impatient Londoners that we are.

I love Sephora, and think that you were very restrained! Those eyeshadow sets sound lush though. I'm off to the US with work and have already googled the nearest Sephora for a fix. I'm kind of glad they aren't in the UK as I would be so poor!

DHS seems extremely busy, which is hard as there currently aren't enough rides to absorb everyone. You did well though, and well done for finally riding ToT! I was so scared the first time but then loved it.

Good idea to rest up and people watch in the bar. I was so excited when I saw the tap room opening as I love a craft beer (no plaid, skinny jeans or beard here either). I think it's good another bar opened as it opens up a space for people who just want a drink - which you would think everyone would appreciate?! Oh well.

Those breakfast burritos look excellent - and tater tots for breakfast = win. Yum!

Note to self - don't try Reggie's Revenge. It sounds gross. The Hangar Bar is a cool spot though and I ma envious of your Blaze pizza, sooooo good! One of our fave meals too. will certainly be headed back there.

Thank you for sharing another step packed, beer fuelled, food envy making day.

[HelenJNT]

Originally Posted by Cazzius

That must be so frustrating about the buses.
You did better than us though, as I know we would have lost patience and just got a Lyft or Uber. Lazy, impatient Londoners that we are.

I love Sephora, and think that you were very restrained! Those eyeshadow sets sound lush though. I'm off to the US with work and have already googled the nearest Sephora for a fix. I'm kind of glad they aren't in the UK as I would be so poor!

DHS seems extremely busy, which is hard as there currently aren't enough rides to absorb everyone. You did well though, and well done for finally riding ToT! I was so scared the first time but then loved it.

Good idea to rest up and people watch in the bar. I was so excited when I saw the tap room opening as I love a craft beer (no plaid, skinny jeans or beard here either). I think it's good another bar opened as it opens up a space for people who just want a drink - which you would think everyone would appreciate?! Oh well.

Those breakfast burritos look excellent - and tater tots for breakfast = win. Yum!

Note to self - don't try Reggie's Revenge. It sounds gross. The Hangar Bar is a cool spot though and I ma envious of your Blaze pizza, sooooo good! One of our fave meals too. will certainly be headed back there.

Thank you for sharing another step packed, beer fuelled, food envy making day.

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It’s funny as we moaned about the bus service but it was more the lack of buses turning up than about the distance (to answer your previous question on another day). Once actually on a bus it didn’t feel much different to anywhere else we’ve stayed on property. Magic Kingdom felt the furthest away but I think that was more due to the roadworks than any fault of AKL. I don’t think it ever even occurred to us to look at alternative transport, probably as we were only on the QSDP so were never worried about being late for a meal. There’s always that hour time slot on a fast pass so that helps.

I’m very envious of your upcoming Sephora trip. I can’t wait to get back there next year!

As you’ve probably gathered, the tater tots and the Baseline Tap were our two favourite things about DHS that day!

[collybird]

Ooo your breakfast sounds good to me, I'll eat sour cream at any time of day.

Oh those wait times, what a nightmare! Not a fun day.

I have never ridden Tower of Terror either, I'm always full of bravado at home and think I can finally conquer it but then I get there... I'd like to think you'd inspired me that I can finally do it, but I'm still scared! Well done you!

[HelenJNT]

Originally Posted by collybird

Ooo your breakfast sounds good to me, I'll eat sour cream at any time of day.

Oh those wait times, what a nightmare! Not a fun day.

I have never ridden Tower of Terror either, I'm always full of bravado at home and think I can finally conquer it but then I get there... I'd like to think you'd inspired me that I can finally do it, but I'm still scared! Well done you!

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Sour cream and tater tots - could happily demolish that right now. Yum. It was the really good full fat sour cream too, not the runny stuff you get here.

Ha, thank you. I promise it really wasn’t that bad. I genuinely ended up loving it. The drops felt really short and I never once lost my stomach (we rode it three times). I found planting my feet against the seat back in front helped with the zero gravity but in all honesty it’s way more fun than it is scary. I regret not riding it sooner - it’s a hoot. You can do it! Splash Mountain & Rock n Rollercoaster are far worse imho.

[EJSakaAnna]

I cannot stand people who wait in food queues then get to the front and have no idea what they're ordering. It particularly annoys me in Costa at 7am :angry:.

The Bier Halle in Glasgow did pigs in blankets pizza! Didn't get the chance to try one but I was intrigued. A chippy a bit further away made the news for deep frying them too, would definitely give that a try if we were closer .

Glad you enjoyed tower of terror xx

[HelenJNT]

Originally Posted by EJSakaAnna

I cannot stand people who wait in food queues then get to the front and have no idea what they're ordering. It particularly annoys me in Costa at 7am :angry:.

The Bier Halle in Glasgow did pigs in blankets pizza! Didn't get the chance to try one but I was intrigued. A chippy a bit further away made the news for deep frying them too, would definitely give that a try if we were closer .

Glad you enjoyed tower of terror xx

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Oh I’m glad it’s not just me that gets the food queue rage! I always order the same thing in Costa so you’d be ok if I were in front of you. Hakuna Matata!

Ha, believe it or not, Rachael sent me the article about the battered pigs in blankets a few weeks ago. Must have been a big news event!

I did love ToT. I genuinely did!

[unixgirl]

DHS is my favourite park - and TOT my favourite ride. I always go there and try and ride more than once, it'll be good when they add more rides back to the park though. TOT in DHS is so much better than the one in DLP, much more immersive experience. I do RNR but it shakes my head about so I get a headache and the Frozen singalong was funny for the narrators who are excellent.
If you like matte lipsticks that don't budge can I recommend the Maybelline Superstay ones? I know it's a cheap brand but seriously they don't budge. I am on a mission to get makeup that I apply once in the morning and that stays put all day. Estee Lauder doublewear foundation, the Maybelline lippy, Benefit "They're real" mascara all work. Less effective is KVD lipliner 24hrs sold to me as eyeliner and Sisley eyeshadow sticks. The search continues.
As for buses, I tried the first few days without a car earlier this year and it wasn't a success for me. Getting to the parks was fairly ok but leaving was a pain in the backside as I had very sore feets and hated waiting for > 20 mins which seemed to happen very often.