I woke up at 6:30AM, excited to start my day at Hollywood Studios. After waking, I completed my usual morning routine of getting ready and eating breakfast. Since the weather was going to be cooler, with a high temperature of about 60s and evening temperatures down to the high 30s/low 40s, I decided to ditch the shorts for track pants and wore my long sleeved shirt and Northface vest. By 7:45AM, I was ready, with my belongings gathered and I went downstairs to catch the shuttle to Hollywood Studios. At 8:00AM, the shuttle arrived and I was ready to go!
After the shuttle stopped at the Doubletree, I met two middle-aged sisters, who were traveling along with one of the daughters of the sister. The daughter was six and she was excited for her time at the Studios. Along the way, we talked about our lives and exchanged touring information. If I remember correctly, one of the sisters was a teacher and they were both from the Philadelphia area. For their day at the studios, I remember that they were planning to ride Toy Story Mania, meet characters, see Beauty and the Beast, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and Playhouse Disney Live. They were staying in Orlando for Martin Luther King Day weekend and they were planning to visit the Magic Kingdom for two days as well as Islands of Adventure. The sisters added that another family member would be flying down that evening with her daughter from Virginia if I am not mistaken. They mentioned that they did not make arrangements for ground transportation, so I recommended that they use Tiffany Town Car due to the excellent experience I had with them. They were impressed and immediately texted their family member, who in turn booked a car to pick them up at MCO. It ended up my recommendation worked, as the sisters saw me the next day and thanked me, saying that their family member loved using Tiffany Town Car! By about 8:40AM, I arrived at Hollywood Studios, excited to start the day!
As soon as I got to the gates, I got through security, where a friendly older male security officer got me through safely and efficiently. In addition, he teased me about my Yankees drawstring bag, as he was not a Yankees fan (to each his or own). It was all in good spirit of course and I made my way to Toy Story Mania, so I could avoid long lines later.
-On the way to Toy Story Mania
According to the Fastpass return sign, I arrived at Toy Story Mania at 8:53AM, where I waited a mere 10 minutes in the standby line.
I happened to love Toy Story Mania, as I enjoyed how the ride is combined with the special effects that allow you to play carnival games in CGI with your Toy Story pals
. I ended up scoring 50,000 points, which was better than my score in 2012, but still not great. Since this ride was so addictive and the wait was only 20 minutes, I decided what the heck and lined up to go on again. About twenty minutes later, I was enjoying Toy Story Mania and ended up improving my score by 20,000 points to 70,000, which was not bad!
After riding Toy Story Mania, I could not pass up the chance to meet Buzz and Woody, so I lined up as the line was not too long. About twenty-five minutes later, I met Buzz and Woody, who were very playful and happy to see me. To their delight, I mentioned that Buzz was my favorite space ranger and that Woody was my favorite deputy
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Outside, I also saw a Green Army Man, who was in high spirits and very patriotic!
It was almost 10:00AM, so I made way to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which is one of my favorite rides. The standby wait was 45 minutes, which would be my longest wait of the trip (excluding the Anna and Elsa meet and greet at Epcot).
While waiting in line, I made friends with a family of three from Worcester, MA, whose elder son was a student at Tisch at NYU. I was immediately impressed and we had a good time talking about our lives as well as our respective locales, including the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed my visits to Massachusetts in Boston and Mattapoisett (which is 40 miles west of Cape Cod). Soon enough, we boarded the elevator and I recall sitting on the left side of the elevator in the rear. I was exhilarated after riding this ride due to the excellent special effects of a 1930s hotel and the four drops we made! After riding, I visited the gift shop, where I found a red t-shirt with Mickey looking into an elevator shaft saying that he should have taken the stairs. A friendly Indian female cast member from Orlando took care of my purchase and packed it for shipping to my hotel. As I was making my purchase, the lady asked where I was from and I told her I was from Westbury, NY on Long Island. She immediately knew where I was from as Hicksville, a town with a large Indian population, is located right to the east of Westbury. She also knew Westbury as her soon goes to Hofstra University, which is located ten minutes southwest of my home. After our wonderful conversation, I checked the time and saw it was about 11:00AM, so I decided to see Beauty and the Beast, as there would be a show in a little bit.
As a fan of Beauty and the Beast, I definitely enjoyed the breezy version of this adaptation to the film. The singing and acting were excellent and the scenery went very well with the show. One difference from the film that I noticed was that the order was a hair different, as "Gaston" was performed in the middle of the introduction to Belle's life in her provincial town, as opposed to when he is conspiring in his tavern. Overall, I would definitely recommend seeing Beauty and the Beast if you are at the Studios as it is an excellent show!
It was a little after 11:30AM and I was feeling hungry, so I decided to try Fairfax Fare, as the menu was appealing and the smell of barbecued meats called to my nose. After not too long of a wait, I decided to try the Smoked 1/2 Chicken and a Diet Coke and a friendly and accommodating female cast member took my order. Since I was unable to eat the sides due to my egg and wheat allergies as well as my avoidance of saturated fats, the cast member and her manager consulted the ingredient book, looking for safe sides to go with my chicken. Thanks to their hard work, I ended up getting baby carrots and Mickey Applesauce for my sides, making for a healthy lunch.
On the whole, I was quite satisfied with my lunch. The portion size was good and the chicken, while not as good as Flame Tree, was tender, juicy, and had a pleasantly smokey flavor. In addition, the Mickey Applesauce was well balanced, with sweet and tart flavors and a smooth textures. The baby carrots were fresh and crisp as well. Satisfied after a filling lunch, I proceeded to do more touring.
Before I continued my touring, I used the restroom and was stopped in my tracks by a beautiful vintage Cadillac. Who knows, maybe I will just add it to my garage haha
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On my way towards the Sorcerer's Hat, I caught a performance of the Streetmosphere characters, who added a whimsical feel of old Hollywood.
After seeing the Streetmosphere characters, I noticed that Chip and Dale were meeting and had a very short line. I waited less than five minutes and I found them to be very cheerful! It was an excellent interaction and I was lucky to have met them with such a short wait.
After meeting Chip and Dale, I went to Muppet Vision 3-D, but not without passing Star Tours and getting a Fastpass. While it was not necessary, a spot was available for 2:30PM, which was about the time I wanted to ride and I would be able to ride in case a wait formed. Not unlike my second day in the Magic Kingdom, I found a stray MYW ticket near Star Wars and brought it to The Writers Stop, where a thankful cast member took the ticket for safe keeping. Finally I arrived at Muppet Vision 3-D and waited about ten minutes for the next showing.
While I know there are some people who say Muppet Vision is a little dated, I happen to like it as I think that the Muppets are cool and that this is a classic attraction. I love how the Muppets characters experiment with the 3-D technology by throwing pies and squirting the audience with a flower. Also, how could you not love the animatronic Statler and Waldorf heckling the show? All in all, this is an attraction that I definitely enjoy!
Next, it was time to ride Star Tours, where I walked on with no wait. While I may not be the world's biggest Star Wars fan, I ended up loving this attraction.
I loved the motion of the simulator, riding with classic Star Wars characters, and fighting off villains like Darth Vader and Hans Solo. On my next trip, I would definitely ride this attraction again!
After Star Tours, I wanted to meet Mike and Sully from "Monsters Inc" and then catch a performance of Mulch, Sweat, and Shears, as the Unofficial Guide gave them an excellent write-up. Along the way, I toured the Streets of America:
Stay tuned, as I plan to post about my day at the Animal Kingdom very soon. Be well Barbara C and thank you again for your kind words! 
. Nevertheless, I enjoyed It's Tough to be a Bug! and it is definitely on my Animal Kingdom must see list.
! I could not agree more, the Finding Nemo show is excellent. Thank you for checking out my trip report and stay tuned for more updates cheekypoppins 
. Hopefully, the time will go faster than you think and soon enough, you will be in Walt Disney World 
. I could use a Disney cupcake too, but I'll make mine a Babycakes cupcake 
