Disney - Hollywood Studios, take 2

8 February, 2024

Chinese Theater

We grabbed a quick nibble at the hotel, just enough to get us through a couple of hours, and hopped the bus back over to Hollywood Studios. The one thing the Disney App handles well on a consistent basis are the ride wait times. A quick glance indicated that Mickey & Minnie was reasonably short, and our companions for the day, daughter and future son-in-law, hadn't experienced the chaos of Goofy driving a locomotive, so we made our way down Hollywood Boulevard to the Chinese Theater.

We had an early lunch in the SciFi Drive-In, which is probably our favorite dining venue in MGM/Hollywood Studios. Some of us remember the days when the wait staff interacted enthusiastically with the movie loop, interjecting exclamations and responses at appropriate times as they moved around the theater. I haven't been able to get an explanation for the lack of interaction I've seen in the past decade or so. Did management put a kibosh on the practice, or did it just fade out as staff turned over? Given the attention to detail in all things Disney, I can't imagine that management and training would allow anything to "just fade out" without a decision being made at some level. After we finished our lunch, which we found up to our expectations, we made our way back over to Galaxy's Edge, to join in the battle against The First Order again in "Rise of the Resistance."

TIE Fighter

This time I was looking for detail  and trying to figure out how the Imagineers pulled off some of their tricks. Not only did I manage to unravel a few of their secrets, I noticed details that slipped past me the first time through. There are still many twists and tricks that have yet to reveal their secrets to me, but I'm sure they'll be discovered in due time. I really can't adequately express how well this attraction is presented, it upholds the quality that you expect from Disney and Lucasfilm/Skywalker Studios in every respect. The bar has been raised so high with this attraction they will have to knock everything out of the park with every future attraction to keep from losing face. It will be interesting to watch going forward, that is for certain. After we successfully escaped The First Order (again) we checked the app and saw that Toy Story Mania had a relatively short wait. Since we hadn't ridden it yet, and had no plans to return to the Studios this trip, we headed that way.

Andy's Room

Andy's bedroom has been one of my favorite queue experiences since it first opened. There are so many obscure elements I'm still noticing new things seventeen years later. The ride itself is an absolute blast and, for a ride without much motion, it will get your heart racing and blood pumping as you race the clock and compete against your ride companion. The game is easy enough for anyone to have a degree of success, and challenging enough that more skilled players have their work cut out for them to push their scores to the highest levels. I could easily spend an hour on this attraction without getting bored. The fact that there are lots of air effects and excellent air conditioning make it an ideal place to spend time on a sweltering Florida day. 

Our second, and final, full group activity was scheduled that evening, dinner at the Hoop De Doo Review. One of our party has dietary restrictions and the chef came out to talk to her. Everything was arranged and they directed my wife and I to a side entry so we could be seated before the crowd entered. The size of our group required two large adjacent tables. Our servers were efficient and polite, but given the frenetic pace in the dining room to get a couple of hundred people fed in time for an interactive show to begin, they don't have much time for pleasantries. Your response to their questions will often get you a humorous jibe, but don't be offended if there off to their next task before you can utter a response. At the end of service the individual with dietary restrictions was admonished harshly for attempting to wrap some of their uneaten food, which was perplexing given that it was prepared specifically for them and was headed for the garbage if it didn't leave with them. It's not as if they ordered an extra serving to squirrel away, this was food that had been served and partially consumed. The manager (and I use that term loosely) then hovered over their shoulder for an extended period. All in all, a very UN-Disney-like experience that soured the show for the entire table.

What's the worst that could happen?

Meanwhile, I'm sitting at my table, enjoying the show, blissfully ignorant of the specter hovering over my shoulder. Just as the show transitions to one of the audience participation segments I feel a tap on my shoulder and I'm spun around (chair and all) to face one of the performers. I decided then and there to jump in with both feet and just go with whatever happened. I figured as long as I kept my clothes on nothing could happen that would be insufferable.

Fortunately my participation was limited to an in-seat vocal accompaniment. I only had to deliver a single short line on cue from the cast member who drug me in to the middle of things.  Others ended up on stage and in various costumes (including my grandson, who ended up on stage in the role of The Sheriff.) The key point to remember is that everyone is there for a good time, and going with the flow may cause a little embarrassment, but it is short-lived, and your family (especially the kids) will absolutely love it. I think one of the worst things we do to ourselves as young adults is worry about the opinions of others. The reality is when you jump in with both feet for aomething like this most people are going to cheer you on, and no one is going to chide you for it.