Disney's Hollywood Studios.
So, the only bad weather of the trip. A thunderstorm was predicted and it hit within a hour of the forecasted time. It rained from 9 until 12, and then nice weather the rest of the day, getting a little cool at night. We bring $1 ponchos from the dollar store or elsewhere as Disney's are quite pricey.
Lesson learned: Upon arriving at DHS, walk to TSM. Have someone wait in line while someone else gets FPs. The picture is the ceiling (Andy's room) in the TSM ride.
We were able to ride TSM with less than a 30 minute wait in the AM, and then had a FP to ride it later day before lunch. Really frickin cool. We did the Great Hollywood Movie ride and went to Tower of Terror where we waited over an hour for the ride.
Lesson Learned: If you waiting that long for ToT, then something may be wrong. When we finally got up there, only one side of the ride was working and two cars were down. We would return and ride it again later that day, without FP, and had a 20 minute wait.
After ToT, we walked over to the RNRC. It is my favorite roller coaster at WDW. Plus, since Aerosmith is my favorite group, it probably helps. After seeing the pre-ride show, my dd (6) would refer to Aerosmith as "Steven Tyler and his little buddies".
I thought my dd (9) was old and strong enough to ride the ride, but I was not going to let my 6 year old ride. She meets height requirements, but it is an overprotective dad thing. On the way over, my oldest dd says she does not want to ride. She had been really excited about doing the coaster for the 1st time, but was scared. So, DW and I did the single rider line.
Lesson learned: Use the single rider option when available.
Not all rides have single riders, but if they do, consider it. DW, I, and two girls stood in the single rider line at the same time with a 5 minute wait. Then, DW was able to go on one coaster. I sent my two dds through the exit line where they would stand in the gift shop area. I told them to stand in front of the TVs and watch for DW's picture. Then, I was able to get on the next coaster. So, the children walked by themselves to the gift shop and were there for a few minutes before DW joined them. I know this is a parenting decision, and I felt mine were old enough. I could have waited longer in the single rider line to make sure that DW was in gift shop. Or, your whole family could wait in single rider line, and then 1 parent and all children exit while other parent rides.
After the RNRC, we walked out and grabbed lunch at Rosie's.
Lesson Learned: Time it right. Take your food from Rosie's and walk over to the Belle live show. We were able to see the whole Belle show while eating lunch. Again, no DP - dd (9) and I split a $10, 1/3 pound burger. It was a nice rest, great show, nice meal, and then onto the parks. Plus, we sit near the top so we don't spill food on people and then have a nice exit after the show.
We did the Backlot Studio walking/ tram tour, which was really fun. I had never done that before in all 10 years. It is a long tour, so give yourself some time. There is part of the show where you stand and they have stunts and explosions in front of you (safely in the show area). Then, onto the tram ride.
Then, it was onto the muppets. DHS is a hard to master theme park, the way it is arranged and the time of all the shows. Thus, you end up with a lot of walking.
After the muppets, it was back to Lights, Motors, Action, the stunt show we had never been to.
It is definitely worth seeing it once. It was really exciting. I wished they had driven longer. I did see Agent Smith from the Matrix series sitting in the stands, but couldn't get close enough for a picture. He was not wearing sunglasses.
After that, it was on to the Brown Derby for a dinner meal. The Brown Derby is excellent. I had the fillet, which was outstanding. It was better than Yachtsman's. DW had the Cobb salad, which I tried, and was really good. We split the chocolate trio desert, which was amazing. DW and girls did not like the raspberry sauce, but they ate underneath it.
Now, the weather did get a little cool that evening so we bought jackets. I really did not want to spend that much on clothing, but I kinda wanted the jackets.
Lesson learned: Bring light jacket if you see a bad weather report, unless you just want the "excuse" to buy more Disney merchandise.
We enjoyed more rides, RNRC with oldest child, ToT, and a few others while we waited for Fantasmic. We enjoyed the history of Walt Disney over near TSM, and the musuem stuff was really neat.
Fantasmic ends the day. It is a really cool live show, but there are a massive amount of people there, even though it is the 10:00 PM show. Apparently, everyone had the same idea we had. There is a line to get inside that starts near the entrance to the Belle Show. Many people say to arrive 30 minutes to an hour early to get a seat. We arrived about 30 minutes early and were able to get a seat. Finally, after Fantastmic, we stopped for some candy treats on the way out of DHS.
Lessons learned: If you do the 10:00 Fantasmic show, hustle to the Disney transportation. With our stopping and strolling, we made the last DHS boat back to the Boardwalk.